Clever little rascal

Almost since we got her we have had Molly in a large cage (you can easily fit an adult person in there), when she was home alone. Before any of you blames us too much: In the beginning she was in the kitchen, but she started chewing at the door panels out of boredom - no matter how much food in bottles with holes, toys etc. we left her with. The cage is in the kitchen, and she also uses it when we are cooking - it is always left open, and she uses it a lot. She was happy, and we were safe - or so we thought!
You can only close the cage with two locks, which have to be moved up - sideways - down. The day before yesterday we came home, and she was lying in an OPEN cage, with visible traces of biting the door panel! My husband told me to close the cage better, but I could have sworn I had done it right!
Then, yesterday, I was out for a few hours, securing the cage was closed - but when I came home, the first lock was open again... I told my husband of my suspicion: that we had got a little Houdini-escape-Queen, but he doubted.
Until today! He was home alone with her and left her in the cage - and she was again half way through the cage. Somehow she works the locks till they move.
Now he put an extra lock on, the type used for walking lines to put on their necklace, and she no longer tries to escape :xfngr:
Have any of you experienced that?

Yes, I know of dogs who learnt to open crates! You want to do the kind of thing you are doing -- just put some sort of extra fastener on it that can be quickly removed, not something that actually locks the crate shut. Molly is going to be a smart one! :lol:

Uh oh....you've got a smart one on your hands!!! I had a foster who would work on the door until the latch popped open. His new mom learned to put a bungee cord around the door because that was the only way he couldn't get out!!

I know of a GSD X who managed to get out of a padlocked crate! We think he must have squeazed between the panels.

I also had a cockatiel that could open her cage. she climbed on the door & pulled down the bar the catch was on with her beak

please read
'HOW COULD PUP CHOKE IN CAGE?'

http://www.thisishullandeastriding....&more_nodeId1=243834&contentPK=18428271#views


A Puppy choked to death when it tried to escape from the cage it was kept in at night.

Deano, a Staffordshire bull terrier, was eight weeks old when he became trapped in the door of the cage he slept in.

The puppy was kept there overnight so he would not run around the house.


<A style="COLOR: #000000; TEXT-DECORATION: none" name=continueNews>But when Chris Edwards, 24, of Hessle, came downstairs one morning last week he discovered the dog had killed itself trying to get out of the cage.

Mr Edwards said: "Usually, when we got up in the morning we could hear him in the cage, not barking, but making noises.

"That morning I said to my girlfriend Linda 'He's got used to his cage, he's slept right through'.

"She went downstairs and shouted up to me 'the dog's dead' and I thought I was going to walk downstairs and see him lying there sleeping. But then I saw it for myself.

"The door was hanging off its hinges, coming loose and Deano had his head stuck in it. His head was stuck outside the cage and his body was inside it.

"I was disgusted to see Deano there like that. Hasn't the cage been through the proper product checks?"

Mr Edwards, who bought the cage from Argos in Market Place, city centre, has been given a full refund, but has not been compensated for the £285 he paid for the puppy.

Colin Briggs, of East Riding Council Trading Standards, said: "We're going to look into this.

"He has been advised of his rights and has taken the cage back to Argos.

"If the cage is found to be at fault, there could be some compensation made for the loss of his dog."

A spokeswoman for the Argos said: "Argos is very concerned to hear of the incident regarding a young dog belonging to Mr Edwards. We take events of this nature very seriously and thank you for bringing this to our attention.

"Argos would like apologise for any distress caused to the customer.

"We have spoken to the Hull store to confirm the correct procedure was followed regarding testing the pet cage.

"All products, once selected for inclusion in the catalogue, are appraised by our quality-assurance department, including ensuring they comply with relevant UK and EU safety standards. The information the customer provides helps Argos monitor the performance of the product.

"We understand Mr Edwards was refunded for the item when he returned it to the store. Our consumer affairs department will be writing to Mr Edwards to offer their sympathy and to advise him on the procedure should he wish to discuss anything further."



Aileen and the gang (Barney---Jazzie---Sam)

H'mm... yes... has anyone heard of a dog that could lock the crate, though? I locked the dogs in their crate the other night. I swear they both in it and I locked it properly. I came down the next morning and found Holly in the kitchen and Amber still locked up...

Very, very odd.

One clever girl. I saw something once, can't remember which site but there was a home with three dogs each had it's own cage. The owner put a chew treat in each one and locked the dogs in. One dog managed to get out in no time, opened the other cages and pinched their treats.

My Molly has done this a few times. I watched her once and she basically "bounced" against the door until it opened.