Crate Aggression toward other dogs - Page 1

My just over 2 year old female has just started showing crate aggression toward other dogs.  I have been crating her in my truck for training sessions, etc since she was a pup.  Loves her crate, used to never make a sound.  Recently she showed high level aggression when my friends 2 Rotti's approached the crate and this weekend at an AKC event she was extremely bothered if any of the dogs pranced by.  As soons as I bring her out, she is fine, just acts up in the crate.

I was just wondering how others felt about this.  Is it something that should be corrected?  To be honest, I am shocked by the level of aggression she achieved and wished she would bring a little of that on the field, but would rather not have a Cujo in the crate.

Look forward to hearing everyones opinions.

Cheryl

It sounds like shes very territorial. Her crate is like her cave and she doesn't want any other dogs near it. I wouldn't correct her for it because it's her instinct kicking in. What you should do is to park away from the other club members so she doesn't wear herself out.

At the field , all of m y dogs do that in the crate...their den , their territory and she has just shown you she is becoming an adult...she is maturing...

Every dog in the club does the same thing unless it is a puppy...and some of them start early....

I want mine to be crate voicey....then people leave them alone and wont open a door or try to steal..Ive always imprinted my adults to not let any one open the crate or get that close..  As soon as I open door and they are out,,they resume their normal self with no particular agenda unless told to do elsewise.

A dog may be comfortable in its crate and even feel some security, but a smart dog also realize's that it's trapped and becomes defensive.  The same thing happens to a dog on a chain.    It is normal and my advice would be to place the crate away from any high traffic area just to keep down the stress.   Other dogs should not be running free to approach your dogs crate in my opinion anyway.    Continued harassment in the crate could effect your dogs performance and add a new unwanted aspect to her behavior around other dogs.

JMO

try covering the crate with a blanket

all the best