Dani

We have a 1 yr old German Shepherd that we have had some difficulties crate training. When he was a puppy, we had the plastic type crate for him but as he got older, he learned how to break out of it. We tried leaving him out of his crate in a restricted area and some days he was fine, other days he could be quite destructive by chewing a shoe or ripping up our carpet. This lasted for about 6 mths. We have since had to downsize to a small apartment and when we moved he started pulling up the carpet here while we were out. We decided it was time for him to get reacquainted with the crate - this time buying the wire cage type as it seemed stronger and also because it allows him to see more of whats going on. We introduced it to him slowly - putting his favorite treats and toys in there and giving him praise whenever he went in on his own. While we are home, he often goes into his crate to sleep (we put his bed in there) so I know he doesn't hate the crate. He also goes in the crate willingly when we are leaving. I'd also like to add that I take him out for at least a half hour in the morning to exercise him - it's usually him who wants to come in. Unfortunately, he still seems to go crazy while we are gone to the point where he scratches up his nose and cheek quite badly! We are at our wits end as it breaks my heart to see him hurt himself!! Even when we are gone for a short period of time, he still gets restless like this! I thought it may be separation anxiety - so we stopped saying goodbye and greeting him and tried to be very low key about our comings and goings so he wouldn't see it as a reason to get anxious. This hasn't helped. I'm also not entirely sure that it's all due to separation anxiety - when we are our home he is still fairly independent and will sometimes go sleep in a room on his own - he's not constantly at our heels. He is typically left alone for no more than 5 or 6 hours - if it's ever longer one of us stops by to let him out and have a drink. Any suggestions, tips, or helpful advice anyone has is greatly appreciated. We are thinking it's time to call in a specialist but wanted to see if anyone has had this same problem.

I'd also like to add that we have tried weaving a blanket through the crate where he tries to get out to protect his nose but he usually manages to pull the blanket out. He also seems to manage to push the black tray at the bottom of the crate completely out through the front.

Our AC unit has been making a loud humming noise whenever it kicks in for heating or cooling. We had an HVAC guy out a few months ago and it appears one of the pipes that connects to the water heater was causing the vibration. He put in some insulation and it was better for a while but it has started making the noise again. I think we just need to put some insulation around the pipe to stop the vibration but am not sure how to go about this?