Hello - So my husky, Lexi, is two years old. I have constantly struggled with keeping her in my backyard while I am away. I am away from work for 8 hours Mon-Fri and I don't really feel comfortable putting her in a crate for that long of a period since she was never crate trained as a pup. I have tried a dog run (cabled and attached to her harness) she learned how to take her harness off, 10'X10' kennel thats fully enclosed with chain link - She ate through the chain link and escaped within 2 hours, shock collar (set on vibrate alert NOT shocking) around perimeter of the fence, she didn't care that she got shocked and still ate through the fence to hang out with my neighbors dog, I also put up chicken wire around fence so she could not get to the wooden fence boards and she ate through the metal and still escaped.

She gets walked daily in the AM (at least a mile) and also bike ride/dog park for at least an hour in the evening. I looked into doggie daycare during the day but around the area i live, the cheapest is around $35 a day which is out of the question. I had a dog walker coming to walk during lunch time, but she always escapes prior to dog walkers arrival.

I also have a bulldog just FYI.

Any one have anything else they could suggest? I am so scared she will escape out of my front gate and get hit by a car. I did set up a cam in my backyard and have been having to watch all day to make sure that she is okay and not in harms way. Lately she has began sneaking out almost daily making me have to leave work to go and find her.

PLEASE HELP!!!!!!

Is there a reason you wont leave her inside your house? Because that would be step 1 I think. I wouldnt leave my dogs in my backyard for the day because they could escape if they wanted to. In the house with locked doors is best for us. At 2 years, there is no reason she wouldnt be able to hold it for the day. Maybe you also need to up your walks in the morning, or add weight to a backpack for her to help burn more energy?

I have left her in the house if i leave at night since she is only outside in the day time, but never for 8 hours, maybe 6 hours max. Sometimes she will chew up something but I just put out ALL of her toys and it sometimes side tracks her from eating something of mine, throw pillows etc. I just feel so bad when i have a very big backyard that she could enjoy if she wasn't an escape artist! Staying inside is the only option i think i have left!
And do you have a suggestion on a good backpack i should look into? I have seen some different opinions but i have always wanted to try it out!

Canine Equipment has some good stuff, there are quite a few brands out there, honeslty its a personal thing, you can take her with you to try them on and start just by getting her used to it. then slowly add weight. (max 25% of her body weight)

Keeping her inside is your safest option, yes she can run around the backyard, but the risk is too high.

i would work on dog proofing one room in your house to leave her in, or try to crate train her. being out side is clearly not a safe option for her right now. We leave our 2 in the downstairs of the house and put away anything they may get into. there are still days we come home and our girl got into something. we just brush it off. i do not trust them outside all day.

She's definitely not safe outside. Inside is still a gamble but you've said you did it already and she's just chewed a few things up...if you are really diligent and put away *anything* that can hurt her, it may work but it's still pretty risky, dogs, especially huskies, can be very creative with their destruction. Is it a separation anxiety type of thing or simple boredom that is the root of her going through extreme measures to get away? My only advice right now is doggie daycare where she could be kept busy and constantly supervised, but I read that's not an option for you...do you have a patio room or something where she could be relatively safe ?

If you can fit it into your schedule, try walking your dog or running with them in the morning. It will do a lot to curb their destruction and escape attempts. Daycare is also another good option if they can be around other dogs.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. She has been inside all week and only chewed up a book! My mistake for leaving it on the counter!

Thanks