Dog getting really stressed

Hello all, new member here, so HI

My problem:
we have a 11 month old Beagle who has been crate trained from the very beginning. We put him in his cage if there is no-one downstairs with him for about an hour, if we go out we put him in the back garden which is about 25 ft x 15 ft.
At night he gets locked in his crate and we never hear a peep from him at all until morning when he barks to go outside to do his business.
Our problem started last week, whenever we put him in his cage he gets really stressed out - panting, glazed eyes drooping ears and he whines and barks and this is happening at night too. The solution at night is too put him in the back garden and he seems ok, but a couple of times in the evening he has been in the garden and he is sat at the door with all the stress symptoms mentioned above.
When he is in the house with everyone, he is his same old self.
I thought that it may be the fireworks, but there hasn't been that many and this can't be the reason at night if he is put outside.

It sounds to me as if something has worried him and he does unfortunately either now associate it with the crate or with being unable to find you or to hide away from whatever it is.

However it may not be a bad idea to have a vet check up if you are at all concerned and this continues.

I am a great one for always listening to what the dog is saying, and your beagle boy isn't happy - unfortunately it's up to us as owners to solve the problem. Shame this has happened as he sounded quite happy and everything was so well organised!

One thing I'd actually be really wary of is putting him outside, as so many dogs do get stolen these days and often fences etc don't deter thieves. If the dog can be seen, or if it becomes general knowledge he is out in the garden I do feel he may be at risk

I'm not saying this to alarm you but I'd feel terrible if I said nothing and one day someone took him.

Back to the crate - can you remember the first time it happened? it might help with the detective work.

One thing you can try to help his anxiety is a DAP diffuser, availiable from your vet. It's like a plug in thingy and exudes pheromones which he should find help him to relax.

My bet is that it is either fireworks (if he was scared whilst inside he may not associate it with outside perhaps) or something has scared him - plates falling, him getting stuck with his collar, or even some noises from upstairs like bangs or thuds - one of my first dogs was very scared by the upstairs neighbour using his kitchen more, which was above my bedroom, and he hated going in the room whilst I went out. It took me a few weeks to actually realise the cause of the problem.
If you are totally stuck I'd invest in a behaviourist

Hello BusterBeagle and welcome to Dogsey

Your puppy is at the stage known as the 'Second Fear Imprint Period ' when new situations can be really scary. It sounds as if something has scared your puppy and he now associates this with the crate (could be a noise or maybe he hurt himself on the crate without you being aware of this? ). One think I wouldn't do is to try to get him to enter the crate against his will ...leave the crate door open, throw treats in there but he must go in of his own accord. Do you really need to use a crate ? He sounds a good little dog, can't you just leave him loose in the kitchen?

Well tonight we decided to just leave him in the kitchen with both doors of his crate open, so he may go in it of his own accord, if not then he just will probably sleep on the door mat which is situated between his cage and the back door.

Had to say 'HI' as a fellow Beagle owner (Whispers....'theres not many of us on here :smt002 LOL)Sorry to hear that Buster's having problems with his crate,Do you usually leave it open at all times ? I have always done this with mine during the day so they can come and go as they please or have a bit of 'time out' if they fancy it.It might be worth hiding treats amongst his blankets in there so that he can reassociate it as a 'good place' or putting his favourite toy in there,i agree with Mini, forcing him in could just make things worst,i wouldn't baby him either if he becomes frightened as this could reinforce to him that its ok to be scared,Is his crate usually in the kitchen ? If so you could try putting it on the other side of the room or in a different place,
Hope he has a better night tonight bless him .

Does he show the same stress symptoms if he is in his cage when the cage is in the same room as you are in??

HI,
How did Buster get on last night ??

Yes, also the cage has to stay in the kitchen cos its quite big and too big for the living room.

He was ok, no noise from him.
We are going to get rid of the crate and get him a basket.

Aww glad he was alright,
You know it might be worth investing in a baby gate instead,they are very handy,i have one at the top of the stairs now,so they can't get hair all over the bedrooms !!! (i used to use it up at the kitchen door if i was out for long periods instead of putting them in their crates and it was handy if they'd just come in from the garden,so they could dry off a bit and not get mud everyewhere) I also use it if they need 'time out' when visitors are here (if they are bouncing all over them and forgetting their manners!!! they can still see me and hear me)
Mine would 'have a party' at night if they had run of the house !!!! Naughty Beagles !!!
Have you posted any pics of Buster up yet ?