Hi all,

I just recently joined the forum and am looking for some help with my dogs anxiety issues. Sorry if this is going to be a long post - I'm trying to keep it as short as possible! I'll try to briefly summarize his background, because I think that plays a large part in where his anxiety stems from.

I got him in September of 2014 from a rescue. The rescue had rescued him from a high kill shelter where he was found abandoned in somebody's backyard. When he was at the rescue, he got adopted out twice and each time returned the next day. When I got him he was NUTS and borderline agressive for the first week, so I can see how somebody could have been intimated by him. My landlord did a 180 on having a dog so I was forced to find a new place to live. My at the time boyfriend said he would take care of him while I figured out where to live. He had another husky and wasn't working and was at home all the time with Brady (my dog). I visited him every weekend and things were great. In January of this year, I finally was able to get him back full time. I work full time and the place I'm at doesn't have a backyard, but between my three roommates there was always somebody home with him. On the rare times there wasn't, I would take him to doggie day care(which he LOVED). Since Januaury, his anxiety has gotten better - I can now leave the room and he won't be frantically searching for me.

So fast forward to the present, and I'm in a situation where I have to move again. It's a house with a backyard which is great, but I just KNOW he can and will jump the fence if left unattended either due to anxiety or boredom or both. As of now I have three options:

1) He goes to daycare Monday - Friday while I'm at work. This would only be a temporary option as it is quite pricey to take him there 5 days a week.
2) I take him for a long walk before work, crate him while I'm at work (he is crate trained), and another long walk when I get home. I'm hesitant to pick this option only because I'm not sure how "humane" it is to leave a dog crated for 8.5 hours.
3) He stays in the backyard but would have to be tied up to prevent him from escaping.

What do you all do with your dogs while your at work? And does anybody have any advice as far as the anxiety goes? I know that his environment has been changing a LOT lately which probably does not help. This last move will be more permanent so I'm hoping that more of a routine will help him. I guess I should mention too that it is within my budget for him to go to daycare at least 2 times a week. The staff loves him and he comes back exhausted so I think day care is a win win for everyone

Thank you for reading if you've managed to make it this far in my novel!

Depending on how safe and private your backyard is, an overhead dog trolley might be an option - Ami spent his first year here on a 100's trolley...but we were home most of the time and he got lots of time-out (walks, playtime...sitting under the tree and "being")

We now have an invisible fence but unless your new backyard is such that there will be no intrusions (kids taunting him, animals to fight with him, someone to steal him) I don't recommend that as an at work solution.

Crating is a good solution if he tolerates it - what I have found with my beast, and my son's husky mix who spends a lot of time with us, is that unless we are outside with them, after the first day of the 2 playing non-stop, they really just...sleep. Even though they are loose on 4 ish acres, they just sleep. Right now, it is a lovely day, sunny, pleasantly cool (71°) and Ami is asleep under the rhododendrons and Archer is sacked out on the front steps. Have been most of the day - I've been doing housework and hubby is down at the marina.

So a good walk in the morning, ditto in the evening and crate for the day, I think, is fine.

I'm never a fan of leaving a dog unattended outside all day. Too many risk factors. Some people make it work but it makes me super nervous.

I think if he is getting enough exercise and is tolerating it, 8 hours in the crate is fine. He is likely sleeping most of the day you're gone anyways. Another option that may be cheaper than daily day care is to hire a mid day dog walker to break up the monotony.

Option 3 I don't even like for a husky that doesn't have anxiety issues. And since your husky does, I would completely rule out option 3. Too many things can happen to a dog that is tied up. I've even read about dogs being attacked by bees while they were tied up outside.

Option 2 I think would work. You could always try it and see how it goes. Even better if you are able to come home on your lunch break and check on him. Or like MGoBlue said and hire a dog walker for midday.

Option 1 is good if it won't break your bank account.

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

Honestly, I was really hoping the crate idea would be feasible. Also, on the bright side, it will force me to actually get UP and go in the morning. You know....rather than getting up 10 minutes before I have to be at work

I believe he will tolerate the crate for 8 hours. When I move to my new place, going home for lunch unfortunately won't be realistic anymore. When he's not being "crated" and the door is open AND I'm just in the room relaxing, he will often just go hang out in his crate. In the past he has escaped from his crate - but I think that was more of an objection to being alone rather than an objection to the crate. Anyways, I *think* I have secured it better (zip ties!), as he has not escaped for quite sometime.

This may be a stupid question, but I'm assuming I should leave his water bowl in the crate with him? 8 hours seems like an awfully long time to go without water. Especially if he has his peanut butter filled kong toy (because heaven forbid he would be easy for once and actually like the kong treats...)!

I've never left water with our dogs when they are crated and it's never been an issue.

Rachel (??), of the options you've given the time in the crate is the best.  Just leaving him in the backyard leaves the situation open to way too many unknowns.  Him getting loose - and we already know that Sibes are Houdini in fur - someone being able to see or hear him and "rescuing" him.   That definitely is not a good option.
Doggy Day care - as Jimmy said - is good but man, that's got to get expensive quickly.  Workable short term, maybe; long term, probably not (unless you're independently wealthy, in which case, why are you going to work?)
Personally, I don't care for crates - but then I've never had a dog that I've felt needed crating.  If I leave the house, one or both dogs may go with me (unless it's a 90° plus day); if Sasha stays home, she's in the house loose and has never gotten into anything - though I may find a wet spot if I've been gone too long; Avalanche goes outside on his lead which lets him get to water and shade but there is no one around here who I have to be concerned about and the one time he got loose he was waiting on the porch when I got home.

