Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We are having some serious issues with kenneling our 9 week old (approx) Great Pyr/Borde Collie puppy, Presley. We only kennel her when my husband and I are both at class (for 1 hour in the morning Monday-Thursday, and about one and a half hours in the afternoon on Monday/Wednesdays) or when we are sleeping at night.

The big issue is the fit Presley throws when she is left in her kennel for those periods which my husband and I are both at class. She is not terrible at night time; usually she whimpers or yips for 5 minutes then settles down and sleeps until morning (usually 10 or 11pm-7 or 8am) without issue.

During those two separate 1 and 1.5 hour situations, however, she is having complete freak out sessions in which she howls, cries, yaps and throws a general tantrum after having been put in her kennel. My concern is that I don't want Presley to be stressed every time she is put in her kennel; we intend on putting her in there every single time she is left alone (when we have to go get groceries or have class or something) to be put in the kennel; which is really not feeling that great since she hates it so incredibly much.
I have never had a dog freak out to the extent she does; in fact, most of the dogs I have owned (quite a few over the years) don't mind or in fact love their kennels (their dens, or hide aways where they can go to get away from everything and have a quiet nap) but Presley cannot stand the kennel and it has us worried.

That being said, we have only had her for 2 weeks, so I'm not sure if it is something she will grow out of in the near future (?? seeing as I have no experience with dogs pitching fits when put in kennels, I have no idea!?) or if it a behavior that will need to be dealt with via training.
My husband and I are more than happy to train Pressy; we love her to bits and she is a very smart puppy (we've begun clicker training and she's almost completely house trained already)

Anyway.This might just be a huge overreaction to a small situation, but I am worried not only about Presley's mental health (all that freaking out can't be good!!) and also the neighbors in our four-plex might not be appreciative of having 2 hours of puppy screaming Monday - Thursday!!

I am working on uploading a video in which you can watch Presley's kennel session today. This was the longer period (about an hour and twenty-five minutes of kennel time total) and as you can see she pitches a complete fit; during the middle she takes a nice nap but for a good 20 minutes at the start and end she's screaming like a baby. When I come in right at the end she sits down and looks at me and goes quiet; I'm pretty sure she KNOWS she's not supposed to be howling and carrying on... I took her right out to pee and #2 outside and she's happy as a lark now, sitting at my feet.

She also gets quite upset when I put her in the bathroom with me while I shower (my husband is usually at work in the morning when I am home with her) she seems to dislike being confined at all; in the larger bathroom or in her smaller kennel. I don't know if that is of importance or not

Anyway... like I said I might be freaking out needlessly or my husband may be right when he says she's 'just a puppy'

Thanks for any help you might be able to offer!!
(also posted in the puppy and the training forums)
-----

I would suggest that for two weeks you continue crating her at night but during the daytime periods use a small room with a baby gate instead. If she jumps a baby gate, stack a second baby gate above the first one. Put her crate in the small room with its door open, and toys and cover the floor with newspaper until she is housetrained. If she sticks to one area, you can paper just that area and put the crate at the opposite end of the room, with the toys and water.

Maybe after two weeks she will be ready to be crated again at these times. Crating is not natural for pups, since in nature they would panic and cry out when left alone. So it is an adjustment. You don't want this fear to become a habit. That can get to be a huge problem.
-----
Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

You could try randomly throwing treats in the crate when you're home, so your puppy learns that good things are in the crate. My dog used to calm down if I played quiet music (she was a real fan of Norah Jones!) and gave her a t-shirt I had worn. You could also try giving your pup a stuffed Kong in the crate.