14 yr old dog in apartment for the first time. Help!

cmeinla

I feel so stuck and defeated. 

We recently moved into an apartment complex.  We had been living out in the country, where she could be outside when both H and I had to work.  We got a crate for her and she HATES it.  She busted out of it the first two times we put her in.  She destroyed the plastic tray that was on the bottom of it, and demolished the pillow that we had put in there for her.  We've tried giving her treats every time we put her in.  And I tried leaving a DVD on for her so she would have some sound to keep her company.  No Dice.  Her crate is in the bedroom, I hid in the living room and listened to see how it would work, she barked and whined for 20 minutes straight.  We've been there a little over a week and one neighbor has already mentioned the noise to me, but no official complaints have been made yet.

We can't leave her out of the crate, we tried that one time and she tore a hole in the wall trying to get out the door.  

We think we've got the crate fixed so she can't escape now, but what can I do to make her happier while she's in there.  

 

Caz1221

How did you introduce her to the crate?  I think it helps if you very gradually introduce her, praising and rewarding for even going near the crate, then working up to going in the crate without closing the door, then closing the door for a few second, then a minute, and working up to the amount of time she will need to be in there while you are gone. 

In addition to doing gradual crate training, I would try some or all of these other things:

• Make sure she's getting enough exercise and mental stimulation so her natural reaction is to sleep/rest in the crate.  In addition to tiring her out, it can decrease separation anxiety.
• Have a super-special treat that she only gets when she is in the crate.  Lots of people opt for Kongs that are stuffed with PB, yogurt, banana, cottage cheese, etc. and then frozen (to make them last longer) because they are generally safe even if the dog is unsupervised.
• Implement the "treat fairy" - hide treats in the crate when she's not around so she can find them later.  This worked like magic for my non-crate-trained rescue.
• Try a different type of crate (if you have a wire crate, try a plastic airline-type crate because some dogs prefer those) or put a blanket/towel over the crate to create more of a den-like atmosphere.  This is another thing that really helped my pup.
• Maybe try Rescue Remedy or some other holistic calming remedy.
• You might want to look at the book "I'll Be Home Soon" about separation anxiety and treating it.

Don't beat yourself up - you've only been in the new place for a very short time, and you are absolutely doing the right thing by creating a safe space for your dog while you are away.  My rescue pup barked/whined for 15 minutes the first 4-5 nights we had him because he was allowed to sleep in his foster mom's bed every night.  I used many of the tools listed above, and now he's totally fine with the crate.  GL!

married2thebest

You could check out a DVD called crate games which helps dogs learn to be reinforced for being in their crates. It is available from and online site called Clean Run. I agree with the treats and the stuffed Kong.