The most common reason a dog will destroy their crate while alone is usually separation anxiety. Remember, dogs have evolved to be close to their pack, and their survival depends on us. As companion animals, canines are prone to hyper-attachment, not even allowing us to go to the bathroom alone.
Generally, dogs that get destructive when left alone may simply be acting out of boredom. They may also need some extra physical or mental activity. Walking your dog before leaving can release pent-up energy and get them ready to rest.
If you have a wire crate, our first piece of advice is to zip-tie all of the sides of the crate. All four corners should each have two zip ties (one at the top and one at the bottom). However, wire crates can be dangerous, as dogs can get stuck in them trying to escape. We do not recommend wire crates for most dogs.
“In my experience, the four most common breeds of dogs that exhibit signs of separation anxiety are typically Labrador Retrievers, Chihuahuas (both mixed breeds and standards), German Shepherds and Cocker Spaniels”, says Dr.
Separation anxiety is distress induced by the absence of you and/or a family member or from being isolated. Dogs with separation anxiety often attempt to destroy or escape their crate. They may hurt themselves in the process, which is why training is so important!
Separation anxiety is treatable, but treatment takes time and can be expensive. To avoid unnecessary costs, try to establish a routine that works for your schedule and that keeps your dog safe during necessary absences.
If your approach triggers an aggression response, do lots of practice sessions where you walk up to the crate and drop chicken into it, so your dog learns to associate your approach with good stuff. Never punish your dog for being aggressive in his crate – you're likely to make the behavior worse!
Much like human infants, puppies go through a stage when they lose their baby teeth and experience pain as their adult teeth come in. This intensified chewing phase usually ends by six months of age.
There are several reasons why a dog might be engaging in destructive behavior. The reasons can be as simple as teething in puppies who want to chew everything around them to relieve pain and discomfort. While this behavior mostly stops after permanent teeth grow, it may continue into adulthood.
Hitting or beating is thought to discourage bad behaviors when applied with the proper force, timing, and redirection. However, pain-based aversive techniques are risky. Studies show that they significantly increase stress, lower a dog's quality of life, and may even increase dog aggression.
Never Punish Your Dog
If your dog destroys items because they are anxious, punishment only makes things worse in the long run by setting training back, making your dog's anxiety and fear worse, and breaking the human-animal bond.
Symptoms of Crate Anxiety
Excessive barking, panting, and drooling are three additional signs that your dog is experiencing crate anxiety.
Separation anxiety describes dogs that usually are overly attached or dependent on family members. They become extremely anxious and show distress behaviors such as vocalization, destruction, or house soiling when separated from the owners.
Any major change in a dog's life can be such a triggering event. A traumatic experience to the dog could be a divorce, a terrible scary storm, a large change in schedules or loss of a loved one. There are many things that can happen that the dog perceives as scary that can lead to separation anxiety.
Help for Canine Separation Anxiety
It will not go away on its own, and most often a complete "cure" is never experienced. But, there are many things an owner can do right away to begin to ease the symptoms. Separation Anxiety can range from minor to severe.
Likewise, a dog suffering from separation anxiety would react every time she was left alone. Over a lifetime, these animals would suffer chronic repeated and uncontrolled stressful episodes. These factors could lead to decreased longevity in an individual under chronic stress.
Create routines and boundaries so your dog experiences low-intensity separation. Crate training is recommended as a preventative measure. In treating, start small in managing separation, like training your dog to stay in another room while you leave, and then work up to leaving the house.
Undesirable behaviours such as barking, chewing, counter surfing, house-soiling and jumping up commonly begin to occur at around 3-6 months of age. Your puppy will not grow out of these behaviours. On the contrary, it is more likely that these behaviours will worsen if not addressed early on.
Approximately 35% of owners and trainers voted 8-9 months as the toughest age citing new challenging behaviors associated with their puppy's now larger size such as pulling on the leash or counter-surfing. Interested in adding a new puppy to your family?