Hi there,

My puppy Zeus is 1.5 years old already and I still can't trust him out of the crate alone in the house. I've had him since he was 8 weeks ago and he is well trained. He is alone while I'm at work from about 9am-6pm three days a week and I take him to puppy daycare twice a week. On the days he's home alone I have a dog walker take him out for 1h around 2pm. I've experimented with leaving him outside his crate for the whole day and leaving him outside only after the dog walker has walked him (so outside of his crate from about 3pm-6pm). He always does okay for a few days, but after a while he will eventually become destructive and eat some leather shoes. I have the shoes in a shoe cubbie and he drags them out from the top shelf and destroys them. He doesn't destroy anything else and unfortunately I don't have a closet or anything I can put the shoes in where he can't get them. My house is kind of small so there's really no area I could dog-proof for him to have more space when he's alone.

I want to be able to trust him and just not eat my shoes. I've tried spraying everything with bitter apple spray and leaving him other chew things such as bully sticks, bones or other treats for him to keep busy, but nothing seems to work.

Are there dogs that will always stay in a crate when they are alone?

I feel like I'm being cruel to mostly keep him in a crate when he's home alone but shoes are expensive and I can't afford to keep replacing my shoes! Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Some dogs will never be trustworthy. At 1.5 though he is still young. Many of our dogs don't really reach any kind of maturity until 2. My girl is 6 going on 7 and there are days I'm not sure I should trust her outside of a crate. A lot comes down to exercise but it sounds like you have a pretty good thing going with the walker and daycare. how far in a day total is he getting walked? What is your morning and evening routine like for walking? My older dog is getting between 3 and 5 miles a day and that keeps her pretty well in check. It's a little hard to tell how much distance is being covered by time. Example: I walk fast and can cover several miles in an hour. My husband walks slow. He can doddle around for an hour and only cover maybe one mile.

I love your avatar! he looks like he has some really neat markings.

There is no way in hell I am leaving my now 3 yr old unattended in the house when I am not home. Even when I am here, it's not chewing so much, its that he, every now and then, decides the cushions aren't to his liking and starts to "rearrange" them into a nest to his liking. Which means, digging, stomping, pulling with his mouth. Which means...a new couch, loveseat, chair, what have you.

You are doing the safe, responsible thing - no electric cords to fry him, no going into debt to replace...walls, doors, furniture, shoes...

If you really want to let him have freedom - maybe an outdoor trolley would work for you, it does for us. BUT - doggy is not safe from theft in this scenario, nor safe from molestation by nasty people or other animals - unless you have a secure, locked, high privacy fence. But, he is safe from house fires. We all have to pick our poison, unfortunately there is no one perfectly safe solution (some members of our H2M2 state group, downstate, have recently had their dogs let loose from their fence and one is either still roaming or stolen.)

amymeme wrote:

(some members of our H2M2 state group, downstate, have recently had their dogs let loose from their fence and one is either still roaming or stolen.)

OMG

Our dogs could not be trusted out of their crates until they turned 2. Now we leave the crate doors open and they come and go as they please. They know what they can and cannot chew, so we haven't had issues with that. We did when they were younger, but that was part of the learning process for both dogs and humans. If there is something important enough that you don't want it chewed up, there has to be a location in your house where you can put it so your dog cannot access it. Oh, and as a new dog owner, I was against putting them "in jail" until I educated myself and realized the importance of crate training. They would go into their crates overnight (6-8 hours) while we slept to keep them from attacking our cats. They, and I, never had an issue with them being locked up for so long. We still use the same crates 8 years later. They've worked wonders for training.

As for exercise, a walk isn't really exercise. Dogs (huskies!) can run much faster and farther than humans, and most human athletes don't walk to train and workout; they run! I used to walk my dogs when I first got them until I realized I was wasting 2-3 hours a day and barely making a dent in their amounts of energy. They were barely expending any of it and they were ready to do it again and again all day long. Now we bikejor, dog scooter and dog sled, and they are just tired enough that they behave, are not bored, and are no longer destructive.

