New dog hates being crated

[it'spuppylove]

Good afternoon dog lovers,

So our family has finally adopted a lovely dog (and we've just passed our 2 week trial period ) unfortunately, she HATES being crated!

She's 10 years old and her previous owners never crated her but our family doesn't want her to roam free in the house because we believe it's better to crate her.

So here's the story:

When we first got her, we crated her on our main floor at night and let her out during the day (since there's always someone home) but she would constantly bark and whine and then when we went to get her out in the morning her cage mat would be covered in blood (but there were no cuts on her). We then decided that we'd let her sleep in her crate but move her up into our bedroom and she's been perfectly fine!

Until we put her in her cage this afternoon (for about 3 hours) and we came back and not only was her cage mat covered in blood but her paws were all cut up and her nails were worn down to the quick.

It seems like she has separation anxiety so now we're looking for some solutions to help her so she doesn't get hurt. I've come across the thundershirt that claims to help reduce anxiety but I've read mixed reviews about the success of this product.

Now here's the question I have:

Does anyone have any ideas how to help reduce her stress or any relevant stories that could help her?

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

[Loki Love]

How have you introduced the crate to her? Putting her into the crate for 3 hours and expecting her to like it isn't going to get the best results

I'd suggest crating her while you are at home and use the crate as a positive thing. Feed her in the crate. Give only the super best treats in her crate (like a frozen stuffed Kong). Do 15 minutes at a time.

For a 10 year old dog who has NEVER been crated before, you have your work cut out for you.

Why do you think it's best to crate? Is she destructive at home? If you can't crate, can you keep her in a bedroom with a door shut, or something?

[Dog Dancer]

Sorry you're having these problems but thank you for adopting a senior. Honestly if she's 10 and has never been crated she probably doesn't need it. What we think, is not always what is best. Could you not give her a bed to sleep on in your room at night. My two older dogs just took to their beds at bedtime and never moved. My last dog has seperation anxiety and was also diagnosed as claustrophobic so couldn't be crated. Perhaps your new dog is claustrophobic hence the trouble with the crate.

Give her a chance to prove herself trustworthy at night unless you have been told something that you didn't share with us. The poor girl is no doubt traumatized by being rehomed at that age anyhow - you are adding one more very hard challenge to her life. She will reward your trust and love if you give her the chance.

Do you know why her previous family decided to bail on their commitment to this senior? I could never part with my old girl (or the young ones to be honest), they deserve so much more than to be dumped in their old age.

[it'spuppylove]

Thank you both for your ideas, it is much appreciated!

We don't want her running loose in the house because we were told in all the dog training books that it's better to crate your dog and because of this we wanted her to be crated.

We don't know if she's destructive left alone in the house to roam but we also don't want her to have problems in her crate.

The foster mom had told us that she had crated her at night for the 2 weeks she had her so we thought she would be okay being left alone for a couple hours during the day...

And as for giving her a treat in the cage to make it an exciting thing to go into it... the previous owner gave her too much table scraps (which we are NOT doing) and she's a couple pounds over weight with food allergies to meat so it's not a good idea to give her treats if we're trying to get her to lose weight (which is unfortunate because it might help the training)

PS. her previous family was an elderly couple where the wife passed away and the husband got a girlfriend (who had 2 dogs of her own) after the wife passed and the girlfriend told him that she wouldn't be with him unless the dog was gone. BUT I completely agree with you that dogs don't deserve to be dumped once they get older

[Jull]

One of our dogs hates being in a crate, but he is a very good dog and can be left alone in the house with n problems, he has never chewed on a single thing. If she is already 10 and not used to it may be hard to get her used to it, so you will have to do it slowly, you can try treats that are healthy, and wont affect her weight. Also if you give her bones or something to chew on that could help.

Personally I wouldnt crate her if she is this upset about it and if she is not destructive. But that is me. Have you tried flower essences for her anxiety? Having moved its also tough on them and flower essences can help with that too, the rescue remedy could help. You could also try a diffuser with essential oil of lavender or chamomile, they are both great to help relax.

