Sunday we brought our Husky home. She isn't necessarily a new dog, Shylo was my husband's dog that was staying at his mother's house. She couldn't care for her any more so we brought her to our house. At his mother's house she was her in kennel constantly, the only time she would leave then kennel was to go in the house. We have a fenced in yard so we brought her kennel, built a platform to put it on and now she lives with us. Monday put her in her kennel and she BARKED BARKED BARKED. When I went home on my lunch break she was still barking. I let her out and played with her but she's not interested much. So that afternoon when I left to go back to work I left her kennel door open. When we got home she started digging under the gate (we think she was digging there because it was lifted slightly from the ground). Last night my husband put concrete pavers to fill in the gap and when I went today she had started chewing the boards of that gate. She has not tried to dig anywhere along the fence line, she only walks it. We have two houses across from us who have dogs so maybe she is trying to go there?!?

She listens well to commands. I've read that we should exhaust her and we try she just doesn't seem interested.

I like the fact that she can run all day if she wants but I don't want her digging out. I also don't want to be the neighbor with the dog that howls all day long.

Do y'all have any suggestions?

How old is she?

6 or 7

Well it sounds like she is bored and extremely frustrated. What is her current daily exercise routine?

We take her out in the morning, at lunch and when we get home and try to play with her and get her tired. But more often than not she just doesn't want any of it.

We are confused by her being bored or something like that because where she was at, she was in a kennel almost all day long.

What do you mean by take her out? Can you be more specific and detailed? Length of time? Distance? Pace?

It is completely normal for her to be aloof and uninterested in you/activities with you when she is so new to you. Plus, her life was just completely changed and everything she knew as normal is now gone. Yes, her life is arguably better now (thank you for getting her out of that situation), but she doesn't know that. She can't know that. That's a very rational point she can't understand.

The good news for you is you have an opportunity right now to set a new precedent for her. You are now establishing her new default setting, her new normal. She isn't holding on to her past life in her mind, she is just responding to what is currently her life with you now in your home, her new home.

So it is important that she has some time to adjust and settle in. It is important that you are positive and calm around her, not making a big deal out of things or expecting too much right now. It is important you are setting examples and showing her what her new expectations and limitations are. Yes, she needs discipline and boundaries and structure right now, perhaps more than anything else besides physical exercise to release the years of pent up negative energy she has built up.

She needs structure right now. Routines and habits. She needs to know what is normal now and it is your job to teach her, but that takes time. It takes time for her to be comfortable with you and trust you and it takes time for her to get settled in to her new situation.

I'm sorry, I know this sounds a bit cerebral and isn't the "do this and she will change" type of advice you are perhaps looking for, but it is very common in situations like this, or with people who have a new puppy, to look for a quick fix, almost like taking ibuprofin for a headache, but that really doesn't exist.

You don't have a problem on your hands, you have a process on your hands.

I hope this makes sense. This is how I know how to be encouraging, by emphasizing that this is a process and building a relationship. It isn't a problem to be fixed.

A problem that can be quick-fixed is the digging under the gate and fence.

Huskies are diggers, plain and simple. Bored and frustrated Huskies are ESPCIALLY diggers. It's one way to release pent up negative energy. They aren't trying to get anywhere, they are trying to escape where they are now.

I would install some type of underground barrier along the bottom of the fence and gate ASAP. There are several options available. There is info on here if you search, tons online, and even some installation demo videos on YouTube if you search there.

When we first got Ami, I was walking him twice a day for a total of 5-6 miles, usually 3.4 morning and 2 night. Plus play breaks during the day and just before bed. As he proved to be trustworthy, we began to let him loose in the fenced backyard. What surprised me is that without us out there with him, other than an occasional meander around the yard, he justs sacks out.

Then, my son's dog needed "babysitting" 3-4 days a week while he is out of town. The dogs romp and romp and romp. But, surprising to me - both STILL want their walks. Even after I've installed invisible fence around almost 5 acres, they still want walks. And people company.

It seems that dogs have multiple needs - exercise (for a husky that can mean high mileage daily), doggie play with doggie friends, companionship with their owners...and, at least my boy, sometimes solitude in his dog house.

Also - a raw, large bone with lots of connective tissue goes a long way towards relieving boredom.

Thanks so much for all of the help and advice!

Multiple Needs is a great way to frame it Amy. With Huskies being working dogs and difficult to bond with, this is especially true.

One other choice is take her to the dog park if you have one near by (like I do) she will run like crazy and spend a lot of energy more quickly than just walking, I also take her on bike rides where she "trot", "jog" (sorry I do not know the correct word)

The raw bone is a good suggestion give her something to do and to chew on that is not the fence. But I agree it sounds like she is bored and not getting enough exercise. Also you could do some dog training or even tricks. Geting a dog tired involves both physical and mental exercise.
Some ways to do both are.
Walking and having her use a dog backpack.
Having a playdate with other dogs. (if she likes playing with other dogs)
You could even hide treats around the yard and kind of show her that so she learns to hunt around for them.
You could hide her meal in a cardboard box and let her distroy it to get it.
Get creative and just think about it if you were stuck in a back yard with nothing to do all day you would get bored and distructive too.

Also change it up new things are more interesting.

Just because an animal spends all day without complaint in a small pen does not mean it isn't bored and frustrated. It means it's given up ever seeing improvement. Give them the chance and they'll tell you just how much it sucked. If she will do it try lots and lots of fetch. My akita won't fetch so there is no fast, low energy way to exercise her. Niji though is a piece of cake. Keep throwing stuff and holding on to toys while she expends all the effort pulling on them. Get her excited and let her run loops in the yard during rain storms. My health is limited right now but we walk 2miles a day aside from yard exercise and cautious games inside. It helps some I have other dogs but they are older and don't run that much. Mostly just smash her when she runs by them which does keep her running loops longer. Dog parks work great but ours require yearly tags that we haven't gotten. It does not matter how much exercise you give. Unless you have a dog getting older and fat they will still have energy for more. They will run for hours so your walking pace or some confined yard time is not going to run them out. Even as they get older the only dog I can wear out enough that for longer than 10mins she doesn't want to do something is the short shiba. Everyone else is ready to go again by the time we take the 5min drive back from the fishery and they drink some water.

Huskies love to dig. I sounds like you may just have a digger. Aurora and Maya both did this until we trained them. They won't stop digging, period. Huskies do what they want to. Our girls through some coaxing have learned that there are appropriate and inappropriate places to dig. There is a spot in the middle of our yard without grass and the dirt is softer. They are "allowed" to dig in that area and at the park.

I say "allowed" because they think that they can do anything they want and they will. Maya was the hardest to train because she was a rescue. She wanted to dig in every corner so we just kept putting down a boulder or paver where she shouldn't dig. When she digs in "good" areas we grab a shovel or gloves and help her so as to say, "This is good and fun and were glad you found the right spot." She goes bonkers when we help her dig. She loves it!

Sounds like your girl is alone in the yard when it happens and I would hesitate to keep her out by herself until she stops. I would suggest training her when you are home and if you see her picking up on where it is appropriate to dig then let her out alone again.