Adjusting

[Spuds Family]

"Baby Spuds" as my son calls him, is resting  by my feet as the 2 other dogs sit quietly in their window seat!!! We are all in the same room and everybody is CALM!!!  

Spuds has been having issues with separation anxiety.  He hates his crate, and will cry and bark and drool and foam at the mouth when I put him in it.  I tried to leave him loose in the laundry room or the bathroom, with tv left on for noise, toys water ect. with a closed door, but he scratches on the door, barks and cries and drools.  I tried using a baby gait and he jumps over it.  It's been a long two weeks of trying to get him to adjust to the crate.  He is not safe to leave in the house alone. The other two dogs stay in the laundry room but I can't leave all 3 alone together so then I had Spuds in the bathroom.  Still he cried and barked and drooled with foam. So I put Spuds in his cage in the laundry room with the other 2 dogs loose, hoping they all will feel like a pack. It's better but not great.  SIGH.

I am determined to get the outside underground wired fence up and working so that I can train Spuds to play more outside especially without being on a leash. But I don't think the issue is too much energy.  He is still going to have to get use to his crate. We use his crate for multiple purposes.  1. as a safe place when we are not home. 2. as a means of giving him a resting break away from the family to develop alone time. 3. aid in potty training, If I can not be around him to watch him he is in the cage to increase chances potty training.

New topic: Spuds is 16 weeks today, and he is 12 pounds.  He is a mini doodle, but I am wondering how big will he end up to be?  The breeder estimated 20-25 pounds, so he definitely has more growing to do, so the medium crate should be adequate.   What I have read was that larger dogs keep growing up to 2 years old.  Smaller dogs growth slow down after 4 months but continue to usually 6 months to 1 year.  He is still a puppy but I can see him learning more verbal cues like sit, leave it, and come.

Well that enough venting for one day.  I might as well enjoy the peace and quiet.

Have a great day

[Spuds Family]

I put all of Spuds toys  into his crate and some food.  While he was in the crate he wouldn't touch them.  When I left him out, he walked into his crate to grab his toy and ate some food.  I hope this is a phase that he will outgrow.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We have a dog with separation anxiety who we were never able to crate, however we didn't belong to a great site like this to get and take advantage of great advice.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Be sure to use the crate for treat time also.  If it is big enough, you could even feed him in there.  My Ned weighed about what Spuds weighed at the same age.  Ned is now 28 pounds.  he reached that by about 8 months.

[Spuds Family]

Lori,

Thanks for the advice. I have tried putting treats in the crate and he finds them and eats them, I even put a kong with peanut butter in the crate.  I put food in his crate so he goes in and gets the food. I am trying to gradually add more time to the crate.  I sit next to the crate, I talk to him so he knows I am home. I have tried about everything.  When I take him out of the crate, he is wet and his mouth is foamy.  It doesn't matter if he is in the crate for 20 minutes or an hour.  When I take him out, he puts his arms around me and licks my face, almost as if saying thank you for saving me from that awful crate. 

I am home for the most part during the day now, and the kids will be out of school for the summer.  But when the fall comes around he will have to stay in the crate or closed door room for a good part of the day.  Whatever room/crate he can manage without causing harm to himself or the house. So I am trying not to disrupt the schedule/crate training.

[Lori, Rooney & Zuzu]

Have you tried any slow introductions to the crate, like sitting next to it with the door open and tossing treats inside? If he will go in at all do you treat and pet and work on creating positive associations? I'm sure you've tried these things but it's all I can think to suggest...

We had one of those Snuggle Puppies for Rooney when he first came home and he loved it (until he got his grown up teeth and decided to shred poor Snuggle Puppy). Maybe something like that would help Spud feel less alone?