My dog barks in crate with separation anxiety. What really works?

Hello, thank you for your question about Moose. I have provided some information from a handout on crate training, it can be tough and challenging but you are doing a great job already! Moose is likely exhibiting these behaviors because he knows you are leaving him and he is trying to do anything to get you to stay and take him from the crate. Why should I crate train my puppy? Crate training is a great way to limit your puppy’s access to your house while he learns appropriate behavior. It will cut down on the number of “accidents” while your puppy is learning to be housetrained, and will reduce destroying and chewing of furniture or other household items. It will give you more peace of mind and freedom to be away from home during your puppy’s growing up period. If your puppy is used to being crated it will also be easier and less stressful for him to travel, to be in a cage at the veterinarian, or to be confined for any other reason in the future. You may choose to continue to use the crate into your dog’s adulthood as his very own comfortable “room”. Why does it work? In the wild, dogs naturally seek out dens for sleeping quarters. Presumably this is because they are closed with only one entrance, giving the dog a sense of security. Dogs instinctively do not like to soil in their dens and will go outside to eliminate. Crating your dog is simply using his instinct not to soil in his den, and so therefore allowing you to gradually teach him that your whole house is his “den” and to only eliminate outside. Some people feel apprehensive about crating their dog, thinking that it is mean and that their dog won’t like it. However, since dogs seek out dens on their own, a crate is both natural and comforting to a puppy. How do I choose a crate? Both wire and plastic crates are available. Both work well, so it really depends on your personal preference. Keep in mind that plastic crates can be used for airline travel while wire crates may be collapsible, thus easier for storage. Getting the right size is very important. Your dog should be able to stand up and turn around freely in his crate, but it should not be big enough for him to have a separate toilet area. If your puppy is going to grow a lot more, get a crate that will be big enough for him as an adult, but block the back area so it is not big enough for him to have a separate toilet area now. How do I crate train my puppy? First, make sure the crate is comfortable by placing a towel or bed inside. Place the crate in a common area and put toys and treats inside for your puppy to discover. Don’t ever force your puppy into the crate, as going in should always be a positive experience. Praise him every time that he goes into the kennel. After he is comfortable going inside his crate for treats, beginning feeding his meals inside the crate. Start closing door while he is eating, but open it before he is done. Next, leave the door closed for longer increments of time, building slowly. Never open door when he is whining or scratching, but only open it when he is quiet. If he is consistently whining, he is being closed in for too long, so go back to an amount of time he tolerates well and increase more slowly. After that, start crating him at other times besides his meals. Always give him an incentive to go into the crate (treats, food-filled toys, such as a Kong®, toy etc.). First stay in the room with him and then start leaving the room for short increments of time, building very slowly. Once he handles this well you can start leaving the house for short periods of time, again slowly increasing length of time. The length of time it takes for a puppy to learn varies from dog to dog, so remember that patience is key for your puppy’s success!

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach to address your concern! Unfortunately, separation anxiety can be quite difficult to address for most dogs. I usually recommend a multi modal approach. I recommend the following non-prescription approach prior to anything prescription: 1. NaturVet Quiet Moments calm chews plus Melatonin (can be found online quite easily. 2. Adaptil pheromone collar 3. Adaptil diffuser 4. Thundershirt In combination with this, I typically recommend providing plenty of toys such as a kong toy filled with peanut butter and some other noise making toys. I have recently recommended a product called the Pet Cube. This allows you to watch him via an app on your phone remotely and you can even control a laser pointer and interact with him while you are away. If this does not work or the behavior worsens, I typically recommend adding in anti-anxiety medications such as Trazodone, Amitriptyline, Clomipramine (clomicalm), etc. in combination with the above recommendations. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Don't worry- you are not alone in this separation anxiety issue Oren seems to be having. This is very common but can be very frustrating for everyone involved- including Oren! Anxiety can be very energy draining, so I am not surprised to hear about the exhaustion experienced when you get home. A few tips, though, can help with this. Keep the crate area very comfortable and inviting with lots of soft blankets. Spray a bit of Adaptil Spray (pheromone spray) you can purchase at your local pet supplies store around the crate area and blankets 15 mins before you leave. Take a kong toy and stuff it with low fat peanut butter or low fat plain yogurt and freeze it overnight. Take it out 10 mins before you leave and offer it to Oren to keep him entertained and busy while you are in the process of leaving and while you are away. Playing music or the radio can help as well. Claiming chewables with L-theanine in them daily can help lower anxiety levels naturally. SSRIs prescribed to Oren by his veterinarian can help with cases that do not improve even with behavioral modifications if Oren continues to have trouble with separation anxiety. I hope this helps and best of luck!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This would be considered some type of anxiety which you could say it is separation anxiety specifically. This is not uncommon actually. I would recommend you discourage this behavior as much as possible. You can try doing positive reinforcement which basically means to praise and reward him with treats when he does the desired behavior which is staying quiet when locked in cage. Persistence is really the key to success. Eventually they can do great. Good luck!

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

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. It sounds like Loki has a fitting name! Unfortunately, he has separation anxiety and this can be difficult to correct many times. I would recommend providing him with plenty of toys including the kong toy that allows you to insert peanut butter or small treats so that he has to really work to get the treat. Adaptil priducta, which can be found online, can also help. If you are unable to correct this behavior, I would try NaturVet quiet moments calm chews with Melatonin which can be found online or at your local pet store. If there is still no improvement after trying these, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine him so that the most appropriate treatment can be recommended such as anti anxiety medicatioms. 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.

Hi there. I would recommend giving Brady a special treat whenever you put him in his crate, such as a Kong toy stuffed with peanut butter. This will help to keep him busy so he doesn't bark, and will also teach him to associate good things with being in his crate. You should only leave him in the crate for short periods right now, and let him out before he finishes his treat so that he doesn't have a chance to get anxious or upset. As he gets more comfortable with the crate, you can gradually increase the amount of time he spends there. You could certainly try a Thundershirt if you want to - it seems to be helpful for some anxious dogs. Other things that might be helpful would include an Adaptil pheromone collar, or a natural calming supplement such as Zylkene or Composure.