Hi Kirsty,
Yes, Teddy was crate trained from day one. He loves his crate and even seeks it when I'm home with him. He sleeps in it, takes his food and toys to it and "nests" which is really cute.
The problem arises when he's in the crate and I'm away. And, a few professionals opinions are that dogs who suffer from separation anxiety should not be crated as the confinement can result in further distress and harm to the dog trying to escape. (Sorry, I can't cite references but if you do a search on the internet, you'll come up with something).
This was the case with my dog but I would not have known this had I not installed CCTV to watch him from work which was only done after I had come home (after 3 hours!!) to find him sweating down his muzzle and crying like a lunatic. I suspected something was strange and things just kept going downhill.
Due to his anxiety in the crate when we were away, we let him roam the hallway and stairway when we were away thinking he would be better off with more space. However, he frantically paced up and down the stairs and at the front door and peed on the front door and rug even though he also peed in his litterbox as he was trained to do since he was 14 weeks old. He only did this when we were away which is a classic symptom of separation anxiety.
I also read that 30% of dogs suffer from separation anxiety and the theories regarding the reasoning behind this vary. However, no matter how true theories are, the real issue is the psychological pain my dog has to endure and ME and working full time added guilt to that as well as a sense of hopelessness I honestly never felt before.
I really don't want to make this about my dog, so please know that I have just offered my take on things because, like you, I was very excited about getting a puppy etc and never for a minute thought that my dog would be one of the 30%! I even knew the percentages beforehand! As I said before, things may be okay with you! People work full time and have dogs all the time and things work out.
It's just, sometimes, we never hear about the other stuff and sometimes people are embarrassed to admit how hard something like the above can be so things get left unsaid and puppies are brought home and given away as adults and it's very emotional and trying.
All the research, planning and good intentions do not guarantee that a dog will adjust and adapt. As I said, I knew beforehand of the possibility and read books to refresh my knowledge and I still have a very anxious dog. I love him, though. I have to be honest about that, too! |