How much exercise before being crated?

I am so sorry this is so hard for you...  but, take heart - chances are very good that Ash will get used to it.  Wesley has alway been left all day (with a walker to come mid-day).  He cried at first and I am sure he barked.  He never wanted to go into his room...  We live in an apartment too and I was scared people would complain - but he got used to it...
 
Wesley (border collie x lab - 18 months)  gets about an hour and 15 minutes of exercise in the morning - 15 minute walk to the park 30-45 minutes in the park (depending on who is there and how much time I have) and 15 minutes of a walk home.  One day out of 5 we take a 1 1/2 hour walk through Boston Commons to work hard on heeling with the ultimate distractions of squirrels and ducks) - this seems to exhaust him as much as the craziest days in the park... He comes home, gets fed and hangs out while I get dressed and then he goes to him room.  I make no fuss, I say "good boy, Wesley stays" and I leave.  I don't bang if he whines, I pay NO attention to him after that moment.  He figured it out - I am not coming back - it is nap time...
 
I know you have your hands full - Australian Cattle Dogs are a lot to handle...  but I think from an exercise perspective - you are doing a lot and Ash will get used to her new schedule...  Try to be patient and calm and final...  Ash will learn that barking and crying is futile and will hopefully calm down in shorter and shorter amounts of time...

Oh no - I am sorry it didn't go as smootly as we all hoped!
 
Is it possible for her to be left in a "dog-proof" room instead of a crate?  My dog has SA (it was much worse when he was younger) and crating him never worked.  But leaving him in my bedroom after 3+ hours of exercise was fine because he was surrounded with all of my things (he never had an accident or chewed things)...
 
 

get a no-bark collar.
 
how about getting the dog to pull you while you ride a scooter or skateboard? we do this sometimes with my big high-energy mutt. Get her racing up a hill pulling a heavy person, tires her out pretty fast. And she loves it.
Fetch games, making the dog do a trick for each throw of the ball/frisbee are very effective at tiring out dogs-- adding in the trick part helps tire the dog mentally.

Keep in mind this is a change in routine. She is used to going with you to your Mom's right? It will take a little time for her to adjust to this change in schedule but I'm sure you will see in a week that there will be a difference if you continue what you are doing.
 Another thing you might consider if she is reliable to stay contained is to use an x-pen instead of a crate. Mind stimulation is fabulous so anything that you can give her while your gone for that will be a bonus.
 
Keep your chin up, you'll both get through this

my husky had the same problem...i just kept doing pretty much what you are doing, exercising before i leave, leaving him toys, leave the tv on etc. now hes used to me going, no howling (i asked my neighbors...theres an occasional howl but not too often they say). and now i dont even have to leave the TV on. in time he should get used to it.

You all are making me feel so much better. []
 
So an update on last night. I came home from work only to discover that my brother, who is 15, had decided to come over to my apartment during the day and not only take her out to potty, but also stayed and played with her. After that, he stayed and popped in a movie and just hung out with her. I was so happy, but also concerned because I know he won't be doing this consistently and I don't want her to get used to it. What do you all think? Was this good or not? He came over after she had been left alone for about 4 hours. He ended up staying about 4 hours because he left right before I got home.
 
And here's how Day 2 went . . .
 
I woke up again at 5 and we went to a park this time. I have to drive about 25 minutes to the nearest dog park (which is the only place I feel comfortable with her off leash) and she loved it. We stayed there for awhile and then came home and walked for 30 minutes. She ate while I got ready for work. She knows now, that I'm going to leave her because she starts pacing and she stays right by the door. When I tell her "Go to your room" now, she doesn't go in at first. Anyway, I left and she barked after I closed the door, but I just walked away. Practically crying, but I did. []
 
Jamie- You're right. She is used to leaving with me and going to my mom's. It's a change for her and what you said makes complete sense to me. I had thought the crying and barking was because of exercise at first, but now I see that it's probably the change.
 
Mudpuppy- I was thinking about rollerblades? She can go so fast though, so I'm a little bit scared!
 
Jennie - I actually bought a springer, but I don't know how to get Ash to adjust to it. She STILL tries to bite at the wheels. She goes crazy. I don't know how to stop that behavior. She's always had a thing for bikes and anything that "rolls" though. She goes nuts. I'd love to get to the point where I can bike ride with her, but I don't know how.
 
Jetty- I've tried a pen before and Ash knocked it down! I don't know how, but she did. It never worked for me. She likes her crate though, or at least she did.

Is she ever in her crate when you are home?

Right now going in the crate signifies to her that you're leaving, which just ramps her anxiety up more.  She sees all the signs you're going to leave, and she connects the dots, so even though you seem to be leaving in a low key way she knows perfectly well you're leaving. 

I might try asking her to go in her crate, but not leaving, maybe on a day you don't have to work.  Ask her to go in her crate, then go sit on the couch.  Give her some time to wind down then let her out.  It doesn't have to be a long time, but breaking up the leaving routine might help.  Pick up your keys and carry them around, then put them down, completely ignoring her.  

At this point I would suspect it isn't a lack of exercise that is making her so upset, but rather anxiety over being left alone/ change in routine.  Tiring her out helps but that probably isn't why she's acting out. 

ORIGINAL: mwood322

Is she ever in her crate when you are home?

Right now going in the crate signifies to her that you're leaving, which just ramps her anxiety up more.  She sees all the signs you're going to leave, and she connects the dots, so even though you seem to be leaving in a low key way she knows perfectly well you're leaving. 

I might try asking her to go in her crate, but not leaving, maybe on a day you don't have to work.  Ask her to go in her crate, then go sit on the couch.  Give her some time to wind down then let her out.  It doesn't have to be a long time, but breaking up the leaving routine might help.  Pick up your keys and carry them around, then put them down, completely ignoring her.  

At this point I would suspect it isn't a lack of exercise that is making her so upset, but rather anxiety over being left alone/ change in routine.  Tiring her out helps but that probably isn't why she's acting out. 

 
She does go in the crate when I'm there. It's how I crate trained her. I would put her in there while I was home and just go about my business. It got to the point where I could leave her in the crate without latching the door shut and she would still stay in. Then it got to the point where she would go in willingly and sleep in there too. Then it got to where she knew the command as "room". I was soon able to leave her in there when I left and she never barked or anything. She was great. Until now. She's gone back to barking (which she only did the first few times in the crate alone) and she doesn't go in willingly now. But before this, she was fine in her crate. She loves it.

Jennie - I actually bought a springer, but I don't know how to get Ash to adjust to it. She STILL tries to bite at the wheels. She goes crazy. I don't know how to stop that behavior. She's always had a thing for bikes and anything that "rolls" though. She goes nuts. I'd love to get to the point where I can bike ride with her, but I don't know how.

Emma did that, too. I clicker trained her to get used to the bike. It took a few days, but it was the fastest conditioning I've ever done.

I put the bike where she had to walk past it. Every time she was calm near the bike, C/T. Then, I waited til she touched the bike (she was nervous of bikes in general). C/T. Next step was moving the bike, with her near it, C/T. Eventually, I walked her, while holding the bike. Then, walked her, straddling the bike. Obviously, you aren't going to walk miles straddling a bike, but.... That turns into slowly riding. Emma caught on pretty quick. Teenie was even easier.

Thanks Jennie! I will definitely give that a try. Ash isn't nervous around them. She wants to bite it. She wants to attack it. It's crazy. I'll try it though and see how it goes.