Escape proof kennels

[JamieHalverson]

So Yogi has some separation anxiety, he's an escape artist and a trash thief. Please, need recommendations of an escape/injury proof kennel that will not break the bank. He has escaped from 3 different kennels, scratching up his face pretty nicely the last time. After I had zip tied the joints and carabined the door he actually broke the zip ties and squeezed himself out of a corner, leaving the entire kennel intact. Once out, he ransacks every and anything he can get a hold of, he got the trash can down from on top of the counter last night and we came home to trash strewn thoughout the whole house, with his footprints in coffee grinds across the carpet, even anything in a plastic bag that MIGHT be food, he actually tore off a corner of a ziploc bag that had legos in it, as soon as he realized it wasn't edible, he left it alone... After ransacking, his anxiety gets the best of him and he poops and pees in the house... To keep him safe, we started NOT crating him, and putting up anything he might get into, but we are not always successful at this. Even in the car at the trial on Saturday I came back to the car and he had squeezed himself through the very small opening in the k9 keeper and was in the backseat rather than the cargo area. I mean, what is even better in his mind about being in the backseat? I just don't get that. Anyway, here's a pic of the space he managed to get through:

 

[EverythingEnglishMastiff]

If he can fit his head he can easily squeeze through. I learned that the hard way with a client's dog. lol As far as dog proof kennels? Idk. I'm interested to see the suggestions lol.

 

[sjdavenport]

When we first adopted Atlas, we also had a lot of separation anxiety issues. We were told he "would be find as long as he's crated." Lies! This is what he did to a standard metal crate after like two or three one hour or so stays in it while we weren't home. We had a lot more luck with a Petmate Vari plastic kennel. I borrowed it from my stepmom who used it for an escape artist cane corso. Atlas was never able to get out of it and never able to hurt himself. I don't think he could ever get a grip on anything inside it. They would be too small for larger mastiffs, but if I remember correctly, Yogi is somewhat petite, right? Atlas is about 80lbs. I've included a second pic of Mazey hanging out in that crate. You can see all the scratches on the inside from Atlas' escape attempts, but it always held up. Thankfully we've since retired all of our crates, but it was a lifesaver while we needed it!

 

[EverythingEnglishMastiff]

Holy cow! He did a number on that wire crate. That's another reason I was thinking of making my own out of 1/4" square tubing. They would never be able to break out of it. It just would be very heavy and not very portable.

 

[JamieHalverson]

Yeah, Yogi's only about 70 pounds. I was wondering about the veri kennel, I actually have one that was lent to us for Lillie, it might be a bit small for Yogi for long term, but we can certainly try it. I was hesitant just because I don't want him injured trying to get out, but if it worked for other determined dpgs, I'll try it. I've found some pretty heavy duty kennels online which I'm pretty sure could contain a wild bear, but they are super expensive!

 

[TricAP]

Not sure any kennel is escape proof. I've had labs chew out of Vari Kennels and when we did boxer rescue had one do a number to a wire one similar to what sjdavenport posted. Have you tried a pheromone diffuser or any of the calming tablets with him?

 

[JamieHalverson]

Not sure any kennel is escape proof. I've had labs chew out of Vari Kennels and when we did boxer rescue had one do a number to a wire one similar to what sjdavenport posted. Have you tried a pheromone diffuser or any of the calming tablets with him?

I haven't, but I was thinking about a pheromne diffuser as well as a thundershirt. I found this on amazon, looks like a pretty good deal; I'd be pretty amazed if he could break out of this:Amazon.com : SmithBuilt - Heavy Duty Dog or Animal Cage w/ 2 Doors Length - Silver : Pet Supplies

 

[JamieHalverson]

Gah, never mind, appearances are decieving. Reviews of the kennel has multiple people advising their dogs broke out the first time. Dang it.

 

[Hector]

All kennels advertised as escape proof starts from $600. A member on here has one of those and they like it. I have read some dogs will injure themselves trying to get out. My little dog anxiety poops even though the last owner said he did none of that, but I think the difference was that he had a window to look out of. So, at my house I put him in a wire crate and he has no accidents. My shepherd mix could not be kenneled if no one was home because he would chew up the crate and get out, but we found that if we just put him in the front room with a window to look out of, he'd be okay.

 

[EverythingEnglishMastiff]

I looked at some of the photos on the link you gave. They most likely used a very thin wall square tubing. In other words over priced and cheaply made. Something similar built with ticker walled tubing would work just fine. Maybe save the picture for a reference and find a welder in your area that could build you one for around the same price but using quality materials from the steel mill.

