People Share Tips For Crate Training Your Dog And Dealing With Separation Anxiety
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 important aspect 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 things, chewing items, 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 experience separation anxiety when their owners leave the home. With this in mind, we're going to look at a Quora question submitted by someone seeking advice on how to train and manage their dog inside the crate because they bark the whole time.
This is definitely a situation we've heard before, and if you know anyone with a dog, you may have experienced the same thing. People provided a lot of clever answers, so if you're interested in reading more, stay tuned for us to share all the best responses 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 minutes. 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 that if you are leaving her in a crate for a long workday, 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 at 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 potty. 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. This always works for us. She heads right for her crate when she sees us getting ready to go out, even before we take her out to go potty first.
She loves her crate. Be sure it is warm and cozy, and cover it to keep the sun out so 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 of 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 of 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 going to 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 Kong ball filled with treats (usually carrots, celery, and 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 in a crate, but hopefully, the OP can take some of this advice and keep their dog comfortable. It's a common issue to deal with, so asking a question about it here definitely was the right call.
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