We have also dedicated a room in the house for the dogs, and can close/lock the door or put up baby gates to contain them in their "bedroom." Not sure if this is an option for you while you're not home, even if it is a bathroom or laundry room that has been husky-proofed.

Either way, good luck, and keep asking questions on this forum. You will learn a lot over the years!

Welcome to huskies

As others said, huskies can be destructive well into 2,3, or even 10 years of age. They are a very high energy breed dog that gets bored easily and will create their own fun when left alone.

My pup (who is 4), has a good hour of exercise early in the morning before I leave for work. We mostly walk, but we will play fetch for a few minutes so she runs and we do about 10 minutes of training to reinforce her commands.

After that, she's ready for a nap, so she sleeps until noon when my husband comes home to take her on another walk.

She passes back out.

When I'm home from work, we put a weighted backpack on her and go for a hike in the trails near us which she loves.

All told, she covers about 5 miles a day, which is enough to keep her busy and use up her excess energy. She was crated until she hit 2, when she calmed down (slightly) and could be reliably trusted.

Thanks for all the great responses! It really put my mind at ease. I live in a condo, so getting a setup outside isn't an option. I would never leave him outside unattended even if I had the space because I am very scared of him getting stolen.

Zeus gets probably about 4+ miles a day walking if he's not in daycare. We do morning, during the day, after work and before bed, each walk a little over 1 mile. I'm not a runner and he's scared of bikes/scooters/skateboards, but I do try to take him to the park so he can play fetch and run around a couple times a week. But then again, he really just likes to chase other dogs and will get bored of fetch after about 10 throws.

Maybe I'll try the weighted backpack to make him exercise harder! Any product recommendations?

The weighted backpack is awesome! When she was a young maniac, it was amazing the difference it made. I guess it made her feel like she was doing a job, because she would become dead calm and heel beautifully.

We use the Kuro one, but it got really expensive. I like it because it very evenly distributes the weight.

We also have this one for shorter treks; it holds more (and is cheaper at $23), but it's a bit bulky for long hikes.

What kind of weights do you put in it?

Start with an empty pack to get him used to it and then work up to around 10% of his body weight. Some very well conditioned dogs can carry more, but 10% is safe. Many people fill water bottles for them to carry. I have an outward hound pack and I actually started out with marbles because it was easier for me to add and take away weight to keep each side even.

That sounds like a great idea! Thanks so much everyone. =)

And to further put your mind at ease... know that when your dog is home alone, he's probably just sleeping, anyway. Even with 4 acres, if Ami n is outside alone, unless he has to pee or we have a delivery, he's either sleeping or lying down just watching the world go by. Or he's ringing the bell, doing a Lassie to get me to come out and play with him.

mooixi wrote:

Zeus gets probably about 4+ miles a day walking if he's not in daycare. We do morning, during the day, after work and before bed, each walk a little over 1 mile. I'm not a runner and he's scared of bikes/scooters/skateboards, but I do try to take him to the park so he can play fetch and run around a couple times a week. But then again, he really just likes to chase other dogs and will get bored of fetch after about 10 throws.

Maybe I'll try the weighted backpack to make him exercise harder! Any product recommendations?

So yeah, walks don't do much for humans (unless said human is fat or out of shape), so they're certainly not going to make a dent in a Siberian who has been bred for thousands of years to pull weight while running long distances and endless miles. Ha! I once read that, pound for pound, there is no other mammal of any species on this planet that can run as fast and as far while pulling a heavy load as the Siberian Husky. They're an amazing dog breed for sure!

I've also learned that huskies are not a breed that enjoys playing fetch. A fetching Siberian is a rare sight for sure. It's not anything that's been hard-wired into their system to do, which is why they seem to lose interest very quickly. My dogs will run after the ball, "kill it" and then leave it there for me to fetch myself. NO FUN for anyone!

