So, as some of you may have seen, I adopted a ten months old husky named Jenna. Her history was basically she was tied up out back and left to die. A family rescued her and had her for a month, but was unable to keep her because she killed one of their rabbits and their cat. So, I adopted her.

FOR THOSE WHO DON'T WANT TO READ THE WALL OF TEXT, LOOK BELOW.

It's been three weeks now, and I've seen a lot of progress, especially since she came to me with basically no training at all. We've done a lot with her already. She's great at the dog park. She loves going for long walks. I even tried her with my other husky running me on blades. They both did amazing together (I know you're not supposed to run dogs under a year old on hard surfaces. This is not why I'm posting this topic. So please don't mention this.) She's just turning into a wonderful, loving, sweet dog. However, there are a few problems I just can't (or don't know how) to fix.

One. Crate training. When steele was a puppy, he took to the crate incredibly well. He loved it. He did the standard whining every night for the first week or so when he was younger, but after that, he learned it didn't do him any good. Now, if I have a crate out, he'll go and lay in it voluntarily. He'll sleep in it at night. Jenna.... not so much. Every time she goes in it, she whines. Without fail. And it isn't whimpering. It's screaming. The only time she doesn't whine is when she's ready for a nap.

Oh, it gets worse when we leave. If she thinks we're ready to walk out the door, she starts screaming. If we leave the room her crate is in, she starts screaming. I've tried scolding her, catching her when she's quiet and praising her, covering her cage, ignoring her... nothing is working. I just don't get it. The worst is when I leave. And normally, I wouldn't mind since I'm not gonna be home, but I'm afraid of a noise complaint. All my neighbors so far have been nice. But I don't know how much longer that will last. I mean, it sounds like she's being murdered when I leave. It's awful. Oh, and let's not forget that I had to buy a carrier because she ATE the bottom trays of her other two crates (metal with plastic bottoms). She also ate a towel I draped over her carrier THROUGH the metal front gate.

Anyways. Any ideas how to help her get over this screaming? I'm at a loss. I've never had a dog that didn't crate train. I mean, she isn't even showing improvement since when I got her.

Second. Urine. Everywhere. Every morning without fail, she will wake me up at 6:30-7 am and she will be completely covered in urine. It doesn't matter if I take away her water at 6pm or if I walk her four times (every hour) after her water is taken away. Every morning she has urinated all over her cage and herself. What really gets me, though, is that she KNOWS she isn't supposed to urinate in the house. If she's lose, she'll ask to go outside. We've only had three accidents in the house, one of which I didn't pay attention to her signs, and the other where the boyfriend jumped into the shower and left her out. It's a good thing she loves baths, because she needs one every day. The minute she drinks water, she has to pee. I know puppies puppies have this 'issue' because they have a small bladder, but she's almost a year old. Any solution to this? I've already taken her to the vet to get her checked out. She had two types of worms, both of which have been treated, and she's now put on heartgard. She's also on her first heat... can that have anything to do with it? I've never had an unfixed female before. Do they urinate more when they're in heat? The doctor said it's possible, but I figured I'd ask the husky owners.


FOR THOSE WHO DON'T WANT TO READ THE ABOVE

Any suggestions for crate training a husky that screams every time I leave the room/apartment/she's locked up? Any suggestions for helping Jenna understand that her crate is not a bathroom or helping her train her bladder?

Have you tried leaving an analog clock on top of the crate or music or any kind of noisemaker?
My boy Armani is similar, though i will note i've been crating him for a little over a month now and it's gotten much better. i've been using all of the tips in the thread for crate training, you should check it out! it's pretty good, As for the urine, we also have that problem, though it is much less frequent now, i just take him out as much as possible, i have heard of spraying a vinegar mix on the area that was urinated on helps? never tried it though as i feel this might not be healthy inside the crate. Anyways i'm no pro (Armani is my first Pup and i've only had him for 2 months) so i can't promise anything will work, check those threads though(potty training and crate training) they've been extremely helpful

Good luck!

-Jerrad

I unfortunately don't have any real advise for you. It sounds to me like a case of separation anxiety. I am sure there are probably threads on here about the topic, but I am sure someone on here will have some advice for you.

I'm an Aussie so I really don't understand the whole crate senario (it's not as popular here) but is there any reason why she needs to be crated? Can you section of an area for her to be in? I'm not sure if she's house trained yet or not... Good luck, it does sound like she get's a bit anxious by herself - or is it just in the crate?...perhaps if you tried addressing those issues it would make the crate training easier?

