We have a 2 and a half year old husky, Alpha. We have had him since he was 6 weeks old. We had always let him sleep in our room with us until about 7 months ago when I was about to give birth to our daughter, and he now has to sleep in his crate at night. He has always done good with his crate while we leave the house. Now that he's in there at night, he barks almost the whole night and by the time we let him out in the morning the whole house stinks because his saliva is all over our kitchen and the stink follows him as well. Any tips on how to keep him from stinking like this and to help with his separation anxiety???

I don't have a lot of advice on this, because Miya's separation anxiety was of a different nature, we don't have kids. But what I would suggest, if possible is to move his crate to your room, this way he is still with you, just doesn't have free roaming privileges. Huskies like to be with their humans, and this may be the cause of his distress. Also, they hate change, and thrive on routine, so the faster you can get back into his routine the better for him. Lastly find a few minutes, I know this is a hard thing to do with a new baby, but try and give him 15 minutes or so a day of alone time with you, this way he feels he is still a part of you. Has he been receiving as much exercise as he had before? If not he may need to expend some energy, so try and get his exercise needs fulfilled too. You may need to get your other half or a close friend or relative to help you through this adjustment time. The smell thing, I don't know, I have never heard of saliva creating a smell, but I guess perhaps it's his way of marking? Maybe someone else can help with that.

It sounds less like separation anxiety, and more like real stress. A frightened or stressed dog can actually have their saliva change in reaction tot he change in hormones, creating a pretty strong stench.

Is there a reason why he can't sleep in your bedroom? I know you have a new baby, but is he a danger to the baby? If not, bring him back into the bedroom-it must have come as a shock to him, spending 2 years at your side and then being kicked out to be alone. If he can't be free int he bedroom, bring the crate at least to your bedside.

I also second the exercise question--as a new parent it can be tough, but find a neighbor or high schooler to serve as dog walker.

In the meantime, try a breath spray or mouthr inse for your pup--there's many excellent ones on Amazon.

He can't be free in the room because whenever it's bedtime he freaks out and runs around the room barking and jumping everywhere like a wild dog. And we could never break him of it. We can't put crate in the bedroom because it's way to small. He gets plenty of exercise every day

What was your bedroom/bed time routine prior to baby? How did you settle him down to go to bed before baby was here? If he freaked out and was a wild dog for bedtime prior to baby, then this is a different issue all together. Did you allow him to act wild before bed before baby? My questions are simply to get a better idea on what is the issue. To me it is a discipline issue that is only worse now that baby is here. Giving a husky too much freedom and to act wild at bed time is not conducive to relaxing and going to sleep. To me, it is a dual issue, separation anxiety and having a bratty husky, who is used to having his way, and is acting up more now because you have now limited his bratty behavior. Did you ever take him to any obedience classes as a younger dog? By giving us more info will help those of us than can help you, a better understanding of your situation.

Before baby we would normally have to take him outside multiple times before he would calm down. We figured it was a puppy stage because it wouldn't happen every night. We tried at one point putting him on his retractable leash and tied it around the doorknob so he could be in there with us but didn't have access to the whole room before baby, and that worked for a few weeks and then he chewed his leash in half so we stopped that. We couldn't find obedience classes near us to take him.

May I ask you where approximately you live? You don't have to give us a town name or anything, just general location. Obedience class would help you in controlling him. I mentioned this in an earlier thread today on feeding, by allowing your husky too much excitement is one of the main reasons owners give up and a husky ends up in a rescue. With having a baby now, his discipline and behavior will be magnified, because he does not have 100% of your attention, he is acting out. Although you may not have excess money, even a class at Petco or Petsmart may help him in teaching him to be more calm. There may also be trainers in your area that can come to your home and help you to teach him to be more calm. High drive dogs are very difficult to calm down, and without proper training techniques you will have issues. For now, I would start on giving him clear commands, and treating him when he does what you ask. Crate him whenever you need to attend to the baby, if he is calm reward him. Also, because of this change in his life, his exercise requirements may need to be changed. You say he has plenty of exercise, do you mind sharing in his daily exercise, do you take him for a walk, how far, how long of a duration, etc. Does he get some play time? Even before baby, he seemed to have had too much energy and no way to release it, but to entice you that he needed to go out, hence he was controlling and doing what he wanted rather than doing what you wanted. My girl is almost 3, and for the most part she is real calm, and will listen to my commands. However, she is high drive, meaning, she can walk 10 miles and after a drink will be ready to go again. although this is not feasible for most people, you have to do 2 things...1) have control over him, he needs to respect you and 2) he needs a way to get rid of all his energy.

I live in ky, but it's one of those middle of nowhere towns. When my boyfriend gets home at night they go outside and run around the yard and play. He doesn't have all this energy during the day while attending to baby just at night. He will listen to any command for the most part as long as he sees the treat first. But I will keep looking to see what I can find. We even got him fixed a few months before baby arrived because we were told that would help calm him. We love Alpha and that's why we are going to keep trying everything we possibly can to help him.

I understand the middle of no where, I live 65 miles one way to the nearest Petsmart. Check online for a trainer and see if there's a way for someone to come to your home, to help. when baby is old enough, taking walks with the two will benefit all of you. Have boyfriend run around with him just before dark, so indeed he may have to do this twice an evening instead of once. I would get him a kong and fill part of his kibble rations along with some peanut butter or yogurt frozen, to give him when he goes into his crate for bedtime, give it to him when he becomes calm. Getting him tired before bed time, until you can get someone to help you, should calm him some. To give you some insight, Miya plays hard with me outside 2 or 3 times a day, and a five mile walk many evenings, if we don't walk, then we play fetch and have her do some zoomies. At bedtime, we have the same routine, Miya bedtime, prior to this we say Miya potty before bedtime, to give her the understanding it is time to be quiet and calm for the night. Be clear, concise and firm with your commands in the evening. Do not treat for bad behavior. Repetition is key, once he know he gets a yummy treat for being calm, he should just know to be calm. I hope I helped a little, husky training is on going, it never ends, just because they are full grown.

Everyone has helped so much! Thanks. I'll keep updating as we start trying these suggestions!