Normally a wire crate is an excellent way to contain a dog. However, it is not the best choice for Freighter at hunt tests. He is fine traveling in his crate and spends his time snoozing. He is also fine at training. Something about the gunfire and the ducks, (yes he always seems to know when he will have a chance to retrieve ducks), at tests makes him loose his mind.
Over the years he has done more than a little damage when left alone in his crate during a test. He has ripped up beds or padding in the crate. One time he somehow managed to pull a bunch of carpet off the inside of the truck cap in the time it took us to watch the “test dog” run the test. He was in his crate so how he managed that is still a mystery. We were gone maybe 10 minutes.
The day he ran the WDQ took the cake. Normally the WDQ stake runs after the WD and WDX stakes. Hubby and I went to watch some of the WD dogs run the land portion of the test. There were not many dogs running so after a few dogs, hubby went back to check on Freighter.
When hubby got back to the truck, Freighter had pushed the bottom of the wire crate out and had his lower jaw caught in the wires. Really Freighter?
Hubby was able to bend the wires apart and get Freighter’s jaw loose. Then we noticed that his lower jowl was stuck over his lower canine tooth. Really Freighter? Hubby had to get a towel and pull his jowl off the tooth. It took a bit of strength.
Not good when Freighter was up next to run his test. At least he was not bleeding. Hubby joked, well we will see what kind of a tough Chessie he is.
Of course Freighter had no problem retrieving and holding the ducks and passed the test. I don’t think he dropped any of 7 ducks he retrieved that day.
Thunder and Storm never got that wild while waiting to run a test. They were always in a crate. But for Freighter, we knew we had to do something different.
How To Contain A Dog Who Doesn’t Want To Be Contained
Hubby and I decided we needed a stronger crate. We decided on a crate made by Zinger (which is the same company that made the winger we use for training). We had been thinking about investing in this crate for a while, but we put it off because it is pricey. However, after the jaw incident we decided it would be cheaper to invest in the crate rather than the vet.
As you can see these crates are fully enclosed with air holes top and bottom on three sides and it is open in the front. For warm days, we have fans that we use to help keep the dogs cool. The metal crates along with the fans dis a good job of keeping the dogs cool in the heat at last weekend’s test.
Storm laid right down in her crate and took a nap. Not Freighter. He was too excited to snooze, but at least he could not get into any trouble.
Do you have any suggestions about how to contain a dog who does not like to be contained?
I’m glad your hubby was there and could help out Freighter. I agree with you, such crates a re pricey but after this adventure I would make the same decision. btw: we bought a simple cage with wheels for the shows… sadly we forgot that we have a bean can like car now, there was no way to get it in the trunk, so mark removed the wheels… and the wheels where the reason we boughts this model to have a moveable easy-dungeon….
That is funny. Yep no good without wheels.
I think you came up with a good solution, I can’t believe he got his jaw stuck, that is something I never would have thought possible.
My only other thought would be a Kong, but that would only last so long and only if the dog is interested in it.
LOL Kongs are no where as interesting as ducks.
At least it was your crate! Our friend Bernice does not get out very often, all of our dogs have swam in her pond, for decades! The plan was to swim first, put the dogs into the crate room and drive up the road to The Log Cabin for lunch. Good food, better dessert.
Upon return, well the front of Macha’s “guest” kennel, was really bent out of shape! Wires puled away from the bottom front frame! Bernice took it in stride, John rearranged, pounded, everything back to its original shape. Macha seemed pleased with herself….., if you think a croc has strong jaws, this was a ten year old.Chessie lady! Nothing like this has ever happened.
??? Message, “I have never been put in a crate at Bernice’s!” Why start now? Still thinking about this event.
Haha you have escape artists too.
That looks like it will work! Since I can’t even get Luke to go into a crate, I’m not sure I could provide any advice in that department. 🙂
You have a great setup there – I like how you have a thermometer on the crate.
We have found the thermometer very helpful to know the temperature where the dogs are and have one in each car.
Wow, yes a pricey cage beats a pricey vet bill! That looks like it was a good investment. We’ve never had to keep Rita contained other than here at home, so our bedroom works well for that. 🙂
That’s great that you have the thermometer on there too! Looks like a very nice set up, with the tent for shade and all!
Thanks. At tests we like to watch other dogs and have to leave the dogs alone to do that. It is nice to have a crate that is enclosed and sturdy enough so we don’t have to worry, and they lock.
Oh my gosh! I can’t believe Freighter did that but I’m glad he was okay. Most of the crates seem pretty flimsy and cheap, so I bet you really like the Zinger model. They look super sturdy and classy too!
We have a couple of older crates that are steel. They do not make those anymore. If they did we would have bought a couple of those. I do not know why crates are made so flimsy these days.
Uh oh, Freighter. Looks like you earned your way right into maximum-security lock-up. 😉
Holy cow, Freighter, you sure keep your pawrents busy! Nice seeing the crate you mentioned on one of my blog posts in action! The only thing I can think of is exercising the heck out of him before putting him in a crate – but that is likely not an option since he’ll need his energy on the runs!
Those are some really nice crates. We to have “dog boxes” for our truck for training and hunt tests. They are safe for the dogs and we haven’t had any problems. Gambler is my wire crate destroyer and now we have to put heavy duty carribeaners on the door to keep him in.
Thanks god that Freighter is fine. I can’t believe that he did that. The picture of him is so cute. He still can pass a test with the jaw like that. What a tough dog.