Hi

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The main issue at the moment is that when we put her in her crate at night and go up to bed, she gets very agitated.

Do you know if she is used to a crate?
Only dogs can get really upset if they are in a crate and aren't used to it. Some dogs as adults can be slowly trained to enjoy crates and end up seeing them as dens and places of safety. Others don't really get on that well with crates - I've just been working with a gundog with separation anxiety and I believe a lot of the problem was actually that the dog was crated... so it's swings and roundabouts situation!

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I'm really concerned that she is getting so distressed and that she might hurt herself trying to rip her way out of the crate.

Dogs have hurt themselves occasionally, either they can damage muzzles, teeth or even rarely, break their legs

She does go into the crate of her own accord during the day so it's not that she hates the crate itself.

That's good
If you don't feel the need to crate her at night, experiment with not doing so.

Her ripping stuff, do you mean she was in or not in the crate at this time? Sometimes "damage" can be due to frustration, boredom, or anxiety about things like noises, as well as actual separation anxiety itself. So it may help to try videoing her as a guide to what is causing her to do this.

Once you know more about why she does things, you are then in a better place to tackle the problem

Wys
x

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I moved the crate into the bedroom last night and she was absolutely fine-I'll put it in the bedroom for a while and then gradually start to move her out and see what happens.

To answer the questions:
We want to use a crate because she will have to be left on her own at times and we would rather she couldn't damage other furniture (sofas for example). We are also trying to stop her getting onto the sofa-without the crate, we wouldn't be able to do that while we were out. Lastly, my sister has two dogs and I have seen how much they like their crates-they see them as a real safe haven from anything else going on as nobody bothers them in their crates.

She has been crated before but I don't think she was regularly in one at the rescue centre. She was fine for the first two nights in the crate but not so good after that.

She was in the crate when she ripped through her bed-I'm pretty sure it was just because she was on her own. We didn't want to leave her so soon after getting her but didn't have any choice.

Velvetboxers-I don't think it's the crate itself that's stressing her out. She goes into it on her own during the day when I/we are here.

Wys is right, some dogs dont get on with crates. She has no objection to going in & out during the day because she can. She is objecting to the door being shut & locked in

Things that are not so easy to rip up are vetbed - you can get a tough kind of vetbed & carpet offcuts which may be the best option