Been a while since I've posted about Ajax! Last I posted I was wondering about his height/weight so I'll give an update on that real quick.

Ajax is now just under 8 months about 25 inches at the shoulder and his weight most definitely exceeds 50 lbs. He might even be at 60. But he is healthy and has that "top down thin" look so all is good.

Now onto the the questions.

When we first got Ajax, we crate trained him within the first few weeks. At night time he would fall asleep wherever but when I'd go to sleep, I'd wake him up and open the door to the garage and he'd go right into his crate. BUT he would wake up very early because he was only 3-4 months old at the time. The other members of the household decided to let him sleep in the house and he seemed to wake up later. Fast forward a month or two of free-roaming nightytime... eventually a few times a month would come when Ajax would have to go back into the crate for 2-3 hours but he now dislikes the crate and eventually managed to break out of it a enough times to the point where it could not longer be used. Damaged goods.

Instead we tried daycare where 2-3 hours would cost the same as 5-6 hours. And that has been working great since he get's lots of exercise and fun for those one or two days out of the week. BUT he hasn't been neutered yet and now that he is almost 8 months old his testosterone and emerging adult behaviors mean he can't go back to daycare until we have him neutered which we do have planned. (But that's the time, 3 weeks from now, until his operation plus recovery time where he won't have supervision for 3ish hours once or twice a week)

This means that in the mean time he needs to be rehabilitated to the crate which he should learn to be good with anyways just in case there is situation where he NEEDS to be crated for a few hours. I'm hoping I can use treats at night time so that he at least sleeps there to get him started which shouldn't be a problem. The real problem will be when he's home alone in the crate.

He has separation anxiety. I'm honestly not sure how to compare it to other dogs because he is still young. Even if I go outside to get something from my car or the mailbox for 30 seconds, I'll hear him barking and crying inside. What's the best way to go about this?

That was the first question...

Second question, since we're letting him sleep in the house at night (soon to change once I buy a new and good sized crate - any suggestions on size/brand?), he wakes up at 7ish AM which isn't much of a problem since we all wake up around that time BUT even after he's gone out to do his business, he'll continue to bark. Unfortunately I only hear this and don't see what's happening because once I wake up around 7, I start  getting ready for my day which starts earlier than everyone else's. But I do know that once I enter the room he seems to calm down a noticeable amount. I don't know if its because everyone is in the room and awake together or if he "obeys" me more since I'm the one that does most of his training... or a combination of the two.

When we take him to the park it's usually early in the day so does he know that he'll be going to the park and is getting anxious?

I'd like to resolve this. My thought was to reward him when he's being quiet and calm.

I just had a general question too. Overall I really like Ajax's temperament. Once he's had about an hour of good activity outside he is for the most part in a relaxed state where he'll lay around by my feat while I work/eat/watch TV/etc.

Now obviously I know that when he gets OLD 6+years he'll definitely become more relaxed unless I'm suddenly wrong and Siberian Huskies are different than all other dogs. But between now and the next couple years, will his energy/hyper/overall personality be about the same as now? More relaxed? More energy? What can you other huskies owners say about the correlation between their age and temperament/energy?

One last question... it's sorta childish. But in a neutral state, Ajax's tail is either flowing pointing straight out or pointing down... But when he goes outside for a walk his tail curls much more... and when he gets to play with other dogs his tail almost goes into Malamute mode (Ajax is pure AKC Siberian Husky)... Now I know I shouldn't care but I REALLY dislike the curled tail look... Will this happen less and less as he get's older/tail get's heavier and less excited over such things? I've even briefly thought "If some breeds need their ears in cones to insure proper pointy ears, then can't something similar be done with tails?"

Well that's it. I hope that wasn't too much text to read.... Any and all help is appreciated. Useful links, help hints, etc.

Here's a pic of the 8 month old beast now.

He is just beautiful and reminds me of Dizzy, a member that used to post a lot here.

As for slowing down as he gets older, I think that is a long way off. My 3.5 year old still very much a puppy!

Oops - movie time,

Ajax is getting to that age where you will need to put your foot down about everything. The bratty teenage stage will make getting him back in the groove of the crate more difficult since you relaxed on it for a while. You will need to really stick to your guns or he will try to convince you not to crate him and never to leave.

If you go outside and he barks, how long does he bark for? Does he quit after a little bit or will he continue on for hours if allowed? I leave a radio on for mine when I leave and this has always seemed to be enough. Giving a chew of some kind before leaving to occupy him is something else to try. especially if it's only for 3 hours. Hard exercise prior and then a chew should be enough. I always left for a bit then came back then left again for less or more time and came back and never acknowledged mine in the crate when I was going in and out.

Huskies do like routine and can get pretty excited when they know what's coming. I have a drawer that triggers mine. If I open this drawer then I must be getting their leashes and then my girl just starts freaking out. Teach calm. Make him sit before he's allowed out.

Huskies are not like every other dog breed. My girl is pushing 7 and hasn't slowed down an ounce. She zoomies, she hops and barks at me to goad me into playing, she prances and puts on a show for walk time, and she can go all day. She enjoys sleeping much of the day while I'm away but once I'm home it's time to do something. Each line is different. Some slow down earlier than others. It is my thinking that a dog that is well maintained and kept in good shape will uphold many of their youthful traits. But a dog allowed to become a couch potato will do just as humans tend to do when they become couch potatoes and they will slow down.

The tail is a breeding thing. If it curls too much it is considered a fault in the show ring. Excitement dictates how high the tail goes, but breeding dictates whether it curls or not when they pick it up. A show bred dog shouldn't curl but should sweep in more of a crescent moon shape. Nothing can be done about this. If you wanted a tail that didn't curl then you would have had to have gotten ahead of that prior to choosing the dog and made sure that you went to a reputable breeder that has bred out this fault.

