The Crate Busting Puppy

We’ve had our rescue mutt (Lab/hound/Boxer/Pit bull/who knows?) for about 2.5 months now. She is 8.5 months old. She is absolutely wonderful, we are head over heels in love.

But. (Of course there’s a but.) Crate-training has proven an ongoing disaster. As of today, she has officially totally destroyed two metal crates. She bites the bars of the door until they pull away from the cross bars. She then worries at the latches to spring them. The newer crate had a latch at the top and bottom; today, she sprung the bottom latch and slithered out through the gap.

She has not been overly destructive in the house, thank god - mostly just tearing up paper trash and re-arranging the laundry.

I do think she has her fair share of separation anxiety, but I honestly would not have thought it was severe enough for her to be chewing her way through a metal crate! She is barely 40 lbs, so not huge.

She gets plenty of exercise (3-4 hours of vigorous walks a day, 1 hour of that at lunchtime, much of it in hiking terrain and/or with playtime with other dogs interspersed), is only crated 3 days a week for 2-3 hours at a time. She is generally a very laid back, even lazy puppy.

We’ve tried everything in the book for crate training and honestly? She’s great when we’re there! She gets a stuffed Kong or breakfast in a puzzle ball in the crate, she has super high value marrow bones in the crate itself. When we’re home with her she will happily go into the crate voluntarily and chew a bone for an hour or more, with the door wide open. We can latch the door without the slightest hint of a whine or attempt at escape. She lies down or sits quietly.

The problem lies when we leave her alone. Today, I cleaned up after her morning adventure, and then spent an extra hour at lunch really neurotically puppy-proofing two rooms and then restricting her access to those two rooms. She’s now loose in the house and alone for the first time ever. She started whining as soon as I closed the door.

I guess I will start working through separation anxiety issues with her, but she does not display any of the more classic signals! She’s not overly bonded to one of us, she is not overwhelmingly destructive (so far anyway), and she loves going to day care 1-2 days a week where she is perfectly behaved.

Has anyone dealt with a crate-buster? Did anything work? Did you just have to give up? I’d really like her to learn to tolerate it, even if ultimately she is loose at home, in case we travel.

Try putting her in her crate with her munchy/toy/treat, close it up, then walk away,leave the house for a minute or two, go back in, release her, praise and reward. Build up the time slowly — she’ll know you will be coming back and may learn to deal with the separation.

Try covering her crate with a blanket. Some dogs do better like that, makes it more cave or den-like.

Try having the radio or tv on as background noise. That might be enough for her to settle down since she won’t be alone.

And some dogs just do better loose in a bigger area.

Good luck!

My shepherd mix had very similar behavior after I adopted her. She was initially perfect in her crate, but after a couple weeks turned into a bit of a terror after she got attached to me and developed separation anxiety. Like your dog, she would claw and bite at the bars of her kennel until she dislodged one of the corners and then would squeeze her way out (it still boggles me how she could fit through such a small opening!). To fix the problem I zip-tied all the corners of her kennel. She never tried to escape by messing with the latches, but they did loosen from her antics, so I also used a snap clip to hold her kennel door to the side of her kennel. She has not gotten out since then. After a couple weeks of realizing she could no longer escape, the behavior stopped. It’s been almost a year since then, and she loves her crate now. :slight_smile:

Destroying crates is definitely anxiety based. What happens if you leave her for shorter periods of time? If you can hit that time just as the kong is done then there isn’t time to fuss. Over time she can adjust to resting quietly for a few minutes, and then a hour, and then however long you need.

One of my dogs is a crate buster.

She ruined a wire crate pretty quickly. We moved onto a plastic, airline grade, crate. She busted the door off of that, so we rigged it shut. Since she could no longer get out of the door she literally chewed her way out of the crate in one day. She cracked several of her canine teeth during that process. We had to have them removed which is an ordeal because their roots are deep into the jaw bone.

We ended up giving up on the crating, but not on confinement. She, at 9, is still not safe to leave loose. She will destroy my carpets, doors… she will eat random items. She has had to have surgery twice. So, she is tethered to a stable piece of furniture, without anything in reach, when we’re not home. She has more room to move around than if she was in a crate. She’s actually quite happy with the situation. It’s not ideal, but it’s what works for us.

[QUOTE=Donkaloosa;7658357]
Try covering her crate with a blanket. Some dogs do better like that, makes it more cave or den-like.[/QUOTE]

While I totally agree with the principle here, I have to say, please don’t use a blanket, bath towel or anything that can be pulled into the crate and ingested. If you want to go this route, get a cardboard box and cut it open to cover the crate. It won’t drape into the crate the way that anything made of fabric will, and (in my experience), it’s not as likely to be eaten.

