I have ~16wk old gsd pup that i have had since he was about ~9wks old. Brought him home on xmas.

i started with a bargan hound (large) kennel and soon changed b/c my little buddy tried to dig his nose through it and was scarring his snout...

i chose to purchase a kennel-aire wire kennel b/c of the 1" hole are too small for him to get his nose through. the only thing wrong with that kennel i see is that the thin aluminum kennel aire tag on the front of the cage is simply bent around the wire...well, that name plate ended up cutting my dog's cheek b/c it was loose...

that is neither here nor there...just my thoughts on the 2 kennels.

since i have had the dog, he has been crated at one point almost every day. it is not like it is a once in a while thing. i *thought* that he would get used to it after a while, but he still seems to hate it.

he wont come to me if he knows he is going in, he'll just go to the couch and lay on it.

i have a kong filled with peanut butter for him and a nylabone and a kong rope and ball to occupy his time...and i think that they all do well...it is just the initial 5-10 minutes that he is in there....he has a small sore on one of his front legs and has a small sore on the top of his head.

i don't like the idea of him beating himself up due to seperation anxiety or kennel aggression.....but i surely am not going to leave him in the house loose, or in a confined area. he needs to crate IMHO.

is there anything that i can do to steady this? If it persists, i think i am going to order a large plastic kennel so he is not tearing himself up.....

**he does walk in and out of it during the evenings and any other time that he thinks it is safe to go in there..., hell, i have even tossed treats and toys in there and he seems fine going in there to get them....

HELP!!!

Louis,
Where is your crate at in your house? Is the pup secluded from traffic areas?
I keep my crates in the busiest room in the house (kitchen) and all my dogs have learned to be quiet in the crate.
How often do you exercise your pup and what type of exercise?

Is he throwing a tantrum while you are home or do you come home to find injuries?

The crates should grow as the puppy grows IMO, that way they do not learn to relieve themselves at one end and sleep at the other and also they settle and sleep or rest easier, rather than have the space to jump around. HOWEVER, there are exceptions to this rule. My MAL hates a crate that fits her, but she is nice as pie in one size bigger and that has been since I picked her up at the airport over a year ago.

Louis, I have a Kennel Aire also and my pup was able to take the tag off from the inside of the kennel. The tag on those kennels definitely needs to go.

** Also, my pup figured out how to open the kennel door so watch out for that. Always use the clasp lock when you're not home. My pup learned to push up on the door with his nose and teeth to open the door. The clasp keeps him from opening the drop pin door.

There are some anxiety meds available for dogs (goes by weight). Ed sells one here that I know of. Also try covering the crate with something, but beware here also. My pup grabs the cover with his tongue and teeth through those small holes and starts to pull it in, chewing and eating the fabric, it's amazing how much he can pull through one hole. I leave it uncovered when I'm not home. Your pup may like the cover however.

Sorry I can't be of more help, just wanted to give you the warnings.

My pup gets his meals in the crate and his marrow bones in the crate. As a result of this, anytime we go near the crate he runs in, optimistically.

He was trying to claw on the crate when I leaned down to unlatch the crate to let him out. The very second he started to claw, I would quickly stand up and back away. As soon as he stopped and sat, looking at me, I would lean down again to let him out. The instant he clawed again, I would quickly back away. He realized very quickly that he would only be let out when he sat quietly. This worked at the back door, as well.

If he's in his crate in the same room with us, he's fine and quiet. If we leave, he'll cry. We still haven't fixed that but luckily we live in a big house, so we have the room to be patient.

I think seperation anxiety is hard to break because, in a pack of dogs, they don't generally split up. It's hard for the pup to understand why you're leaving him and even harder for a puppy to understand that you're coming back. This, I think, just requires patience...especially for a dog that is really attached to his/her owner.

Try wearing your pup out with exercise before you put him in the crate, and give him a marrow bone or the like to occupy him. ONLY let him out when he's settled. Keep your sessions short so he gets the idea that you will eventually come back and let him out, and be patient. For some dogs, IMO, this is just a hard concept to get.

Your dog may have noticed a consistency that you did not mean to create, like only putting him in there when you leave him, whether that's to go to your bedroom to sleep or leave the house entirely. This may be causing the anxiety.
I think this also because you said he will not come to you if he thinks you are going to put him in the crate, yet he will go in and out on his own. In his mind he sees the crate as a negative if you are leaving.

Try feeding him in it and letting him have a neutral break with a toy while you are there at home in the same room as he is in the crate. This may help him begin to enjoy the crate and not see it as such a bad place. During this training, if he is noisy and anxious, do not let him out until he is calm. Walk around him and do your daily house things, ignoring bad behavior and praising him with a treat or releasing him if he is calm and chewing his toy.Make sure you never use the crate for punishment.

Exercise or a good walk before crate time is good also because he has expended a lot of his energy before having to relax.

When you leave, run the video camera to catch all his behaviors sometime. Maybe play soothing classical music for him. Sometimes this helps, but sometimes it is another association that you will be gone for a long time, making him more anxious. Just test and see.

Hope this helps!

