# scraping nose raw on crate



## fleshnstone (Aug 5, 2015)

I have an almost 8 month old GSD pup who is fine with being in a crate, except when you leave her alone in it. a little less than a week ago, we started noticing just awful, bloody marks on her nose. Immediately, we took her to the vet to make sure she was alright and to possibly figure out what was going on. the vet deduced that she was simply rubbing on her blanket so we went with that. a few days ago, however, we came home one day and she had escaped from her crate and had actually taken one panel apart. from then we realized that she was doing it on the crate itself. now, the crate we have is borrowed, old and coarse, but we are saving up for a new one. we assume that the new crate won't be as hard on her nose, but would like to stop her from rubbing altogether. is this just because she is still dependent and young and how can we ease her anxiety? she does the same thing when we try to leave her outside for a bit.


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## Mary Beth (Apr 17, 2010)

I think it is separation anxiety. This article has some suggestions https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/separation-anxiety. There are also several threads on it.


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## bob_barker (Dec 31, 2013)

Have you tried giving her things in her crate to keep her busy in there while you're gone?
I filled a kong or big bone with yogurt and froze it, and then gave it to them when I left. 

I have to use camping clips (****** clips) to keep Bob's crate closed the first while.. He would break out as well


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

bob_barker said:


> Have you tried giving her things in her crate to keep her busy in there while you're gone?
> I filled a kong or big bone with yogurt and froze it, and then gave it to them when I left.
> 
> I have to use camping clips (****** clips) to keep Bob's crate closed the first while.. He would break out as well


Those are great ideas PLUS your pup is at an age that if you can physically and mentally get more involved to wear her out, she will get into the crate calmer and more likely to relax and chill until you return home.

Dog classes, miles of off leash hiking, swimming, chuck it, dog classes, trips to socialize and meet people in town for a few hours...

Have you made great strides in ----> http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...191183-top-training-expectations-puppies.html


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## fleshnstone (Aug 5, 2015)

bob_barker said:


> Have you tried giving her things in her crate to keep her busy in there while you're gone?
> I filled a kong or big bone with yogurt and froze it, and then gave it to them when I left.
> 
> I have to use camping clips (****** clips) to keep Bob's crate closed the first while.. He would break out as well


we recently got Sage a bone that she enjoys and put that in with her. We came home yesterday to find that she had physically bent the bottom wire upwards and escaped, and had pawed at the door so much she locked herself inside our bedroom. At that point we used industrial duck tape to keep her from tearing up the cage. When we had to leave again a little later, we turned on the TV and left the light on, and she seemed much more relaxed when we came home again. It's my assumption that she wasnt properly crate trained by the owner before her, and she had never been alone, alone before getting her. We are starting dog training classes Tuesday to help us mellow her out so we can walk her and find ways of wearing her out. We are tempted to set up a camera just to see what all she does.


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