My 3 year old dog is trying to get out of his cage and Im afriad of him hurting himself

Question
QUESTION: My 3 year old dog Mojo has never really liked his cage. He is on his third cage at this point.  Two and a half to three years ago he was having a hard time with his cage... he defecated in his kennel while I was at work and when I got home not only was he out of his kennel, but he had busted through a partially open window and we found him in the parking lot.  Since then we have gotten another dog, which was not long after that incident, and they are best buds.  Having Sasha around totally changed Mojo's demeanor. Getting in his cage wasn't as big a deal, but still not his favorite thing.  We put their cages right beside each other so that they could be close.  I don't know if it's related, but it very well might be our house was broken into 2 days before Christmas.  The door that they busted in was right beside Mojo's kennel.  We have watched him and he can actually paw at the latches to the kennel and open the door.  We fixed this problem by adding two carabineer between his door and the cage.  This only made matters worse, he is now pushed on his door enough that it actually bows out.  I am so worried that he is going to hurt himself.  He gets lots of exercise running around in the back yard with his sister, and if I take him out before going into his kennel it doesn't change anything.  I left Mojo and Sasha out for two hours today while I was gone and when I returned he had busted through the office door and gotten into stuff.  I don't want to medicate him but I am starting to think it is the best answer. Do you have any suggestions for me?

ANSWER: No adult dog needs to be confined to a crate for the entire day, especially one that has proven he has a strong dislike for this confinement and has already successfully broken free.  The break in only exacerbated his fear (substantially) and his need to be free of this confinement is now complicated by a state of very high anxiety (which accounts for his barrier frustration and destructive behavior.)  His escape behavior two years ago (when he went through the window) was sufficient evidence that the dog experiences this confinement as severe punishment.  He is frantically attempting to get some control of his environment (he has learned how to open the kennel) and the break in has further prompted his anxiety.  This dog requires calm, consistent leadership (which he is not getting) and a safe interior space that does not involve close confinement.  (By the way: most burglars know when there are dogs in the house because they observe prior to breaking and entering; this person must have known the dogs were confined, therefor this may be someone who has been in your home.)

There is absolutely NO veterinarian (who doesn't want to be charged with veterinary malpractice) who will SEDATE this dog on your request.  Medication may be required to treat his anxiety and separation issues (Clomicalm and Reconcile are two of these) but YOU have to do the work.  You need to introduce positive reinforcement training to both these dogs (separately).  Go to ClickerTraining.com but put the clicker IN YOUR POCKET, as the sound of it may startle him at first.  Teach both dogs, separately, one solid behavior (just one: "sit", but use a different word).  This will take approximately two weeks to get a solid conditioned response (100% success, every time), then you can ask them to perform this behavior when they are together in a small room without major distractions.  Once both dogs can perform the "sit" 100% of the time, begin asking them both to EARN everything: going in/out, being fed, being interacted with by you, etc.  This Nothing in Life Is Free regimen puts you squarely in charge psychologically and helps reduce the dogs' anxiety (which must be huge for both of them.)  Find a room in your home where the dogs can be confined humanely, the crate is obviously not working and the more anxious the dog is when trying to escape, the more damage he will do ONCE he escapes (and he will.)  If the dog is on medication to reduce anxiety, and you have instituted a training regimen and made clear statements of rank with NILIF, you have already defeated his separation anxiety by at least 50%.  I have no idea what breed Mojo is but it appears to me that he is of a breed type that needs to either BE controlled (humanely through training) or be IN control.  Go to the veterinarian first and ask for medication for anxiety; learn about positive reinforcement training and begin doing that; then repost and we will address the remaining separation issues.

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QUESTION: Thank you very much for your advise we are going to the vet tomorrow to talk about medication and we are having a trainer come over to work with Mojo and Sasha.  As far as not crating, I don't have the option to let him out of his kennel at this time. He busts through doors in the house and tears everything up that he can get a hold of.  I understand that he may look at the kennel as severe punishment, but I do not see any other option until we have his behavior under a little more control.  Do you think that this is the right track for us to be on?

Answer
Be careful regarding the trainer.  Question him/her heavily before allowing him/her to put hands on your dogs.  DO NOT ALLOW any coercion (NO CHOKER COLLARS, NO punishment, NO "correction") ONLY positive reinforcement and psychology.  The wrong move at this point could render Mojo unable to be rehabilitated.  There are some very good trainers who are capable of rehabilitating dogs suffering from high anxiety and separation issues, then there are others who should be working only with stuffed animals.  ANYONE can call themselves a dog trainer.  You're not obligated to anything with this person until s/he proves that s/he knows what s/he is talking about.  Ask for references.  The Vet will no doubt prescribe an anxiety reducing medication.  Please repost regarding what the trainer has suggested and how the trainer wants to approach this problem.