Hi all,

Advice time. My amazing and beautiful husky is now 11 months old and has progressed to the next level of destruction. She is exercised up to 10 miles a day and is rarely bored but she has destroyed 2 beds in the same amount of days.
To provide further detail... she is crate trained and loves her bed however on a short school run my wife came back to yet another destroyed bed.... Yes... I did tell her that she should have put Luska in her massive outside kennel but she didn't and as Luska sleeps in her locked crate at night the destruction is inevitable anyway.
So my question has two parts I guess.
Is it cruel to have her sleep in the crate without a bed (just the metal floor) or is there a husky proof bed (pretty sure I know the answer to this one!!)

Cheers,

Graham

Howdy Graham,

I encountered the same problem with my Husky. He would rip apart all the beds that we bought him for his crate, whether it was a fancy, expensive, "indestructible" memory foam mattress or a cheap foam mattress. I got frustrated and just threw an old throw in there which he balls up in a corner. He sleeps just fine on the floor of the crate.

So, in answer to your question, I don't think it is cruel to let the dog sleep on what he wants, and I do not believe that there is any such thing as a "Husky proof bed".

I went through 2 or 3 beds before I said "no more" I just take a motley assortment of old blankets, moving blankets, old fleece clothing (with zippers/buttons/ties etc removed) They bunch them up as they see fit and plop...happy.

For the outside doghouse, I buy a bale of compressed straw from tractor supply. It may look small, but when you pull it apart there's tons of it...don't make my mistake and put the whole thing in at once. Way to much straw. Added benefit? The dogs smell wonderful and in the spring is a nice addition to the garden mulch.

Our previous dogs never did damage to their bedding. Old blankets and what not were just fine for them and no damage was ever done.
Rorschach is a different story though. He just likes to rip things apart. He's still a puppy though, so I'm hoping it's just a phase.

He drags blankets outside. Every blanket. He drags them out of the inside kennel to the outside. He drags them out of the doghouse. He drags them around to wherever he wants to lay down. All of them. If you put 30 blankets in the kennel, he'd drag them all outside. In the spring and fall, it rains here. In the winter we have snow on the ground constantly for months at a time. Having blankets outside is problematic to say the least. Plus, they get pretty messy and stinky, so then you don't want them back inside.
Our other dog had nothing to sleep on indoors because the husky would drag everything outside.
I mean, it was cute watching a 4 month old undersized husky puppy dragging a full size blanket up a ramp and out a dog door, but it got old fast.
So we decided to try some 'indestructible' pet beds. One weekend is all they lasted before they were ripped apart and stuff was strewn about the entire kennel.
Next up was horse blankets. They were sturdier and actually pretty nice. I would suggest them for most people...but not for husky owners. He ripped a hole right in the middle and took the stuffing out.
My wife tried to patch them with more durable material, and he'd just rip a new hole. Then she bought a cheap but thick fleece and covered the entire damaged side...he ripped through it and tore it to pieces.

He's not dumb, he knows what it's for, and he lays on it all the time, but he also likes to destroy it. He gets exercise, he has an indoor/outdoor kennel, he has plenty of toys that we rotate...but the beds still get torn to shreds.

We have 2 ideas that we are going to try next to see if it makes a difference. We plan to restuff and sew up the holes in the horse blankets. Then we are going to make a pillow case of sorts for the horse blanket to go in. We have two fabric ideas. My wife is suggesting denim. I'm suggesting a thick army duck fabric.

I'll report back after we get them made and see how they hold up.

I've stopped bothering to patch things up. Z'ev shreds things, but I can understand. He has to be crated except when on leash and it has to be frustrating to him. But, he also uses the shreds to make himself a nest so I can't complain.

Good to know I am not the only Sib owner who is ultra destructive then.
She is super intelligent and only 11 months old so hoping it's a phase but just feel bad that tonight she will be in her crate with just a metal base

I'm not sure its a phase...Ami is now 4. He really doesn't mean to destroy beds, fabric, pillows. He goes to lie down and his habit his to make 3 tight circles, pushing down with all four paws rhythmically to form a nest...if there are any lumps or who knows what, he starts tearing at them with his mouth. Then tamps down the resulting mess and plops in it.

He did it about a month ago with a sofa pillow when I left the room for about 15 minutes only to return and find that those pillows are actually fully packed with shredded foam...the biggest piece of which was the size of my thumb nail. Oh...and it was deep orange. At this point, he will never be left in a room by himself...not because he means to be destructive, its just a dog's nature.

It's not cruel to have them in a crate with no bed, actually if they tear anything up (and they will until they get out of the puppy stage) why keep putting bedding in there. I always thought of crates as cruel, but with experiencing the husky puppy stage it's a necessity. My choice though, if someone is home, leave the cage open, if they want to go in, fine, if no one is home, put them in a locked cage, my pup actually found a way to open the door, had to wire tie it shut. When you sleep, leave them out, but in your room and close the door. Until they get out of that puppy stage, that's what you have to do, and maybe until about 4 yes old because of them making a mess when you're not there.