Separation Anxiety (Crate) with a New Pup

We have a Silver (Chocolate) lab that has been in our home now for about 10 days. As expected he has not taken to the crate very well and appears to be getting worse. The last 3 nights and today while my wife was gone for 2 hours he has basically liquid crapped all over the crate (pillow/blanket).

He was tested at the vet for any stomach ailments and nothing came up. He has been a great learner so far and when out of the crate he is already going to the door when he has to go (1&2) and can sit/heal very well during our short training sessions. But, as soon as he gets in the crate with the door shut he goes crazy and I suspect he is getting so upset that his stomach just churns until he can’t hold it.

Anyone experience this? Is it a matter of just keep working on crate training exercises.

I have a GSP, so I have experienced this extensively. To answer your question completely, I need to know a few things. At night, where does the pup sleep? Do you leave the crate open for him while you are home? Do you give him any sort of “comfort” toy in his crate while you’re gone (Kong, rope, bone)? Do you discipline him by crating him at all?

My GSP used to howl and whine so much while we were away that he would vomit in his crate from being so upset. He has since stopped that habit.

I have never experienced this.

My dogs have loved the crates. I know there are times when I am searching for the dog and finally find her sleeping in her crate. Anyway, I always left a radio playing a little loud when my dogs were young. Something to distract them somewhat. Maybe you are already doing this.

At night, where does the pup sleep?
We have the crate placed in the mud room, on the opposite side of the house

Do you leave the crate open for him while you are home?
We have off and on. Put it in a high traffic area of the house so he and the kids would climb in and out. (I accompanied some of this playing with clicks and treats)

Do you give him any sort of “comfort” toy in his crate while you’re gone (Kong, rope, bone)?
He has bones and at least one chew toy in there. He has 3 comfort toys that he primarily plays with (bigger stuffed ducks) that we have not tried putting in there with him

Do you discipline him by crating him at all?
No. He only goes in there when we have to leave and at night. My wife stays at home, so he is not in there much during the day unless she runs errands.

We let him cry himself to sleep (which I think is the right thing to do?), and have not acknowledged him when he howls in the crate after we put him in. I have set my alarm at 2 am to get up and let him out because once he settles down he has slept through the night. But, at some point in there he defecates, which I suspect is during the first 20 minutes of us putting him in there

Yikes, sounds like you are doing things correctly. I will add to never, ever let him out when he whines. Wait for him to stop (it may only be a 1-2 second break), and then let him out.

The first week or so with Ripley, I slept near the crate and soothed him (or tried to) with my voice. He acclimated to the crate quickly.

Good luck!

Perhaps a puppy pen instead? I always used pens for my pups but the last one couldnt handle the pen and the crate worked. Maybe the opposite will work for you? I feel for you. SA is not something anyone can foresee in a dog.

yeah, pen might be worth a try for a bit. I can try a baby gate him into the mud laundry room. Wonder if I should try a little light on as well?

I know this was wrong, but last night after a bath and cleanup session at 2:00 am, I put the dog bed next to our bed and he slept on the bed through the night, didn’t try to get on the bed with us at all. Maybe I try a few nights of the crate in our room

I was on the edge of creating Separation Anxiety with my pup. The best thing that worked was putting her in the crate and locking it while we were home. We’d leave her in there until she stopped whining, and freaking out. Normally 15 minutes building to an hour. We’d just be going about our normal routine but wouldn’t be out of eye sight and ear shot. Then after that we’d leave the house for 10 minutes to 30 minutes, and kept building from there.

She was freaking out about being in the crate because it meant when she went in it, we were gone. You have to try and break that association, of crate=alone. After awhile she didn’t mind being in it, and when she would get tired, she’d go lay down in it. FYI – She’s still not a fan of the crate but doesn’t whine anymore.

She also didn’t like being in there at night. I made the mistake of letting her sleep with us for the first week, and then decided she needed to at least learn to be in the crate at night.

I would take an old shirt I had worn and put it in the crate with her, that helped a little. When things were looking pretty bleak and she was whining for hours, I took her crate and slept in our guest bedroom, so my girlfriend could sleep. It happened to be right by the AC unit, and the humming of that did the trick. Her anxiety lessened over 3-4 nights and I brought her back into our room where she finally slept without whining. Some sort of repetitive droning noise, like a fan or a clock that ticks has been known to work. After a 2-3 weeks of that, she could come back and sleep in bed with us.

It was testing at times, especially when she was whining so violently, you swore she was dying! I feel your pain!

You may want to try clicker training your lab to condition it to the kennel. Google it. I’ve done this with both mine and it worked very well. Your dog will eventually love the kennel. I also had mine sleep in their kennel next to my bed at first. When they whined I just stuck my finger in the crate and gave them a little sniff and scratch. After a week or so I moved the kennel 4 feet from my bed, then across the room, then out in the hall where they could see me. Eventually out in their permanent spot. This is behavior theory at work. Seems to be anxiety based for sure. Your little buddy loves you, hope things get better.

Looks like you are doing all the right things. Sometimes it is just an adjustment. For me, my dog would hear any little noise and begin to whine while we were away, thinking it was us coming home. We now crank the country music and he’s a happy camper.

I know this isn’t the most popular or right resolution, but if it doesn’t get any better in the next couple months, talk to your vet. They will most likely want you to try Tramadol or another separation anxiety medication. I am not big on the idea, but it can work for many dogs.

I know it’s a headache dealing with it, but it’s all worth it when you come home and they’re happy as a clam to see you, no matter what.

Couple things I was taught when we crated Ruger, our chocolate lab. (My 3rd dog).

During the day, leave the door open and not restricted. It’s his bedroom and let him have unrestricted access.

Pick a.location that is cave like. Put a blanket over the sides so it is more like a den.

Ruger is mostly my daughters dog, so we planned his puppy transition accordingly. We put the crate in her closet facing out. The first week was some sleepless nights and a lot of anxiety (for both of us). We slept on the floor next to the crate and worked it out from there. We didn’t want him roaming at night. Took a solid week for him to go to his crate while Olivia was in bed (same room).

Over 3 years later it’s pretty good. He goes in his crate whenever he’s bored or wants to sleep. We no longer crate him at night, but he does go in and sleep in there. Olivia is gone for college, but it’s HIS room. He’ll come in my room for awhile but eventually goes to his bed.

We did try to relocate his crate once. Holy crap, big azz mistake. The one and only time we saw him go freaking nuts. About tore the crate apart and was bleeding from pawing the crate door. We immediately put the crate back where it was and all was good again.

Don’t give up and stay very consistent