[argopuppy]

We just adopted an 11 month old Queensland heeler 1 week ago. He is still recovering from being neutered, and so for the first few nights we slept either on the couch with him on the floor next to us with the leash on, or in bed with him on the floor next to us with the leash on. We bought a crate and have been filling it with comfort things like his favorite toys so far, a blanket he seems to like, and shirts that smell like us and we will feed him his meals in the cage so he sees it as a positive space and not a negative space. The few times we had to leave the house for extended periods of time we put him in the crate and he did not do so well, as probably to be expected at this point. We filmed him on one occasion and he was throwing himself against the sides and biting the metal bars trying to get out. We actually had to return the first crate because he was able to chew through the metal bars and made a big hole in one corner of it, so we had to get a stronger crate. He has no problem going in to the crate to get toys or treats and some times he just walks in there and sniffs when he is bored, so he doesn't seem to fear it at all once he is let out. We tried for the first time to crate him overnight in the bedroom with us after we had tired him out all day with walks and play time and a car ride, and nothing that we have read or seen seems to be working with him. He cried and thrashed and started to destroy the blanket we had in there, taking the stuffing out and eating it, and started pushing on the top of the crate to weaken it. We did take him out eventually because he was eating the stuffing of the blanket, and honestly I am scared he is going to hurt himself because he throws himself into the sides of the cage. We will eventually have to replace this second crate soon too because he is slowly working on destroying it. We have been losing sleep because he does not sleep past 5:30am either. I am really out of ideas for how to make this crate training an easier transition for both the puppy and us. I am looking for any advice as to what to do when your dog just destroys the crate and finds ways out of it, as well as maybe some ideas as to why he doesnt sleep through the night even after a day of activity.

 

[SusanLynn]

Welcome and congrats on your new dog!

I suspect that your new dog may be suffering from separation anxiety, and confining a dog with SA in a crate can intensify his anxiety, rather than mitigate it. Take a look at this thread and see if it applies to your dog.

http://www.dogforum.com/training-behavior-stickies/separation-anxiety-29576/

If your dog is housetrained and not having accidents at night, you could try having him sleep on a dog bed in your room.