[dobriety]

Had this problem when he was just a little guy...ended up having to take any blanket that was in there out and so for many months he just slept on the hard plastic crate floor. Eventually I gave him a pillow and he was great with it. All he'd do was sleep on it apparently. I was happy.

When I was home though,now and then he would try to take that pillow out of the crate and shake it around so I would take it away, just as I had always done with the blankets I had laid to lay in his crate.

Fast forward to now, he's going on fifteen months old and since he's so good with his pillow during the days (it's still in one piece) I thought I'd try again with a nice thick wool blanket which I hoped he would just lay on, and be comfy. Only tried it once, just now, and it looked like old habits were about to resurface...

So...if I want him to just lay on the damn thing and stop immediately treating whatever is placed in his crate as a toy, what can I do? What do I do when he starts putting his teeth on it and slowly pulling the threads out...or whatever it is he intends to do? I say no, or EHT! and he'll stop but I know he wants to start dissecting. He was always a dissecter... (thankfully never a swallower...he would just cut blankets into little pieces and leave them there).

Strategies?

 

[sam&macksmom]

What about a Kuranda crate bed? The legs are only 3" tall

Quality Dog Crate Bed and Chew Proof Dog Crate Beds | Kuranda Dog Beds

 

[mmctaq]

You know what he does, and it is what it is... why do you feel the need to put a blanket in there???

 

[Adara]

I use a bed that's made out of Demin from Dr Fosters and Smith. I'm blanking on the name right now. But that's the only thing I'd leave with young dogs. It's the only bed that survived my Vizsla's adolescence.

 

[Okie-dobie]

Wool isn't exactly comfortable to lay on (itchy) and it could also be hot. Why not try putting a small blanket in just one side of his crate?

I like the idea of a Kuranda crate bed to.

 

[dobriety]

You know what he does, and it is what it is... why do you feel the need to put a blanket in there???

because it's been several months and I wanted to see if it would make him more comfortable?

wool

My bad, it's not actual wool, wasn't sure what to call it though. He doesn't have a problem laying on it, it's just that he ends up wanting to toss it around and then eventually pick at it.

Why not try putting a small blanket in just one side of his crate?

I could but last time I had a small blanket in there he would bite off little pieces; that's why I thought a sturdier blanket would do better in there.


Does anyone have any advice for snapping him out of wanting to put his teeth on it in that way? For all I know, he'd stop real soon and settle in (I took it away immediately this time though) just like he did with his other bed (a cushiony bed with that faux sheepwool on top).

 

[dobermansrule]

Quincy is a suckler since puppyhood. We still have to watch him. When he gets in the 'mood', he'll try and suckle anything he can get bunched up in his paws. For whatever reason, when we put him to bed and tuck him in, i.e., the 10PM when he's ready and we're ready tuck-in and close the crate door - he doesn't suckle. He'll just sleep. Same blanket during the day - he'll suckle it. So we pull it up during the day. We have a costco fuzzy bath mat on the bottom of the crate. He'll bunch it up to lay on, but doesn't suckle it. And what we use at night - bought a double bed quilt at target. It's durable enough, snuggly, and warm for him at night.

 

[dobebug]

I see too many blockage removals from dogs who only tear things up but never eat the bits and pieces to be willing to think the dog will really NOT eat the bits and pieces.

So any dog who does anything other than sleep on the blanket doesn't get one. I try them every few months with a blanket to see if they've figured it out and some dogs "get it" faster than others. My record holder is a dog who never touched blankets or the big cushy dog beds that are all over the house as long as I was home. But if he was confined to a crate or confined to the kitchen where the crate lives and a blanket was left in the crate he evidently couldn't leave the blanket alone. He was 4-1/2 before he got to have anything in his crate.

And when he was crated to go to shows or trials he got a blanket but he wore a basket muzzle when we were on the road--then he couldn't tear up or chew holes in the blanket while I was driving and he was bored.

Most of my dogs have stopped playing with/tearing up/or otherwise destroying their blankets by the time they were around two.

Lotsa luck.

 

[Okie-dobie]

because it's been several months and I wanted to see if it would make him more comfortable?



My bad, it's not actual wool, wasn't sure what to call it though. He doesn't have a problem laying on it, it's just that he ends up wanting to toss it around and then eventually pick at it.



