I am getting frustrated with Malikye's destructive behavior. About 2 years ago he completely destroyed a couch and chewed up the kitchen's vinyl flooring. Within the past 2 years chewed holes in both arm rests of the new couch, destroyed a cushion which luckily I was able to get replacement cover for it, chewed a hole in bed comforter and chewed up part of carpet when I tried locking him in a separate room. He occasionally reopens the hole in couch's arm rest that I try to just stitch closed. I started taking him for walks in the morning before going to work so that he would get some of his energy out and I felt that we had an agreement that if I take him on the walk he wouldn't chew up the couch lol. Well I came home for lunch and just found this...



I don't know what to do anymore. I have done the kenneling thing and I know some of you swear by it but I do not want to lock him up all day, I don't think that is a fair life for any animal. Any suggestions would be helpful. His normal routine did get messed up since I took him and Chloe to work with me yesterday to sedate her...so I think that may be why he did it...but im just frustrated. help

Honestly, even though you are against, crating or confining to one dog proof room would be the best option, IMO. He probably just did it because he was bored. If I left my male out of crate he would search and destroy, but not because he is a terror, just because he gets very bored.

You really could consider confining to a doggy room.

Do you have a dog daycare around your area? When I have to leave for work and she's going to be in her crate more than 5 hours I drop her at doggy daycare

I think a better way of thinking about it is that most dogs love their crate after they get over the beginning period. Don't think of it as locking him up all day, think of it as for his safety. He could accidentally chew something that could hurt him and then you will wish you would have kenneled him, at least that is how I feel. Anna was awful in the beginning with her crate but she has grown to like it or at least tolerate it. I don't think of it as locking her up all day, she sleeps anyways so honestly I guess I don't see what the big deal is. Also she gets her favorite goodies in her crate so she has to at least like it. I agree with Megan though he seems to be bored, one walk is probably not enough.

Also look into doggie daycares. I would rather just kennel her since we are only gone a couple hours at a time and money is kind of tight but it is an option.

anastasiya'smom wrote:

I think a better way of thinking about it is that most dogs love their crate after they get over the beginning period. Don't think of it as locking him up all day, think of it as for his safety. He could accidentally chew something that could hurt him and then you will wish you would have kenneled him, at least that is how I feel. Anna was awful in the beginning with her crate but she has grown to like it or at least tolerate it. I don't think of it as locking her up all day, she sleeps anyways so honestly I guess I don't see what the big deal is. Also she gets her favorite goodies in her crate so she has to at least like it. I agree with Megan though he seems to be bored, one walk is probably not enough.

Also look into doggie daycares. I would rather just kennel her since we are only gone a couple hours at a time and money is kind of tight but it is an option.

I'm with Ellen on this one. My boyfriend feels the same way you do - leave them in there while at work and it's cruel. Of course, he left his dogs outside 24/7 with a dog house and I think that's cruel. :l I think dogs deserve to live in the same space and interaction as their human companions. I also don't trust people - too many theft of dogs from their own backyard! Anyways...

After your husky gets over the "I hate my kennel phase", they'll actually start going in there to sleep, 'me' time, and during storms. They feel safe. They're also den animals, so it's nothing new to their ancestors. I also leave treats in the kennel kong (filled with pumpkin, plain yogurt, peanut butter, etc), bully sticks, antlers, and a towel.

You are also preventing them from getting into danger! They can find some cords, small objects to choke on, and other stuff.

I love this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gcw6tV7fhjQ They left for a few hours. lol

With ample exercise, praise, attention and love, your pup will forget all about that kennel the moment you walk into the door. They're very forgiving.

Good luck!

I'm completely for crate training. I was trying to avoid using the crate, until Hayden decided to eat my couch as well. That was it for me and his ass is now crated and we're both Happy, because he's not getting in trouble and my thing's are safe. If you feel bad that he is stuck in a crate all day, then you could hire a dog walker to come and take him out while you're gone. The crate is not a bad thing, it's a tool to keep you're pet safe and you're thing's safe.

Both my dog's are currently being trained by military k9 dog trainers and I have a completely different light as to what's cruel and what's not and crating is 100% a good thing! If you don't want to do it, by all means you can try doggie daycare or another option. I just wouldn't get upset when you're thing's get destroyed, because honestly that's a chance you're taking leaving him unattended.