Okay so I can sot of help with the crate training. Anna has awful separation anxiety. She ended up pulling apart her metal crate. Anyways she would cry and cry and cry and woulddn't even be quiet long enough for me to run in and let her out. She would pant so bad she would be soaking wet. But we have finally gotten better she now cries only if she has to potty. We have had a lot of downs when it comes to dealing with the crate. We tried to ease her into the crate so when school started back it wouldn't be so bad. We also used positive reinforcement and tried everything in the book to make her love her crate and she just didn't seem to be getting it. She hate the comforter I had on her crate and my boyfriend's computer cord that was near the crate. After she ate through he metal crate we bought a huge plastic crate from someone on craigslist and she seems to love it more. I do not have to cover it with anything and it is like her own little den.

But anyways Anna didn't seem to be getting any better and we tried leaving her a little more, in the crate, if we had to go somewhere. (We were taking her everywhere as a puppy). Anyways We were about ready to give up, she would cry for hours, no stopping. Well school started back and she just had to get used to it. We tried all we could. She now will go in by herself when it is time to leave and will not cry either. Sometime she will be crying when we get home but it is solely because she has to potty. Also Anna knows that if she isn't quiet and sitting mommy will not open the door. I also make her wait until I tell her it is okay to come out. Of course it can't be that long but we are working on it. She used to come out and pee on the floor out of excitement and just having to go. Now we make it outside!

For the crate make sure you make her as comfortable ass possible. That is all we can do with Anna. Make sure she is tired before you put her in there. Also try a KONG, Anna loves hers. And give goodies everytime she goes in. There were days I would make it part of our routine for Anna to go in her crate multiple times and sit, lay down, wait for me to call her out. All while treating her. I hope this helps. This is what worked for us and we tried EVERYTHING. The feeding her in her crate and getting all excited wheen she went in alone. Our problem was in the beginning we were almost always with her and if we ran errands she went. Just don't give in! It can get hard I know, plus we live in an apartment and I actually warned my only neighbor that we were trying to crate train and that she had anxiety so if she was too loud to let me know. She seemed happy I told her.


Regarding the pottying I am not sure what to say on that one. There were a couple of random mornings I would wake up and Anna would have, excuse my language, shit outside the crate. Meaning she put her butt facing the outside and had diarrhea all over the floor and that was wonderful trust me. I started getting up earlier and I also took her water away at 10 every night. (Not anymore, plus she has a water bottle hanging on her crate, which she also loves). Now even when we first started crate training her we didn't have a divider but we did put a big, heavy plastic bin in the crate for a while. And Anna is spayed so I can't tell you anymore than maybe get up earlier and try not to speak to much to her just say let's go potty. It worked with Anna. Sorry I cannot be more help:/

Sorry for all the scatter brain thoughts it has been a long day.

Also if she potties in her crate try using nature's miracle orange oxy, works miracles. They won't want to pee there! Wish I had found it sooner.

Thank you for the replies, everyone. Just an update on Jenna.

The crate training is getting a bit better. We have learned that nothing can go on top of her carrier, because somehow, someway, she will manage to get to it and eat it. She has enjoyed my boyfriend's work shirt, my tablet charging cord, and a pen. I also thought that she had broken the door on the carrier, but turns out she just (somehow) knocked off the small plastic square that covers the springs to the door.

However, she has not pottied in the crate for some time, and the last time that she did, it was because the boyfriend didn't take the dogs out before he left for work, so she was locked up from 8am to 7pm, having eaten breakfast and drank water before i had locked her up to leave for work. Her screaming/whining is starting to die down. She will now go lay down in her crate sometimes when she's bored. She still whines when we leave the apartment, but it's becoming less and less each time. I think she's finally understanding that I'm not going to leave forever every time I walk away. Separation anxiety is a pain to work with =/

As for the treats for the crate to keep her occupied, nothing works. She doesn't care about them. I've tried multiple times to give her a delicious peanut butter filled kong, and she just ignores it when it's in the crate with her. Chew bone? Ignored. She'll even leave treats untouched if I throw them in her cage and leave. Her main focus is me, and it remains that way until I come back. If only I could get her to focus like that when I'm in front of her.

Well it is good she is learning that you aren't going away forever. Anna wouldn't touch her stuff in the crate either for the longest time and now she looks forward to it. Hahah. It might just take her more time. Even if she doesn't eat anything I wouldn't stop giving it to her. But congrats on the work! Separation anxiety is a very big pain and for days I felt bad but I had to realize there was nothing I could do to change it.