[QUOTE=bdj;7659486]
While I totally agree with the principle here, I have to say, please don’t use a blanket, bath towel or anything that can be pulled into the crate and ingested. If you want to go this route, get a cardboard box and cut it open to cover the crate. It won’t drape into the crate the way that anything made of fabric will, and (in my experience), it’s not as likely to be eaten.[/QUOTE]

YUP! My dog, who is very good in his wire crate, will pull anything through the wires if it’s left on top :slight_smile:

I had a dog with the same tendency. My dog would not only destroy the crate, she’d also chew on her paws until they were bloody. It was not a good situation, but none of the solutions I’d been offered made a difference. One day after escaping the crate, I came home to find her sitting on the couch staring out the front window, patiently waiting for me to return. The next time I left home, I asked her to jump on the couch by the window before I left. She could see me get in my car and leave, and when I returned she was in the exact same spot, waiting. After that day, she waited for me that way for the rest of her life, and never harmed a thing in the house. Every time I moved to new home, I found a well-placed window for her and even bought a large ottoman that became her perch. I’m not sure if it would work for other dogs or would fit in with the set-up of your home. For me though, it was a blessing and one my great joys was coming home to that little face in the window, always waiting for me.

1 Like

Thank you all!

We have done the wait & return in the crate dozens of times. She is totally fine with us in the house. I think the one piece I haven’t done since the very early days is putting her in & physically leaving the house, then returning, over and over. I did that constantly for the first week we had her, but have not had time (work, etc.) since.

She has chewed through the metal bars of the crate, pulling them off the crossbar, not just loosening the door. She chews through zip ties on the door. Bitter apple spray is not a deterrent (both on the zip ties and the bars of the crate). I worry for her teeth: from what I’ve been able to examine they’re ok so far but surely it’s not good for them. She’s done that to two crates now, rendering both of them unsafe/unusable.

Yesterday, with 2 hours loose, she only tipped over the recycling. Today, she’ll have 2.5 hours this morning and 3 this afternoon, with a long walk in between. We might just have to leave her loose for now. I do still want to get back to crate training, though - it’s such a useful tool, especially when traveling!

GraceLikeRain, shorter periods of time seem to trigger the same problems; she will often start howling the moment I close the door. If she has some food to distract her, she’ll hold off for a little while but I hear her as I’m leaving the driveway. When I was crate training while in the house with her we decreased the length of time of her yelling but it’s tough to say how long she carries on now that I have to leave right for work.

I’m reading up on separation anxiety now and if things get really dire can take some time off work and do more intensive work with her. In the meantime…fingers crossed that restricting her to two puppy-proofed rooms during the day will work. She’s fully housebroken and has so far shown no inclination to go after furniture, rugs, anything other than paper trash, really. Sigh.

PS - FleabittenGrey, your shepherd could be the longhaired twin to my puppy, who is also brindled!

Oh - and putting cloths over her crate is a no-go, one of our first clues that something was not right was when she pulled a curtain into the crate and shredded it. Destroyed the curtain rod, too. I would have sworn up and down that the crate was far enough away from the curtain for there to be no danger, but she must have rocked the crate closer, THEN teased at the edge of the curtain juuuuuust right. SMART puppy, alas.

We don’t have a climate controlled apartment and I worry that a cardboard box would not provide adequate airflow to make sure she stays cool. She’s nearly black and doesn’t cope well with heat as it is.

If she needs to be crated, then this is pretty much the only “safe” version (you can buy direct from the manufacturer, this was just a quick link :slight_smile: )

BUT this is really an anxiety issue & I’d look to behaviorists & veterinary care for management ideas - if you’re lucky she will be OK loose in a “safe” room, but reading your posts, I’m concerned that her behavior will escalate as she matures.
You sound as if you’re doing wonderful with her, but do some research on separation anxiety in dogs, especially look for resources in your area.

She’s been very fortunate not to have been injured during her breakouts.

