Rusty's crate aggression

Nathan

Nathan

SF VIP
Location
High Desert- Calif.
We have had Rusty for about 4 years, got him from a dog rescue that a friend of ours runs. He was mistreated and abandoned with a broken leg, left in a vacant lot in Beaumont. Rusty is a sweet loving boy, but when it's time to go in his crate he becomes Cujo. When shutting the crate door he barks and snarls, lunging at the crate door as it closes. That lasts about 5-10 seconds then subsides. Rusty has never been forced into the crate, he willingly walks right in, seems to like his little space. I suppose he's being defensive of his space, but don't quite know how to help him get past the ugliness. :unsure:

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How would you like to be in a crate? I don't get it; are you afraid of him wandering somewhere while you sleep in a real bed, not a cage? It's a cage, not a crate! I don't get this crate stuff for dogs, I just don't. Never heard of this until recently.
 
We aren't dogs but many feel more secure in a smaller space while they sleep and it keeps them off the bed and prevents them from wondering at night.
Rusty looks wonderful! Does putting a treat in his crate before she goes in keep him distracted? Does he like music? We had a cat that would zone out to peaceful, quiet place when I played a particular music box for her. As you said, it seems like he is being defensive of his space, or just saying "hey look where I am", so maybe just letting this behavior subside over time is best. He is what he is, and thank you for being a wonderful guardian.
 

Happy Heart said:
Does putting a treat in his crate before she goes in keep him distracted? Does he like music?
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I used to put a treat in the crate, but just a few days ago I discontinued that as I'm thinking it might be a trigger for his aggressiveness. When my wife feeds the dogs Rusty watches her if she's still nearby after she puts down his food bowl. Once she walks away he'll relax and eat. I would really like to find a solution, as it's just a shame to end a pleasant day on such a negative note.
 
Pepper said:
How would you like to be in a crate? I don't get it; are you afraid of him wandering somewhere while you sleep in a real bed, not a cage? It's a cage, not a crate! I don't get this crate stuff for dogs, I just don't. Never heard of this until recently.
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Crating a dog is a very common practice, I wasn't aware that some people don't understand or might make negative assumptions.
Our dogs are very well taken care of, we feed them top quality food to keep them healthy, keep them in the house, although they do have access via doggie doors to go out to potty, or bark at the UPS truck. We don't let them out at night unsupervised, as there are coyotes and mountain lions. We take them out to go potty right before bedtime, then they go in their crates, we then go to bed. They are fine in their crates until morning, they are let outside to go potty and them have breakfast...then they go back to sleep on the couch or someone's lap.
 
Pepper said:
In what countries is crating a dog illegal?

Sweden and Finland have made crate training illegal and they are only to be used for transportation, dog shows, and during exceptional cases when the dog is recovering after a surgery or trauma. Why are the opinions about crate training so divided?Mar 16, 2021
Crate Training. Why Is It Illegal in Sweden and Finland? - Dogo App
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From the article: Crate training can be cruel if it’s done inappropriately. Leaving your dog in a crate throughout the entire date is animal cruelty. I totally agree with this, but Nathan isn't leaving Rusty in a crate all day so not sure what the post is about.
 
Although I never had a dog of my own, I have lived with dogs, other people's dogs, and at night they would usually 'camp out' on my guest bed, as I was the new curiosity, and it was always fine by me. All sizes.
 
Nathan said:
Crating a dog is a very common practice, I wasn't aware that some people don't understand or might make negative assumptions.
Our dogs are very well taken care of, we feed them top quality food to keep them healthy, keep them in the house, although they do have access via doggie doors to go out to potty, or bark at the UPS truck. We don't let them out at night unsupervised, as there are coyotes and mountain lions. We take them out to go potty right before bedtime, then they go in their crates, we then go to bed. They are fine in their crates until morning, they are let outside to go potty and them have breakfast...then they go back to sleep on the couch or someone's lap.
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Will you adopt me if I come back as dog? You sound like wonderful guardians. We also have coyotes, racoons and bob cats in our area and would never leave a dog outside overnight. Pepper's article isn't what the headline suggests.
 
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Some dogs hate crates. My son has a dog that is a hunting breed. Son started working in another state and took the dog with him. Because of long shifts he found a dog sitter. All went well until the sitter crated the dog while she left the house. The dog broke out of the crate. This happened twice more with different sitters before son took time off to drive the dog home. The dog now stays here happily with a friend who doesn’t use crates but my son doesn’t get to see him very often.

Maybe you could have the dog trained to stay off the bed or to avoid whatever behavior you are trying to stop?
 
How old is he? After 10 yrs old, dogs can get progressively nuttier, just like us old folks! Our 11 yr old shelty barks and even snarls all the time (although we do not cage her up at all), but it is herding instinct and not real aggression, although it looks like it - and it gets more common as she gets older.
 
Michael Z said:
How old is he? After 10 yrs old, dogs can get progressively nuttier, just like us old folks! Our 11 yr old shelty barks and even snarls all the time (although we do not cage her up at all), but it is herding instinct and not real aggression, although it looks like it - and it gets more common as she gets older.
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Rusty is 10 this year, he has been doing the crate aggression all along, our friend from whom we adopted Rusty told us about it, beforehand.
Rusty is getting a bit weird, during the day if nobody is in the living room he'll start barking, like he's bored or telling us he's lonely. When I'm on the treadmill he usually lays down on a nearby thick rubber pad.
 
Nathan said:
got him from a dog rescue that a friend of ours runs. He was mistreated and abandoned with a broken leg
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How was he rescued? I've watched dog rescue youtubes and lots of times they have to set a cage trap and the animals freak out when they are caught because they are frightened. Or even just from being snared and then put in a cage for transporting to the animal hospital. Maybe Rusty has a bad memory that the closing of the door triggers.

I can't think of how to retrain a dog, my experience is more with horses.
 
I have nothing really against crating, but my own big dogs always slept on their own bed on the floor and never got into any trouble at night. Well there was that one birthday cake I had left cooling on the kitchen table, but other than that everything was fine.

I'm older now and want my little dachshund in bed with me, under the covers, cuddled up behind my knees. Who's going to stop us?
 
HoneyNut said:
How was he rescued? I've watched dog rescue youtubes and lots of times they have to set a cage trap and the animals freak out when they are caught because they are frightened.
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From what our friend told us, someone found Rusty in a field and collected him up, then turned him over to her. Here is Rusty's(formerly REX) page from his adoption post: https://www.saveasmalldogrescue.org/animals/detail?AnimalID=12866106
We don't believe he's a Carin Terrier, but rather a mix of Silky Terrier and Lhasa Apso, due to his skeletal structure.
 
I wonder if Rusty's aggression stems from his life before you took him. He had a broken leg.! It is quite possible that this is where it all stems from. Some advice from a vet. would probably help, and some retraining.
 
Tish said:
@Nathan I wish I had some good advice on this subject, but I do not, with the exception of putting his favorite soft toy and blanket in there with him.
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Rusty has a couple nice blankets in his crate, he arranges them to his liking. His favorite toy(s) are six rubber balls. I could do an experiment and give him one as I close the door.
 

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