I need some training advice on how to get my husky to be more confident around the heater in my apartment. Whenever we turn it on, she tries running out to the balcony or the front door. If we do let her out on the balcony, she got so worked up that she pees out there. Thankfully, she goes to the front door because she knows she's going to pee and is trying to get outside. She is house trained so this is a fearful peeing. I've read mixed articles online about holding her and bringing her towards what scares her and then others say to not coddle her because then she really thinks she has something to fear. I'm at a loss. We've tried acting calm no matter what and giving her awesome treats to distract her. They last for a moment and then she is pacing quickly. Should we put her out on the balcony before putting the heat on and just let her be alone? I'd rather her get used to the heater than freeze myself to death. I understand that she has a thick coat but once the apartment is up to 70 degrees and the heat is off she acts normal.

Are there different settings on your heater? What exactly sets her off? Does she get nervous when you walk towards it? Is it the click of it getting turned on? Is it the heater itself? If there are different settings I'd start with it as low as possible. Have someone turn it on while you're in the other room and see how she reacts. If she hardly notices it-have a HUGE party (like you won the lottery) and reward her with something she really likes but doesn't usually get- like cheese or hotdog. Gradually move closer and reward her for being calm. If she reacts, remove her from the situation and she gets no reward. It will take time, but she'll get it

It starts with the click of it turning on so that is definitely a cue right there. I believe it's the heater itself because she hugs the opposite wall when walking past it. Although, if she is in our bedroom she still panics and flees under the bed. After reading some other articles from other owners with this issue, we may start as far away as possible from the heater and be in another room. I was thinking the bedroom and let her go in her cage as a safe zone. I don't believe we have different fan settings but that could help because it is rather loud and a sudden change to the environment. I find it strange that the heat frightens her but the AC in the summer she could care less. Rewarding her is sometimes difficult because her only thought process is to escape. I'll attempt to just leave high value treats on the floor but she bypasses them. My bigger concern is the submissive peeing. I may be attempting to correct this issue at a bad time however since she was spayed last Tuesday. Would keeping her on a leash help because if we try to remove her from the situation she slips past us?

Is there something you can use to mimic the click sound? Maybe a clicker itself? If so, I'd bring it out with you on a walk- and when she's calm, just randomly click here and there and continue walking. She will learn that nothing bad is happening and will begin to ignore it. Another option would be to invite her into the bedroom and then turn it on and ignore her, but observe her in there and see what she does... Does she put herself under the bed, in her crate, etc. then you know where her "safe spot" is. I'd completely ignore her and leave her where she is- let her come out on her own, she'll figure it out. Another option is bringing In a doggie friend who is used to the noises and is more confident. She will pick up on the dogs behavior and copy cat the more confident dog. As for the a/c heat thing- maybe the heat is giving off an ultra sonic pitch that is freaking her out, remember they can hear things we can't anyway, be careful with the timing of your rewards- you don't want to inadvertently reward her for a behavior you don't want! I would bring her out for a nice long walk and make sure she relieves herself before startinng the session. Then, if she does have an accident- which she might in the beginning, at least there will be less to clean. Overall, reward the behaviors you want and ignore the ones you don't want repeated be patient, she'll get it!

We started some training today and put her on the balcony before putting the heat on. My girlfriend was inside while I stayed outside with her. When we tried to bring her in, she immediately sensed the heater was on, found a spot on the balcony and peed within 5 seconds. So we brought her into the bedroom and she immediately retreated to under the bed and wouldn't budge even if we left treats on the floor. If she did come out, she would get a treat but then back away quickly under the bed. This was with the door closed because the heater is in the hallway so we wanted to lessen the sound. We ignored her by just doing other things in the room but she was content under the bed. However, when I left the room, she wanted to follow me and came out but changed her mind when I started going towards the heater. At that point, with her tail tucked under her she bolted to the front door because she knew she was going to go to the bathroom. I took her out because I still want to reward her for house breaking purposes but I don't want her to think that she'll get to leave the apartment whenever the "scary noise" is on.

Be careful with the rewards- you don't want to inadvertently reward her behavior by giving her treats when she's hiding under the bed This is what I would have done in your situation. You're outside and you're gf turns the heater on, come in. That's it. bingo. done. Leave her on the balcony and let her come in when she's ready (I'm assuming the balcony is fenced in?) If not, but her on a long line and let her stay out there until she's ready. Same thing in the bedroom- you started to do the right thing! follow through She's going to want to be with you because A. you're family, and B. A source of security. If you're in the bedroom and she hides under the bed- great! Ignore her. Leave her there and walk out of the room. If the heater is in the hallway, walk past it and go watch tv in the living room or something. If/when she comes FLYING (because at this point she's still scared) into the room you're in- THEN reward her and have a huge party on what a brave girl she was! ... And then leave her and go back into the bedroom- eventually she will get used to going past the heater in the hallway- you could even start with the heater off. Another option would be to start with a "safe distance" (what she thinks is a safe distance away) and run her through basic behaviors- ie. sit, come, stay etc. And gradually as she's comfortable, move closer to the source of her fear Just hang in there- it WILL get easier, I promise!

Thanks, that's a good sequence to follow and she only got a treat earlier when she was fully out from under the bed. I would be more patient if her symptoms were hiding and/or crying. I'd find it hard to leave her alone in one of the rooms or the balcony because she's ultimately trying to find a spot to pee. I did discover a way recently to recreate a beginning trigger. I was programming the AC unit and the click of the menu button sent her running to the front door. She eventually realized that the heat wasn't turning on and came back towards me so I rewarded her. I don't know if this has something to do with her peeing but she got spayed about a week ago. She does ask to go out more frequently for potty breaks so we may be attempting this at a bad time.

I would keep an eye on the bathroom issue itself- there is always a possibility she got a UTI or something else when she got spayed. I would say it's rare to have your dog come down with something when they get spayed because everything is sterile- but just something to keep in mind