Dogs destroying their (or your) things when left alone is a common albeit frustrating problem for many pet parents. According to Vetster, between 13% and 38% of all dogs exhibit signs of separation anxiety throughout their lives. Separation anxiety is one of the key reasons why dog destroys crate when left alone, but it may not be the only reason.
What Is Separation Anxiety?
Separation anxiety in dogs occurs when your furry best friend feels and exhibits extreme stress when away from you or others in their home. For some dogs, they experience higher separation anxiety when away from a certain family member. For others, they may be okay as long as they’re not left completely alone. According to the AKC, or American Kennel Club, the signs of separation anxiety in dogs may include:
- Behaviors like pacing, whining, or shaking as you’re preparing to leave the home. Dogs may exhibit this behavior when they see their owners getting on their shoes, getting dressed, grabbing a coat, or holding their keys.
- They may have accidents in the home when they’re otherwise reliably housebroken. Coming home to accidents in or out of the crate may be a sign of anxious behavior.
- Desperate attempts to escape confinement is another sign. This may be one of the behaviors that leads to the destruction of their crate.
- Dogs may exhibit excessive drooling or panting, almost as if they’re about to be sick, when they see their owners preparing to leave. Pet parents may also find puddles of drool in the home or in the crate when they return.
- A dog with separation anxiety may bark or howl for hours at a time when experiencing separation anxiety. Pet parents who tend to receive complaints from neighbors upon returning home might be dealing with a separation anxiety issue.
- Destructive behaviors are one of the most common signs of separation anxiety. When dogs feel intense anxiety, they may take out these feelings on objects around the home in order to release the stress and feel better. Crated dogs may take this urge and use it to destroy their crate.
What Causes Separation Anxiety In Dogs?
Veterinarians aren’t quite sure exactly what causes separation anxiety in some dogs and not others. However, they do have some ideas.
The first theorized cause of separation anxiety in dogs, according to the AKC, occurs when puppies aren’t encouraged to experience separation from a young age. Pet parents may feel as though they should spend as much time as they can with their puppies in order to train, bond, and develop a lifelong relationship. However, always being with you can lead to anxiety when they have to be without you. One way to combat this is to give puppies some separation time in their crate each day in order to build a foundation of confidence when left alone.
The other theorized reason why separation anxiety may develop in some dogs is due to abandonment. Some veterinarians and animal behavior scientists believe that dogs who have experienced abandonment, or a traumatic separation, may be more likely to develop separation anxiety in their new homes. Owners of rescued dogs with unknown backgrounds who are experiencing crate destruction may want to focus on this cause and use extra patience when training their pups to gain alone-time confidence.
How To Help Separation Anxiety In Dogs
For pet parents dealing with separation anxiety learning how to help their dogs is of the utmost importance. Crate training is one of the most useful strategies you can use, but when dog destroys crate when left alone, this presents a challenging situation. You don’t want to have to invest in new crates over and over again, and (most importantly) you don’t want your dog to hurt themselves. A dog that destroys their crate due to anxiety can easily ingest dangerous materials, create sharp surfaces, and injure themselves without realizing it in their desperate attempt to escape.
When using crate training to help dogs with separation anxiety, the most important investment you can make is in a crate with separation anxiety in mind. This crate should be durable and able to stand up to your dog’s destructive tendencies, it should be safe and escape-proof, and it should be a comfortable space your dog can get used to feeling secure in. With a crate you can rely on, you can fully focus on helping your dog to feel more comfortable safely.
The key to using the crate to ease separation anxiety is to associate the crate with only the happiest things. Chews, food, special toys, praise, and anything your dog loves should be plentiful while your dog is having crate time. You may even invest in special toys that are used only in the crate so your dog has something extra-special to look forward to.
Start out with the crate door open, and use the crate to feed your dog, give them their favorite toys, give them a chew, or having some petting time. The more often you give your dog positive association with their crate, the more progress you make in building their crate confidence.
Once your dog is confident in going into and using their crate with the door open, try closing the door for short periods of time. During this stage in the training process, stay in the room with your dog, and allow them to enjoy their incentive item with the door closed and knowing you’re close by.
When your dog is comfortable with closed door crate time, try leaving the room for short periods to see how your dog handles the separation. In this scenario, your dog is in their crate, the door is closed, they’ve received praise or another incentive, and you leave the room for just a couple of minutes at a time. Starting small and gradually increasing this time can help to build your dog’s confidence slowly and with the least amount of stress.
What If It’s Not Separation Anxiety?
While separation anxiety is the most common reason why dog destroys crate when left alone, it’s not the only reason. A few other reasons why a dog may destroy their crate when left alone, according to PetHelpful, are:
- Your dog hasn’t received enough mental or physical stimulation – Dogs get pent up energy, just like people do. The difference, however, is that dogs can’t release these feelings of boredom as easily as humans can. When left alone these feelings of being under stimulated might show themselves as destructive tendencies. Pet parents in this situation can give their dog more walks, puzzles, or games of fetch when outside of the crate or provide safe puzzle toys during crate time. Mental stimulation can exhaust a dog just as effectively as physical exercise, so either option can be effective in putting a stop to crate destruction.
- They’re coping with anxious stimuli – A beeping fire detector in the home, fireworks, a thunderstorm, or another bit of outside stimuli can be scary or even annoying for your dog. This is a different type of anxiety than separation anxiety, but it causes the same behaviors all the same. In these situations, pet parents benefit from a separation anxiety specific crate when they cannot guard against scary or problematic sounds in the dog’s environment.
- They’re acting on instinct – Some dogs may be diggers, others chewers, and some enjoy a little bit of both. Dogs bred with certain instincts may have times when they feel these instincts strongly even in their crate. Like with coping with anxious stimuli, an anxiety-proof crate can help to ensure your crate stays in one piece and your dog stays safe while they’re in it.
Why Destructive Behaviors Need To Be Addressed Quickly
A chewed-up shoe here or a shredded pillow there, some pet parents may feel as though destructive behavior is simply “part” of having a dog. What these pet parents don’t realize (often until it’s too late) is that these behaviors are highly dangerous to dogs. A dog destroying their crate, which may include heavy fabrics, plastics, or metals, puts them in a highly risky situation very quickly. Ingestion of these materials can lead to a bowel perforation, an obstruction, broken teeth, broken claws, or additional serious injuries. A destruction proof crate made from high-grade and durable aluminum limits this risk significantly.
Even the destruction of soft materials can lead to a bowel blockage, one of the most common reasons for dog emergency room visits in the US, according to Wag. Bowel blockages aren’t just dangerous, they’re also expensive to treat. On average, the cost to resolve a bowel blockage can go into the thousands for an emergency vet visit.
It only takes one destructive episode to put your dog at risk, and for this reason it’s crucial to get to the source of the behavior and address it quickly.
The Right Crate Is The Right Start
Whether your dog deals with separation anxiety, anxiety due to outside stimuli, stress due to under stimulation, or any other stresses that can lead to crate destruction, investing in the right crate should be your first step. This ensures you can work on the behavior together without worrying that your dog’s destructive behaviors will put them at risk. The crate you choose should be the right size (about 2 to 3 inches taller than your dog’s height, and 2 to 3 inches longer than your dog from nose to tail,) and made from the right destruction-proof materials to keep your dog safe.