Fortunately for you, we’ve never had a dog escape a Gunner Kennels.
Sure, it can be funny or entertaining to watch a dog attempt to figure out their kennel system – but if they put themselves in harms way or tear up your new sofa, the humor quickly goes away. We’ve had a lot of dog owners with separation or storm anxiety – and other “expert escape artists” – find their solution in our G1™ Kennels.
For those still looking to solve their dog’s Houdini tendencies, it’s important to understand the underlying issue of why they do this. Experts say that for most dogs it’s the anxiety of being separated from their owner that is so overwhelming that they will at all costs get back to them. For other dogs, they just want to explore and control their territory.
But for those dogs with separation anxiety, it’ll be worth your while to spend time breaking that habit and calming that anxiety. Here’s our advice:
Make sure they get regular exercise, specifically before you put them in their crate. It goes without saying that if you wear them out they’re more likely to just go to sleep. Set a consistent routine. We’d recommend that exercise be part of this routine, but as long as they are on a consistent schedule they’ll get use to you leaving them behind and be less likely to wonder where you are.
Fake them out and catch them in action. Leave and come back when they try to make their escape. Let them know that you disapprove of the behavior vocally as soon as you see it. Try it a couple of times.
Stop making a big deal of you leaving them or returning to them. When you’re leaving, just leave. Don’t baby them. When you come home wait a couple minutes before you interact with them.
What about the dogs that just want to explore? Well you have a couple options here:
Figure out how they’re doing it and where they are escaping through and full-proof it. Get creative. Use zip ties, close gaps, nail down roofs, or use different materials that are stronger or stop them from climbing.
Give something to distract them. There are plenty of “treat puzzles” out there that should do the trick. Just keep them busy with something that pulls their mind away from escaping and on the task at hand.
Upgrade your kennel. Is your dog chewing through every plastic kennel you buy them? Quit buying them. It might just be time to invest in something that lasts a lifetime and is built specifically to keep your dog in. That would be the G1™ Kennels with the Chew Kit accessory.
So, hopefully some of these tricks work for you and your escape artist dog. We hope that when solving your problem that you take your dog’s safety into full consideration and make a long term plan to keep them happy, healthy, and secure.
