Coal-"Escape Artist"
Submitted by: Connie Dowie
In June of 2008 we met beautiful black lab named Coal. Her owner was moving out west and was unable to take her with him. On our first visit we were impressed with her good manners and obedience and 2 weeks later she was ours.
We had left her in the kennel in our home (the previous owner said she always stayed in her indoor kennel while he went to work) while we went to town. When we arrived home she met us in the driveway. We thought someone must have come for a visit and let her out for a run. WRONG -She had pushed the wire kennel door open-we had left 2 windows open 2 inches -she had pushed one of the windows open and had torn 2 screens to escape.
At that point in time we had never heard of the phrase "separation anxiety". We just thought she was just getting used to her new home.
The next time we went away we put an extra strap around the kennel so she couldn't push the door open. We made sure all the windows were closed and went on our way.
Coal met us in the driveway again! We found that the wire door on the kennel had been pulled IN-she found the window with the air conditioner-shoved the plastic side pieces out-pushed the air conditioner to one side-had jumped out the window-which is 9-10 feet from the ground. That is when I started researching doggie problems and found out about separation anxiety and talked with our vet.
In December of 2008 we had to go away for a few days and found a kennel in Woodstock to keep her. Upon our return the owner said "never in 40 years have I ever had a dog escape". Oh great-now what do we do? We had been trying the recommendations given to us by our vet.
July 2009 Coal had been staying in her inside kennel at home fine for a few hours at a time.
We were traveling 600 miles to New York for a family visit. Time to try a new kennel close to our home. We left Coal there feeling very comfortable-WRONG. A few hours later we got a phone call from the distraught owner. He had gone out to check on the dogs. He unlocked the outside door and walked in- Coal was missing! He found a puddle of blood, the wire had been pulled away, how could she have escaped?? He could not find her anywhere!
My husband drove over to the kennel and started looking around the neighborhood. An hour later he found her. She was no longer bleeding but had fewer teeth than before.
We packed her in with us and she traveled 600 miles with us to New York.
We need your help!!!
We love our dog and she is a very good companion for my husband (he is a "stay at home" dad because of his MS) but we need help to cure her of this anxiety.
Chelsea Neuendorff said...
Hello. My name is Chelsea and I'm a friend of Seth's. I train dogs. Email me and I can give you some pointers on this situation. Montgomerychelsea@yahoo.com
Bethany Herrmann said...
First, I can't blame her for wanting to escape from an indoor kennel. I think I would also do the same! Dogs are pack animals and this is the basis of her behaviour. You have to convince your dog that it is okay to spend time away from her family. So my advice for you is:
Fence your yard if possible. Sometimes this involves digging a trench under the fence and fencing the trench as well so she can’t dig out. But the trick is to want her to stay in her yard. You should let her roam in the yard during the day and make her feel like it is her home so she won’t want to try to escape. You should spend a lot of time with her in the yard and reinforce it as a positive place to be.
Make her enclosed space interesting. I have a clam shaped kid’s pool for my dog to drink out of and swim in if she gets hot and she has a billion different toys in a toy box that I control and I give her different ones every day to keep her interested. She also gets her meals thrown into the yard so that she has to search for the food and that keeps her busy for quite a while.
Put an end to separation anxiety. I give my dog a bone from the butcher most mornings and that distracts her from us when we are leaving for work. Even acknowledging a dog when you come and go can trigger separation anxiety. The best thing to do is to be calm and not make a big deal about your coming and going. She is clearly a very sensitive dog and feels desperate to be with you at this point. So what might be ideal is to get a companion for her so that she bonds to something besides a human. I know that for some people two dogs are not an option but I really think that will calm her down.
Exercise cures everything. Taking her for a walk before you go will relax her and hopefully she will sleep for most of the time that you are gone. Further training can also be helpful in that you will reward the dog for good behaviour. This will make your dog eager to please you and also will help your dog trust that you know what is best for her (in your case the kennel).
There are lots of books that will give you an insight into dog psychology and you might find these very helpful. I recommend the Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of New Skete. Good luck. I hope my comment helps you and Coal.