As far as water in the crate, being in California you could be in a dry climate that may make 8 hours without water rough - and remember that A/C pulls the water out of the air so leaving him in A/C might exacerbate the problem.  Whether I left water in the crate would really depend on how he handles it.  If I were to come home to a wet, stinky dog then I'd cut back on the amount of water I left; if I come home and the first thing he does is to engulf the water bowl I'd really think twice about leaving him "dry".  That's something you're just going to have to play with and decide.

Thanks for the advice, Al. I'm very envious you can leave your dog in the house unattended and don't come back to everything destroyed! I've envisioned Brady chewing through the front door and escaping. Although the one time he did escape from his crate and was alone in my room for probably about 3 hours, he shockingly only chewed on his toys. Imagine that!

I think I'll start by giving him water in the crate and see how he handles it. Good point about the AC, though - I would not have thought of that!

If he was alone in your room for 3 hours and only chewed on his toys, it sounds like he might be a good candidate to be loose in the house.  The only way to really know is to try - just start off with short periods away (like start at 10-15 minutes) and see what's what when you get back.  If he's been doing something he shouldn't then it's back to the crate.  If you can make it to the 3-4 hour mark without damage then you're probably home free.

Chewing is several things, the top two, imho, are "something to do" and "anxiety"; since all he chewed was his toys, I'd bet on it just being "something to do".  

I had a lab once upon a time who I left inside loose when I went to work or shopping.  One time I got a call from my aunt in Lake Charles (I was living in Houston) about 3 hours away. I figured I'd be back later that night but didn't get home till the next day - Lady had been inside for something like 36 hours without ever getting a break or making any messes.  Needless to say she was glad to see me get home but the bushes out front were more important.

Something I've seen, when a dog sees the entire house as part of their domain, the chances of anything more than an occasional accident are rare.  It's when a dog is confined (crated or shut off in a room or area) and then gets the run of the house that they're apt to damage things (and possibly themselves).  My dogs don't have the run of the complete house because there are rooms I don't use - they seem to see those as "available" for their uses.

Al: After posting this, I had been leaving him in my room unattended for up to 30 minutes (while I showered/run to the store/quick errands/whatever). Aside from destroying this shoe rack I had (which I think had more to do with him jumping on it rather than actively trying to destroy it, if that makes any sense), everything was pretty normal in the room. I think that until I live in my own place and without roommates I will wait to let him just roam free in the house.

I do think we may have had a minor setback on Sunday, though. I had a riding lesson and was in the process of moving, so I put him in the crate in my room for about 4 hours (he has so far been crated up to 6 hours, but 3-4 is his typical range). My roommates were also in the process of moving, but I shut my bedroom door (like I normally do) and didn't think anything of it. When I came back, I heard this god awful noise coming from my room as I was walking up the stairs. It was a cross between a cry/howl/screech. My roommate told me he had been doing that almost the ENTIRE time (why I wasn't contacted immediately, I don't know .. ). He stopped and acted relatively normal once he was out and saw me, but now he won't even go near the crate at all. If I'm standing near it and call him he literally darts off the other direction. Do you think this mostly has to do with moving/lots of change going on, or could it be a more serious issue? Just when we were FINALLY moving forward with his separation anxiety, now it feels like we've taken 5 huge steps back.

You are among several who have noted that leaving a dog crated while you (or someone) is around is very anxiety provoking. (Anxiety isn't the right word, but the closest I can come up with at the moment.)

Huskies want to be with their pack (which would normally be you, but since you share an apt it probably includes your 'roomies'. And, yep, I bet it's going to take some work to get him comfortable with the crate again.

my Chihuahua had anxiety when he was in the crate too; made all the noises he could to make you get him out of there.  he tried to bite his way out of his crate and left many indents on the top half of the plastic crate. he was only a few months old then.

i decided that it would be best if he was loose with some one to watch him when i wasn't around; thank god for family .

when we moved and had to run to the store with my mom, i started to leave him lose with the baby gate to keep him from going up starts. he did whine and my brother was there and he so he would quite down and sleep. it took months before he as fine with being down stairs by himself. and we do leave the radio on too. he is now 16 years old and after a lots of different strategies i found one that works for me   , but make my brother a bit crazy cause he doesn't like him loose     . now we have to work on Leo   .

i think if he doesn't get into things when in your room he should be fine by himself, but i would get like a drop camera or a pet cube to keep an eye on him .

My roommates have been home while he has been in the crate before, which is how I know he is quiet while I am gone. Or at least only whines for the first 10 minutes or something. Ugh, I hope the setback is not too major or it's back to budgeting for day care every day

RedFlashFire: I leave "noise" on for Brady too! . I found it helped relax him, especially at first. I used to leave a nature documentary on Netflix for him. I would pick ones specific to Alaska or the Arctic wilderness or something - not like the actual TV show made a difference to him, but it made me feel better haha.

So I just looked up the petcube - I had no idea things like that existed! Has anybody here ever used one and if so have they been effective? It's a neat concept and I like the idea of being able to keep an eye on Brady while I'm not home, but I'm just wondering if dogs actually respond to their owners through the camera.....it looks like you can talk to them through it? I guess it probably depends on the individual dog, too.

Rachel, another you might want to look at - for about half the price is theFujiKam.

I tend to read reviews of things like this and the reviews are generally all good.