I could but last time I had a small blanket in there he would bite off little pieces; that's why I thought a sturdier blanket would do better in there.


Does anyone have any advice for snapping him out of wanting to put his teeth on it in that way? For all I know, he'd stop real soon and settle in (I took it away immediately this time though) just like he did with his other bed (a cushiony bed with that faux sheepwool on top).

Spray bottle.

 

[Herb2relax]

Kyrah shreds blankets, comforters or dog pillows up in her crate only when I put her in it and leave. She gets extremely stressed or has anxiety attacks whatever you want to call it. She pants and drools heavily. No other dog I have ever had has had such an issue with the crate as Kyrah does. If I put her in and I am home then she is fine. So I dont put her in it and leave. She seems to prefer the love seat. Also she has never been destructive when left out. Her crate is now beside my bed and she sleeps in it with the door open.

Is he still destructive when left out alone? Could you make a dog safe area with his crate available?

 

[ggrogers]

I use a bed that's made out of Demin from Dr Fosters and Smith. I'm blanking on the name right now. But that's the only thing I'd leave with young dogs. It's the only bed that survived my Vizsla's adolescence.

I agree, just ordered 2 more beds from Foster & Smith. Water and chew resistant.30% off and free shipping right now. A 48x28 is$48.99, 54x36 $7 more. My dogs have dug a hole in every bed I've tried and pulled out the stuffing. I bought one to try on my living rm floor and loved it, so 2 more are going in their cages. Good luck, I hate finding everything torn apart.

 

[Jenny]

Vader doesnt get blankies in his crate. He is a sucky baby. .

 

[ssgharkness020147]

My dog shredded his first blanket. I got him another one and slept with it in my bed for a day or two before putting it in his crate, two years later its still fine. I used to put one of my shirts in the crate for him to have to help keep him calm and had decent luck with it (he never shredded one), so thats where the idea with the bed came from. If the shape of your crate permits there are companies that make cedar liners for dogs, that's what my next shredder will get.

 

[DogsR4Life]

Have you tried using thin blankets, and just layer it up? If i put a thick blanket in Chase's crate, he will shred it up, but for some reason, will leave thin blankets alone. So now i have a duvet on the bottom with 5 layers of thin blankets, its been over a year and no sign of shredding.

 

[Patches Mom]

There is a bed you can tie down in a wire crate the dog can't pick it up to chew it Buddy had one still has it but its just part of his bed not tied down any more. not sure if the work in the plastic crates or not might google tie down bed since I can't remember the name of the bed.

 

[noodlerubyallie]

Rocket wasn't blanket safe until he turned about 2.

I put in a Primo Pad, and all has gone well. (He's on Primo Pad #3, but that's because his idiot mother wasn't installing them correctly. #3 has held up with no issues since I actually installed it in his crate correctly. )

 

[dobriety]

Is he still destructive when left out alone? Could you make a dog safe area with his crate available?

No, he's generally not very destructive at all. We're in the process of getting him out of the crate now...you know, half hour, hour at a time...but a recent injury put that on hold (he’s not getting his daily run so I don’t wanna test him out alone in the place).

Have you tried using thin blankets, and just layer it up? If i put a thick blanket in Chase's crate, he will shred it up, but for some reason, will leave thin blankets alone. So now i have a duvet on the bottom with 5 layers of thin blankets, its been over a year and no sign of shredding.

Jack’s sort of the other way around. Always shredded thinner blankets when he was younger so I thought I’d try a thick one.

spray bottle

I wondered if I should be trying that method. Thanks, I’ll give it a go.

 

[mmctaq]

So... he should be given something which poses a risk to his health, then punished IN HIS CRATE for interacting with what you've given him in a manner of which you do not approve in order for you to feel like you've made him more comfortable? Just wanted to make sure I had that straight...

 

[KevinK]

I would stick to the pillow... I have to do the same. My girl who doesn't destroy anything can not have a dog bed, or a blanket in her crate. A regular human pillow and she doesn't touch it, so that's what we use. We did the same, after about 6 months tried a dog bed again, and it was destroyed in 1 day. I think she thinks it's a big stuffed toy lol. But pillows, she doesn't touch. I'm too scared to risk coming home to swallowed pieces, so I stick with the pillow.

 

[mrjamoc]

Josh can only have a blanket at night, if I leave it in there during the day I will come home to a huge mess. China doesnt tear up anymore, however she used to.