Re-Crating Kiba

shandrew

Does anyone have experience with re-crating their dog? So when we first got Kiba...he wasn't that much of a chewer....but in the last month, he has really done a lot of destruction to our place. He has ruined our couch...almost beyond repair, chewed up our plants, digital camera, shoes, walls, moldings and carpet. We tried to crate Kiba as soon as we got him...but the screaming was so loud and so persistent that we could not take it anymore, and decided to leave him out in our living room with Shinobi. This worked well up until a few weeks ago when he started eating everything in sight. I don't think he's teething since he's 6.5 months old...i think he's just acting out. He never chews things when we are home and he has free reign at nighttime, but everything is alway in tact. We tried to leave him in the kitchen which seemed to work ok for a little bit, until yesterday when we came home and there was hole through the dry wall in the kitchen. This morning i decided to crate him while at work, but i feel terrible since i'm not sure if he will be ok. I gave him lots of toys to keep him busy, but when he's upset, he has no interest in toys or food. I feel like this is a huge step backwards, and it's my fault since we should have stuck it through in the beginning.  Now i worry that Kiba will be more distraught with the crate, since he hasn't been confined like this in a long time. Has anyone experienced this before? And if so, how did your dog deal with being re-crated?

boo i feel like a bad parent...

scarlet

I had to spray down my baseboards where Jake chewed.  Something I got from PetStuff, and I also used hot sauce on the corners.  I haven't had problems since.  I  also leave a good fresh frozen butcher knuckle bone so he can chew til he's content, some music on in the background.  He's 9 months now and it's been a couple since I've had problems (Knock, Knock, Knock on baseboard wood).

I could not crate my dog for 10 hours a day.  I could replace the baseboards.

brandon_w

Puppies destroy things and they should be in crates when they can't be supervised for their own safety (who knows what they could ingest) and so everything you have doesn't end up destroyed.  Just keep up with the crating and keeping it a safe/nice place for him to go and he should take to it.  Some people around here might have more help with dealing with any separation anxiety that Kiba might be having when crated.

dlroberts

Don't feel bad. I know how tough it is to listen to those screams. You just have to develop thicker skin. I would put his crate in a place that you spend a lot of time. Start by putting him in there when you are around and leave him in there for 30 seconds or a minute. Give him a treat when he goes in. Do this repeatedly a couple of times a day. Slowly increase the length of time he stays in the crate. After you have built it up to 10 or 15 minutes, put him in and let him settle and then leave the room for a few minutes. Again, repeat this process. Keep increasing the amount of time you put him in the crate for and the amount of time you leave the room for as well. Eventually, you'll be able to leave him in there for as long as he can hold his bladder and he won't mind at all. Joey, my young puppy, cried like a banshee when I first started crating him. I just had to ignore him. Now, he'll go in there on his own to take a nap!

tsukitsune

well seperation anxiety is a bitch if they are not crated, many many things get ruined!

with the basset hound, he would howl and howl and go all kinds of potty in his crate and chewed many towels. awful. we just kept it persistant and kept him in that crate while we were gone. You can't hear the dog crying when you are not there, once you leave the house, don't worry about it. You left him safe and sound, and eventually he will stop crying and sleep - even if he just falls asleep out of sheer exausted anxiety.

What we ended up doing was crating our shibas and the basset in the same room together, and the basset calmed down tremendously.

Since he was a foster dog, I didn't want to train him to my routine - but that is what they say to do with true separation anxiety - create a routine in the morning, then try this on a day you do not have to leave: when you crate him, maybe pick up your keys and say "see you Kiba" than leave for a few minutes, let him cry, maybe wait to see if he stops crying, but after a few minutes, come back in the house the way you would when you come home from work and practice that routine. Wait until he calms down, do it again.

Consistancy is the key. Dogs love a routine they can rely on.

dlroberts

I should add to that, you don't want to take him out of the crate while he is crying. He'll quickly learn that crying = being taking out of the crate. I got Joey to stop pretty quickly by turning and walking away when he started crying. I would walk to the crate and as long as he remained calm, I would take him out. As soon as he even started to whimper, I would close the latches again, walk away, and start the whole process over again. Now, he *sits* patiently while I open the door and waits for me to release him to come out. It took me less than a week to get that across to him.

tsukitsune

can you train my Kitsune, Dave??

dlroberts

Sure Jen, in all of my spare time. :-P

tsukitsune

now that you have lucy to worry about, I won't hold you to it. I know I can do it, I just feel he loves to challenge me, seeing if I will break or yield. You being a man and all, maybe he wouldn't be as baaaad..

dlroberts

Hahaha. I wouldn't count on that. Lucy loves to challenge me too. You just have to be more stubborn then he is.

shandrew

Thanks you guys for all of the advice! You're right...and i just need to stick to it. I think i feel worse this time around b/c it's like i teased him with free reign and then said, ' oh, wait....just kidding' And even though i know it's the right thing to do...i don't want him to feel like he did something wrong. *sigh* i guess both Kiba and I have to re-learn this one.

The crying will stop...i just have to believe it, right?

dlroberts

That's right. All you have to do is stick to it. In a few weeks you will be looking back on this and thinking..."Man, I was really upset about that for nothing."

Edgewood

Shan, I am sorry to hear that. But I do think that crating is the best course of action. Actually one of my Siberian pups did exactly what you describe with Kiba and it started around 7 mos of age (he had to be kept crated or out in a dog kennel in the yard (since I had a kennel and doghouse). He could not be left in the house alone till he as over a year and a half.

 I know that I never leave Kuma in the house alone for more than 5 to 10 minutes. If I do go out, he is either in his fenced yard (if less than 30 minutes) or the dog kennel (for longer times away). He does yipe when I leave him in the kennel and sometimes jumps up and/or throws his body against the wall (but I think he does actually quiet pretty quickly). He often pees in the straw in his kennel immediately because of anxiety of me leaving. He would probably chew if I left him unattended in the house of long periods....