[QUOTE=kerlin;7659535]

We don’t have a climate controlled apartment and I worry that a cardboard box would not provide adequate airflow to make sure she stays cool. She’s nearly black and doesn’t cope well with heat as it is.[/QUOTE]

If you decide to try again with the crate training, you can still use a box, just cut some holes in it for airflow, and nothing says that you have to cover ALL the sides of it, either. For my guys, I make sure the top is covered and at least part of the sides (keeping the back of the crate against the wall), but I don’t worry about covering the front - the goal is to just make it a little more enclosed/safer/cozier feeling, not create a sensory-deprivation chamber. :wink:

Good luck with whatever you try - separation anxiety is NOT fun, and can be really tough on everyone involved.

I have an 11 month old puppy who has had terrible separation anxiety since he arrived at 10 weeks old (there was a horrible incident involving his flight here and he wound up being rerouted and spending 20+ hours alone and transferred across several flights, instead of the 3 hour direct flight he was supposed to have… he’s never been the same).

My vote is to try and see what is happening when you’re gone. When Chewie’s issues first became apparent, I initially thought it was a crate training issue (we just knew he was barking a lot while we were gone). I set up the webcam on my laptop and filmed him for an hour while I was gone. What I saw on that first video broke my heart.

He wasn’t a naughty puppy, he was an absolutely panic stricken puppy desperately trying to escape. The reason he’d been pottying in his crate was because he was literally so panicked he was losing control of his bladder and bowels. It completely changed how we were looking at his issues.

I went through four vets and about six trainers and absolutely nothing helped… we tried everything from Xanax to Clomicalm to practicing departures and penning him up in a room instead of a crate (he pretty much destroyed the door and drywall trying to claw his way out).

We ended up going to a veterinary behaviorist, and even though it was crazy expensive ($500 for a 2 hour consult). I am in no way exaggerating when I say the toolkit we left that appointment with has resolved 98% of his issues. I’ll share some knowledge below.

My go-to first line of defense for separation anxiety would be:

  • Ditching the crate and leaving her confined to those two rooms you puppy proofed (I'm pretty sure SA can make some dogs claustrophobic, which compounds the panic).
  • DAP plug ins in whatever room(s) she is confined to, or DAP spray on a bandana around her neck
  • A Thundershirt
  • A "smear bowl" given at the moment of departure. To make a smear bowl, take 1-2 tablespoons of peanut butter and smearing it with a spatula all over the dog's food bowl
  • Leaving a TV or radio on fairly loudly
  • Alternate toys and brain toys [I]daily[/I]. Positive novelty helps stave off boredom and nervousness. My guy alternates between the things listed below... if it's something he has to move to get treats out of, I'll put a handful of kibble an and then a couple little chunks of steak/chicken/hot dog to make it smell super delicious: [LIST]
  • Frozen marrow bones
  • A Tug-A-Jug
  • Stuffed and frozen Kong classics
  • A Kong Wobbler (I taped up the hole a bit with duct tape to make it harder)
  • A Rockin Treat Ball (which I also taped up to make harder), and
  • A Busy Buddy,
  • A Bob-a-Lot
  • I've also heard good things about the IQ Treat Ball, and the Buster Cube
  • [I]SIDEBAR: This is going to be a-w-e-s-o-m-e for SA dogs when it comes out!! I already have one pre-ordered![/I]
  • Zylkene - an OTC t's made out of a milk protein... it's not an Rx, so you [I]can[/I] order it online, but it's apparently only [I]supposed [/I]to be available through vets (so be wary of purchasing it online). If your vet can't get it send me a PM and I can give you the name of a vet who could mail you a bottle. My 60lb pup gets 450 mg/day. [/LIST]

    Those things won’t necessarily help, though. Here is a video of Chewie on Clomicalm and a huge dose of Xanax, plus wearing a Thundershirt sprayed with DAP, and with a treat ball/squeaky toys/a marrow bone. He is moderately distracted by his toys for the first 5 minutes, but you can see after that he literally barks until the camera runs out (I know for sure he had done this for 4-5 hours at a stretch without stopping). If you skip to 28:30 or 38:55, you can see glimpses of his distress.

    If you do all those things and your dog is still unhappy, you may need to go to your vet for a pharmaceutical intervention. DO NOT accept anything like Xanax or Klonopin. It’s very difficult for dogs to learn while they are tranquilized, so a tranquilizer are really a band-aid on a bullet wound for SA. Not to mention tranquilizers can have paradoxical effects in some dogs and make them MORE nervous.

    A better choice IMO is Clonodine, an alpha-2 agonist that essentially suppresses the sympathetic nervous system (meaning it impairs the dog’s ability to be experience arousal/hyper-vigilance/the general physiological effects of anxiety).

