# Severe Crate Anxiety- HELP!



## MCD (May 4, 2013)

We went out for a few hours this evening and left Dharma in her crate with some Milk Bones, a Kong with a Ziggy in it and her kong Wubba. We left the radio on as well. The crate is in the living room. We came home to a totally soiled and bloody crate. She has smashed her nose into the door of her crate. She has cut her nose where the hair meets skin. What can I put on her nose to help it heal? This is the worst her crate has been since we got her and I am afraid to leave her at all now. It just make me want to cry.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

oh, poor Dharma!  I'd really been hoping she'd get better with it as she's getting older. For her nose, I'd go with neosporin or honey, yes regular old honey. 

For the crate training I'd go back to square one. It might be a good idea to get a different type of crate. It won't completely erase her bad associations, but it might help. So plastic if she's got a wire, and vice versa. Don't take it personally, but obviously whatever your strategy has been in the past hasn't worked, so scrap it. 

Keep it short and keep it fun. I swear by crate games and clicker training. If you haven't tried that, look it up on youtube for some good tutorials. As well as doing fast paced crate games. Start working on a settle or relax command with her away from her crate. Get a bowl of small pieces of treats (I know she hasn't done well with human food, but if she can tolerate it use pieces of chicken, deli meats, etc) and put her on lead. Have her sit or lie down at your feet while you read or watch tv. Reward her whenever she is quiet by calmly and silently giving her a treat. Do this for 15 minutes. Next day do it again, this time add in a command word like settle when treating her. Keep up this exercise until she is fluent in the command. Now hopefully you've been doing crate games concurrently and started building a positive association with the crate. Now put her in the crate, close the door, and give her the command. Sit on the floor right outside the crate and continue the reading/treating routine. Start with 5 minutes increments. Let her out to play with her or for a quick walk down the street and then back inside for another 5 minutes in the crate. Keep this up increasing the duration as she is ready. 

My other recommendation is to start journaling your actions when you put her in the crate and when you take her out. This should help you understand where you can improve. For instance, are you apologetic or commanding and confident with your body language? Do you baby talk her? I don't know and you may not even be aware of something you're doing that adds to Dharma's stress. Have your husband and daughter(?) do the same and help with the activities above. I think you'll see improvement if you do this consistently over the next month. If you don't, then you'll have a journal to share with a trainer, which is my next recommendation. 

It's a lot of work, but nothing you can't handle!


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## MCD (May 4, 2013)

She is so amazing at every thing else. Yes she often does sit quietly while I read or whatever else I am doing. I think we(my husband and daughter) may have gone wrong in the beginning and I had hoped this would get better. I lose hope sometimes but would do anything to fix this problem. Often I wonder if it is just her. Thank you though for the support and advice. I know I can't stand to see Dharma doing this and me always worrying about her hurting herself.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

See you're already one step closer then! Just put it to a command and work up to adding in the crate. Baby steps!


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## Jallen2014 (Mar 18, 2014)

Vz are your tipical dogs, so get her a smaller crate where she bearly fits or don't crate her at all. My 3 Vz can stay inside the home by them selves & they do NOT make a mess, It was a struggle with youngens but they grwo out if it. Just be cosisntant.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

How's it going with Dharma?


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