help! dogs breaking out of crates - Page 1

it seems like after a really bad thunderstorm last week which spawned a few tornados, i cant keep my dog in her crate. she was in a 500 skykennel, so i switched to a 400, which she fits in. to na avail. now that she knows she can break out, theres no keeping her in. the male i have too. cant keep him in either. he has not been able to be contained by anything. chews right through chainlink, blasts right through the door on the box. i want them in sometimes. what do i do?? im at my witts end. im having 6 guage welded wire kennels put up for him, and hopefully that will hold him outside, but what about inside??

I beleive there are some pretty descent aluminum crates on the market but don't know how to direct you to them.  sorry.

ach, I had this problem.   If the dog is pulling the door in, this may work for you.  With the dog in the crate, position the crate so the door is right up against the tire of your car, or a wall, something solid.   Go out of the dogs site, but stay near & be very quiet.  As soon as you hear the dog start to mess with the door, throw something large & heavy at the crate & scream at the same time.  It won't hurt the dog, but  it will shock the bejesus out of her & she'll stop.   It's the kind of thing you may have to work on for a while & you have to really be consistant so the dog no longer thinks it can break out.  Good luck! 

If its the gate of the crate that the dogs are getting out of, which is most likely, it will be because the dog bent the 'hinges' of the gate in the crate, which is actually a pretty weak, the rest of the door usually stays fairly intact. But bending the door and getting out is a self rewarding behaviour that the dogs pick up quickly. So the previous success must be reversed or at the very least stopped, meaning you need to secure the gate and make sure her action will no longer bring the reward of a successful escape. 

Start with bending all parts of the gate back into shape so you have at least a semi functioning gate again (order a replacement gate once the situation is under control again), then take the crate and drill holes into the plastic of the forward facing part right next to the closed gate. Two on each side, so 8 alltogether. When the dog is inside secure the outer rim of the gate with cable ties (decent size, not too flimsy, at least at first) - one cable tie go through one hole and that rim of the closed gate, which is the strongest part of the gate. The gate secured that way with those 8 cable ties is virtually impossible to get out of. Make sure all cable ties are very snug, the plastic of the whole crate is intact and the two halves are bolted or screwed together securely as well so that there are no other escape options. Try without a dog inside first to see how you like the set up like that. I am sure you will. You will need a pair of scissors or pliers to get the dog out, might be a good idea to place one by the crate with a bunch of extra cable ties. Once they have learned that they cannot get out they will usually give up trying and you can later reduce the cable ties to 4 or 2 or leave them alltogether. You can try some verbal correction as well, but the gate needs to be secure first. Also make the crate a positive experience. Feed the dog in the crate for example. Also leave the crate door open and throw in treats without saying much, just walk away, let them figure it out. You can also put something they can safely chew on in with them, open the crate before they are done but don't ask them to come out, just open the door and mind your business. If they come out, they come out, chances are they will not leave their treat, either get it to take it somewhere or they may go back in to finish in peace. Either way is fine. Keep the dogs in for a short time every once in a while even if you have no need for them to go in, and frequently throughout the day. Or tell the dog to go into the crate and stay in while the gate is wide open. If you put the dog in the Platz it does not matter where she is. Inside an open crate or not (if she knows Platz....). Just don't make a big deal of crate time. Your apprehension and anticipation of something bad happening will set the stage for it. Crate time is normal, not big deal, putting a dog in or letting it out of the crate is no biggie, treat it as such. Then you should be fine.

I bungie all crates with two or three bungies  the black 15 " ones and they are harder to get chewed in half.....I found that bunging keep door from being pliable and able to start the bending process,,,,,My Demi has come out of and bent and destroyed the strongest of wire crates and any cyclone...the old Midwest  #7 gauge wire and the new  metal cage runs are the only solution..In my truck I butt up each craate to another that are all bungied..tight also....

Are you using the Vari Kennels with the dial type round handle on the door and a metal brace bar running across the middle?? Ther eis a little tab on the outside that you have to push down to open it and there are 3 openings for the rods to go thru becauses you have that extra middle one....

They cost a bit more but have worked for friends who have escapists.. KustomKrates.com in TX has the best but you are really gonna pay..... there is no way they can get out

Owens aluminum..... also has some very strong ones

Know of a dog like this who breaks out of every crate and tears up the place during storms.. sounds weird but short of tranking them, it's gonna be tough.. try peppermint oil on the pads of their feet.. have tried it and it works on mildly agitated dogs... it's pretty cheap so its worth a try ..

Denise

they both have no problem going in the crate. in fact, left loose in the house they will go in on their own and sleep there. they eat in their crates, and get a chew in the crate. neither of them destroy anything when they get out. the only thing amiss when i came home last night was the male lifted a plate off the counter, placed it on the floor and licked it clean. no garbage no nothing. cats all intact. they are not big dogs. the female is east and west german at 2 years old and 62lbs. and the male is czech and slovac at 3 years old and 85 lbs. the doors are pushed out. funny that nothing is bent, almost like they were let out, but the only ones here were cats. i think the cable ties will work on hers, but he will rip right through them. he will blast through and then go lay back in it. like hey, im only staying in because i want to. if im here there fine. once theyre out they just go about their business. i dont think its anxiety. they just figured out how to get out and that was that. the female also opens the doors on the kennels. i have two latches on each door. shes figured out how to open them too. and the door to the house. i have to lock everything! thanks for the ideas guys.

A couple of ours have learned if they hit the door latch with their paw, dead center, they can pop the whole latch mechanism off.   Abe can be out of a ragualr crate in under a minute.  He's in a wire crate, very heavy with dual latches now.

It sounds like the storm spooked them very badly, it would have me too.  They may be associating being in the crate with the storm.   Time to make the crates a safe place to be again, treats and toys and positive reinforcement.  And the bungy cords.....