Late Onset Separation Anxiety/crate Hate

[Guest KingCoryNCourt]

Hi All,

 

I've received tons of help in the past when posting questions, so I thought this would be a great place to start in regards to a recent issue we've been experiencing with King. We've had King for about 4 months now and while he's never been in love with the idea of going in his crate when we leave for work for the day (he's crated from 730-330 M-F), he very quickly adapted to his little space while Cory & I were at work and behaved quite nicely while we were gone (we watch him via a webcam while at work). There was little-no barking, no accidents, and pretty much just a whole lot of sleep. He would act out here and there when we would crate him for an hour or two on the weekends if we went to dinner or ran errands, but since it was outside of his normal schedule we didn't think much of it (this meant a little barking when we left until he settled).

 

Unfortunately, within the past 3-4 weeks, he's been having a much harder time in the crate. He now shreds any blanket or pad we put in there, bites on the metal, and even barks for hours on end. I thought maybe he had outgrown his crate and maybe would do better confined to an open room instead, so we tried that for a few hours last week. He knocked over a small kitchen table, pulled jackets off of the wall, peed on a wall etc. Because of that instance, we went back to crating him, but due to the mess we find when we get home (shredded blankets, he somehow manages to push all shavings out of the crate etc), we realize he's not doing so hot in the crate either. He even had an accident (pee) today. I'm calling this late-onset separation anxiety, but not quite sure what to do about it. Do we just whole-heartedly commit to no-crating and let him take a week or two to adjust? Or continue crating? We want to do what's best for him, but are completely unsure of what that might be at this point.

 

any help is appreciated!

[Time4ANap]

He may do just fine without the crate, but the best route would be to try a little at a time. If he was behind a closed door when you tired leaving him out, that often doesn't go well with greyhounds.

 

Others here can probably give you better tips for phasing in run of the house. We went from crating to just leaving Rocket out all the time with no adjustment period needed. He has never bothered anything and if we are only gone for a few hours, we often find him sleeping right where we left him. We did leave his crate open so he could go in if he wanted to, but usually found him in it only if there was a sunbeam involved.

 

Good luck.

[palmettobug]

Johnny refused to use the crate after a month or so, I muzzled him until I felt I could trust him with the cats.

[Batmom]

Dogproof well, don't leave him closed in a small room, use the kennel muzzle (plastic basket muzzle) if you have one, and leave him outside the crate. You can improve your chances of success with this by giving him some extra exercise (long walk, playtime in the yard, etc.) before you leave, if the weather allows. You may also need to do some alone training but I'll leave the big description of that for another time.

 

It sounds like he is fussing in the crate, and you don't want to come home to broken teeth or worse.

[3greytjoys]

Ditto Batmom's suggestion.

 

Also, even if King has a tiring power walk (including ample non-rushed potty stops) within an hour or so of your departure, ensure he has one more brief potty opportunity within the last 5-10 minutes before humans leave the house, Plus, please arrange for King to have a mid-day potty break, whether one of you go home at lunch, or hire a dog sitter/walker, or teach Greyhound safety to rely on a dog experienced adult neighbor. A full work day is too long for many dogs to be forced to hold urine and bowel, especially newly adopted dogs. (Our group requires potty outings every 4 hours during the day, especially important for young, newly retired, crated dogs.) Four months is still very early in the adjustment period. We see settling changes in Greyhounds well into the first couple of years, and beyond. If King has had repeating episodes of panic while trying to avoid messing in his crate for many hours, it could be a cause desperate barking, shredding bedding, etc. It may help to understand the timing of his restless activities.

 

Remember to tall dog-proof any room/s to which he will have access. Okay to baby-gate him into the most family used room/s during the day (i.e., where he feels most comfortable while humans are home). Good luck, and please let us know how it goes in case additional options are needed.

 

[GeorgeofNE]

What everyone else said.

 

The crate is not intended to be a permanent solution in retirement. Think of it as a transitional device! Some dogs do love them; clearly yours is not one of them.