 

[EverythingEnglishMastiff]

It might cost more and make it heavier but i also suggest spacing the bars so their muzzle can't fit in between them. They will still be able to bite the bars but not the two next to each other, there would be at least one more bar in between their mouth isn't touching. If I had my own gear I'd offer to make you one for the cost of materials but I would have to rent/borrow a mig welder and it might not be worth the cost. Plus it'd be super heavy to ship.

 

[JamieHalverson]

I looked at some of the photos on the link you gave. They most likely used a very thin wall square tubing. In other words over priced and cheaply made. Something similar built with ticker walled tubing would work just fine. Maybe save the picture for a reference and find a welder in your area that could build you one for around the same price but using quality materials from the steel mill.

Hmmm, my cousins are welders...

 

[EverythingEnglishMastiff]

See! Now you are thinking

 

[JamieHalverson]

All kennels advertised as escape proof starts from $600. A member on here has one of those and they like it. I have read some dogs will injure themselves trying to get out. My little dog anxiety poops even though the last owner said he did none of that, but I think the difference was that he had a window to look out of. So, at my house I put him in a wire crate and he has no accidents. My shepherd mix could not be kenneled if no one was home because he would chew up the crate and get out, but we found that if we just put him in the front room with a window to look out of, he'd be okay.

Unfortunately, it doesn't matter if he's got a window or not. If he's keneled he tries to break out, if he's not he's destructive. He seems to have a pretty solid time threshold. We can leave him for a couple hours and as long as there isn't food or trash accessible he's fine. Anything beyond that and he panics. I've tried lots of behavioral things - I leave and return without fanfare, I put him in the crate everyday even if I'm home, I give him a kong when I leave.. He likes the crate fine, just not when left alone.

 

[DennasMom]

The dog we rescued HATED the crate (the rescue group told us he was fine with them). He had major anxiety fits in them. We finally gave up and just let him have run of the house with our other dog. That's all he wanted. Other than a few tooth marks on the window sill (ok... big gouges out of the window sill)... he did fine with freedom. Have you tried leaving music or a tv playing while you're gone?

 

[JamieHalverson]

The dog we rescued HATED the crate (the rescue group told us he was fine with them). He had major anxiety fits in them. We finally gave up and just let him have run of the house with our other dog. That's all he wanted. Other than a few tooth marks on the window sill (ok... big gouges out of the window sill)... he did fine with freedom. Have you tried leaving music or a tv playing while you're gone?

Yep, T.V. and/or music. He has issues whether he's crated or not, but if he's not crated he's destructive and has anxiety related accidents. It used to be pretty manageable. Both my BF and I worked from home and we didn't have Lillie. Now that Jake opened his retail location, he is gone a lot. Now that Lillie is here I take her to classes and such and have to leave Yogi. The change in the household has definitely increased his anxiety. When I leave with Lillie, I can hear him in the house crying and barking and jumping on the front door...It's not as bad if I just leave to run errands and Lille is here. Where before he was destructive (especially with trash, which is something we can physically manage) and had the occasional anxiety accident, now the accidents are much more frequent, I think they are happening sooner after we leave and are becoming more of an ingrained response. He really should be crated for his safety as well as to stop the accidents. I just need a crate that he can't hurt himself on...

 

[teodora]

ok...so Jack broke one of those last week:

I went and replaced it with a more sturdy model.... He still won't break/chew anything INSIDE the house. He can destroy a crate in no time but he doesn't even try. He just sits there in time out with a pissed look on his face.

 

[JamieHalverson]

Yeah, I'm not sure what to do with this dog... I assisted my first obedience class last night for one hour before Yogi's Rally class, so he had to be in a crate. At about the 45 minute mark I could hear him whinning, at 50 minutes I could hear him trying to destroy the kennel... I went out of the puppy room to where he was kenneled, told him to knock it off and downed him, told him to wait and went back to the puppy room. He didn't keep trying to get out, but was clearly stressed until I came back out to that area. BTW, there was an ADORABLE EM/Neo X puppy in class named Blue. Boy was he a little heartbreaker!

 

[EverythingEnglishMastiff]

He was THAT cute and you didn't steal some spy photos!? For shame!

 

[tmricciuto]

Have you tried maybe setting up a face time chat or something so that you can see him and he can hear you throughout the day? It sounds like you can correct him. I know that there are some items on the market that you can see your pup and treat them but not sure about speaking to them.