Not sure why your dog would be scared of bikes and scooters, unless it had a bad experience at some point. I would try socializing it with a bike or scooter or dog cart or whatever you'd be able to use in or around the city. I know it's not easy to find a place to let them run, but I lived in Portland, OR and we made it work at a nearby cemetery. We got in good with the staff and security, and they loved seeing the dogs running and pulling. We would just be respectful and avoid any funerals, and the dogs were not allowed on the grass (my rule, not the cemetery's; technically dogs were not even allowed in the cemetery at all, but this place didn't really enforce that rule, and even the staff would bring their own dogs and let them run off leash wherever they wanted to go). We would go in the early morning or late evening before/after the place opened, so we'd usually have it all to ourselves.

mooixi wrote:

What kind of weights do you put in it?

When we were transitioning from walking to bikejoring, we did the weighted backpack. We got the Ruffwear Approach pack and bought Platypus Pouches to fill with water for each side. I did the measurement translation to figure out lbs to liters to see what size pouch I needed to buy to hold enough water. I eventually switched from water pouches to bags of beans or rice. Sand would work well too if you put it in something that won't let it leak all over everything. The softer and finer the item is, the less harsh it will be up against the dog's sides. I noticed that when they walk and run with a pack on, the sides will flap or bounce up and down, slamming into them. I'm sure it doesn't feel nice and probably bruises them, but since we can't see the bruises and the dogs can't complain (huskies generally won't complain as they have a very high tolerance to pain) I wouldn't have ever noticed if I wasn't paying close attention one day. I made sure the straps were tight to help avoid the "flapping" but it is just a natural movement of the pack in relation to the movement of the dog.

Whatever weight material you chose, balance it the best you can so both sides of the pack are even, and then every now and then (daily if possible) check for chaffing and blisters wherever the pack or straps rub against the dog, usually in their "armpits" of their front legs. Some packs, or packs with weight, can rub the dog raw in these areas, but again, the dogs won't complain. Crazy!

TwisterII wrote:

Start with an empty pack to get him used to it and then work up to around 10% of his body weight. Some very well conditioned dogs can carry more, but 10% is safe. Many people fill water bottles for them to carry. I have an outward hound pack and I actually started out with marbles because it was easier for me to add and take away weight to keep each side even.

I know on the Ruffwear website, it has pack weight guidelines and recommends that you don't load your dog up with any more than 25% of their body weight. My Paw Paw is about 62 lbs, so I'd add about 6 lbs to each side of his pack. We worked up to that weight over time though, and he never seemed to mind. I'm sure he could've carried more, but I wanted to stay safe.

Kevin, i am going to respectfully disagree with your statement that walks don't do much for humans. The Framingham study found that just 3 miles per day of walking is sufficient to significantly lower the risk of heart disease. Walking is far easier on the joints than running yet still induces cardiovascular fitness... providingyour walking along at a good clip.

amymeme wrote:

Kevin, i am going to respectfully disagree with your statement that walks don't do much for humans.  The Framingham study  found that  just 3 miles per day of walking is sufficient to significantly lower the risk of heart disease.  Walking is far easier on the joints than running yet still induces cardiovascular fitness... providingyour walking along at a good clip.

I understand that walking can be slightly beneficial. My Mother was overweight, had high blood pressure, and never played sports as a child. There was no way she was ever going to start running to help all of that. The doctors recommended brisk walking, and her pace had to be fast. I think 17-minute miles or something. I used to ride my bike or walk with her as a child, and I could barely keep up. I'm sure it helped, as she's still alive 30 years later. Luckily for me, I was allowed to play sports like soccer, basketball, wrestling and track growing up. I'm 40 and scoring higher on my annual military physical fitness tests than 99% of the 18-39 year olds. The men who are 40 and above LOOK 40 and above, and they all have medical ailments from not taking care of themselves when it comes to diet and fitness.

