So, I posted this picture on FB already, so some of you may have seen it. But this is what Sheba did when left alone for THREE hours.

She destroyed a LOT of personal things that can never be replaced, but that is not her fault and I know that.

Now, we have been having this problem a LOT lately. I am not too sure if this is due to her coming into her teen phase or not, but she has been a holy TERROR in her crate. We have always been battling crate issues with her. When she was really little, she had no problems. She hit around 4 months and it was AWFUL. She couldn't last even an hour. After around 6 months she was good again. Now she's bad again..obviously.

I will say this time may have not been her fault as she was with my boyfriend all day. His definition and MY definition of a walk are LITERALLY a mile difference. I keep explaining to him that Sheba is getting older and a lot more crazy, therefore she needs more walks. UGH! Completely different rant though .

So anyway. I leave her with her frozen KONG. I leave with her with Zuke Bones.. Sometimes she does amazing. Other times she can't last more then three hours. She hasn't howled when I've been at work for a rather long time. Now the last two weeks in a row my neighbor has texted me saying she's been freaking out ever since I left. I'm at a loss.

OH. I should add the only time I have issues with her are when she is crated AT NIGHT. The TV is left on and she has a nightlight that stays on.

Any advice?? She gets at least two 2-3 mile walks before she is crated and she usually has something in her crate to keep her attention.

I am very glad you posted this!! Our female lab mix is just as bad. Soon as you walk out the door you hear her starting barking and destroying the crate. (She has chewed a hole in the side of the HOUSE when we tried a chain, after she escaped the 40' by 70' outdoor dog kennel that not even the husky gets out of- and ate a wood door in HALF.) So, I will be keeping an eye out for an all the helpful tips that you receive and maybe steal a few.

I am very sorry at your loss of irreplaceables! I am glad you are not blaming her for it. Maybe it is not the longer walks, But maybe separation anxiety?

LokiTheHusky wrote:

Maybe it is not the longer walks, But maybe separation anxiety?

That I don't doubt at all. Chris (boyfriend) tells me as soon as I leave with Kennedy, even if it is just to take her outside to potty...she freaks out. Balls to the wall freaks out. I have been walking the girls separate, so when I left with Kennedy, Sheba would get a special treat. However when Chris is home, I don't give her a treat because she doesn't need to be kenneled. He tells me that she stands at the door and howls and cried the entire time I am gone. Not sure how to tackle that besides her own special treat she gets. She has me at a loss.

I bet that is what is causing her to do so in the crate. Here is a list of things that can suddenly cause it that I stumbled upon awhile ago and had book marked

Quote :

There are many theories on this one. In some cases the cause or trigger can be pinpointed to a particular event, but often there appears to be no explanation for the dog separation anxiety to commence. What I can say is that separation anxiety in dogs regularly occurs:
Straight after a change in routine. Such as your work hours changing or a family member leaving home. Remember dogs are creatures of habit and any changes can be very unsettling and confusing to them.
If you have been on vacation or unemployed for some time and have been spending heaps of time with your dog. As a result of this when you go back to work your dog becomes anxious and distressed.
Unfortunately dogs rescued from animal shelters contribute a highly disproportionate number of dog separation anxiety cases.
After your dog experiences a traumatic event while on his own. If a thunderstorm lashes your home while your dog is alone, this can trigger separation anxiety in the future - your dog will associate your absence with the traumatic event.
If your dog is rarely left alone and becomes overly reliant on his human family - Golden Retrievers are very susceptible to this type of separation anxiety in dogs.
When you move house to a new neighborhood.

Here is the link to where I got the above, It has a nice long list on things that can maybe help.

http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com/separation-anxiety-in-dogs.html

I've never had this issue with Karli but I also have a different crate. We got one of those vari kennels and cover it with a blanket so its dark inside. I don't know if that would be something you'd want to try (makes it seem like a den and I got mine used for $30). It does sound like separation anxiety and that's a tough one. You could try the thunder shirts but I don't know how well those work.

Yep it's just separation anxiety. Just start with the basics of crate training and work up slowly. Once you get to a point where she starts flipping out it's time to work there.


In the meantime you can try playing classical music while your gone. Rock music vs classical music made a huge difference with my Loki's howling.

Another thing that helped tremendously was a Thundershirt. Those things work on a case-by-case basis, though.

What if when you take Kennedy, Chris does some special training with Sheba to try to break her of freaking out when you leave with her? Some positive distraction could help.

We had the same problem with Mila. When we first brought her home, she destroyed my living room while we were outside on the patio and she wasn't. Even though she could see us, she went nuts. Then she started freaking out in the mornings when my husband left for work and she didn't realize I was still in the bed. If I took 20 seconds to pee, she freaked. It was really bad, and it turned into me taking her everywhere with me. If she couldn't go with me, I just wouldn't go. Because for some reason she couldn't be alone inside for 2 seconds without flipping her lid, but I could leave her in my truck for HOURS and she would just curl up and take a nap. We tried everything, the really long walk, leaving music on, gave her a toy and a bone in her crate, didn't make a big deal about leaving, all of it. I left for literally 15 mins one time and I could hear her howling when I got out of the car. She never destroyed anything, but she dug and pulled on the crate walls with her teeth. I had a trainer tell me it is extremely rare for dogs to truly have separation anxiety, that it's always behavioral. I'm sorry but my dog was visibly stressed. She was panting like crazy, pacing, digging, howling like she was dying.

SO, now that I've given you a novel's worth of the back story lol. About a week and a half ago, we had no choice but to leave her. So I took a huge leap of faith and gave her her dinner on the patio and we bailed out. The entire time I was gone I was freaking out. I just knew I was going to come back to her covered in blood from trying to get inside. I was having mental images of her crashing through the glass door, hanging herself off our balcony, slicing herself open and bleeding out before we could get back and save her (yeah I know, a bit dramatic. But when you've seen some of the things I have that animals have done, you'd get the same mental images). We were gone for 2 hours, and when we got back she was completely fine. There was no blood, nothing broken, she wasn't stressed, she hadn't had the nervous poos all over the place, she was just laying there hanging out. So now I can leave her out there if I have to and she's fine, and she doesn't sleep in her crate anymore either. She doesn't destroy anything, she comes and gets me if she has to potty before I wake up, she leaves the cat alone, she doesn't even get on my couch (she's not allowed). Someone else on here had told me to try leaving her outside of her crate and I just never did trust her enough to do it. I wish I had tried it sooner.

Would that even be an option for you? To leave her outside of her crate, or would she destroy everything?