Jess15 wrote:

Hey guys, Im new to the forum and to being a Husky onwer.

Im going to pick out my pup in about a week, and then I have to wait another week or two until hes big enough for me to take home with me, since hes only 5 weeks old I think. Anyways, Im on the fence on what I should do about the crate training...

My dad doesnt want the dog in my room -_- I would LOVE for my husky to just sleep on my bed or his little bed, and I feel like that would save me from the midnight crate crying lol But since my dad is against haveing the dog in my room, he might have to be in the basement.

Note: Dont worry, the basement is brand new, and can easily be rented out because its like a small house.

Thats not what Im worried about. I had read in a book that on the first few days/night your puppy should be close enough to you so he doesnt worry. Thing is, if my puppy sleeps in the basement, it wont be anywhere near me because my room is in the attic. Do you think this will be a problem? ;_; Because when I wake up after 2-3 hours to let him outside to potty, i will have to put him in the crate again, shut the lights off, and go back to my room, and the whinning will start all over.

I read a few of what you guys had to say, and that having the tv on, or a small radio will soothe the puppy somewhat. Which is perfect if it was in my room, because I always leave my tv on and have it really low, because the noise soothes ME lol I know, I sound like a child.

Anyways, which do you guys think would be best? Just waiting for my dad to go to bed (He goes to bed really early) and then when I head to bed sneak him up with me? And do the routine I had planned out. Or should I just leave him in the basement? Or does either one work out well?

[Got to doggy proof my room and hope the pup decides not to piss in my room, wich was another reason why I was a bit nervous to put him up there] Hope my questions wernt to weird, dumb or confusing for you guys :/ I didnt know how to explain. I want my pup to be potty trained, and crate trained for when I have to go to wrok, but then for sleeping, I wanted him to be around me so he felt comfy and I wouldnt feel bad about the whinning lol

My last post was meant for this.. I thought page 4 was last page whoops.. Still new to this forum thing lol sorry

The separation anxiety training is really hard! I've gotten Juno up to 20 minutes and she has had nonstop crying, howling and barking.

HELP! We have been crate training our pup Thor since we brought him home before christmas. He seems to like his crate when he goes in at his own free will, but if WE place him in the crate ( he goes in when we go to work, and bedtimes) he FREAKS!! its currently 9:15pm here and we crated him at 8:45 for bedtime (hes still howling). We have taken all the tips/ideas on making his crate his safe place ie: old worn shirt that smells like my fiancé. but none of that seems to work. My issue is that he has to be crated during bedtime because he is not fully potty trained yet (were in the process of switching from paper training to going outdoors, doing great with that so far) But we live in a condo so we are attached houses and are in the middle of two family homes. Our neighbours have young kids who have early bedtimes but when Thor is crated for bedtime he SCREAMS and HOWLES so loud the neighbours must think were beating him.... How do I make Thor go about his bedtime in a more calm matter?

My puppies just 4 months and we had a lot of trouble at first too. Some things that seemed to work really well were to put treats in there randomly so then he'll go in there on his own a lot looking for treats and sometimes even stay in! Do you do the thing where you show him a treat and throw it in so he goes in, let him come out and repeat? Eventually closing the door for increasing intervals, that helped. When we forced our pup in his crate he didn't like it at all, but we found that if we can motivate him to go in on his own such as throwing a bone or treat in there, and closing the door behind him, he would be happier. Lastly, get a really good bone that he will love and only let him eat it in the crate, if he tries to bring it out, take it and throw it back in, after doing this a few times he'll stay in the crate with the door open just to eat his treat. This was one of the best ways to create a positive association, along with hiding treats in there without him knowing.

Hope this helps!

johngalt wrote:

My puppies just 4 months and we had a lot of trouble at first too. Some things that seemed to work really well ....
Hope this helps!

