Hi all, so Simba, my about to be 10 week old pup has been a complete blessing for me and my family. In the past two weeks, he learned potty training on the first night, sleeps all night, and pretty much hasn't had an accident inside. He's also responded very well and learned very fast with clicker training.
His living quarters are in our game room, separated from the main house, with a tarp on the floor exercise pen connected to a crate.
Our intention was to crate train him but we kinda lost sight of that when he did so well with potty training. We did however try to visit it again. I started with short intervals, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and an hour. He's perfectly fine till he finishes the food in his kong then he starts crying like no other. I try to wait until that interval is up only to find he begins to dislike the crate. If i put his kong in he'll go in and take it outside. He'll sleep outside on the tarp (i think that may have to do the weather as well its been kind of hot. Also I don't have a water bowl attatchment to the crate yet, should I invest in one? As for the process, should I just keep luring him in and just wait out the intervals? I do put some toys in as well and I do cover the crate with a blanket but he starts to pull the blanket through the crate and starts to rip it up. I'm going to try and use a moving blanket now.

Separation Anxiety, it took simba a few days to adjust to our lifestyle. When he did it was great, he stopped pulling his ex pen inwards whenever we'd leave and he'd settle down fast...for a few days. Then the weekend came around and the family was home all weekend and all of a sudden we spent more time with him... then the weekdays came around and he was once again crying and pulling the cage in. Did the weekend mess up our progress or is it just part of the process?

Puppy nipping. So the first week simba was with us his mouthing didn't hurt whatsoever, and he is great with strangers for the most part until they start playing with him alot. If we take him to our front yard, or if we take him in the car or anywhere new, he becomes a lap dog and or his nipping is very very soft. But when we get in the backyard and his ex pen his biting can be quite hard. He causes scratches but hasn't broken skin. He goes for wrists and ankles mostly. I try crying like a puppy and the ouch method but i don't think my voice goes high enough, when my brother does it he instantly stops. I tried the shunning method and it takes about 45 minutes of playing then leaving when he nips for a minute and then coming back, for him to completely get the picture. I've also tried the redirecting method. What should I do when he really gets riled up cause at some points I can't even get out of the ex pen he just keeps coming after me. I've tried picking him up and holding him close till he sighs, i've also tried giving him the sit command. He half the time responds to the sit command. Any other methods? also should I only be using one?

Thanks so much for all the advice in the past I really appreciate it,
Suki

Oh sorry, also any advice on giving him a bath? I put the hose down so he could drink from it and he started doing that btu when we start putting water on him he hates it. Unfortunately yesterday he was ok with it int he beginning so I decided to put a little bit of soap to see how he'd react. As I was washing it out my brother had to hold him down, and he whined like no other. I don't want him to associate bath time so horribly or is that common?

First, why are you suddenly trying crate training again? One thing I have learned in my 40 plus years of dog ownership is you must absolutely be consistent! If you want to use the crate then you must now begin as if you never did, which really you didn't anyway. Put him in the create don't make a big deal of it, if you want him to have a kong, fine give it to him. Walk away. He will cry, whine and yell. My Balon screamed his head off every single night for 2 weeks until we all thought we'd go insane. But he did finally stop. It may be one day, one week or more but you cannot give in. Look for that several seconds of quiet to let him out then take him to potty immediately. NEVER let him out while screaming, it only reinforces that he can win! He can't, ever.

Separation anxiety, yes he's getting a little messed up during the weekends. Nothing you can really do about that one unless you want to hire someone to come in everyday to play with him and take him out. I would guess you don't I know I wouldn't. So don't make a major deal out of weekends. Play with him as you would any day of the week, and keep using the crate! You don't say how long you are putting/expecting him to be by himself on weekdays. Realize 10 weeks is very very young. They can't hold it very long and need to be let out probably at least every 30min to 1 hour depending on the pup.

Nipping, most puppies do this. He is most likely teething a bit, they all go through it. Best thing to do, when he nips tell try high pitched "ouch", or tell him No and withdraw from play. Stand up turn your back walk away. He will hopefully learn that nipping gets him no one to play with.

Bathing, ahhh that's a toughie, my Balon is 5 months and still screams and jumps around like a banshi in the tub! Just be really calm and patient, I am hoping Balon outgrows this.

Good luck, most of all remember he is only 10 weeks old, just a baby

In everything you do, consistency is the key! I learned that the hard way. (Rio chewed out of 2 crates).

