i have a 2y.o female gsd that was raised in a crate and totally housebroken she now will not stay in a crate no matter what she broke out of her veri kennel so i re-vamped the crate so it would stay locked using a u-lock she could not bust out the door so she ate her way out right through the side of the kennel why is this happing and how should it be corrected?


thanks in advance

dustin

Dustin,

Does your dog have any separation issues?

Do you have to shove her in? Or does she go in willingly?

Have you ever used the crate as a form of punishment?

There can be many reasons, need more info to narrow down the cause.

BTW Leerburg now sells and aluminum crate with a locking mechanism.

This isn't a 'real' answer to your question but it's the same problem I have and what I've done to fix it. My dog is a male American Showline GSD. He had extreme seperation anxiety. He'll be 3 years old in April. From day one we were inseperable. I had just graduated from high school when I got him so we spent a lot of time together. He was in the house until a couple of months ago. The only time he was in the crate was when I wasn't home and when he slept at night. During the day he'd sleep in there if he was tired or wanted to get away from everyone. My mom runs a daycare so we see a lot of parents and their kids. I have a shed/workshop in my backyard and that's where I put my 2 dogs. The german working lines female is "crazy" but she won't come out of here crate. The male was not wanting to be out there so he would push open the door on the crate. It then led to him biting the door then chewing the cage. He used his nose and head to get it open. I tried putting things in front of it to get him to stay and it didn't work. I used cinder blocks, bags of concrete, other dog crates, the wall. Nothing worked. He was bleeding oneday so I got upset and said it wasn't worth him hurting himself so being that there is nothing in there to hurt him, I removed the door and gave him free roam. He goes into his crate when I feed him and when he goes to sleep. He would bark and howl at night and this went on for 2 weeks but now he is quite contempt. He's an excellent house dog, very very socialized, house and crate trained, he bites the sleeve, barks on command, has decent obedience. Give em a kid, a stuffed animal or a kong and he's a happy dog. I don't agree with leaving a toy in the crate with a dog but if it works it's worth it, try using a large or extra large kong if your dog likes it and put peanut butter in it. See if takes it's mind off of getting out of the crate.

she loves her crate if im home she will sleep in it if im home and she will go to it on command

Dustin,
In your last post it seems that she is quite comfortable when your home. So I am assuming that this behavior only happens when you are away. It seems like separation anxiety. There are a few solutions. Can you leave her out without destroying your house or its contents? If yes, that would be a simple solution. If no, you may crate her but caution not to push too fast. I have heard of dogs eating through drywall and 2x4 studs to get out of a room in which they were confined . What you want to do is put the crate in an area where she can’t see you leave. Second, leave a radio or TV on to drown out the eerie silence. Third, make many short trips in and out of the house. We need her to get use to you coming and going. Fourth, increase duration but maintain unpredictability in the times that you’re gone. Being unpredictable is going to be key here, because if she thinks that you are leaving for 8hours and wont be back for a long time she may freak. But a minute or two or three, she may be ok. The thing we don’t want is for the dog to hurt her self so don’t push her to freaking point. As she get comfortable, you may get her over the fears of you leaving into enjoy a bone or kong while your out. I wish you the best.

Some other alternatives……

Enclosed chain link dog run in the back yard.

Huge crate.

Herbal anxiety remedies found on Ed’s website.

thank you very much ill get to work on these ideas