Hello all!

I am new to this form, but not entirely new to huskies. Long story short, I went through a nasty break-up where the ex-boyfriend ended up keeping both dogs, one of which was "my" husky. I was naive and a novice dog owner never did end up figuring out how to keep him happily entertained while alone, probably due to lack of exercise.

Anyway, I am adopting my new fur baby on Friday, and couldn't be more excited! I am fortunate enough to be able to work from home most days, but there will be two days a week the new pup will be on his own for some time (~3-4 hours). The adoption center has told me he has had issues with being able to escape in the past so I'm trying to prevent this issue from happening. What is everyone's advice on the topic?

I know adequate exercise will likely be the main key to helping me keep this new guy contained. I do have one other dog (who has already met the new critter twice and they've gotten along great) and she is kept in a dog run when I am not home to supervise. The dog run 100% will not contain a husky. My backyard is fully fenced with 6ft high fences, but my old husky was able to climb out of 6ft fencing so I don't trust leaving him in the backyard unattended either. Is tethering a dog for 3-4 really that awful if they have shade and water? Is crating the option to go? Although my old husky was able to break out of crates. Another alternative I am considering is buying a large kennel (I saw one at costco the other day) and placing it on cement. It's quite price-y though, so I'm wondering what options you husky experts can recommend. Surely I cannot be the only one who has to leave her dogs unattended for periods of time

Most of us here crate. I think the key here is to figure out what will work for this dog and worry less about what it was like for your old dog. you already know that that dog was under exercised and that will definitely open you up for issues of escaping and destroying things. I have two that won't bother going over a 4ft wire fence so they are definitely all a matter of their own desire and needs. I crate mine inside and I prefer it this way where I live because dog thieves have been an issue in the past. Anyone can walk by and nab a dog from a backyard or kennel. Not so if they are inside. Also don't have to worry about bad weather giving your dogs issues if they are inside. One of the girls I went to school with had a dog killed by lightning a month ago because she was sleeping next to the wire fencing of an outside kennel when a storm came in. Super rare but it's happened. If you want to try to proof the run look at getting some roll wire and running it along the bottom of the run so they can't dig under and then attach some along the top of the run like this:


There are many ways to husky proof a yard but all depend on how large the yard is, how much you want to spend, and how much time you have to do it. Proofing the run will be your cheapest route most likely because it's the smallest to do and once the two dogs have been together long enough that you trust them to get along they will have each other to play with and pass the time when you are gone.

Welcome to the forum!

Thank you for your response! I agree - I need to not focus on my old huskies tendencies and instead see how this new dog will react to different situations. I take my current dog for walks morning and night at a minimum, but I'll need to adjust our exercise plans accordingly to see how much activity our new friend will need. I included a photo of the dog run I have set up now, wondering if it's big enough for two dogs. I can make it wider and also extend the length if need be....extending the length would take some work but can be done.

What type of crate do you use? I have had a dog escape from the wire one, and have heard the airplane types can damage their teeth?

But I am hoping with enough exercise and the companionship of another dog to play with, my new furry friend will be content in the yard. Ah, I'm getting so excited to adopt him! I wish it was Friday

I have a wire crate but haven't had escape issues. Some of us with the wire crates will zip tie all the edges and then use carabiner clips to keep the door from popping open.

The run is short. I would probably buy some cattle panels or roll wire and put a top on it and then chicken wire the bottom so they can't dig under. As for size, if they are only spending a few hours in it at a time a couple days a week the size is more than fine. They have more room in it than any of our dogs who are in crates 8 hours a day during the week days that do perfectly fine. Dogs, especially well exercised dogs, are going to sleep most of the time you are gone anyway so space isn't a huge thing, just making sure they can't get free or hurt themselves is most important.