    Chewie gets the Clonodine twice a day- once an hour before I leave for work, and once at the beginning of his hour-long afternoon walk with our dog walker. It has been nothing short of a miracle drug.

    Here is a video of Chewie one week into medication. He’s been on it for about 3 months now, and he has adjusted to a point of where he sleeps about 85% of the time and just hanging out calmly/playing with toys the remainder of the time.

    Final note: if you’re so inclined, consider picking up a cheap webcam. My SO and I both work 8-5 and have long commutes, so being able to keep tabs on Chewie’s progress (and keep an eye on our dog walker) has been great for our peace of mind. We have this one and it’s been great- you can access the video feed remotely from your phone or computer, remotely pan anywhere in the room you might want to see, it has infrared night vision that is startlingly clear, etc. You can even talk to the dog through it!

  • [QUOTE=alto;7659608]
    If she needs to be crated, then this is pretty much the only “safe” version (you can buy direct from the manufacturer, this was just a quick link :slight_smile: )

    BUT this is really an anxiety issue & I’d look to behaviorists & veterinary care for management ideas - if you’re lucky she will be OK loose in a “safe” room, but reading your posts, I’m concerned that her behavior will escalate as she matures.
    You sound as if you’re doing wonderful with her, but do some research on separation anxiety in dogs, especially look for resources in your area.

    She’s been very fortunate not to have been injured during her breakouts.[/QUOTE]

    I wouldn’t call that crate safe. I agree the OP’s dog probably wouldn’t be able to break out of it, but he’s likely to severely damage several teeth in the process. I agree with you that this issue needs a behaviorist moreso than just a device.

    My dog was terrified of crates when I rescued her. Thankfully she’s safe in my house, but my place is definitely puppy-proofed. Recycling & trash are put in cabinets. All food is in the fridge. Nothing yummy or chewy is anywhere near her height (the height she can jump). It’s definitely helped me be neater, since there was no guarantee she wouldn’t chew it otherwise! Thankfully she’s very well-behaved in a puppy-proofed room, and she’ll just sleep on the bed all day. I did eventually get her crate-trained, but she’ll still break out if she panics. So I try to never put her in that situation.

    Kennel-Aire makes a crate with 1 inch squares - too small to get teeth or paws through. They also have very secure latches. I think you can still order them from Drs Foster and Smith. Definitely there is some separation anxiety that needs to be dealt with too.

    [QUOTE=independentlyawesome;7661920]
    I wouldn’t call that crate safe.[/QUOTE] Crates designed to actually contain? :slight_smile:

    I included the link as the OP sounded like she wanted a containment crate.

    http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/k9-kennel-4-ft-w-x-6-ft-l-x-4-ft-h?cm_vc=-10005 I had to put one of these in our basement

    While I think you may have found a short term solution in just limiting her to a room in the house, in the long term, there are benefits to having a pet well adjusted to being crated. For example, in the event of a medical procedure. Most pets that need to undergo treatment or surgery will be kept in a kennel for observation pre and post op that is the size of or smaller than a crate you’d use at home. Pets that get crazed in a crate can create a host of complications during or after treatment. Also, you never know if you might have to fly. I NEVER thought I’d have to fly with my dogs, but wouldn’t you know…it’s eminent now.

    So I definitely think it’s a “skill” every pet (even cats) needs to have.

    That said, I had a friend who got a dog that behaved similarly for about the first year they had him. If they needed to go to the store or leave for any length of time, he came to my house to hang with my dog. Else, he’d bloody his paws and destroy the crate and risk breaking teeth. He was adamant about escape.

    Eventually, I think he got okay with crating but he needed a lot of time to realize that his people were coming back and being alone wasn’t cause for life or death escape methods to be employed.

    [QUOTE=Donkaloosa;7658357]
    Try putting her in her crate with her munchy/toy/treat, close it up, then walk away,leave the house for a minute or two, go back in, release her, praise and reward. Build up the time slowly — she’ll know you will be coming back and may learn to deal with the separation.

    Try covering her crate with a blanket. Some dogs do better like that, makes it more cave or den-like.

    Try having the radio or tv on as background noise. That might be enough for her to settle down since she won’t be alone.

    And some dogs just do better loose in a bigger area.

    Good luck![/QUOTE]

    Bzzt on the blanket. Sometimes they eat the blanket. I own the t-shirt.

    [QUOTE=LauraKY;7663941]
    Bzzt on the blanket. Sometimes they eat the blanket. I own the t-shirt.[/QUOTE]

    My dog took his Thundershirt off and ate it.

    :lol: