Reddit mentions of ecoFlex Pet Crate/End Table

> 1- if he does something he knows is wrong

This is REALLY subjective. Dogs don't really 'know' what they are doing is 'wrong', they only know what behaviors are reinforcing and which ones aren't. What specific things are we talking about here?

Depending on how you handle the situation, you my actually be reinforcing the behavior. For example, if he steals a napkin are you chasing him down? Chasing can be a SUPER fun game, especially for a corgi. It is jumping on the furniture? This is a pretty self rewarding behavior and if they are not normally let up on the furniture it may reinforce guarding behavior.

Focus on specifics. If you just focus on the growling, you are only looking at the symptom, not the cause - and treating ONLY the symptom will not improve your situation. In fact, it only stands to make any anxiety or stress much worse. If he is having issues with guarding, check out this article.

Being an only dog for a period of time then getting a new dog can cause a LOT of anxiety. You may not recognize it immediately as dogs are pretty good at hiding their emotions and have a different way of communicating stress than we do, but the new dog is likely having an impact (even months later). You may need to revisit/retrain some behaviors with your corgi to help him feel confident and know what he SHOULD be doing.

> 2- When he's let out of his crate, he'll growl and jump all over her, barking and snapping.

99% of the time with corgis, this is more playful or 'herding' behavior than aggression. Corgis are extremely vocal dogs and use a fair amount of growling in addition to a variety of other noises. Our corgi can sound REALLY vicious when he is in play mode, but there is a very clear difference in pitch and posture between a serious growl and a play growl (but his play growl is WAAAY more exaggerated then his real one - again, if you were unfamiliar with him you would think he was a rabid beast dog, but he really just wants you to play tug with him). If it is first thing in the morning and he is jazzed, this can all contribute to his behavior.

First things first - don't let him out of his crate when he is barking/over excited. If you need to, let him out of his crate first. It may be helpful to get him into a down/wait position while he is in his crate before opening the door. Work on having him stay in that position until you cue otherwise. Open the door very slowly, if he gets up, close the door and walk away for 30-60 seconds and try again. If you can get the door 1/4 of the way open without him getting up, give him a treat and try to get it 1/2, 3/4, etc. It will take a few tries the first few times, but corgis are VERY quick learners and will pickup on what you expect.

Once he has a reliable wait with you at the door, you can start adding a bit of distance between you and him while he is still in the crate with the open door. Reward liberally and work in baby steps. Never put him in a situation where he is likely to fail or you will damage your training up to this point, you need to be consistent. If he gets up before he is cued to do so, the door needs to close and he needs to wait a period of time before you try again. You may also want to work on this behavior at other times, not JUST in the morning when he is really excited.

This will help reinforce calmness = getting out of the crate, not barking craziness. It is likely that he is just excited to get out and start the day - corgis are very zealous workers - it is likely he does it to your wife and not you because you have corrected him for jumping up on you in the past.

Check out these articles related to this behavior:

• Jumping up
  
• Free Shaping
  
• ABCs of Behavior Modification
  
  > 3 - It doesn't matter what we put in the bottom of it as far as a pan goes, she chews right through it.
  
  What kind of crate are you using? Wire crates should have a wire bottom with a plastic tray in them. If she is chewing through that plastic tray, have you tried [a travel crate](Link: http://amzn.com/B003E77OEG)? Or even a Metal or Wooden crate (although if she is chewing through plastic/carpet/etc - she will probably be able to get through a wood one, too)? They also have crate covers like this.
  
  More importantly than trying to find a reinforced crate, when is she exhibiting this behavior? This is inline with symptoms of separation anxiety or boredom/under exercised. Again, getting a reinforced crate may be good for the symptom, but if you do nothing to treat the cause you are still going to have problems.
  
  If she does it while you are at work (for example), get her a LOT more exercise before you leave in the morning and don't feed her breakfast until JUST before you head out the door. Stuff a kong or two with her breakfast and freeze them the night before so she will have something productive to work on rather than chew through her crate. You can also leave in large deer or moose antlers - they are very hardy chews for dogs that will last a VERY long time. You can practice reinforcing her choice to chew on the antlers while you are at home and then start to leave them with her in her crate (if she proves to be able to handle them without trying to eat them).
  
  GSDs are also prone to being escape artists. A bored shepherd in a crate is not going to have a happy ending. You may want to consider getting her (AND her corgi brother!) into day care a couple times a week or hiring a daily dog walker to help them get out all that extra energy. Both are RIDICULOUSLY high energy working breeds so they are going to need more then 2 or 3 walks a day - they are both going to need to RUN for a couple hours off leash or spend an hour or two each day working on high level obedience/sport training.
  
  Our corgi can run for 2 hours+ off leash without missing a beat. Just yesterday we took 4 laps around the outside edge of a 20 acre dog park and he was outrunning most of the larger dogs there. Those little legs can MOVE! Your GSD is going to be on par if not need MORE exercise then that to really be able to relax.
  
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  Overall, it sounds like you have a lot of focus on symptom behavior. "Leave it" is a good management cue, but "No" doesn't really hold much weight in the dog world. You are not really 'showing them who is in charge' by telling them no, you are just letting them know that they should probably wait until you are out of sight before doing that again (or, worst case, they get yelled at). Focus on managing the actual CAUSES of these symptoms and always look to reinforce behaviors you WANT and redirect/ignore/manage behaviors you do not want. It is easy to ignore a well behaved dog, but that is when you should be paying them the MOST attention. Shape behaviors by using things your dogs want (getting out of the crate, getting plays, getting attention, getting food, etc) as a reward. If your corgi lays down and waits in his crate with the door open, he gets to leave the crate. If your corgi chooses to do 'good' behaviors, he should get some attention, etc.
  
  Corgis are REALLY good at knowing how to push your buttons and will do those behaviors if they think you should be paying them more attention. GSDs can be the same way - you have two highly intelligent working dogs on your hands!
  
  Here are some additional resources that will likely prove helpful:
  
  
• Nothing in Life is Free
  
  
• DogTraining Wiki
  
  
• Kikopup Training Videos
  
  
• The Culture Clash (book)

Another note when I was rereading your comment.... Are you using an all metal square crate? Some dogs find those distressing and benefit from a more enclosed option.
I still use these, honestly, but there are other options