Bathing is a hot mess for most of us. Kya is 2 years old and if I bathe her, like today, she still acts like a total idiot. I prefer my groomers, because I just don't want to deal with the naughtiness, (and I get all of my dog's anal glands cleaned out every 6 months) but then, that makes me a lazy owner to some. Oh well. Since most huskies don't get bathed too often, I would look to either getting a rapid bath, with works very well, and takes about 5 minutes, even with them being crazy, or look for a groomer who has experience in Huskies.

Good luck!

Unfortunately, I don't have any advice for you. I just wanted to let you know that you are not the only one !! I am having the same biting/nipping problem with my (almost) 10 week old, Sasha. She was great at first, now it seems uncontrollable. Same as you, I've tried the re-direction, the "ouch" technique", the time out (which becomes a time-out for me to leave the room since I don't want to use her crate as a time-out and it become a place she does NOT want to be)... sigh !

I just started clicker training and I am praying that it works to help with the biting. I was literally in tears last night. I felt like all I did was yell at her "No", "Ouch", etc ... all day.

Another question about the crating. So in terms of frequency, how often? Usually I put him in the crate twice a day. His ex pen is attached to his crate, in the beginning while we're training him should we always confine him to the crate?
Sep anxiety is getting a little better, he'll go off for about 15 min then he's fine.

Thanks for the input!

I would just like to point out that i think it is physically impossible for a 10 week old puppy to be completely potty trained in one night, especially considering that pups don't even have full control of their bladders until around 9 months of age. The concept of going outside to potty might have started to set in, but don't fool yourself into thinking he is completely potty trained, because there will be accidents. I don't want to burst your bubble, and I am glad he is doing so well, because cleaning the carpets was one of my least favorite jobs, but the reality is that at that age, he will still have inside accidents. Correcting the behavior when you catch it is the most important part of his training, and just like anything else, consistency is the key.

The nipping needs tough love, plain and simple. Correction methods can vary in severity, but biting/nipping is one of those that I have ZERO tolerance for. it's cute and playful now at 10 weeks, but soon those chompers will be able to do some real damage. I taught Keeonah bite inhibition with tough love. She nipped my hand during play, I put my hand firmly (NOT FORCEFULLY) around her muzzle, looked her in the eyes and barked "NO, BAD DOG!", one time. She has never nipped anyone ever again, all licks all the time. If she tries to take a treat from my hand too aggressively, i withdraw the treat from her say "softer" like a command, and try again. She doesn't get the treat until she takes it very very gently out of my hand.

I don't believe in aversive training methods (methods that condition the dog with pain or fear). However, as the leader of this pack, I have absolutely no problem putting my dog in her place if she's out of line. There are stern, yet painless ways to get your point across.


Crating is kind of hit or miss with huskies. At this point, Keeonah will walk into her crate and lay down if i tell her to go inside. She doesn't hide from it, she accepts that she is going into the crate. If she can hear other people in the house, she will cry and howl, because she knows that there is someone here who could let her out, and she's pissed that they won't. If everyone leaves the house, or if it's really quiet, she will stay calm and quiet for about 2 hours, then she starts to fret again. The only real way to train acceptance of the crate into a dog is repetition. I load her crate up with stuffed kongs, kibble, and her favorite toys when she goes in. That way she sees going in there as a positive, and not a prison. Yes, when the treats are gone, she will cry until she calms down, but it's only for a few minutes at this point. At nearly ten months old, i can almost justify calling Keeonah "crate trained", but it was a long long road, and took a lot of time and consistency.

Like June said, you can't and shouldn't impose too many expectations on your pup at such a tender young age. He just a lil' baby!

About the bathing, we have always had a problem with Anna and I always ended up soaking wet. She would cry the whole time as well and I felt so bad, she only seems to hate the water even though it is luke warm. Anna is now 5 months, still a baby, and getting better at the bath. I have found the only thing that works for me is to stand in the tub, we have a garden tub, and hold her with my legs, my boyfriend holding her in as well from the outside and us both washing her. I hold her up and he rinses since that is the worst part for her. Good luck

I'll chime in on bath time - washing the dog outside with a hose will make them scream their heads off. It's a HUGE shock to their system to have super cold water poured on them because their body temperature is warmer than ours - 102. You'll find out that if you give a bath inside and reward lots of treats and actually use warm/hot (will be hot to you - but not scalding hot!) not warm to you water bathing will go much better.