VintageJeans wrote:

anastasiya'smom wrote:

I think a better way of thinking about it is that most dogs love their crate after they get over the beginning period. Don't think of it as locking him up all day, think of it as for his safety. He could accidentally chew something that could hurt him and then you will wish you would have kenneled him, at least that is how I feel. Anna was awful in the beginning with her crate but she has grown to like it or at least tolerate it. I don't think of it as locking her up all day, she sleeps anyways so honestly I guess I don't see what the big deal is. Also she gets her favorite goodies in her crate so she has to at least like it. I agree with Megan though he seems to be bored, one walk is probably not enough.

Also look into doggie daycares. I would rather just kennel her since we are only gone a couple hours at a time and money is kind of tight but it is an option.

I'm with Ellen on this one. My boyfriend feels the same way you do - leave them in there while at work and it's cruel. Of course, he left his dogs outside 24/7 with a dog house and I think that's cruel. :l I think dogs deserve to live in the same space and interaction as their human companions. I also don't trust people - too many theft of dogs from their own backyard! Anyways...

After your husky gets over the "I hate my kennel phase", they'll actually start going in there to sleep, 'me' time, and during storms. They feel safe. They're also den animals, so it's nothing new to their ancestors. I also leave treats in the kennel kong (filled with pumpkin, plain yogurt, peanut butter, etc), bully sticks, antlers, and a towel.

You are also preventing them from getting into danger! They can find some cords, small objects to choke on, and other stuff.

I love this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gcw6tV7fhjQ They left for a few hours. lol

With ample exercise, praise, attention and love, your pup will forget all about that kennel the moment you walk into the door. They're very forgiving.

Good luck!

My boyfriend thought the same thing about how we should leave her out. So we tested it. She pottied all over the floor and that was the last I ever heard of it. Haha. I don't like leaving dogs outside plus we live in an apartment so I can't leave her on the porch because she can easily escape or someone will take her.

anastasiya'smom wrote:

VintageJeans wrote:

anastasiya'smom wrote:

I think a better way of thinking about it is that most dogs love their crate after they get over the beginning period. Don't think of it as locking him up all day, think of it as for his safety. He could accidentally chew something that could hurt him and then you will wish you would have kenneled him, at least that is how I feel. Anna was awful in the beginning with her crate but she has grown to like it or at least tolerate it. I don't think of it as locking her up all day, she sleeps anyways so honestly I guess I don't see what the big deal is. Also she gets her favorite goodies in her crate so she has to at least like it. I agree with Megan though he seems to be bored, one walk is probably not enough.

Also look into doggie daycares. I would rather just kennel her since we are only gone a couple hours at a time and money is kind of tight but it is an option.

I'm with Ellen on this one. My boyfriend feels the same way you do - leave them in there while at work and it's cruel. Of course, he left his dogs outside 24/7 with a dog house and I think that's cruel. :l I think dogs deserve to live in the same space and interaction as their human companions. I also don't trust people - too many theft of dogs from their own backyard! Anyways...

After your husky gets over the "I hate my kennel phase", they'll actually start going in there to sleep, 'me' time, and during storms. They feel safe. They're also den animals, so it's nothing new to their ancestors. I also leave treats in the kennel kong (filled with pumpkin, plain yogurt, peanut butter, etc), bully sticks, antlers, and a towel.

You are also preventing them from getting into danger! They can find some cords, small objects to choke on, and other stuff.

I love this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gcw6tV7fhjQ They left for a few hours. lol

With ample exercise, praise, attention and love, your pup will forget all about that kennel the moment you walk into the door. They're very forgiving.

Good luck!

My boyfriend thought the same thing about how we should leave her out. So we tested it. She pottied all over the floor and that was the last I ever heard of it. Haha. I don't like leaving dogs outside plus we live in an apartment so I can't leave her on the porch because she can easily escape or someone will take her.

D'awh lol. Exactly. Crates are a wonderful thing.

Quote :

You are also preventing them from getting into danger! They can find some cords, small objects to choke on, and other stuff.

^ If nothing else this.

Upon return home from school one afternoon with my father we found our 2nd Chow Chow had gotten behind our Wall unit and had managed to stick 2 of his claws into a power bar. Electrocuted itself and was, for all intensive purposes, dead when we got home.

It couldn't have been for very long, as my father carried him onto our back deck and proceeded to give the Chow mouth to mouth and as close to CPR as he could.

That dog lived to be 16, a full 10 years after the incident. Though he wasn't right in the head after, he was a perfectly loving and friendly pet dumb as a sac of rocks after.....