[Loki Love]

Originally Posted by it'spuppylove

And as for giving her a treat in the cage to make it an exciting thing to go into it... the previous owner gave her too much table scraps (which we are NOT doing) and she's a couple pounds over weight with food allergies to meat so it's not a good idea to give her treats if we're trying to get her to lose weight (which is unfortunate because it might help the training)(

You could feed her kibble or whichever food you are feeding to her as a treat in that crate then?

Honestly, I would be surprised if there was any destruction at this point.. why not try without a crate for short lengths of time? You may find the crate completely unnecessary.

[it'spuppylove]

We've decided that we'll try leaving her in one room in the house (without the crate) for a short period of time and see if there's any problems leaving her out.

I shall post an update with how it goes leaving her out!

[glee070]

Do you really expect a 10 year old dog that's never been crated to adapt to that kind of treatment? If you must, try crating her with the cage door open or put up gates so she can roam in a particular area. Why do you feel it's better to crate her?butherck Try

Originally Posted by it'spuppylove

Good afternoon dog lovers,

So our family has finally adopted a lovely dog (and we've just passed our 2 week trial period ) unfortunately, she HATES being crated!

She's 10 years old and her previous owners never crated her but our family doesn't want her to roam free in the house because we believe it's better to crate her.

So here's the story:

When we first got her, we crated her on our main floor at night and let her out during the day (since there's always someone home) but she would constantly bark and whine and then when we went to get her out in the morning her cage mat would be covered in blood (but there were no cuts on her). We then decided that we'd let her sleep in her crate but move her up into our bedroom and she's been perfectly fine!

Until we put her in her cage this afternoon (for about 3 hours) and we came back and not only was her cage mat covered in blood but her paws were all cut up and her nails were worn down to the quick.

It seems like she has separation anxiety so now we're looking for some solutions to help her so she doesn't get hurt. I've come across the thundershirt that claims to help reduce anxiety but I've read mixed reviews about the success of this product.

Now here's the question I have:

Does anyone have any ideas how to help reduce her stress or any relevant stories that could help her?

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

[Longblades]

We don't want her running loose in the house because we were told in all the dog training books that it's better to crate your dog and because of this we wanted her to be crated.

Please explain WHY it's better. Hopefully all those books you read gave reasons. Blindly following advice you don't understand is scary.

That said, people have had dogs for years and not crated them. None of my dogs has been crated. However, I do not have destruction problems. Now destruction that wrecks your house and imperils your dog's life (electric shock, poison, obstruction) are good reasons to confine the dog when you are not home. Still, you don't have to crate her. Mine were penned or gated in the kitchen. We built sturdy gates on the two kitchen doors.

Please read the threads here on crate training if you must. Start slowly; crate, pen or gated room, you must start slowly. Don't put the dog in and leave her for hours cold turkey. Many people find a puppy does better at night crated in the bedroom with them, good on you for trying that. Also read the threads on separation anxiety. Poor old girl, she knows what it is to be abandoned or you wouldn't have her. Two weeks is a very short time. It may take her a year to settle in and trust that you are coming back for her.

Did you get her from a shelter? They should have told you what to expect and they should be offering help to make her transition to your house easier for your family and her. Good luck and thank you for taking her in. I'm afraid it's going to be more work than you anticipated but I hope this poor old girl is not abandoned again.

[Marty11]

I have crate trained every single puppy I've ever had! Having said that, once they are potty trained and not destructive anymore, I pretty well give up the crate all together. It's just a way to have time away and know they are safe. I would not bother on a 10 yr old dog. Sounds like your having separation issues. That's a different problem altogether. A dog that panics when your not home. I bet your pooch is afraid of thunderstorms?

[echowolf]

I have always crated any of my dogs until this one. Kona is a 8 week old border collie.......and she hates the crate,howls,chews scrathes//aftraid shes going to hurt her self.........lucky for me she is very good about asking to go outside to potty,and she sleeps in the bedroom with us .........sleeps all night and never makes a fuss.so no crate traing here