acute fear of crate?

Question
I have a spayed female husky/border collie mix who will be 8yrs in Oct. I have owned her for just over 7years, and have crated her when not home since I brought her home. She does fine out of the crate, but I prefer to avoid allowing her the option due to her breed mix. Overall she is a very forward and dominant dog, but has never been aggressive at all. I went out of town for almost two weeks in Feb, and had someone she knows very well stay at my house while I was gone. They told me that she urinated in her crate every single day while i was gone. She has stopped this behavior since my return home, but now will not willingly go into her crate. She will instead go lie on the couch- ears back, lip licking, until I drag her by her collar off of the couch. She is not food motivated at all- not even people food. When I have tried to give her a treat in her crate, she will save it all day until I get home and then eat it after I let her out. Yesterday, when I pulled her off the couch to put her in her crate, she b-lined it into my bedroom, got up on my bed (wher she is allowed) and laid down. I didn't approach her angrily, (because I actually found it rather cute secretly) and when I reached down to grab her collar, she snapped at me. I have since tried some positive reinforcement with the crate- treats inside the crate- short duration in the crate while I am wearing my work clothes etc, but I am having difficulty because she simply does not care about food. I don't want this to progress to something I can't handle, or until I get bitten. What else can I do? Is this reaction fear based, or does she simply not want to go into her crate?

Answer
What was her attitude towards the crate before you were gone? Was this the first time you left her? If she is used to being crated for 7 years, and handled it fine, one of the first things I would do is get a thorough vet checkup including a six panel thyroid test, and test her for Lyme disease. Both these and other possibilities can cause sudden behavior changes. That said, as dogs get older, sometimes they become less tolerant of change, and she could be building some separation anxiety. There may have been something happened while you were gone that your house-sitter isn't telling you (or didn't think was important or didn't know about). But whatever, the snapping at you doesn't sound like aggression, bull-headedness or dominance. It sounds like a dog who for one reason or other can NOT, at this time tolerate being put in her crate. And since you didn't listen to her many other communications of "please don't put me there" she didn't have a lot of options left besides a snap (which is not the same thing as a bite - dogs have good control of their mouths and don't miss if they intend to do harm). I would get the medical workup, possibly consult a behaviorist if this appears to be separation anxiety or if more problem behaviors crop up, and find another way to manage her while you are gone besides in the crate. You might have a room she can stay in? A safe kennel run? I'd pick my battles at this time, and I wouldn't be forcing her into the crate. I don't think this is just her being stubborn, but for one reason or another, being unable to do this right now. Not a great time for a battle of wills. Pay attention to what she is telling you ("I can't do this") and look for better alternatives. Sandy Case MEd, CPDT    www.positivelycanine.com