I'm with most others on this topic.

The lack of mobility places them into a state of rest.
They are den animals and it isn't cruel.
They are safe, and so is your house.

~Chris~

I have seen and heard far too many horror stories about people coming home and finding their dog dead because of something they got into, stuck their head in, etc to not believe a better alternative is crating. As mentioned they are den animals and actually adapt quite well to the crate as their den. Another thing to consider is in case of emergency (be it injury or whatever) you don't want the first experience in a crate to be in a moment of trauma. Also, as a firefighter I can't tell you how many people beg us to go into their homes to save their pets, it's a lot easier if they know exactly where their pet will be (contrary to popular belief dogs tend to hid vs try to get out a lot like children), if confined to a crate you can without a doubt tell us where the crate is and provides us a safe method of getting the dog out of the home. Just some food for thought-

+1 to crate training. It takes away the risk posed to your possessions, not to mention keeps puppers safe. I can't even imagine what I would come home to if I left Keeonah out alone. She chewed up one of my blinds because I was gone 30 seconds to get the mail..

Dang it, I knew you would all say crate him lol I am stuck in a really hard place cuz I did crate him for 2 years after he chewed the first couch up, and that whole time it was a really horrible experience for him. He isn't the typical husky by any means. Most of your huskies fit the saying "to a Husky, a stranger is just a friend they haven't met yet". Malikye is the complete opposite. He is a very timid and scared dog. He is terrified of any human but me and the bf, no idea why unless something happened to him at the breeder before I got him at 8 wks. He has very high anxiety during any situation that is out of his normal routine. As far as the crate went, he first tore up the plastic tray that was underneath it, so we replaced that with some thick plastic that the bf has at work. If I put toys in there he would shred them, water bowl would be dumped etc. The worst part is that he would salivate all over the cage and himself. I would come home and he would be soaking wet from his own saliva. We went thru 2 years of this, I would come home for lunch to let him out and he was an anxious mess, it was horrible to watch. I tried pheromones to calm him down and it didn't work at all. I tried keeping him and Chloe both in the spare bedroom and he ripped the carpet up and scratched the door up bad. He does really good when he wears his thundershirt, but he can't have it on when unsupervised. There is so much about his anxiety issues this is just touching the subject. Basically I have come to the point of I would rather have a chewed up couch then add to his anxiety.

What about a puppy proof room?

You also may want to consider getting Rescue Remedy - it has helped big time with my anxious female.

I agree with just about everyone else above. Crating is the way to go. Kota has been crated since the day I brought her home, and at first it was miserable and broke my heart to hear her scream and cry before I left, but I also knew that I was just keeping her safe. The fact that my brothers dog almost died because he chewed up a small blanket and a small part of it got lodged in his intestines and almost killed him was enough for me. There is just to many things that could happen to them for them to be left out and unattended. Not only are they destroying you house/things but they are potentially putting themselves in danger.

Kota, and now Skyler are both crated for sometimes hours while I work, and as terrible at it is I would rather them be safe in their crates, with safe toys where I know they cannot hurt themselves then giving them free roam to potentially get into something they shouldn't. I don't crate at night because they both sleep with me, but my bedroom is dog proof. There is nothing there for them to really get hold of that would hurt them without me knowing right away.

Personally, for not just your sanity but for you dogs safety I would say go back to crating and just think of it as keeping them safe! They will be fine, trust me. If mine can survive some 12-13 hour days then yours will be fine too. I believe that a safe dog is probably happier then a dog that can potentially hurt itself without even knowing it.

Anna used to salivate over everything too. The floor, herself, the pillow, her crate. She tore apart her metal crate. But we got her a plastic crate and just roughed it out and she is better now. Not completely fine but better. We moved her crate from our bedroom to the living room so she can see when we come in and that seemed to help. Anna still cries her head off but isn't soaking wet anymore.

I will tell you if you go back to the crate it is probably going to worse than before since you didn't stick with it and he panics so bad already. But I still say crate.

I thought thundershirts were made to be worn in crates?

Crate training is not cruel. (Unless the dog is in there all day and night). It is way safer for the dog to be crated then to be out digesting things he shouldn't. One day he is going to eat something that will really hurt him. If he isn't safe to leave out, then crate him. Both my dogs are crated for about 5 hours a day, they aren't in a frenzy when we get home. Most of the time they go in on their own to sleep.

PS: Thundershirts can be worn in crates, but can also be worn out of crates. My neighbor swears by one on her dog.