Alison Voore

Hi Louis,

First I'd like to congratulate you on your new addition. Cute pup!

I would not call your puppy "kennel aggressive" which is a territorial response (the dog is guarding his space). It sounds to me that your pups just doesn't like being contained in the crate. It is not uncommon for puppies to not enjoy the crating experience initially. Some adjust quickly others require a little more patience. You need to be consistent and not give in when he provides you with any negative behaviour, only let him out when he's quiet (even if only for a short period of time).

One thing I can recommend is to feed him in the crate. If he's fed twice a day, feed both meals in the crate. Initially you may have the door open. Once comfortable eating his meals in the crate start closing the door. Ignor him while he's in there. After he's finished, and only when he's quiet, allow him to come out. Eventually he will look forward to this crate time as it represents something very positive. Once he's happy going in for his chow start saying the word "kennel" (or whatever you want to use) as he enters. Eventually down the road this will become his command to kennel up.

With regards to the toys, I would limit this to a couple that he enjoys chewing or playing with while he's in there. I find when they have two much selection they tend to ignor them. I give them the variety but not always at the same time. If he's not showing much interest in the Kong make sure its an appropriate size for his age (ie: black King Kong is not to appealing to a young pup, try the softer blue puppy Kongs or even a smaller size in the red variety). Stuffing it with weiners or peanut-butter is great.

My preference for crate training young dogs is the enclosed plastic airline type crates. I find the dogs feel more secure and tend to settle faster.

If he's still upset in the enclosed airline type box, you can try dropping a light blanket over the gate. This works like a charm for most. May still take time but they again usually encourages them to settle a little faster.

Its also a good to have the crate set up in a common area through the day so the dog doesn't feel that the crate separates him from the rest of the family. I like starting them in the kitchen. I don't move it to the bedroom at night either, this is his 'spot'... once he enjoys the crate I move it elsewhere if need be.

Our dogs LOVE thier crates (although they didn't all start out this way <lol>. Be patient, and your little buddy will learn to love his too.

Oh one other thing... you mention that the pup doesn't come to you when he knows its time to go in the crate. Never use a command to call your pup to you when the result is a negative reinforcer for the pup. Instead simply go get the pup and bring him to the crate. Toss in a cookie and quietly close the door behind him. If its not dinner time, drop in a few more cookies, cover the gate and leave him till he settles. Once he's quiet let him out. Don't do it only once a day. Feed all his meals in there... and then add in a few short treat sessions (as described above) where he's only locked in until he's quite. Don't fawn over him when he comes out. When he exits the crate ignore him. Exiting the crate should never be the exciting part of this activity (this creates more anxiety). When he's not locked inside leave the crate door open so he can explore freely.

Anyway, sorry for the long reply. Hope this helps you out. Good luck with your new pup!

Just want to add one thing...since the pup isn't responding to the command you chose to use for him to go into the crate he is more than likely now associating that command with something negative, you may need to start over and give a new command thats not associated with anything negative.
And just wanted to re-iterate what someone else said, but make sure you are only letting the pup out of the crate when he is exhibiting quiet behaviour...never when he is whining or fussing.
Other wise he will associate the whining with getting what he wants.

thanks for all the responses...

i think that Allison is closest to what i need to do. I tried feeding him in the crate, and may go back to it....

i think that i need to put him in his crate for an hour here and there...but i don't want to confine him more than i have too. as i have stated in another post, i want a family oriented dog. i only really want to kennel him when i am at work and or my fiancee and i have to leave and can not take him.

if i have to put him in there for a while like when i am doing the dishes, watching a movie, and so on, i will....BUT i only really want to do that to get him accustomed to the crate...i don't like the idea of putting him "up"...but realize that may be something i have to do unitl he grows out of his "puppy" stages of chewing and the like....

i like the video camera idea, and may try it....i know that one of my neighbors said that she heard him all day before, but that was the 1st day that we put him in there....i can shut the door and only will hear him for about a minute or two....

i have noticed that he will pull the blanket and the floor mat through the kennel, i am amazed at how much he can get through there too. WOW!

i have a cat too....maybe the fact that the cat has free reign of the place pisses him off...lol...

"i have a cat too....maybe the fact that the cat has free reign of the place pisses him off...lol..."

Oh, that has GOT to be the problem! Poor puppy! LOL

Once he's through the crate training there's no reason why he should have to be in there all the time. For now though you don't want him to associate the crate with being 'abandoned' by his family. Best if he can see you still around doing normal things.

Cats on the loose, oh boy... we have a 'kennel cate' that lives in our kennel building and while he's pretty quiet we have a couple dogs that just go nuts when the cat goes near thier crate. These are not cat aggressive dogs, they get along perfectly fine out of the box... but they'll turn thier crate upside down if the cats walks past while they're locked in there. With one dog we actually have to tether the crate to the wall to keep it secured or we'll literally find it on its side or upside down in the isle way come morning. None of the other dogs seem to care much about him.

The cat stays outside through the day a only comes in at night when its really cold so he's not a perminant resident, but often enough.

Good luck with your pup.