People Share Tips For Crate Training Your Dog And Dealing With Separation Anxiety

If you have a dog crate trained then you know the process to get there was probably a little bumpy.

Daphnie

• Published in Animal Stories
• March 17, 2024

Having a dog as a pet is something that many people can relate to and we definitely understand why. I mean, they are man's best friend, but dogs can be a handful at times.

Some people might not know everything that goes into caring for a dog, but one thing is that you should crate-train them, especially as puppies. This means putting them into a crate appropriate for their size whenever you leave the house, which can prevent them from getting into stuff, chewing things, or going to the bathroom in the house if they're not trained.

However, some dogs just don't enjoy the crate, they bark, or they deal with separation anxiety when their owners leave the home. With this being said, we're going to look at this Quora question that was submitted by someone looking for advice on how to train and deal with their dog inside the crate because they bark the whole time.

This is definitely a situation that we've heard before and if you know anyone with a dog, you may have experienced the same thing. People did have a lot of clever answers so if you're interested in reading more then stay tuned for us to give you all the best answers here.

Here's what the original Quora question said.

People were pretty helpful in their answers to this question.

Start with small steps. Put her in her crate. Tell her you will be home soon and leave for 5 or 10 mins. When you get home and let her out give her a treat and extra love and attention. Next time stay a little longer and a little longer until she is confident you will be home soon and give her a treat and love.

Just know if you are leaving her in a crate for a long work day this probably won't help as puppies especially have a lot of energy and need exercise and attention throughout the day

Dogs may eventually learn to love their crate and that's what people are telling them.

That’s a good question. When we first get a puppy, the first thing we do is crate train them. The pup gets its own toy and a cookie or two whenever we leave her in the crate…including bedtime. Be sure she has a nice blanket and maybe a soft toy she can cuddle with, but not eat.

Let her know when you are going somewhere that it’s good girl time and take her out to go poddy. When she returns she goes into her cage to get her good girl cookie. Then leave her after telling her what a good girl she is and happily tell her you will be home soon and to take a nap.

When you return, take her right outside, and maybe give her a good girl cookie for having been a good girl while you were gone. Always works for us. She head right for her crate when she sees us getting ready to go out, even before we take her out to go poddy first.

She loves her crate. Be sure it is warm and cozy and cover it to keep the sun out she she feels safe in her ‘den’.

This guy definitely tried putting things into perspective for OP.

You, yourself, have just been “adopted” by a family. The family goes out for a couple hours for dinner. They have left you, a relative stranger to them, in your bedroom. Your door is locked, you MIGHT have water or some food (you are young and STILL growing) and have NOTHING to occupy yourself.

How about a couple toys? How about a nice piece of jerky to chew on? Are you scared to be in that still strange situation? I’ll bet you are. What are you gonna do?

People were pretty helpful with their advice here.

Puppies are pack dogs and experience separation anxiety when left alone, especially while young. We give our puppy a Konga ball filled with treats (usually carrots, celery n peanut butter) to keep her busy while we are gone. I will also turn the music on or the tv on for her which seems to help.

We totally understand why dogs act this way when left and left in a cart but hopefully, the OP can take some of this advice and keep their dog comfortable. It's a common thing to deal with so asking a question about it here definitely was the right call.

Daphnie