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My dog has severe crate anxiety and destroys his crate. What to do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Border Collie | Male | neutered | 5 years and 11 months old | 35 lbs

My dog has several anxiety with his cage. He has to be in the cage during the day but he refuses to adapt. It’s been three months and he still barks and whines excessively, it’s frantic. He has resorted to damaging the crate to try and break out. He’s broken the crate several times now. He damages the house whenever he gets out. How do we get him to see the crate as a safe place? His sister (at a different home) started out like him but adapted in less than a month. He’s just getting worse.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on December 3rd, 2017

It sounds like poor Jack has severe separation anxiety. Some dogs will adapt well to their crate and it will help with the anxiety, but other require additional help in the form of medication. I recommend having him seen by a vet first thing on Monday. You can discuss with your vet his anxiety problems, and the vet can talk about medication options to help him deal with his anxiety. Unfortunately some dogs just need that extra help because their anxiety is so severe, and it sound like Jack could be one of those dogs. I hope this helps!

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