Staff x Mastiff hurting nose while in crate

[William Smith]

Hi everyone,

We have an 8 month old Staff x Mastiff x Bullmastiff. We've never tried crate training with our dog, as there was always somebody at home to look after him (i work days and my girlfriend works nights) except for about an 30 minutes (maximum an hour) between when i leave for work and my girlfriend gets home.

Over the last month or two he's taken to chewing any wood we have in the house. So far he's damaged the banister, the kitchen door frame and a bit of the wall where he's torn some of the wallpaper off.

We decided that we could put him in a crate during that time, but he absolutely hates it. He'll quite happily get in it and go to sleep, but he freaks out a bit when the door is closed, and frantically tries to force his way out to the point where he's hurting his nose from pushing so much, and it starts to swell and go red. I've attached a picture of it for reference. It doesn't seem to bother him too much at the moment, but i don't want it to develop into something worse.

Is there anything we can do? The crate has always been in our hallway since we had him as a pup, and he uses it a lot to sleep in but he always has the door open and a way out, The crate is big enough for him to stand in and move around, but we could do with getting the next size up just for that extra bit of room. We are just a bit hesitant to spend the money on a new crate if he's going to hurt himself on it. I really don't want to have to get him a muzzle, but if we have to, then that's just what we'll have to do.

 

[Nik]

Hi everyone,

We have an 8 month old Staff x Mastiff x Bullmastiff. We've never tried crate training with our dog, as there was always somebody at home to look after him (i work days and my girlfriend works nights) except for about an 30 minutes (maximum an hour) between when i leave for work and my girlfriend gets home.

Over the last month or two he's taken to chewing any wood we have in the house. So far he's damaged the banister, the kitchen door frame and a bit of the wall where he's torn some of the wallpaper off.

We decided that we could put him in a crate during that time, but he absolutely hates it. He'll quite happily get in it and go to sleep, but he freaks out a bit when the door is closed, and frantically tries to force his way out to the point where he's hurting his nose from pushing so much, and it starts to swell and go red. I've attached a picture of it for reference. It doesn't seem to bother him too much at the moment, but i don't want it to develop into something worse.

Is there anything we can do? The crate has always been in our hallway since we had him as a pup, and he uses it a lot to sleep in but he always has the door open and a way out, The crate is big enough for him to stand in and move around, but we could do with getting the next size up just for that extra bit of room. We are just a bit hesitant to spend the money on a new crate if he's going to hurt himself on it. I really don't want to have to get him a muzzle, but if we have to, then that's just what we'll have to do.

Is there a way to gate him into the kitchen or a room where he will cause less damage if he won't adjust to being locked into the crate?

 

[Jarena]

Maybe a silly question.. do you put anything in the crate with him? When Lettie was a puppy I was too afraid of choking to put any toys in the crate with her, but I did make some frozen “treats” to keep her busy. I just added some hot water to her kibble so it made it softer, then I put a little in the bottom of a bunch of plastic storage containers and froze them. So it was like a bunch of little frozen doggy pancakes, she loved them! Maybe it would distract him a little?

 

[William Smith]

Is there a way to gate him into the kitchen or a room where he will cause less damage if he won't adjust to being locked into the crate?

Not at the moment. We do have a spare bedroom which we could potentially convert into 'his room' but i'd be a little worried he would do the same again. I guess i wont know until i try it.

our kitchen has a few too many things that I would be worried about him getting a hold of (knives, cleaning stuff etc)

Maybe a silly question.. do you put anything in the crate with him? When Lettie was a puppy I was too afraid of choking to put any toys in the crate with her, but I did make some frozen “treats” to keep her busy. I just added some hot water to her kibble so it made it softer, then I put a little in the bottom of a bunch of plastic storage containers and froze them. So it was like a bunch of little frozen doggy pancakes, she loved them! Maybe it would distract him a little?

We have been leaving him with a couple of his toys, including his crinkly monkey toy he's had since we got him (It's the only you he hasn't pulled all of the stuffing out of) and usually a massive chew treat. We also tried covering it over with a thin sheet, but he pulled it in with him and tore it to shreds.

He's also been wee-ing in there as well, and ends up soaking himself so we've had to bath him 2 days in a row so far..

 

[marke]

the dogs bored , they get bad habits from being bored ………. food toy puzzles , frozen like Jarena said , large bones , leave a tv on for him , an open window he can look out …… depending on how determined you are to keep the dog it's definitely doable … dog door and access to the outside takes some commitment and cost , but just about guaranteed to solve the problem …… a bored staff/pitbull is a wrecking machine , tiring him out before you leave would be good , but tiring out an 8month old dog takes a lot of effort and time …….

