Worried about my lab's health due to separation anxiety.

[Ramrodsooner]

We rescued her about a year ago and it seems to be getting worse and worse. She is crate trained and always gets in it no problem, it used to never bother her until she discovered she can get herself out of it. Now she has broken some some of the wires and gets out every time. We didn't put her in the crate at all at first, but she began by tearing up remotes, then she moved on to tearing up the exit doors to whatever room we had her in (including gate and back door to the house when we tried leaving her outside). After all that we started crating her and it didn't bother her at all for months. No bent wires or chew marks on the cage. Just last week she discovered she could get out of the cage and now gets out every single time and it looks like she does so in a violent fashion so it worries me for her safety. She is absolutely the calmest, sweetest, most cuddly dog I have ever owned when people are around, but when we are not, she freaks out. We use a kong every single time, but it does not seem to be working.

She is about 4 years old if that counts.

[POPTOP]

Hello and Welcome!

How much exercise is she getting? Chewing out of a crate is dangerous and so is being destructive in the house, for both her and your house. How about getting her into an obedience class. It's going to help build her confidence and tire her out some. Also, use mental games at home, like hiding toys or treats and having her find them.

There are super crates but they are pricy.

[Ramrodsooner]

She gets about 3 hours or so of walking/jogging per week. But she wants to be close to us so much that she won't go find her toys. It took us about 3-4 months to get her to play with any toys in the first place. I don't think she was ever taught that stuff from the original owner. I may try to find some obedience schools around.

[POPTOP]

Our Archie is like that but it is a common trait in a GSD. The hardest part of his recall class was getting him away from me. But it did help; it reinforced that although he has to stay in one spot, he gets to come back to me. I think beginning obedience class would be great. I did find a specific recall class. She needs to gain confidence and training helps tremendously. Good luck.

[Ramrodsooner]

Thank you POPTOP, I am not familiar with Recall classes. Don't know anything about them. I will have to do some reading on them.

[JenC]

You need to aim for 1 hour a day.

And get a plastic varikennel. They might hold up better. I've had Jed pop himself out of a wire crate before.

[dxboon]

She gets about 3 hours or so of walking/jogging per week.

IMO, she should be exercised more. 3 hours of exercise a week is about 25 minutes a day. Labs are an active breed. Some Labs have more energy than others, and if not sufficiently exercised physically and mentally, will focus that energy into destructive habits and anxiety. I would also look into getting her a sturdier crate or kennel made for dogs that are escape artists. These crates are pricier, but are designed for dogs that escape regular crates. Signing up for a basic obedience class to build your relationship and strengthen her confidence is also a good idea. You might also try mental games at home (hide and seek, find toys) or 5 minute heeling drills to tire out her mind.

My dogs are crate trained, but generally only crated on days the cleaners come over. However, each day I make sure they both get walked before I leave for work (1/2 hour minimum) and get at least 30 minutes to an hour of free play with me in the yard prior to my leaving in the morning. I come home at lunch and walk them for another 30 minutes. If it's too hot, we do training and some play time in the yard or inside the house at lunch. When I get home in the evening from work, we walk for at least an hour, and then we also do short training sessions and have some backyard freeplay for 30 minutes minimum (especially in the summer when it gets darker late in the evening). With a schedule like this, their minds and bodies are more relaxed in general. When they are relaxed, they are not bothering me or looking to get into things.

[emma_Dad]

Agree with everything dxboon posted.

Emma gets 1.5 hours of free play in the late afternoon. And 30-45 mins in the mornings. Plus training. And some days that's not even enough. She's a very high energy dog so you pup might not need as much. If I skip one day, she becomes a pain since she has so much energy built up

[Ramrodsooner]

Thank you for all the information. I will make it a point to get her out walking/jogging much more. Any idea on good ways to get them to "free play"? She will not play with other dogs when she's around them. Not mean either, just ignores them when they try to play. My wife has a chihuahua so she is always around at least one other dog. They are cuddle buddies, but they don't play together. I can get her to chase a toy 5-10 times before she stops and just wants to follow me around. I really don't think she ever did any playing with her original owners and the more I learn about her, the more I think she either escaped during an anxiety attack or was just dropped off somewhere due to her destructive tendencies when left alone. She was found in a bad part of town with no tag, heart worms, and absolutely skin and bones.

[dxboon]

Free play can mean just about anything -- tossing a ball for fetch, then practicing 30 second down stays, playing in the hose, following you around as you garden. You could intersperse fetching with training, heeling, kicking a soccer ball around with her. You'll have to see what she likes. Some dogs like to play tug, some like squeaky toys, it's hard to say what will pique her interest since I don't know her.