[LoveMyBoy]

Hello to all,

I am new to this forum and to owning a boxer! His name is Mingus, Gus for short, and he is about 7 months old.  When we are home and with him, even when we are sleeping, he is a great boy! Listens well, whines to go outside...we just love him!!

The issues however have started...he has never been excited about his crate and now that he is a little older, he really hates it. We have to fight him to get in before work. Lately we have noticed when we come home from work he is covered (and the crate door) with his own slobber.  He usually has slobber hanging from his lips too. He is not a drooler at all. Maybe a little when it is time to eat, but never ever like when he is in his crate. Is this a form of separation anxiety? Should we be concerned?  

The crate at this point is a must. We have about 15 inches of snow outside, and we cannot trust him yet to behave in the house while we aren't home. We have tested that. We left for about 10 minutes and came back to the leg of the chair chewed up, shoes everywhere, you know the scene! Another form of separation anxiety? Or just a puppy phase?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[choas2k]

Welcome from California!!  And you have come to a great place.  There are tons of great people here that can help you out.  I personally do not have this problem both Maggie and Herbie love their crates and use them throughout the day while we are home.  If you look through the stickys I know this topic has been touched on and there are some great ideas to help you out.  

 

[sully]

Yes I'm in the same boat.  My boy had bad anxiety when he was younger, I kept him out of the crate.  Normally he's fine but he chewed on the couch so now it's back to the crate.  He's about 7 months as well.  He drools while in the crate.  Sometimes he eliminates in it even when he just went outside.  He has no interest in food or treats or toys in the crate.  He hates the crate.  From what I've read, you have to ease him into it so that the crate is not an anxious experience.  Gradually work his comfort level and time spent in there.  Just keep at it I guess...that's what I'm doing!  Believe me, I'll take the slobber over cleaning up poop.

 

[samsonsmom]

It's definitely anxiety, Samson did that as well and he never was real fond of the crate either....When it got to the point that it wasn't necessary for me to crate all the time, maybe occasionally, it pretty much stopped....Try making his crate more welcoming, if you haven't, maybe drape a blanket over it to make it feel like a nest, leave some soothing music on or even the tv

 

[JessiesMom]

Gus is adorable!!!!!!!

 

[generalmar]

We tried to crate my boxer Delilah when we got her at 13 weeks old.  She did the same foaming at the mouth.  Then when we'd let her out she'd go to the outside of the cage, pull off the water bottle and eat it!  I use to feel like she was going to dehydrate.  THen a good thing happened...she learned to lick the lock to the crate open.  It was good because it forced us to find another way to contain her.  

Do you have a foyer or a room that you can empty so there is little to no furniture for him to damage?  A room is a lot more space than a crate and they may feel less stressed.  That's how we got by. Good luck.  I know how hard it is to leave the house knowing that they are foaming in the crate!