bradpattison.com

Hi there,

I have a 9 month old boxer who suffers from anxiety when he is in his crate...he's doing much better but his behaviour when I let him out is completely out of control (well with me at least).
When I let him out he run to the door, and then he just gets so excited and keeps jumping on me...he is guetting quite heavy, and it can really hurt.
It doesnt matter if he is in the crate for 15 min. or 3 hrs it's the same story when I take him out.

He knows basic commands, but it's as if he doesn't understand them when he gets excited.
He doesn't do this to my boyfriend, he is only like this with me. I tried to put him on a down and give him a treat...he's too excited for that, I've actually also tried putting him down and sit on him untill he relaxes, but when I get back up he starts all over again.
Has anyone had this??? How do you stop it???

What makes you think he has anxiety when he's in the crate, is it just that he's super excited when you let him out? So, just to go over a few things you have tried...sitting on him - he's going to think you're playing, and is most likely not the safest thing for either of you do do...giving a treat - regardless of whether he takes it or not, you're rewarding him for bad behaviour. If he jumps up, throw your hand out quickly so he runs into it instead of jumping on you. Do not use your knee, as this can hurt the dog. As soon as he gets out of the crate, ignore him, give him no attention until he settles down, and again, throw your hands out to block any jumping. You can put the leash on as soon as he gets out, and do any leash corrections if need be. You can step on the leash so he can't jump, and when he does, he'll be correcting himself. You can step on the leash closer to the collar, and stay that way till he lays down. This is a soft pin. After he lays down, let him up, and repeat. Then throw him on umbilical for a while. If your dog isn't listening to you, but listens to someone else, you are below him in the pecking order, and you need to make yourself the alpha. So umbilical exercises are great for doing that, walk through doors first, up and down stairs first, etc. If you don't have Brad's book, I would highly recommend it, it explains things a lot better than what I can do in a short paragraph. If there are other things you are worried about that make you think he has anxiety in the crate, please describe them as much as possible. If there isn't, other than the excitedness about getting out, he may not be anxious at all, he's just happy to see you!

Thanks for the advices
I just put him in his kennel, i'll give it a try with the leash in a little bit.

As for the anxiety, when we put him in the kennel, he'll start shaking alot and then start drooling alot, he broke out of 2 kennels so we got him a metal one. The vet said to put him in little by little and feeding him in there, which we did, he is alot better now, I put him in there when I am home for a little so that he doesnt associate it with us leaving. He is much better now, he used to scratch so hard the bottom that he would hurt himself, he doesnt do that anymore, he still drools alot but hes not as shaky...its taking a long time but he's guetting there..hes been going in my other dogs kennel on his own to go sleep (I don't get why he likes her kennel better??!)...I should probably mention that we got him when he was around 4 months from a breeder which didnt seem to care for them, he was kept in a kennel with little puppies and was treated as such, he was 10 pounds underweight and his musles werent strong. Im not sure if his anxiety comes from that, we've had him for 5 months.

If they other kennel is plastic he may feel safer by being enclosed, try putting a sheet over most or part of the kennel, this may help him relax. Dogs like to feel like their in a den.
Meaghan

To teach Bayley not to rush coming out of her crate when she was younger, I used the same method as you use to teach them not to rush a door. I'd tell her to wait and then open the crate door, if she tried to run out, close the door. You may have to repeat a few times till they release they have to wait till you tell them ok. Best thing...no treats required!!!