Gun Dog Forum

Hi,
I have a female GSP whos about 18 months old, she lived the first year of her life on a ranch in an outdoor kennel with other dogs. We need to keep her in a crate indoors while we go to work for anywhere from 4-8 hours during a day depending on mine and my wifes schedule. We run her off leash almost every morning before we leave for about 30 mins and she gets a walk around the neighborhood/play in the yard when we get home. During the season she is hunted at least once a week. Shes great on birds and super sweet and friendly, just lots of energy. Now the problem isnt so much she pees in her crate etc.., because shes pretty well house/crate broken only rarely will she do that. She also will load into her crate pretty easily as well with a couple kibbles. Its when we leave she starts freaking out and whining and yipping and howling and trying to dig out of her crate etc.., She is very well behaved in the house for the most part except when we put her in her crate. Im assuming some kind of attachment issue maybe but basically I just want her to be comfortable while we are gone because us leaving her isnt going to change. We dont quite trust her enough to leave her out of her crate all day yet but she does sleep out of her crate every night so the only time she goes in is when we arent there which isnt usually for extended periods very often and never longer than 8 hours other wise she comes along. We bought a ThunderShirt and Adaptil collar thinking it may keep her calm in her crate during the day but doesnt really seem to do much. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

Wow,
That sounds like a big challenge...I have had many sport dogs, but never one that was not started in a kennel when very young. I really have no great ideas, but I did want to mention that as for the barking and whining a 'bark collar' will help with that, but I am afraid it may only make her more anxious when left alone...

Maybe find a good kennel that has a day program. Many working people drop their dogs off in these places that usually have lots of running room for the dogs, many times with groups of dogs having access to the outdoors (fenced in) and to a large indoor running area. Dog that are well socialized seem to enjoy these set ups well. I saw one in Wichita Kansas and I watched the dogs in the area, they all did fine. It was a vet clinic my son uses for his dog. I assume other boarding kennels have these set ups with day rates.....

Sometime it seems our dogs are just a place we have to keep throwing money at, to live with....

Good luck

So the dog was raised in an outdoor kennel setting with other dogs. Does it do ok alone in an outdoor kennel? If so is building one and using it while you are gone an option? Might be the path of least resistance with this dog.

She was raised in an indoor/outdoor type kennel at a hunting preserve with other dogs. She rides in her RuffTuff in the truck fine too, its just super weird because she does really well with everything else. She listens well, knows her commands, gets plenty of exercise, has good strong hunting drive, good with other dogs, and is a good citizen in the house with 2 cats, learns fast etc.. Really a nice dog overall, I just dont want her to be so worked up in her crate during the day, I dont feel like its fair to her.
An outside kennel isnt really an option as my yard is on the smaller side and I live in Vegas so leaving her out in the summer wouldnt be advisable because of the heat.
She doesnt even bark in the crate really, its more whining and "yipping" for a lack of better words and trying to get out. Also it seems when I put her in she doesnt do it as much/for as long, but when my wife puts her in she doesnt like it very much, but i truly believe she likes my wife better than me most other times haha...
Anyway id never get rid of her over this but I just want to get her to be calm enough so she can relax a little, she knows we always come home when we put her in. My only other thought is she just doesnt like being in there and is being a little jerk about it.
Thanks for the responses keep em coming!

Have you put a camera on her if so if she settles down after you leave She is just acting out if not then you need to look at the doggy day care option or maybe another dog.

Good luck

Grant

I have put a camera on her and it seems like she usually does calm down after a little bit and lays down but will periodically get up throughout the day adjust, whine for a minute and lay back down, I was also kind of leaning toward she is just acting out because she doesn't want to be in there because she's fine the minute she's out of the crate when we get home...

You could try putting her in her crate for short periods when you are home. try to only let her out when she stops crying. Maybe sleeping in her crate at Night. Leaving it open when she is loose in the house and making it the most comfortable place to sleep might help. If she is not getting worked up so much that she is pooping in the crate,she will probably get used to it. Most dogs go through this but it is usually when they are younger. I would use a bark collar only as a last resort in a crate......CJ

Your dog needs a proper outdoor kennel and a good dog house.

cjhills wrote:You could try putting her in her crate for short periods when you are home. try to only let her out when she stops crying. Maybe sleeping in her crate at Night. Leaving it open when she is loose in the house and making it the most comfortable place to sleep might help. If she is not getting worked up so much that she is pooping in the crate,she will probably get used to it. Most dogs go through this but it is usually when they are younger. I would use a bark collar only as a last resort in a crate......CJ

Good advice.
I would add that when you get home from work, don't go immediately to the dog and don't fuss over her. Letting her out of the crate should be pretty much a non-event.

Is your house laid out so that you could gate a doorway or entrance into a utility room or kitchen, and try her out there while you're away for a few minutes?

cjhills wrote:You could try putting her in her crate for short periods when you are home. try to only let her out when she stops crying. Maybe sleeping in her crate at Night. Leaving it open when she is loose in the house and making it the most comfortable place to sleep might help. If she is not getting worked up so much that she is pooping in the crate,she will probably get used to it. Most dogs go through this but it is usually when they are younger. I would use a bark collar only as a last resort in a crate......CJ

Thats what Im gonna try next, she doesnt pee or poop in her crate or in the house, she was in the crate at night in the beginning and whined for a few mins and would go to sleep so we decided she could handle sleeping out of her crate at night and she does fine with it and sleeps thru the night etc.., I think she maybe had more room in her old kennel and wasnt trained in a crate per se so Im kind of thinking its just learning to deal with it for her and shes acting up because she doesnt like it. I had the camera on her again today and she whined for maybe 20-30 mins and then laid down and has been quiet laying there since, so that leads me to believe it might just be acting out...
Thanks for the responses!

I deal with this issue with fosters a lot. I'd crate her quite a bit while home. Feed her in the crate. Play and exercise her a lot still, but when she comes inside, she goes into the crate. Do a google search for "separation anxiety" and adopt those methods they suggest for "leaving" and "coming home" habits. I don't think your dog has SA, but the methods they talk about are good (make leaving and coming home non-exciting). Also maybe try crate games with her (youtube).

RoostersMom wrote:I deal with this issue with fosters a lot. I'd crate her quite a bit while home. Feed her in the crate. Play and exercise her a lot still, but when she comes inside, she goes into the crate. Do a google search for "separation anxiety" and adopt those methods they suggest for "leaving" and "coming home" habits. I don't think your dog has SA, but the methods they talk about are good (make leaving and coming home non-exciting). Also maybe try crate games with her (youtube).

Thanks!

One other thought. Don't let anybody guilt you into thinking the dog needs to be outside. When dogs don't have anything to do they sleep. Leaving the dog in a outside run serves no useful purpose. The dog gets over stimulated by what goes on outside the fence and gets barrier frustration. Barking and standing with it's front feet on the fence is what they generally learn......Cj

Lots learned from what I thought was a simple problem.

Good stuff

Grant