Hey everyone! I need a bit of help here.

I literally do not know what to do anymore. I'm almost 100% positive that my husky has separation anxiety. Plus, he is terrified of the crate. He will literally cry for hours while he is in there. He isn't having a really issue with peeing or pooping in there but he will cry with no end. I'm trying so hard not to get frustrated with him but I have people attached to my place and he is so loud. I'm worried about them complaining about it. I tried putting treats in there but he doesn't want any of them. The only thing he enjoys is his bully stick but if I try to put him in the crate with it he still cries and howls. He has almost all his toys and a bed to lay on. I don't know what to do. He's driving me crazy with his howling. I've started asking him to be quiet and saying no if he cries and he'll stop for one minute and I'll turn my back and he'll start again.

I was considering started the whole process over but I don't know if that will be effective at all. Any advice would be so appreciated.

Thank you in advance

- Destiny & little Hanzel

Hey Where is the crate? Is it in the living room, the bedroom with you, somewhere else?
I totally understand your worries about the neighbors complaining, I'm in an apartment so I had the same worries. Having his crate in your bedroom might really help. One thing I did was face the crate toward my bed so my girl could see me from it, lay down like I was sleeping and wait for her to pass out. Then I'd sneak out and come back a little later. I found that my leaving was harder for her than actually being gone. If I was gone when she woke up she tended to be a little better.
Also, if he's still young enough to be sleeping like a puppy (aka totally OUT when he sleeps) you could try tiring him out a lot, then picking him up and moving him into his crate once he's sleeping. If he's super groggy he might just pass right back out. You could also try something calming like those DAP diffusers.
Hope something works for you! Good luck.

I've moved the crate all around the house to try and get him to stop. It's been in my room, in a separate room, in the living room (where I tend to sleep) - he still cries like a mad man. He honestly sounds like he's dying and it's ridiculous. He doesn't even do the puppy sleeping thing. As soon as you leave or you move him he wakes up but he'll only do this if he's in the crate. I'll leave the room when he's in the living room just roaming and he's fine but if he's sleeping in the crate because I've been able to coax him and then I leave, he immediately wakes up and starts whining, crying and howling. It's like he just knows. I'm running out of options.

How old is he? How long have you been working on crate training?

I recommend going talk to the neighbors and take him with you. A), he's a cute puppy and will be a great ice breaker and a good way to soften them up, and B), it will be a lot easier for them to deal with his crying if they know him and understand the situation.

Hi Jeff

Hey buddy

He's only 9 weeks. Yes - I know it's really soon to be concerned about this but he's doing terribly. We've only been working on it for a week but his eyes are super dilated when he's in there and nothing soothes him.

9 weeks is a little early to be upset with crate training in my opinion.. he is still a confused youngin. It takes time and consistency. Don't give in to whinnies and howls. Pick a spot for the crate to be and be adamant about it's location. I have two crates, one downstairs in the living room and one upstairs in the bedroom. The downstairs one is so if I leave she is downstairs where a family member doesn't have to go in my room. Anyways, keep a strict potty schedule of once every 1-2 hours. So then you know if they are whinnying between breaks it is just cries for attention. Giving into these cries will just teach your pup they can get you to do anything they want if they cry at you. So when your pup calms down, take them out to play. As I said, this won't happen over night. It is a lot of consistency. But your pup will calm down in the crate eventually. They have to sleep sometime! I usually waited until Okami woke up inside of the crate on her own time to take her out and play so then she had a pleasant experience being let out of the crate, and could associate sleeping in the crate means she can come out when she is done.

Power through and don't let him out-stubborn you, it'll get better! Also remember to sleep when he sleeps- a tired mom is not a patient mom. Even though it's temping to scramble and do a bunch of chores when they sleep!
I saw on another post that he's okay in the crate with the door open, but starts up as soon as you close it. Would he accept treats through the crate? If it's a bad as you say, you can start with closing the crate, treating, then opening it back up. I also read that you're letting him sleep with you because you don't wanna bother the neighbors, but I found that bedtime was the best time for crate training. If you want him to sleep with you or sleep out of the crate, you could still use night time as training time now and switch it up once he's trained. You might bring him around like Jeff suggested too. Honestly, his crate training sounds about normal for most 9 week old puppies getting used to their new life. But I'm not you and I haven't seen him, so I won't pretend I can really tell you what's best for you and Hanzel. Either way, it'll all be worth it when he's crate trained

Yeah, that is true. I mean he is still kind of adjusting to us. That's a great idea, Dot. I never even thought of trying the closing the door and opening it again thing. However, I've yet to find treats he actually likes. I tried to give him 3 flavors of zuke's but he doesn't get excited about them. We found one he was thrilled for yesterday but now he doesn't want to eat it at all. I think his tummy is upset because he had new medicine given to him. We will try again tomorrow when he feels better hopefully.

And yeah, I decided to put the crate in the living room because I end up sleeping there after my homework and I'll move it back into my room when he's trained I think. I still have to talk it over with Travis but it shouldn't be an issue. I don't give in but I;ve been asking or telling him to be quiet but I guess since I'm talking to him it is only showing him if he cries he gets my attention.

Thank you both!