 

[Nik]

the dogs bored , they get bad habits from being bored ………. food toy puzzles , frozen like Jarena said , large bones , leave a tv on for him , an open window he can look out …… depending on how determined you are to keep the dog it's definitely doable … dog door and access to the outside takes some commitment and cost , but just about guaranteed to solve the problem …… a bored staff/pitbull is a wrecking machine , tiring him out before you leave would be good , but tiring out an 8month old dog takes a lot of effort and time …….

Oh good point on the entertainment! We actually leave music on for our dogs when we are gone. Typically classical.

 

[Boxergirl]

Just to clarify ... He is still only alone for that half an hour to hour time period? Your work schedules haven't changed? Any other changes in routine? The destruction is located where? Just randomly, or by the door/window, etc? When left out, do you know if he's being vocal? Can you close the door to the crate while you're home and have him be calm?

 

[DennasMom]

Same questions as Boxergirl - he does all this in 30 minutes??

I'd be working on him knowing what is Good to chew on what is Not... LOTS of praise when he picks the right thing to chew on. A soft "no" if he LOOKS at the wrong piece of furniture with his "chewing-thought" eyes, with a redirection to a Good chew toy.

I'd also be working on his ability to sit in the crate with you home, not letting him out... first with you as the "door"... sit in front and read a book or put the crate where you can watch your evening tv from sitting in the crate doorway... make him relax in the crate, unable to get out, with you there.

Work up to him getting "special treats" in the crate - with you there - but he can't leave the crate with it. He can ONLY have the treat IN the crate... leave the door open, but he can't leave. Then start closing the door, but open it before he finishes the treat and looks to get out - so there's no anxiety about him wanting to leave and not being able to. Then work on him waiting for the door for a few seconds... then a few minutes, etc. The goal is for him to trust that you will always be there (eventually) to open the door for him.

I'd also work on his "wait" command in everything his does, all day long... wait for dinner, wait for doors to open, wait for treats, wait for attention... if he likes to play fetch, have him "wait" while you throw the ball, then release him to go fetch it back... anything you can do to help him gain patience and impulse control will help for times he's stuck in the crate... "waiting" (hopefully patiently) for you to come home.

I will say, Denna was crate-confined up to 6 months old for potty-training reasons, and then again from 9 months to 14 months due to a destructive phase... she never tried to get out of the crate, but did like to shred dog beds that were in it with her. She graduated with flying colors when she was 14 months old, and has enjoyed full run of the house ever since.

 

[William Smith]

Sorry for the late reply.

No, he didn't do all of that in 30 minutes as far as the damage to the banister and stuff. That's just a combination of everything over time. It guess it sounds a bit worse than it actually is. It's more like he's gnawing in it. At first we put it down to him losing his baby teeth and started to give him things like frozen kongs/bagels and leaving all his toys out with him. It helped for a while. We can easily go a month or so without any issues, then one day my girlfriend will get home and there's teeth marks in the wood and the paint has been scraped off a section of it. The bit where he tore a bit of the wallpaper off the wall was when we had been out shopping and were out of the house for around 2 hours.

Whenever I leave for work I always make sure that I leave him with food, water and toys. Could he just be getting bored of the toys he already has? It had been a while since we went out and bought him some new ones. We left him to run free yesterday, and there were no issues at all. We do close all of the doors though, so he's not able to get into the kitchen, living room, bathroom or bedrooms. He's limited to just the hallway, stairs and landing.

I'll definitely try the crate training you mentioned with me being the door. As far as special treats, I work for a pork company, so I always have things like sausages, loin steaks and belly slices that I usually cook up for him and use for training on recall and things like that when we're out and about. I could always use that.

He's absolutely perfect with his "Wait" when we're at home. We do it with him for everything already. We'll tell him to wait at the top of the stairs, walk down and into another room and he'll still be sitting there until we call him. He knows he won't get anything otherwise. We put food down in front of him, and he'll wait there staring at it until he's told he can go. He's not good at it in public though. Too many distractions.

Our puppy trainer told is to train him with 'Wait' and 'stay' seperately so he knows the difference between the two. He said to have 'Wait' for when you want him to wait before getting something, or before coming back to us, and to use 'stay' when we will be coming back to him like when we go out somewhere. I'm guessing he just hasn't gotten the hang of 'stay' yet, or is that just bad advice?

