# Help! My dog freaks out when I leave him alone...



## Ler0y Jenkins (Apr 24, 2008)

I have an 11 month old puppy that has been crate-trained since I got him 9 months ago. Two weekends ago, we took him on a trip to Washington, D.C. and stayed in a hotel. The crate wouldn't fit in my car so I figured I would just leave him in the hotel room because he was getting older and behaving really well since starting daycare about one month prior. BTW, he doesn't sleep in the crate at night. Instead, he sleeps in our bedroom but with the door closed. 

When we arrived in D.C., I decided against just leaving him in the hotel room and went out to Petco and bought a cheap crate that looked exactly like the one he has at home. 

When we first left him in the hotel room, we arrived to find that he had completely destroyed the black pan that goes in the bottom of the crate. I was pissed because I was going to return the crate before we left and was unable to do so since he destroyed the pan. 

Since I no longer had a pan for the bottom, I positioned the crate on the linoleum floor in the kitchen area the next time we went out. This time we came back to find the dog had moved the crate over to the carpet and destroyed a corner section of the carpet by chewing it through the bars in the bottom of the crate (which would have been covered by the pan, if he hadn't chewed it previously). 

At this point, my trip was basically ruined and I didn't want to leave him in the hotel room anymore because I was afraid what he would destroy. I finally decided to put the crate in the kitchen area but use the box it came in to blockade him from moving it over the carpet, which actually worked. 

Now, I was pissed because I knew that he knew what he did was wrong (and because it cost me a couple of hundred bucks for all the damage he caused) but I understood that he was still a puppy and in a strange environment. We came home and everything returned to normal. 

Once we got home, I was worried that he would act-up while in his crate at home. We both work during the week althoght my girlfriend works from home on Fridays. Also, he's in daycare two days per week so he's only crated two days per week. 

Everything was fine for the last two weeks (thankfully) but last night (Saturday night), we went out and put him in his crate. When I got home, he had moved the pan out of the bottom of his crate, and chewed a huge hole in the carpet, all of the way down to the plywood sub-floor.  

I'm concerned about leaving him now and I really don't know what to do. We always put a couple toys in his crate for him to chew on. I usually put a treat or two in his Kong toy. He gets walked two times per day and, like I said, goes to daycare two days per week (which he loves). 

Any help??


----------



## Jen D (Apr 23, 2007)

When one of my dogs ripped up the bottom of her crate I replaced it with plywood. It sound like you are doing everything else right other then maybe putting the dog into daycare four days a week.


----------



## Westhighlander (Sep 28, 2007)

Try a vari kennel type of crate.


----------



## Ler0y Jenkins (Apr 24, 2008)

Thanks for the replies. Here's an update: 

I zip-tied the latch that keeps the pan in place so hopefully he won't be able to push the pan out again. If he destroys it, I bought a piece of plywood and bolted the crate on top of it. That way, if the pan is removed or destroyed, the plywood will keep him from getting to the carpet. 

I think I may have to switch to the Veri style crate though because when we got home today after shopping, his snout was all red and swollen, like he had been trying squeeze through the bars. His nose actually looks pretty bad. It was all red and raw looking. 

The saga continues...


----------



## Darkmoon (Mar 12, 2007)

Sounds like you have the start of a dog with Separation Anxiety. Google it and get to work on it. The earlier you start to work on it the easier it is to fix.


----------



## Great Dane (Nov 18, 2008)

Vari Kennel. My Dane does awesome in it, only time she is in there is while sleeping however.


----------



## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

Lowe's has inexpensive linoleum that comes in room sizes that you can cut to size easily. I never put a crate over carpeting without some sort of protective flooring underneath. You just never know - the dog could have diarrhea, or . . .do the things your dog has done. I'm sorry you've experienced this, but know this - even the most fabulous dogs can go through these trying periods, so don't give up on him. Try to hold onto the fact that he's a youngster, and with obedience training, you can build his self-confidence, and work on fostering independence.


----------



## tigerrlily (Nov 27, 2008)

Oh man, I would be upset to if my puppy went wild in a hotel room. My puppy always had bad separation anxiety when we left the house (she would yelp at the door and my neighbors definitely let me know about it). We didn't crate train Laila, though so I am not sure how much of this is going to be applicable to you, but Darkmoon is right; Google has TONS of info. 

When I leave the house, I do "Sit. Stay." and then walk out the door. Before I would do the whole "Ohh no my little puppy I'll miiiissss yoooou!!" etc. while hugging and cuddling her. When you come home do the same thing and refuse to pet/acknowledge her until she calms down. (Before I would just indulge in loving on her). When doing that she calmed down significantly and I haven't heard anything from my neighbors. 

What made her anxiety stop completely was when our second dog moved in. But that's when the destructive behavior started. The dogs have managed to get into everything but their toys. I've had bills shredded, wires chewed, shoes destroyed, couch ripped up, etc, etc, you name it. (Although, they never managed to chew up the floor, yikes.) 

I started getting up a little earlier to take the dogs on an extra morning run, getting everything and anything they could possible chew on up and out of their way, and getting more toys like the Kong they could be preoccupied with. This seemed to curb their destruction, but not stop it. I would still come home after only two hours and find all of my pillows had been gutted. 

What helped the most is getting a baby gate and putting them in the kitchen with their beds and all of their toys. They are safe, my stuff is safe, and everyone is happy when I come home. Also, If I am going to be away for more than a few hours I ask my boyfriend, roommate, or friend to walk them or take them to the dog park. 

But I am a college student with a ton of time, so what has been working for me may be totally non applicable to you, I hope at least some of what I said helps! Good luck!


----------



## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

The Veri-kennel will help but, even Veri-kennels have been destroyed. You still need to address the confidence problem. If confidence building isn't really something you're into doing, you might want to jump right to the steel cages use in most Vet offices. They're expensive but, indestructible.


----------

