Howling in crate when home alone

[Esther and Joey]

hi there,

joey is a 8 months next week. we live in NYC in an apartment building. we started leaving joey home alone crated, for up to 4 hours at a time. she used to do great until she got used to not being left alone. today i crated her home alone for the first time in a couple of week. i record her audio and sounds like she was howling for 10 min at a time every hour.

i left her with a good stuffed bone, which she got through half. i came home to silence but i know she was howling. what else can i do? she has several of her favorite chew toys (stuffed something, bully stick, etc). when will this stop .....

[Rhonda, Marabelle & Jeriki]

Do you leave the TV or radio on for her when you are gone?  I would start crateing a little while you are at home too, for an hour or so at a time. Put your earphones in and continue with daily activities. That way she understands that you are busy sometimes and the crate is a safe place. I crate Marabelle while I prepare dinner, or if I want to lay down and read, maybe a little nap lol.

 

Rhonda

[Angela, Wheeler & Wicket]

My Wheeler went through this & still would if left in a crate. We tried everything to break him of it, we fed him in his crate, I would lean in with him & pet him, we played fun games to get him to go in out, we tried everything the trainer suggested to make his crate a fun place, even a stuffed Kong that normally takes him about 45 min. to empty, he wouldn't touch it, while in his crate! He even now, he's 10 months has problems. I even had to switch groomers cause they wouldn't make just his appt, they would make numerous at one time & I could hear him howling as soon as I would walk in from being in a crate, his new groomer calls right away when he's done & keeps him with the girls in the office until I get there in about 15 min. The only thing that has worked for us, is putting him in a larger area. We are very fortunate that he only chews on his toys, so we were able to put his bed in the kitchen & put gates up & he was much better, never howled but he still won't play with anything while we are gone, his toys are always where we left them! Now he has the run of the whole downstairs, so we always leave the tv on for him. Vet says it's separation anxiety, but lucky for us, he never destroys anything, he just lays there waiting for us. Good luck, it's very hard when their not comfortable!

[Mimi Linna, Lilly and Lolly]

lilly was also a bonnie winer in the crate. well more like a screamin' banchee. We also started crating her at home while we are eating. She did the "I hate you" howl and we just ignored her. After a week, she got over it and now knows we will let her out and just sits there. good luck