Excessive slobbering in crate

[StinaLove]

My dog is almost 1 years old she is a boxer/black lab. We got her when she was 8weeks old. We already had one dog and now they are a year apart, they are best buddies. We have recently started leaving the older one out of the crate. The younger one cannot be trusted yet alone, afraid she will tear the house apart. So we only crate her when we're at work. But every time we come home there is tons of slobber inside the crate, on the carpet surrounding it and all over her, not to mention the horrible smell from it. I dont know why she does this or how to make it stop. We put treats and bones in with her to try to keep her occupied but it doesnt seem to be working. I have no idea what to do. Can anyone help me?

[Red931]

For your dog to be getting that much saliva all over the place she is getting severely stressed out while you are not there.

What does the dog do that makes you feel he would tear up the house if you let her out with the other one while your at work? What behavior does the dog exihibit in your presence that makes you feel you have to crate it?

After 10 months the dog should have gone through any issues that would require being crated if she behaves properly when people are home.

Your other dog may be experiencing some stress also when he senses the crated dog's stress and aggitation. My experience has been that the younger one will stick with the older one when they are by themselves.

I have always left the crate open after they get passed the chewing and housebreaking and allow them to go in and out as they please. If you used the crate to train from the beginning they will go in there on their own if they are bored or just to feel safe.

Sooner or later you have to take a chance. On the weekends I suggest you leave the house for about thirty minutes to an hour at a time and see what happens when you return. If the dog has gotten into mischief you must train it not to do whatever it was that it did. It will not take long to break any bad habbits, especially if the other dog does not do these things.

There are different methods to crate training and your younger one is feeling that he is being disciplined being locked in the crate.

Try the weekend thing when you have time. It has always worked for me. You just have to have patience and believe it or not the other dog will help you along with this.

Let me know what you decide.

Dino

[Ghilly]

It could be a combination of separation anxiety and not wanting to be in the crate because your other dog has the run of the house.  Is there somewhere you can put the crate where you could shut the other dog out of the room so that the dog in the crate doesn't see her runnning around the house?  It might be less stressful for her in the crate if she doesn't see your other dog.  

Something else you could try is getting a Kong toy and filling it with peanut butter or some other yummy treat.  Pack it full, make sure the peanut butter gets all the way into the middle of the Kong.  When you put her in the crate, give her the Kong and it should keep her busy for hours as she tries to remove every last smear of the peanut butter.  She may be satisfied enough after her peanut butter adventure that she lays down and goes to sleep for a while.

Ghilly