Plus, how many humans actually go out and walk 3 miles a day? I'm sure that ALL walking throughout the day adds up and would count towards that 3-miles (would it? not sure, never read that study), but a human who is physically fit, eating healthy, and in great shape would not benefit that much from walking as the only form of exercise.

Wanted to add too: no athlete on any sports team in any sport walks for a workout. Siberians are born athletes. There isn't another breed on this Earth that can do what they are naturally meant to do, and do it as well. I take mine for 5+ mile bike rides 6 days a week where they pull the entire way, and I can guarantee that after an hour rest, they could do it again and again, 12 times a day. If they can run and pull that far for an hour straight, what could a slow walk possibly do for them? Nothing. Granted, I built them up to this, but that doesn't take long. Dogs are not humans. Most dogs, like probably ALL wolves, are built for distance running and speed. Forcing them to only be allowed to walk is one of the main reasons people come on these forums complaining about behavioral problems and destructiveness, boredom, lack of focus with training, etc. I know because I've been there. I'm speaking from experience, and it was people on these forums who taught me about dog-powered sports that Sibes excel at. Life has never been easier since we started bikejoring, dog scootering/sledding, etc.

Walks are better than nothing at all (so kudos for at least ensuring the dog gets walked!!!), but it's the bare minimum and should not be the norm for this particular breed. I live in a neighborhood where I know who owns dogs, and I rarely if ever see them do anything exercise-related with their dogs. No walks or anything. So sad. But again, their dogs are not Siberians. It's like comparing a soccer player to a football player. Most soccer players would run circles around any football player when it comes to distance, and probably prolonged speed (not short sprints) too. If you made a soccer player train strictly according to a football player's workout regimen, that soccer player's skills and abilities would surely deteriorate.

I am a part time runner, all the time walker. I personally know 3 full-time athletes who ate right and trained for marathons who dropped dead of heart attacks so it should be known that while walks maybe "slightly beneficial" being an athlete who works their body to the ground isn't all it's cracked up to be either. I know a lot of people who walk a lot of miles a day and are in great shape and they haven't died yet, while I know a lot of hard core runners whose joints are falling apart and they have heart problems now.

Personally I think a dog's structure should be evaluated before doing any kind of crazy harness work. Not all dogs are structurally sound enough to do the kind of work they were bred to do. The instinct might be there, the body just isn't. It is something that people with dogs from BYBs and shelters where their background is unknown need to consider before they select how they exercise their dogs.

TwisterII wrote:

I am a part time runner, all the time walker. I personally know 3 full-time athletes who ate right and trained for marathons who dropped dead of heart attacks so it should be known that while walks maybe "slightly beneficial" being an athlete who works their body to the ground isn't all it's cracked up to be either. I know a lot of people who walk a lot of miles a day and are in great shape and they haven't died yet, while I know a lot of hard core runners whose joints are falling apart and they have heart problems now.

Personally I think a dog's structure should be evaluated before doing any kind of crazy harness work. Not all dogs are structurally sound enough to do the kind of work they were bred to do. The instinct might be there, the body just isn't. It is something that people with dogs from BYBs and shelters where their background is unknown need to consider before they select how they exercise their dogs.

Walking is good. Running is better. Swimming is probably the best form of exercise that burns the calories and has little to no stress impact on the joints. I guess this would hold true for humans and dogs. Not sure how many huskies enjoy swimming. Mine will go into the water up to their bellies but won't swim. It would be great if I could get them swimming on a 50' leash or something, or in a contained situation.

I've been a runner since I was 5 years old on a soccer team. I'm 40 now. I don't do marathons. I don't see the point. I've read that, at some point while running, once you hit a certain distance you're not really doing anything more to improve your overall fitness. The most I've run was 10.5 miles in one day. I was averaging 9 miles every other day for a while to lose weight and get in the best shape of my life. Now I take a dog or dogs with me and we do anywhere from 4-6 miles average. I remind myself that most people will never run 4 miles (or even 1 mile for that matter) all at one time ever in their life, so it's crazy that we do it every day or multiple times a week, depending on freetime from work and family schedules.

