Seraration Anxiety and The Crate

We have had my pit mix for just over a year and he is probly about two years old now. We had to get him a Level 3 crate as he broke out of two other crates we had him in. He was better earlier on as he had a blanket or two to lay on and be comfortable. Slowly but surely he ripped the blankets and we are fed up with having to clean up the scraps and get a new blanket almost every week. When he doesn't have a blanket in and knows he is going into his crate he will become very defensive and you almost have to pick him up and put him in the crate. I would love to leave a bed or something in the crate with him, but I know he would tear it up. He also slobbers a lot when we are gone. I've looked a little bit but can't find much on this type of problem and was looking for training advice I can do with him. His "brother" (other dog we have, different breed) goes into the crate and will not make a peep. The pit is the alpha and we adopted him at about 1 y.o. He was a stray that was taken to the shelter before we had him. He had to be crate trained and did quite well, but he has slowely gotten worse. Help please.

 

If he tears up the blankets in his crate don't put one in there period. How long are you leaving him in the crate? I have one who absolutely hates the crate and has eaten his way out of a few so I don't put him in the crate unless I have to leave when I am home he is always out of it. This has solved the majority of the problems as he no longer destroys the crates because he is out most of them time. Some dogs just don't like the crates and if they are left in them all the time some can become self destructive. If your dog is suffering from separation anxiety the only thing you can do is try and keep the crating exp as positive as you can by not using it as a punishment and keeping the crating down to just a few hours a day you can also use treats to get him to go into the kennel reward him after he does you can leave a nice kong in there for him to chew on while you are gone which will give him some comfort if he's bored. Do you cover the crate? Sometimes that helps too as it keeps them quiet and doesn't allow them to be distracted by surroundings. The other option is to move him to a chain spot when you are gone that way he will be outside on a chain and have a lot of room to run around and sleep in a nice dog house for the day and when you get home you can bring him in to sleep in the house at night.

 

the dog sounds bored

I feed mine their evening feed "kibble" in their crates
I also give them bones in the crate where they can eat them in peace and without incident
Six of them sleep at night in their crates and will go in during the day if I need be

try to associate the crate with something positive, picking the dog up or trying to physically man handle him into the crate may aggrevate the issue you are having
throw a small piece of cold meat or biscuit in the crate , when the dog goes in , praise him and close the crate door

why not leave the shredded blanket in the crate? if the dog is not eating it what does it matter
the slobbering sounds like anxiety, having something to chew on will relieve some of the stress, that's probably why he was shredding the blankets

 

Dogs are animals so you have to treat them like animals. Please dont place human values on an animal. Give him a kong filled with peanut butter while he is in there. You have to put his mind in a diffrent gear. He can heat himself just fine when he balls up inside when he is cold. How long are his stays in the crate? Are you feeding him twice a day? If so feed once for dinner, that way he is completely empty when you leave him in the morning. Also routine is a must. Dont change up his routine and keep it simple. House dog thrive on routine.

 

Mine like the crates when they have to b in them, most of the time they r on their chainspot my,pup goes in crate at night cause he tends to act foolish at strange hours lol. I never use blankets use cedar shavings as a bedding its cheap and can b easily cleaned, i use the shavings in the chainspots also spread on the ground and in the house. It sounds like your no letting your dog be a dog let him run play put a kennel or chainspot up walk him work and such. Ole Man

 

After re-reading your post, i believe you are not excersing the dogs much.Taking in a stray is a noble thing to do but you have a working breed with pent up engery spring work flirt work. Best of luck

 

Thanks for the quick responses, he's in the crate from around 6:30AM to around 11:40AM, then again at 12:20 til about 3:45 depending on if I have to do stuff after work. I don't leave the shredded blanket as the other dog tries to put the pieces out and the ones he doesn't get out, they get nasty and gross with all the slobber. I don't know that a chain run or outside kennel would work well as I am in a townhouse plus the fact that the dogs cry when outside without us too long. The pit mix does run and play with his brother, if weather permits, for the entire 40 minutes I'm home for lunch, but usually when he comes back in, he plops down somewhere and passes out (he is a very lazy dog). Any ideas on exercise, other than walking that he could do in a 20x30 fenced yard? I'll have to start trying the stuffed cong (he will chew on a bone but only AFTER I leave). Thanks again for your help.

P.S. if any of the moderators could change the title to Separation...thanks.

 

U babied the dogs, i treat my animals like family to a certain point they r not children peroid. Let them whine and cry when they r outside along, say ten minutes first day and increase time each day the dogs will get the hint u are not gonna come running everytime they bark. Best of luck

 

it's a dog, as said let it whinge and cry when outside , it will soon stop when it does not get a response

as for exercise, the dog NEEDS to be walked, from the sounds of things it would be better if you could get up an hour earlier in the mornings and walk the dog for 45minutes, hail , rain or snow; this should help keep him calm when in the crate

 

So I've been thinking about this issue and seeing how stressed out my pittie is. I'm thinking that our best option is to build an inside kennel for the pups in my unfinished basement to give them more room to move around, while keeping them separate so they don't get into trouble while I'm at work. The more I think about JJ in his crate while I'm at work, the more I realize it may be a little too small which is only making his anxiety worse. Any more advice is much appreciated.

 

U still gota walk and work them alot. Putting them in a kennel is not gonna fix the problem, all they r gonna do is destroy the kennel instead u own a working breed not a lap u need to get a better understanding of the breed.

 

This sounds like it could turn into a serious problem as your Pit gets (1) older an (2) stronger. The ultimate goal is to have them be comfortable with their crate and actually look forward to spending time in it. If it is at all possible, I would suggest that you budget your time so that you can exercise your Pit for a nice long while before you plan on putting him in the crate. A tired Pit is just going to sleep the day away until you return home, there won't be any blanket shredding!