Dog kennel help needed for owner of a serial chewer!!

[hstephuk 10]

My Staffy dog chewed until he was about 18 months, then he (thankfully) stopped! But he'd practically eaten a wood-framed 3-piece suite in the meantime.

 

Instead of putting him outside in a kennel, have you considered crating him in the house?

 

Yes ive tried crating him but hes petrified of cages etc (he was a rescue and has been through a lot) and he went mental in it, sc reaming, pulling on until he got out, he used to mess in it on purpose too cos he was frightened so i wont do that to him.

[lemongrass 10]

Why not put him in a dog cage, near you, for five minutes. Then make it 10 minutes, then 15. He'll realise that nothing bad is going to happen. I'd stay with him until he seems chilled out at being in the cage. Having said that, I would not leave a dog in a cage for more than an hour or so.

[Lotti 10]

Whilst there is every possibility he's as frightened outside on his own as he is in a crate, I'm not going to say putting him outside is wrong.

 

Dogs are quite happy outside in kennels and many people keep them outside while they are out. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

 

There's probably more room in a kennel outside than inside (unless of course you mean a dog house style kennel) but be aware that more room is not necessarily a good thing and could actually be worsening any stress. Cutting down space can help.

 

I don't know which dog trainer you saw, some are pretty appalling and others are very good so hopefully, the one you saw really did know his stuff when he said your dog is just a chewer but if not, it is definitely worth counter conditioning his emotional response to a crate or the kennel as lemongrass suggests.

 

Currently his ER to a crate is fear and he freaks out. By making the crate a positive thing you alter his ER to one that sees the crate as a safe space and rewardable experience. Obviously, much harder to do in rescues than dogs with no pre-conceived ideas, but it is possible.

 

I'm afraid material wise I haven't a clue what would make a stronger kennel but I just wanted to offer my support and say that, despite me not putting my dogs outside in a kennel or whatever, I can recognise it's not necessarily a bad thing and I know plenty of people who's dogs are very happy in kennels whilst they're out.

[hstephuk 10]

Why not put him in a dog cage, near you, for five minutes. Then make it 10 minutes, then 15. He'll realise that nothing bad is going to happen. I'd stay with him until he seems chilled out at being in the cage. Having said that, I would not leave a dog in a cage for more than an hour or so.

 

thats why i gave in as i would never leave him long in the cage and im usually out over an hour really so hence why ive never bothered and he gets the full run of the garden. Hes good generally in he garden he just needs a shelter thats all if it happens to rain

[hstephuk 10]

Whilst there is every possibility he's as frightened outside on his own as he is in a crate, I'm not going to say putting him outside is wrong.

 

Dogs are quite happy outside in kennels and many people keep them outside while they are out. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

 

There's probably more room in a kennel outside than inside (unless of course you mean a dog house style kennel) but be aware that more room is not necessarily a good thing and could actually be worsening any stress. Cutting down space can help.

 

I don't know which dog trainer you saw, some are pretty appalling and others are very good so hopefully, the one you saw really did know his stuff when he said your dog is just a chewer but if not, it is definitely worth counter conditioning his emotional response to a crate or the kennel as lemongrass suggests.

 

Currently his ER to a crate is fear and he freaks out. By making the crate a positive thing you alter his ER to one that sees the crate as a safe space and rewardable experience. Obviously, much harder to do in rescues than dogs with no pre-conceived ideas, but it is possible.

 

I'm afraid material wise I haven't a clue what would make a stronger kennel but I just wanted to offer my support and say that, despite me not putting my dogs outside in a kennel or whatever, I can recognise it's not necessarily a bad thing and I know plenty of people who's dogs are very happy in kennels whilst they're out.

 

 

think youve taken me wrong, hes a house dog but when i go out i leave him outside and when i say a kennel i mean a small wooden thing in the corner of the garden with a felt roof not a proper dog kennel where hes penned in, he has the choice of the garden and then to go in the kennel when he wants, hes got the choice there if it rains. I never pen my dog up, the only thing hes penned in by is of course the garden fences thats all. When im in hes either bouncing round the garden or inside with me. He sleeps in the kitchen at bedtime in his bed with no trouble i just wouldnt leave him cooped indoors when i go out thats all, took me ages to house train him as he was an older rescue and not a tiny puppy so i dont want to encourage him having to mess in the house cos i wasnt there to let him out, hence why he gets left in garden to run around at his hearts content.

[Lotti 10]

think youve taken me wrong, hes a house dog but when i go out i leave him outside and when i say a kennel i mean a small wooden thing in the corner of the garden with a felt roof not a proper dog kennel where hes penned in, he has the choice of the garden and then to go in the kennel when he wants, hes got the choice there if it rains. I never pen my dog up, the only thing hes penned in by is of course the garden fences thats all. When im in hes either bouncing round the garden or inside with me. He sleeps in the kitchen at bedtime in his bed with no trouble i just wouldnt leave him cooped indoors when i go out thats all, took me ages to house train him as he was an older rescue and not a tiny puppy so i dont want to encourage him having to mess in the house cos i wasnt there to let him out, hence why he gets left in garden to run around at his hearts content.

 

Sorry hstephuk, bit of a misunderstanding on both sides I think!

 

Firstly, yes I did think you meant a penned in kennel (I suppose I was thinking you were concerned about the security of the kennel you see!)

 

However, I was referring to some of the posts that suggested bringing him in instead of putting him out, that dogs are quite happy to go out in a kennel when the owner is out. I was aware he wasn't out there the whole time, and usually in the house

 

Is he being left for a very long time during the day? Most adult dogs will be able to hold their bowel/bladder for around 4 hours when left (though many go even longer!) as long as they've been out to the toilet before. I assumed you were concerned about damage to your home so you were putting him outside.

If you're leaving him for longer than 4 hours - that could well be why he's chewing (I know you've said he does it while you're there, but it will be exacerbated by being left).

 

Either way, I suppose what I've said still applies - perhaps the amount of space he has is scary for him? He may not feel very secure when left with just the garden fencing and a large area? It sounds wrong, but in actual fact lots of dogs do better from a smaller space when left.

 

Anyway - no I wasn't thinking you just left him out the whole time But I did think you meant a pen as opposed to a dog house kennel and run of the garden! Neither is more right than the other but consider the space issue perhaps?