Breaking out of the kennel... Help!

BoomerGirl · #1 25th April 2010, 09:45 PM

First a little info on my boy Apollo. He is recently adopted and we were told he is between 2 and 3 years old. The person who had him before was a single police officer that didn't have time for him so he gave him to a local shelter that has a very good reputation for getting their dogs adopted quickly. We have another boxer girl who is a year old and they get along GREAT! They basically play for an hour or two then sleep on the couch or on the floor near us if we are in another room for a few hours then start the cycle over again. We have puppy play dates at LEAST once a week with another boxer female. We take them on 1 mile walks about three times a day. We have had him for almost a month now and in the last week he has started wrecking his kennel. At first it was just a few of the metal pieces broken from the edge and bent. Then it was more and he pulled a full sized blanket into the cage through the slats. Then we came home today after dinner and he was sitting at the front door and had bent the whole front portion of the crate and it fell in and he got out. I am afraid he might hurt himself but I know he cant be left alone outside of the crate since he ate one of the cushions of our couch the other morning when I was in another room. It doesn't seem like it is separation anxiety since he doesn't drool, pee, or generally freak out when we leave. It just seems if he is in his cage for more than an hour he gets bored and takes it out on the cage.
I am very worried about his safety, and also about our house. We dont have any rooms that could be doggie proofed since our house has a very open floor plan without many doors. If anyone has any ideas I am all ears.

Thank you!

Althea · #2 26th April 2010, 04:16 AM

Do some searching on the internet. My best friend has a pittie that went through several cages, including one of mine (!) without breaking a sweat! I swear, that dog is the Hulk. She got him a heavy duty cage -- we are talking inch wide bars. It costs around $200-300, but it will last forever, and he can't get out of it.

lmorey · #3 26th April 2010, 06:58 AM

I assume that you put some kind of chew toys in there with him? I have found that a good stuffed Kong will do the trick for Cash, along with rotating a couple of rubber chew toys. He busted out of his crate once, and used to pull in the crate cover and blankets/towels I used to put under his crate in with him. He's even managed to destroy the pan in the bottom of the crate. No more of that! My aunt gave us a very sturdy crate that she couldn't use any more, and we no longer put any kind of towels in or around his crate. Until a few months ago, I used to have to practically fight him to go in his crate - now he is usually in his crate waiting for me to give him his Kong! Now that I think about it, his attitude towards his crate changed when we started using the "new" one from my aunt...

BoomerGirl · #4 26th April 2010, 09:36 AM

lmorey - I do put toys in with him, but I guess he just gets bored quickly. I had to take his bed out too since he ate two of them in a 3 day period. Now he has a towel folded up in there, but I am making a thick fleece pad soon (No filling).
Althea - I am looking online at some Heavy Duty Dog Crates and this is the kind I came across. Heavy Duty Dog Crate - Indestructible Dog Crates - Pet Strollers - Pet Carriers Does this look like the ind your friend got for her Pit? Thank you for all the help.

Althea · #5 26th April 2010, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoomerGirl

lmorey - I do put toys in with him, but I guess he just gets bored quickly. I had to take his bed out too since he ate two of them in a 3 day period. Now he has a towel folded up in there, but I am making a thick fleece pad soon (No filling).
Althea - I am looking online at some Heavy Duty Dog Crates and this is the kind I came across. Heavy Duty Dog Crate - Indestructible Dog Crates - Pet Strollers - Pet Carriers Does this look like the ind your friend got for her Pit? Thank you for all the help.

Yes, that looks very similar. Bailey doesn't like it, but once he figured out that he can't get out of it, he puts up with it.

BoomerGirl · #6 26th April 2010, 10:10 AM

Thank you SOOOOO much! It is so funny. Right now he is laying in his cage sleeping, so it's not like he hates the cage. Silly dog. Thank you for the help!!!!

Eleonora II · #7 26th April 2010, 12:41 PM

to lmorey

Sorry this might be a silly question - but what is a "Kong"? Here in Egypt we don't have all this fancy stuff :-) and I'd be thankful if I find something new to keep Buddy busy. Thanks

BxrMommieNAZ · #8 26th April 2010, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoomerGirl

lmorey - I do put toys in with him, but I guess he just gets bored quickly. I had to take his bed out too since he ate two of them in a 3 day period. Now he has a towel folded up in there, but I am making a thick fleece pad soon (No filling).
Althea - I am looking online at some Heavy Duty Dog Crates and this is the kind I came across. Heavy Duty Dog Crate - Indestructible Dog Crates - Pet Strollers - Pet Carriers Does this look like the ind your friend got for her Pit? Thank you for all the help.

Please forget about any kind of padding, blanket, etc whatsoever. My dog ATE his fleece blanket (ie pad) and ended up with an obstruction, $2,000 surgery, and a 4 week recovery period and for about 3 days he had a very guarded prognosis, PLEASE if your dog shreds, destroys, etc beding GET RID OF THE BEDDING before it's too late. He will survive with just the plastic or metal crate pan and be just fine.

NateBazooka · #9 26th April 2010, 02:47 PM

Eleonora - the "kong" is a sturdy, hollow rubber dog chew toy with a small hole on the top and a slightly larger hole on the bottom. It's very durable simply as a chew toy, but the wonderful thing about it is that you can stuff it full of food (just kibble and treats, or more elaborate things involving meat, cheese, yogurt, peanut butter, etc.). It's somewhat difficult for the dog to get the food out (especially if you've included something like peanut butter or yogurt and frozen it), so it is something that keeps them occupied, as well as giving them a "job" and draining some of their mental energy. A very good thing in general, but especially if you have to crate your dog, or leave him/her alone. My dog will gladly run into his crate and wait for me to lock him up if he sees me getting a kong out of the freezer.

On the recommendation of the trainer I'm working with, I've started feeding my dog exclusively with kongs, and he loves it.

Amazon.com: KONG Classic Kong Dog Toy, Large, Red: Kitchen & Dining

Nitromethane · #10 5th May 2010, 06:46 PM

We tried everything with our 7 month old boy, Nitro. First he had an entire room in the basement, which he basically destroyed between accidents and bordem. Then we decided to build what we affectionately called, "Dog Jail". It was a 4x4x8 crate sort of thing that was framed and had fencing around it. He broke out of that. He had a metal/wire crate, which he sleeps in nightly. Guess what...? He broke out of that. And, ate a leather couch on one occasion. Our trainer advised that we try the Vari Kennel. He's been in there for 3 days now. The first 2 were rough and he wasn't loving it, but this morning, I threw his Kong in there, a toy and a bone, and he went in on his own. The Vari Kennels are nearly impossible to break out of, as they are hard plastic with a stainless steel grated door. I love my boy, but he really did a number on one room in my house and the furniture in there. The Vari Kennel was the BEST investment we've made so far. I highly recommend it, and can I say he has not had any accidents in in since its just big enough for him to sit, stand and turn, unlike when he had an entire room to pee/poop in and then just run away!!!! Good luck!