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Excessive drooling in crate
by melbatoast64, Jul 23, 2008 09:37AM
Laila is a 6 month old boxer. She is lovable and friendly. However, after we leave her in the crate for a few hours, we come back to find her face soaking wet with saliva and the area around her has splashes as well. I've read that it might be separation anxiety. Anyone have any experience with this?
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Ideally, a young dog should have an energy burst before being crated. Burning off that energy either from playing a game or walking with you will result in a tired, calm dog who is ready to rest and relax in the crate. If you can't work with the exercise issue, is there any way you can leave her uncrated? She should be well housetrained by now, and even using a baby gate to keep her restricted to one part of the house would help.
Crate time should be a pleasant time for any dog. If you feed her in her crate, that will help her associate it with something good. You can also keep her distracted and entertained for a while by placing a food toy inside with her. One that works well is to fill a rubber Kong toy with peanut butter and cheese, and freeze it. Freezing will keep the dog busy and engaged for a longer time.
How does your boxer react to the crate? Does she go in willingly, or is it a battle? You can also try putting a worn article of your clothing in with her. Having your smell in the crate with her can be a comfort.
A lot of dogs with separation anxiety get that way because their whole lives revolve around what happens when their owners are at home. If you make that home time quality time with exercise and play, it will be natural for the dog to chill out when you're gone. Walking is great mental exercise for dogs because they are genetically wired to travel - every day. They were never meant to live like humans, so if you work with what Mother Nature intended, everyone is happy. :-)