Thanks for the advice. He ended up tuckering himself out from crying and fell asleep till around 4am then started crying again. poor dear. haha. I have tried moving the crate into our living room next to our couch. hopefully he will enjoy it more in here as we are always in our living room, he may feel more inclined to be in here with us. Im gonna try leaving the tv on tonight when we put him down for the night. fingers crossed he gets used to it soon because when i came home from work he had popped in there (he was only in there for about 30 mins so my fiancé could pick me up).. poop... everywhere... work in progress!

Oh wow, we've been lucky in that there hasn't been any peeing or pooping in the crate. He doesn't have too much space does he?

johngalt wrote:

Oh wow, we've been lucky in that there hasn't been any peeing or pooping in the crate. He doesn't have too much space does he?

Im starting to think maybe he does. but he seems so afraid of it now that we if make it smaller he may just refuse it altogether.

Today's crate training update: He has learned to escape... My fiancé came home after work to let him out and noticed when he walked in the house he wasn't barking ( He always barks when he hears us unlock the door and walk in ) he walked up over the stairs and there he was, Thor asleep on our living room couch... haha. he had an accident on the floor in front of the back door at some point during his escape adventure..

I just adopted a one year old husky male, and I love him. The Humane Society strongly recommended to crate Casey while I am at work, so he doesnt get in to anything during the day and not to fight with my two year old german shepard mix. He is house trained and behaves wonderfully. The first day I put him in there he tipped the crate over and it happened again the second day. I put treats in there and feed him in there, so it's a positive area. I leave the door open an night and the first night he went in there and slept. My boyfriend says I should put him in there at night, so he get used to it, but I think that is cruel, since he doesn't need to be potty trained .I don't want him to get hurt one day by tipping it over. I need suggestions and advice on what a should do. Please help!!!

If he's not used to it, he's going to have issues. You have to slowly work their time being left in there from like 5 minutes on up. Every day. Until he can stay in there for an ~8 hour work day.

It's not cruel to crate your dog at night or any other time. It's generally for their own safety, but it's not something that they will take to right away.

From the first post of this thread:

Koda wrote:

4. Desensitize your dog to your leaving. Try leaving your dog in the crate for 5, 10, 20 minute intervals randomly throughout the day while you are still in the house. Always practice good crate manners (ie- ignore your dog when he whines).

If you work with him, he'll learn to be okay when you leave him. You can also try wedging the crate between something so that he can't tip it over.

Anyway, good luck!

Thank you, Ashleigh. I will try to do that the intervals on my days off. Should i keep him in there all night to sleep in the crate?

Maria, I was in your shoes once and I did have my sibe sleep in his crate at night while we were crate training. He was house broken already so it was purely for training purposes. Once he was comfortable being left in the crate during the day while we were gone then we went back to letting him loose at night. I felt bad about it too at the time, but it really helped speed up the process and it really didn't last very long..less than 2 weeks if memory serves me correctly.

Thank you Valerie, I will try that hopefully he gets used to it sooner rather than later. I am using a wire crate also, should I put a blanket over it? I give him walks twice a day, so he gets his exercise.

It couldn't hurt to try a blanket but how they take to it will depend on the individual. I tried a sheet on the crate when we were crate training. I ended up with nothing more than a sheet shredded into pieces, but it does work for some.

HuskyMom13 wrote:

HELP! We have been crate training our pup Thor since we brought him home before christmas. He seems to like his crate when he goes in at his own free will, but if WE place him in the crate ( he goes in when we go to work, and bedtimes) he FREAKS!! its currently 9:15pm here and we crated him at 8:45 for bedtime (hes still howling). We have taken all the tips/ideas on making his crate his safe place ie: old worn shirt that smells like my fiancé. but none of that seems to work. My issue is that he has to be crated during bedtime because he is not fully potty trained yet (were in the process of switching from paper training to going outdoors, doing great with that so far) But we live in a condo so we are attached houses and are in the middle of two family homes. Our neighbours have young kids who have early bedtimes but when Thor is crated for bedtime he SCREAMS and HOWLES so loud the neighbours must think were beating him.... How do I make Thor go about his bedtime in a more calm matter?