Thanks for the replies.

I'm pretty good and putting my foot down with him. And I always make him sit before we go outside both to calm him and so I can more easily put his leash on. I do the same when we come back inside.

Next time I leave the house to get mail or whatever, I'll try and listen in on his barking. I'll also try the radio trick or computer with ambiance or something. And if he ever gets crated, he'll definitely get a treats/toy and something to chew on.

As for the tail, it really doesn't SERIOUSLY bother me as most of the time it's either straight or crescent like. It's just a pet peeve.

So, I really am having a hard time crate training Zhukov. He is very non-vocal 99% of the time. I mean, this dog is QUIET! He doesn't bark at the door when someone comes up, he doesn't bark at the squirrels when they sit on the back porch and tease him, he doesn't bark at the masked burglar who is stabbing me to death in the living room, this dog is QUIET! Until you put him in that crate. Then, it is like there is a monster in that crate. He HOWLS. He WHINES. He MOANS. Good lord, but it sounds like he is speaking English. He yells out NOOO NOOO NOOO NOOOOOOOO!!! You can hear it outside. You can hear it across the street. You can probably hear it from your house right now.

On top of that, he is DESTROYING his crate. Seriously, I really started to worry about him hurting himself. Sometimes he gets his arm out through the slot on the bottom where the tray comes out. He pushes the tray out and sticks his arm out, and I am afraid of him getting stuck. So, I have suspended his crate training till I get a better crate. I am currently looking at a RuffTough crate, since that is what my vet uses for boarding. They are pretty substantial and my vet swears by them. A bit pricey, but they are exactly what I am looking for. My vet loves the doors on them, which are heavy plastic and hard for them to get a grip on. Check 'em out at www.rufftoughkennels.com if you want.

Those are really nice crates. I have seen them used for hunting dogs when we used to go up north for bird season. Have something in mind for better securing the door since it sounds like Zhukov likes to push the limits a bit. Something dark and cave like might actually help him with the howling and panic. I wouldn't suspend crate training until the crate arrives though. He wants you to not crate him and right now with suspending the crating he is getting his way. Have you tried throwing a quilt over the current crate to make it darker inside, and muffle the sound. Zip ties on the corners and covering the gap where the tray slides out may help you for the time being so he can't remove the tray.

I am experiencing trouble with Suka's crate training as well. I put him in the airline-approved crate I used for my last Husky, and he hollered like I was skinning him alive! I felt badly for him, but I know if I give in and let him out while he's hollering, it's only going to encourage the behavior in the future when he has to be in it. I spent half an hour cleaning up the mess he had made before finally letting him out of the crate. It was one of those times when he was getting into everything, and I'd clean up one mess only to turn around and have to clean up the next one he made. Putting him in the crate was my way of stopping it long enough to catch up and then be able to keep a close eye on him.

After that experience, I switched to using our Klee Kai's wired crate. It's larger than the airline-approved crate, which Gypsy loved because she had lots of room to move around. It worked well for Suka. It's odd to me how they hate the airline-approved crates but not the wired ones. I guess it's because they can see a lot more of what's going on.

Anyway, that crate was working fine until this past Monday. He learned how to open the door. He got out while no one was home and made a BIG mess! My husband told me to be sure to use the locking mechanism on it in the future, and I honestly hadn't known there was one. None of our dogs ever tried to get out of it before. It turns out the locking mechanism is not very good at all. It's just this wire that loops down and connects to itself, but the door can still be opened a few inches. If he can open it a few inches, he's going to be inspired to try harder to get it the rest of the way. So when I put him in the crate Wednesday before I went to work, I also shut the door to the room to contain any mess he made. He got out, as I expected he would, and thankfully, he didn't make too much of a mess. There were clothes strewn around the room and he'd gotten curious about what was on top of our dressers. I found some items from there on the floor.

So now he's going back into Kiba's crate, which has a rusty door that's hard to close. I'm going to take some pliers today and try to line it up better and maybe use some WD-40. Suka is going to hate that kennel, but tough. It's the only type he won't be able to get out of. If the door to it proves to be too much to deal with, I'll just bite the bullet and buy him a new one. That's my last resort.

Zhukov does the same thing with his tail. It is funny, but I really like how it curls up. When we are inside, he usually lies on the floor at my feet with a deer antler or a kong toy, but the second we go out into the yard, he is like a spastic monkey. Pouncing, racing, zooming, bounding up and down, with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth and this crazy grin on his face.

We are working on walking with a leash and I had to transition him to a harness with the leash attached to the chest. He was dragging me down the street like I was a paper bag (I am a 200lb, 5'11 guy). I really thought he would hurt himself with the collar. This Wednesday we start a 2 week, intensive obedience school, so this should help.

Anyway, sorry to hijack your thread, just love talking about my boy.

Jessie, get a bunch of cardboard and use them on all the joints of the big wire crate. And a couple on the door.  A hint given to me by the shelter when we stopped Ami.  Or, if you love where it's safe, install an over head dog trolley, add an extra snap shackle to the lead and leave him outside.

Damn tablet autocomplete. That should read CARABINERS

Amy, I thought about that. Or zip ties, which is what Suka's breeder uses for her dogs. I don't like the zip ties idea just because I'd have to cut them off and throw them away each time. I like the carabiner idea a lot. Kiba's old kennel is working great though. I didn't even need a hammer to get the door to line up properly again. Suka hasn't been able to get out of it and it's been a few days, so I'm happy to use that one instead. He's gotten used to it so he doesn't holler when he's inside it.