Ok ya'll....

my boy busted out of his kennel sometime today. he met my fiance @ the door when she got in this evening..lol...so far, nothing seemed damaged, chewed, pee'd on, pooped on, and the cat was still alive. thank GOD!

he looked sleepy, from what Victoria told me, so he was not really being bad..thankfully...we all know what a 6month old GSD is capable of....

plain and simple...i am thinking about using some plastic 'zip-ties' to hold the sides and bottom together....something has to give.

almost every day that i come home, the kennel (whether on a mat, towel or not) is moved 2-4' and 180* around...lol...i need to set up a camera honestly...so that i can see what goes on...

what can i possible do besides putting in a peanut butter filled kong, bone, and treat dispenser to keep him at bay...???

most of the time he is only pinned up for 4-6 hours...sometimes a little longer, and a lot of the time less....

i dont want him hurting himself trying to get out and getting poked hard in the gut....

i am at a loss....

fwiw, i do NOT kennel him @ nite...he sleeps on a bed on the floor of the bedroom and is fine. we ONLY kennel him while we are not at home...b/c that is all i want to kennel him...not for guests, not for nething...

HEE HEE HEE
And I mean that laugh in a good way.

But seriously,

I have a Dutch that has root canals on 3 of his canine teeth from breaking out of crates (at the previous owners) so he is now in an aluminum crate if we need to crate him (sometimes I crate him just because I can)......tough love is what we call it, but he is way better than he was.

I am not sure if your dog learned that "if I want out, I now know how to do it". I guess you will have to wait and see.....

Do you feed raw? You could throw in a big knuckle bone with him. I do that with my Bloodhound because I know he will not try and swallow the whole thing at once. They last him for a long time.

The aluminum crate is great as it is nice and smooth on the inside and the bars are close enough together that he cannot bite them and bust off anymore teeth.

this crate is fine...i don't think that it is as sturdy as the bargain hound one, simply b/c the wire is not as thick...so that i don't like...also, i think that the 'fold-and-carry' option also makes this one easier to 'break out of'....the front and back panels if pulled at just right, are obviously the weakest point..as that is where charlie murphy (aka murff) was able to escape...

i have been leary about adding in a marrow bone b/c of the time frame and bacteria....1-2 hours is usually about as long as i will give it before refreeezing....although i do know that a dog's stomach juices are acidic enough to kill any bacteria...so that may be something i can add to see if it calms him down a bit....

he is one rowdy little clown...lol....

I thought you were talking about a plastic crate...my bad.
I have wire ties on my fold ups. But the Dutch eats through the wire on those also.....he has OCD seperation anxiety issues.

I am also afraid he will hurt himself therefore the aluminum crate.

I don't think a knuckle bone would be too bad. My hound works on them for a while and then falls asleep, seemingly wore out from working on the bone so intently. I just throw them away when he is done.

i think murff has seperation anxiety too....i know i do...i just want to go home and hang with him...lol...he's the coolest...

Yep, I would try that too. I would put a blanket over the top of the crate and if he gets noisy cover the whole thing. (make sure he has something to do like a bone or a kong filled with something)

Remember, if he is noisy, do not let him out and do not talk to him like he is a child. I use a firm "quiet" and this works for me. When he quiets down, you can open the door, praise him and then let him out. Then it starts all over again.

well, the crate cover is out....now matter how thick the blanket, he ALWAYS seems to pull a huge portion of it through the holes in the kennel....i guess he gets bored.

also, i can't leave a towel or a mat in there for him b/c he he eats it. i have gone through about 20+ full sized bath towels. lol...he is a shark..i am telling you....

i will zip tie the kennel, and start with some kennel time while cooking dinner and cleaning...like i planned on doing. i have been so busy at work, i don't cook anymore, just get home and spend time with my girl and the cat/dog.....

thanks...

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also, i can't leave a towel or a mat in there for him b/c he he eats it. i have gone through about 20+ full sized bath towels. lol...he is a shark..i am telling you....

How about trying a cow mat in the crate? Ed suggested them for dogs who rip apart bedding and they have an added bonus of being easy to clean.

I beleave Kacie has a great point on crate time while you are home. The crate represents your leaving him. Six days a week I take my 9 month old boy to work with me where he is in a crate next to my desk. I have been doing this since he was about 3 mos. I own a retail business with some walk in traffic, two other office workers, and technicians that come and go throughout the day. I always reward him for being calm with some sort of chew bone. I alternae types as he gets bord with the same thing every day. I love it that you are able to have your puppy sleep outside the crate at night. I am scared to try this as I have heard horror stories of chewed stuff as people slept. I keep Elvis in a crate downstairs at night. I dont give him anything to chew then because he is expected to rest at this time. By the way, I am at work now and he has one paw over his face resting peacefully.