Crate chewing

I seriously need help with this....

We have had Dougal since the beginning of October - he was a pound dog. For the first two months he was perfectly behaved, and soon we were able to start leaving him out of his crate when we left the house up to about 5 hours.

A couple of weeks before Christmas he started chewing our stuff when we left him in the house, even for a couple of hours. We were never around to see him do this so we couldn't punish him, and he never would do it when we were home. He then started chewing things when I left the room (but not the house). So, we had to start putting him in his crate again when we left the house (for his safety as much as ours - he chewed some wires once!).

Well, he doesn't *love* his crate but he never had many problems with it when we first got him home (before he experienced freedom and the chewing of our stuff). Whenever I put him in the crate I make sure I've taken him out beforehand, and I put his favourite toys and treats inside to occupy him. He chewed up the blanket we bought him, so I started putting newspaper in, and he chews that. I read you're not supposed to 'encourage' destructive behaviour in the crate, so I stopped putting in the blanket and newspaper (though the crate has a plastic bottom so it's not like he's lying on the bars).

Anyway, the real problems started this week. He has started chewing on the bars of his crate, even if I only leave for 1 hour. It's gotten so bad that he's actually chewing the vertical bars OFF the horizontal ones, so now there are sharp bars sticking out! I'm afraid he's going to poke his eye out on one, or he's going to break his teeth, and I don't know what else I can do.

I have tried the following:

1) Taking him for a 1.5 hr walk before putting him in the crate, so he is exhausted when we get home;
2) Coating the bars of the cage with bitter apple (this seemed to spur him on);
3) Putting his old shredded blanket back in the crate for him to chew on instead;
4) Stuffing a Kong with peanut butter (which he would normally do anything for) and freezing it;
5) Moving the crate to his 'safe spot' by the couch (he will lay in it and go to sleep as long as the door is open and we are right here);
6) Taking more time to get him into the crate willingly, using treats and LOTS of praise;
7) Slowly getting him into the crate and staying put with the door open when we're home until we say he can come out (this is something he can do)
8) We've started feeding him in the crate - he doesn't mind this at all.

He's such a good dog apart from this, but this is becoming a HUGE problem, to the point that I don't want to go out because I dread what I will come home to. Please help, any suggestions would be great, I will try anything. Someone has advised me to contact a behaviorist, but we can't afford it right now :(

Sounds a little like separation anxiety. The problem isn't that he doesn't like the crate. In fact, it sounds like he's a-okay with it. The issue is that he fears being alone. In that case, try alone training with him. Here's an article, since I'm feeling too lazy to type it out:
http://www.wagntrain.com/SeparationAnx.htm

Pay particular attention to the "Short Absences" (scroll to the bottom). This is the most important part of alone training - training your dog, in little increments, to tolerate being alone.

*Leaving a TV or radio on while you are gone.
*Giving your dog something that smells like you to sleep on while you're gone.
*Make SURE not to make a bid deal when you leave, don't pick him up... kiss all over him.. etc... as you're walking out the door.
*There are plug in's that you can use that releases a calming pheromone.
http://www.smartpakcanine.com/Produc...d-_-NA-_-13403
*You can also try something from the Animla Wellness Collection:
http://www.greenhopeessences.com/Animal/index.html
I hope something I said can help you out!
Here are some websites for you to look at:
http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/ap...ms/anxiety.html
http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/o...on_anxiety.html
http://www.wagntrain.com/SeparationAnx.htm

Thanks for the replies - after reading the signs of separation anxiety I'm not convinced that's what it is.... only one or two points out of all of them actually apply to Dougal.

Someone told me about practicing NILF - which we have now started, so we'll see if that is any help. I heard somewhere that if the dog thinks he's the alpha in the house, he's going to be upset when you leave because you don't have his 'permission'.

I think we're going to try getting a plastic crate and start slowly acclimatizing him to it.... I heard that some dogs are more comfortable in plastic crates?

That plug in looks great, thanks for the links!

Separation anxiety manifests itself in a lot of different ways. Most dogs chew, some whine, some bark. The problem is that you usually don't know if your dog whines or barks unless the neighbors start to complain. Some dogs don't even show anxiety before you leave. They just get destructive in your absence.

If your dog is chewing when you leave and only when you leave, chances sound good that he has a bit of SA. Alone training will nip it in the bud, and you've really got nothing to lose :)

We're working on it :) - we've started re-crate training him and trying to get him used to it when we're here. He actually tried to bite his way out when I was sitting right next to him.... so I was able to correct him with that.

You're probably right that he has a slight case of SA. It's difficult for all of us right now as there's no steady routine..... my husband works but I am unable to right now, so he's getting used to me being here all the time. With us moving soon and then me starting to work, we're probably going to find even more problems. We'll keep working on this for now - thanks again for the advice :)