According to the American Kennel Club, around 14% of dogs deal with some level of separation anxiety. The cause of the anxiety varies, but some of the most common contributing factors include:
- Lack of socialization – Dogs are naturally social animals, and dogs who don’t get to experience socialization can develop separation anxiety as a result. For dogs, socialization with other dogs and humans helps to build confidence and makes anxiety of any kind less likely.
- Trauma response – Trauma may also lead to the development of separation anxiety in some dogs. For pet parents of shelter dogs, finding out that your new best friend has separation anxiety can be challenging, especially when you don’t know the traumas that may have led them there. Leaving a former family, being caught in a disaster, the passing of a former owner, and other traumatic circumstances may all cause the development of anxiety.
- Inadequate stimulation – Inadequate stimulation is a common cause of separation anxiety in higher energy and working breeds. These types of dogs have been developed over hundreds or thousands of years to carry out certain jobs or tasks, and in the absence of this work, idleness can lead to the development of anxieties.
- Not enough alone time – When raising puppies and young dogs, pet parents will often want to spend as much one-on-one time as possible with their new pet. They’ll want to keep and eye on them to ensure they’re safe, and they’ll want to make sure they instill good behaviors in their best friend. However, it’s important that dogs learn how to feel confident on their own. When dogs aren’t provided with alone time to build this confidence, separation anxiety is often the result.
While separation anxiety develops most often in younger dogs, it’s important to note that dogs of any age can suddenly begin to develop signs. A dog with no signs of separation anxiety can go through a traumatic event as an adult and suddenly find themselves struggling with keeping confidence. Early socialization and confidence building in puppies will help to build a strong foundation and make it less likely the dog will develop anxiety, although it cannot eliminate chances entirely.
How Does A Crate Help?
Dogs are natural den animals, according to American Humane. This means that they seek out small, cozy, and secure spaces where they can feel safe during rest. When you’re working with a dog who has separation anxiety, creating this sort of space is all the more important. While a dog with separation anxiety may be more challenging to crate train at first, they’ll quickly take to the crate using gentle training and it will become something of a safe haven for them.
In order to experience all a crate can provide for a dog with separation anxiety, you’ll need to focus on investing in the right model first. Especially for dogs with anxiety, a sturdy, safe, and destruction-proof crate is crucial. This type of crate will help to keep them safe in the event their anxiety begins to act up, and it’s the type of useful tool you can take with you anywhere ensuring your dog’s comfort is always close at hand. For families who like to travel with their pets, the crate on your trip can be what separates a great time from a not so great one.
With dogs who have separation anxiety, keeping the crate free of hazardous items is important. A destruction proof crate pad may be placed in the crate to provide comfort, but toys, puzzles, bones, and treats should be kept out unless you’re able to provide your dog with supervision. Anxiety can lead dogs to engage in destructive chewing, scratching, or eating behaviors, even in dogs who otherwise do not have these tendencies, and any items in the crate can become dangerous quickly.
How To Crate Train A Dog With Separation Anxiety
Crate training a dog with separation anxiety is something of an undertaking for pet parents, but it’s a time investment that will pay off tenfold for the entirety of a dog’s life. Crate training dogs with anxiety should be approached much like crate training any dog, but there may be a bit more patience required. The steps that should be taken when learning how to crate train a dog with separation anxiety are:
- Introduce the crate first – Your first step should be introducing the crate to your dog. Whether you have a puppy or an older dog, it’s a new object being brought into the home and your pet will need some time to get acclimated to its presence first. Set up the crate in a quiet and open corner of your home, allowing your dog to sniff, lick, or otherwise interact with the crate at their leisure.
- Create a positive environment – Once your dog gets used to the crate in your home, you can begin framing the crate positively to get your dog excited about it. This may mean placing favorite toys in the crate for your dog to find, allowing treats in an open crate, bringing bones into the open crate, or feeding in the crate. This lets your dog associate seeing, touching, and experiencing the crate with good things happening to them.
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Introduce closed door crate time – Having your dog enter their crate, and closing the door behind them, is quite a “level up” from feeding time with the door open. It’s at this step that patience becomes an important part of your training process. Encourage your dog to enter their crate, close the door behind them, and stay in the room while you give your dog about 1 minute of crate time.
Once the minute is up, open the door and shower your dog with praise, letting them know that the crate always results in positivity. As your dog gets used to this 1-minute period, increase the time spent in the crate by a minute or two until you reach 30 minutes.
- Try leaving them in the crate alone – Once your dog is used to spending some time in their crate with you in the room, you can begin leaving the space to see how your dog fares in the crate alone. Just like with getting used to close-door crate time, start with 1-minute intervals, slowly increasing as your dog’s comfort level grows. Once your dog is able to stay in their crate, with the door close, and alone for about 30 minutes, they’re ready for short “home alone” crate periods.
Why Crate Train A Dog With Separation Anxiety?
There are a few reasons why learning how to crate train a dog with separation anxiety is beneficial to both you and your dog. Not only can it help to provide a comfort space during anxious times, it also makes a huge difference in keeping your dog safe.
When a dog experiences anxiety, they’re unable to handle these big feelings as a human would. A human experiencing anxiety can break down how they’re feeling, they develop coping mechanisms, and they know how to keep themselves calm until the anxiety passes. Dogs, however, simply know they’re feeling big emotions and big physical sensations, and they may engage in destructive or dangerous behaviors in an effort to relieve them. A few destructive or dangerous behaviors common in dogs with separation anxiety according to Wag! are:
- Chewing on furniture
- Chewing up items left around the home
- Digging
- Scratching doors, windows, and walls
- Chewing through windows or doors
- Excessive licking of objects
- Trying to dig out of fences or other barriers
Ingesting objects chewed up around the home can lead to intestinal blockages, choking, and poisoning. Any of these can be potentially deadly, and if a dog is home alone, they won’t have the help they need to ensure swift medical intervention. Dogs prone to scratching at doors and windows can run the risk of breaking nails and toes, injuring ligaments, and cuts. Dogs who are prone to digging may dig their way out of a secured property, exposing them to traffic or leading them to getting lost.
Unlike humans, dogs can’t rationalize their actions when feeling the strong emotions and physical sensations associated with anxiety. In order to gain peace of mind and ensure safety, having a safe, confined, and secure environment like a well-built crate is one of the best things pet parents can do for their furry best friends.
How Long Does Crate Training A Dog With Separation Anxiety Take?
It’s important to not put a time limit on crate training a dog with separation anxiety. While one dog may take to their crate quite naturally and take only a few weeks to gain crate confidence, another dog may take several months. While one dog may move forward in their training with few to no setbacks, another dog may have many on their way to gaining better crate comfort. It’s important to follow your dog’s lead during these training sessions, and to never use punishment if setbacks occur.
One of the most critical parts of successful crate training for dogs with separation anxiety is to emphasize the crate as a positive space. Getting outwardly frustrated with your dog and raising your voice or behaving in an exasperated fashion will only teach your dog to associate the crate with feelings of tension or greater stress. If you do find yourself getting frustrated during the crate training process, it’s best to simply take a step back for you and your dog until emotions calm down.
Learning how to crate train a dog with separation anxiety is a worthwhile endeavor that will benefit you and your dog for life.