In the military you have to run. You don't get a choice. You are tested on your ability to run 1.5 miles under a set time. I fear that, once I retire in 2017, I might lose the motivation to run as I am no longer being forced to do it. I tell myself that hopefully I'll still run for/with my dogs for everyone's benefit. I want to be able to still walk when I am in my 60s and 70s if I live that long, so I've been looking into swimming to keep myself fit long term. Running certainly impacts joints, but I've never had any injuries that kept me from running. Maybe it's my running form or my genetics or luck or all of the above. Death could be lurking around the corner for me. Who knows. I do know that I've probably already run more mileage in my life than most people will run in their lives, and I feel as if it has benefited me personally overall. I look and feel younger than my co-workers; my annual physical results (cholesterol, everything on every level) are off the charts compared to my peers. I've passed on my healthy living to the next generation: my children. My wife is a runner, and after 3 (soon to be 4) babies she is still maintaining her natural weight, health and fitness.

I certainly cringe when I read articles about athletes of all ages (young children to professional players) dying early due to some sports stress-related incident. Maybe, like the dogs you mentioned, humans need more in depth physicals before pushing the body to its limits. I think humans dying of sports-related issues grabs attention and makes headlines, but how many non-athletes die of the same stuff and you never hear about them? I'm sure it's a lot more. Video game generation; people who'd rather surf the net and iPhone 24/7 instead of go outside and be active.

I don't want to come across as a fitness Nazi, because I am not. I am NOT BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE, and I know that and try to word my thoughts so I don't come off that way. What I am trying to do is BETTER MYSELF. My only competition IS ME! Fitness is important to me and my dogs. I am not fit. I will admit. I am out of shape, yet I run all of the time. I wish I had more time to run. I am slightly overweight. I should be around 155 lbs but I am in the 180s. I know I am overweight for my height. Most people live in denial and won't admit these types of things. For as much exercise as my dogs get, some of them are slightly overweight. I am working to feed them less and exercise them more. They run more than most dogs ever will. I need to do better. I took Nara running yesterday for about 4 miles, then came home and grabbed the boys for their 6-mile dog scooter ride, all of which took place in 12 degrees with snow and ice. I try not to let weather keep us indoors, no matter what. Living in Portland, Oregon taught us that.

Lots of good viewpoints here! I think it ultimately comes down to my personal exercising ability and with the lack of it, how to make it for that. Obviously weekdays is hard because I work full time, so I send him to daycare so he can get some stimulation.  He is always dead tired after an entire day at daycare and basically eats and passes out until the next morning. I have to drag him to go out before bed.

I've tried to go running with Zeus a few times during the summer, but I really suck at it. I've never been a runner, no track or sports as a kid. I can go like two blocks before I'm out of breath, and I just really can't motivate myself to do it. But at least I'm not obese... yet. *fingers crossed*

Bikejoring sounds interesting! Is there any special equipment needed besides a bike and a leash? I'm afraid Zeus might not run straight, pull sideways and then I'll fall over. Zeus can pull pretty hard. Also his fear of bikes might make this a hard sport to do.  I think he's mostly just startled by the sounds the wheels make and just how big they are. I'm not aware of any bad experiences, but he's just weird. He also is unfriendly towards strangers, barks at children, and displays a lot of characteristics uncommon in huskies. For example, if he's in a field playing with a group of dogs, he'll run in a large circle and try to herd them together. He also generally likes to run in circles too. But he's a purebred AKC dog.

Look up a WalkyDog bike attachment. That's what i use with Ami. He's wary of it, to butts v that's because I was stupid and attached him to the bike and then walked v5 t away to get my gloves and helmet not a pretty picture.

The WalkyDog is a piston on a bungie that is attached to the side of the bike and absorbs shock so directional issues are controlled.

As for the discomfort around people, I would start socializing her... walk around people you know, have them offer treats. Get her out around people...a lot.

All great ideas, thanks so much!

