My adult dog panics in her crate. How can I crate train her?

This is consistent with severe separation anxiety and will need some medical help. Talk with your vet about anti-anxiety medication which can help tremendously. (There are many different kinds.) Even with that, you will probably have to do some training and counter-conditioning. Work with a trainer or behaviorist if needed. Crate training helps some dogs with separation anxiety but can actually make some dogs worse so consider that if you’d like to try. Please note that training is very likely to fail without the medication. Eventually, you may be able to wean off of the medication but some dogs need something long-term. Best wishes to you and Penny May!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There are medications for anxiety that can work in these cases that can be used on an as needed basis such as Trazodone. This is something her veterinarian could prescribe. Good luck and have a good night!

It sounds like Gwen is a little anxious being in her crate. I would try DAP which is a plug in pheromone diffuser that helps dogs with anxiety. You can pair that with a Sentry calming collar. This also releases pheromones that help dogs with anxiety. You might consider putting a Thundershirt on her when she goes in the crate. Try these options to see how they work. If she continues to have problems with panting, then I would speak to the vet about prescribing her anti-anxiety drugs.

It sounds as if your puppy is developing serparstion anxiety. The good news is that she is still young and you have time to correct her behaviors so she can live a long happy life! I would recommend first commiting to crate training your dog. This will help prevent her from destroying things and keep her safe so she doesn't get into anything that could harm him. Crate training can take a few weeks but once she is used to the crate she will begin to feel safe there. I would also recommend taking her on a fast paced walk before you have to crate her to help drain some of his nervous energy. You can also try giving her a chew toy like a kong in the crate to keep her distracted. If these tactics do not work I would recommend talking to your vet about starting her on an anti anxiety medication until she becomes more accustomed to her crate. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck!

I am sorry to hear that this is happening. It sounds like she is anxious enough to hurt herself. When dogs are this anxious I do think that medication has a place in making them feel better. I would highly encourage you to have her evaluated by your veterinarian soon. There is a new supplement out called Solliqiun that has a lot of promise. You may consider using that first, before medication. Also, there Is a pheromone product called Adaptil that is a calming pheromone. It comes in collars and plug in diffusers. I would encourage you to purchase this as well. Best of luck and I hope she improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. It sounds like Stormy is dealing with separation anxiety. I would recommend feeding her dinner in her crate and making this a place where she wants to go and is comfortable for her. I would make sure she has plenty of room to move around in as well. You can try using the Adaptil products to see if this calms her down and relaxes her. It can take some time for a dog to become crate trained but the key is to make it an enjoyable place that she wants to be in. If she associates the crate with food and a place where she sleeps, she will hopefully find the crate less stressful. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please remember to rate this answer as helpful or not. Thank you!

Poor Brownie! You're right that this level of anxiety is not normal, and needs to be treated ASAP in order to improve his quality of life and prevent things from getting worse as he gets older. I would strongly recommend getting in touch with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate Brownie in person and help you put together a detailed plan to work on his problem - this will likely include training exercises to help build his confidence with being alone, management suggestions to help him be more comfortable while you work on the problem, and anti-anxiety medication to make him feel better in the short term. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org