 

[William Smith]

Just to clarify ... He is still only alone for that half an hour to hour time period? Your work schedules haven't changed? Any other changes in routine? The destruction is located where? Just randomly, or by the door/window, etc? When left out, do you know if he's being vocal? Can you close the door to the crate while you're home and have him be calm?

Yeah, only an hour at most. I usually leave for work at 8, and my girlfriend finishes work at 8, getting home at around 8:30ish.

Schedules haven't changes. Occasionally I have to work further away when I'm on different sites, so I have to leave earlier, which is why I say it's no more than around an hour.

The damage is on the banister at the bottom of the stairs, and the doorway leading into the kitchen towards the back of the house. He doesn't seem to go near the banister at the top of the stairs.

I've only heard him being vocal once. But I don't know if it's a regular thing at this point. I've tried asking neighbours, but they're usually out if the house at this time too, so they haven't heard anything.

When we're at home and have him in the crate he's always calm. He just goes to sleep, but we've never locked him in there since he's gotten older. We tried it a few times when he was 8-10 weeks old, but he screamed the house down. We tried leaving him in there, giving treats and ignoring him, but the longest was about 2 hours of non-stop howling. and we ended up giving in.

 

[TylerDurden]

Sorry for the late reply.

No, he didn't do all of that in 30 minutes as far as the damage to the banister and stuff. That's just a combination of everything over time. It guess it sounds a bit worse than it actually is. It's more like he's gnawing in it. At first we put it down to him losing his baby teeth and started to give him things like frozen kongs/bagels and leaving all his toys out with him. It helped for a while. We can easily go a month or so without any issues, then one day my girlfriend will get home and there's teeth marks in the wood and the paint has been scraped off a section of it. The bit where he tore a bit of the wallpaper off the wall was when we had been out shopping and were out of the house for around 2 hours.

Whenever I leave for work I always make sure that I leave him with food, water and toys. Could he just be getting bored of the toys he already has? It had been a while since we went out and bought him some new ones. We left him to run free yesterday, and there were no issues at all. We do close all of the doors though, so he's not able to get into the kitchen, living room, bathroom or bedrooms. He's limited to just the hallway, stairs and landing.

I'll definitely try the crate training you mentioned with me being the door. As far as special treats, I work for a pork company, so I always have things like sausages, loin steaks and belly slices that I usually cook up for him and use for training on recall and things like that when we're out and about. I could always use that.

He's absolutely perfect with his "Wait" when we're at home. We do it with him for everything already. We'll tell him to wait at the top of the stairs, walk down and into another room and he'll still be sitting there until we call him. He knows he won't get anything otherwise. We put food down in front of him, and he'll wait there staring at it until he's told he can go. He's not good at it in public though. Too many distractions.

Our puppy trainer told is to train him with 'Wait' and 'stay' seperately so he knows the difference between the two. He said to have 'Wait' for when you want him to wait before getting something, or before coming back to us, and to use 'stay' when we will be coming back to him like when we go out somewhere. I'm guessing he just hasn't gotten the hang of 'stay' yet, or is that just bad advice?

On the "wait" and "stay": I don‘t think there is one universal or correct way of teaching this. We have always been using it separately. Wait for food or to cross a street, stay to make him stay in a particular place. In wait, we would release him more quickly, while in stay we would come and get him. You could even do it the other way around, as long as you are consistent in training this, it should work either way. I know people who don‘t differentiate between the two, which can work as well.

 

[Jarena]

On the "wait" and "stay": I don‘t think there is one universal or correct way of teaching this. We have always been using it separately. Wait for food or to cross a street, stay to make him stay in a particular place. In wait, we would release him more quickly, while in stay we would come and get him. You could even do it the other way around, as long as you are consistent in training this, it should work either way. I know people who don‘t differentiate between the two, which can work as well.

Yeah, I think there are a few ways of going about it. For us, “wait” means stay where you are and you will get what you want shortly. “Stay” means stay where you are no matter what you want, you stay put until I say “release”. For us “stay” is much more strict, “wait” is more informal and doesn’t require a release command.

 

[Boxergirl]

Yeah, I think there are a few ways of going about it. For us, “wait” means stay where you are and you will get what you want shortly. “Stay” means stay where you are no matter what you want, you stay put until I say “release”. For us “stay” is much more strict, “wait” is more informal and doesn’t require a release command.

This is what "wait" and "stay" mean for us as well.

William Smith, there's one thing I wasn't clear on. When you say he can be crated when you're there, does that mean with the door open or closed? You say you haven't locked him in, which makes me think door open. It also sounds like you were never able to close the door? Is this correct?