I too have the walky dog attachment and love it. I got a double headed bungee to attach to the clip that it comes with (bungee with carabiners on each end) so my girl can run a little farther from the side of the bike. It gives her a little more time to adjust to how sharp or wide I cut turns. Just don't get one that is so long that he can run infront of the bike. Then you might see him dart across your path and you will run him over. The bungee I got was only about a foot long.

I'm no runner (determined walker here) and I've always been able to wear out my pups (Huskies, Samoyeds, Akitas) walking with the backpack and some training sessions.

For my little spitfire goof, we used a flirt pole (like a giant cat toy) which she LOVED and that would help.

The doofus won't fetch outside but she will inside--we're in a small apartment, but I'd set up little jumps out of boxes/pillows in the hallway and would throw kibble or her toy over them, and she'd dash over to retrieve and bring them back jumping the whole way. She loved that and it always ended with a tuckered out puppy

How fun! I know Zeus loves jumping over things so I was considering agility class. But all the ones I've researched and deemed a good class never fits into my schedule. Oh well, maybe one day! haha~

mooixi wrote:

Bikejoring sounds interesting! Is there any special equipment needed besides a bike and a leash? I'm afraid Zeus might not run straight, pull sideways and then I'll fall over. Zeus can pull pretty hard. Also his fear of bikes might make this a hard sport to do.  I think he's mostly just startled by the sounds the wheels make and just how big they are. I'm not aware of any bad experiences, but he's just weird. He also is unfriendly towards strangers, barks at children, and displays a lot of characteristics uncommon in huskies. For example, if he's in a field playing with a group of dogs, he'll run in a large circle and try to herd them together. He also generally likes to run in circles too. But he's a purebred AKC dog.

So bikejoring is when the dog is out in front of your bike pulling you, just as if you are on a sled and your sled dog is pulling it (and you!). I normally don't even have to pedal once with the dogs pulling. They do all the work while I sit back and enjoy the ride. I taught them the sled dog commands and they literally picked them up in 5 minutes. Very smart dogs these breeds are!

I've had to deal with squirrels and rabbits and coyotes on the trail, but I taught the dogs the ON BY (basically a LEAVE IT while running/in motion) command and if they try to dart left, I steer my bike right, or vice versa. Over time, they understand that ON BY means don't even bother trying to veer off course. I learned that I had to see things before the dogs saw them, so I could start giving them the commands in advance. I haven't been dragged off my bike in years. Ha! But there's the story about that one rascally coyote who slow jogged (trotted maybe??!?) 20 feet in front of us across our path and then just stopped to stare, not fearing the 3 high prey drive big dogs running straight at it, but that's a story for another day...

I find spots to go where there are minimal to no cars, people, dogs, etc. I can't control the wildlife population, but I do my best to avoid them too, just to lower stress levels while on the trail. If anything, when my dogs pick up the sight or scent of jackrabbits or coyotes, they sprint for a distance until we are out of the scent/sight area, and boy oh boy is it fun to be part of their adrenaline-rush sprinting speed!!!

As for gear, you can visit websites like Alpine Outfitters or watch videos on youtube if you search for bikejoring to see all of the various rigs people use with thier dogs. The most popular would be a padded X-back harness (we went with the AO custom-fitted harness sized specifically for each individual dog), a gangline with bungee shock absorber, a skijoring/bikejoring harness/belt (for you to wear so the dog connects to your body for better control instead of connecting straight to the bike [less control]), and a bike (obviously!).

Hope that helps. Ask more questions or PM me if you need to. Good luck!

^I have yet to figure out bikejoring properly--my fault, not my dogs haha. She does just fine, I just haven't ridden a bike in a decade and I'm clumsy. I ended buying an adult tricycle that I use for bikejoring. It doesn't go as fast and doesn't as turn as nimbly as a regular bike, but it's much more stable and I don't have to worry about toppling over; she still can pull to her heart's content and get a good workout with breaking my neck