Here's the situation: Trink gets stressed out whenever she is enclosed and I don't know why. For example, she has her bed on the floor at the head of my bed. She is perfectly content to go lay down there, and has slept there nightly. But, if I put an x-pen around it, suddenly she will be nervous, pacing, panting, whining. Take the x-pen away, and she will calm down after a bit and settle back down on her bed. And she will act the same way when going through check-out lanes at stores, or walking between two items that are placed close together. (For example, I moved a cat-tree in the bedroom to the wall at the foot of the bed, making the pathway go from about 4 feet to 2 feet. Getting her past that took some patience and coaxing and being on leash, and even then she darted past it.)

I will admit that she can eventually get used to the situation. But I'm wondering why she finds this so stressful, when it doesn't really change the situation that she is in.

I am no expert on dogs but I believe that dogs experience much of the same things we do.
I believe it is quite possible for Trink to be claustrophobic. Add to that the fact that animals in general do not like to be cooped up unless they are conditioned to it from early on.
Like if you do not get your puppy accustomed to liking its crate from the time it is little it is hard to get them to want any parts of it when they are older.

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Originally Posted by N0help4u

I am no expert on dogs but I believe that dogs experience much of the same things we do.
I believe it is quite possible for Trink to be claustrophobic. add to that the fact that animals in general do not like to be cooped up unless they are conditioned to it from early on.
Like if you do not get your puppy accustomed to liking its crate from the time it is little it is hard to get them to want any parts of it when they are older.

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See... that's the strange thing. She's an ex-racer and ex-breeder, so she's spent the vast majority of her life crated. Which is why greyhounds generally don't have any problems with being crated. So I am surprised that she gets stressed by being penned up.

Hmmm maybe she feels like she is retired now and should have the freedom to go with the retirement??