We got our pup Link 3 days ago and were having the exact same problem. He goes in to get stuff and on his own to check it out, so he is definitely not afraid of it. But yes, tantrums abound when being placed in it.

As of last night and all today, we found the magic trick: exercise, exercise, exercise.

The last thing we do with him now is tire him out with exercise, and he has not so much as yawned cause he's tired and relaxed, much less throw a tantrum, howl, or scream.

I take him for a 2 block jog in the grass, down and back, then to the yard for a little romp time with sprints, chases, a bit of play boxing, followed by some calming affection. We take him inside, leash off, quick drink of water and boom, he's out.

For the first time in 3 days there is peace here, the 3 of us are simultaneously happy and calm, and we can now get some things done in our lives.....like this forum!

I also started feeding him in his crate: the fist half of his meal is done door open, by hand, and only after "go in your crate" and "sit" happen. Let him out, repeat. Throwing in some closed door versions too with him inside and handing him food through the bars.

The second half of his meal is in his bowl, door closed, and on his own, but only after calmness, sitting, and relaxation.

I spent most of yesterday crying and doubting my ability with him. I actually thought for a bit that this can never work and I'd have to bring him back to the breeder. I was freaking out. But I had to remember the proper order of operations: exercise, then discipline, then affection.

All the smelly shirts or toys in the world are not gonna calm him when he is in a highly alert, energetic, frantic state of mind. Transcending that state, I'm learning for myself, comes from me and my interactions with him.

I spent way too much time jousting with him, in and out, in and out, trying to persuade him to stay in or want to stay in while he was in the wrong state of mind. Without changing that first, trying to crate him was making me frustrated, therefore making him frustrated, and he hated his crate as much as I did.

Today I found a much better way to address his state of mind first so that his crate was the most desirable thing in our entire place for him. And when he comes out now, he is sweeter and calmer than ever.

Hope this helps. It worked great for us.

Cheers.

Oh yeah, I should also mention that you shouldn't vigorously exercise a puppy. I'm not talking about an actual jog when I say "jog." There is a strip of grass about 2 blocks long, and I let him set the pace and stay beside him. It is in fact slower than I saw him running while chasing back and forth with his brother when we picked them up. Naturally, it is quite beautiful to see a Husky running

The old saying "a tired puppy is a good puppy" is certainly true Mental stimulation games work well with Link too, like having coffee cups and treats beneath only one, and then have him search and keep him guessing. He is super calm after these games as well. His stamina is roughly 10 minutes for these types. Then he's chilling and affectionate.

Anyone ever have a puppy walk right into their crate to pee, and then walk out?? Link has never peed in his crate. In the house, yes. But not his crate. Today he waltzed right in after coming from outside, peed, and walked out. ????????

What does this mean?? I'm stunned.

About the situation where the pup will freak when you put him in the cage, my advice is don't put him in there. Get a treat and walk up to the cage. Say "go in" (or similar) and when the pup goes in, give him a treat. We did this with our pup and within a few days, we didn't even have to say anything. We just walk up to the crate and he runs in and sits down. I think the issue he has with you putting him in vs going in himself, is just that. If he goes in, it's his choice, but if you put him in, he gets upset because it's not what he wanted and you made him do something he didn't want. But if you teach him to love the crate and always let him go in on his on, he'll be a lot better with it.

With the urinating after he comes in, see if it happens again. Make sure you've removed the pee scent as best as you can and just watch him for a few days. It could be anything from still potty training to stress. If he hasn't learned that the crate is his "safe spot" or "home", he could also just not be able to distinguish the difference between his crate and the house. That coupled with not being completely potty-trained can result in this.

Well we both went back to work this week, I wonder....

That could be it. I know when Caitlyn and I had mid terms and didn't play with Alki very much for a few days, he walked right in front of us and peed. Then looked at us and ran. Just like a little kid! So it could be that. He's just upset that you guys suddenly left him. And I'm guessing he was im the crate while you were gone? Haha. I don't care what some people say, pups have their own way of punishing us for things they don't like.

He's in his crate midday for 4 hours max, but yes.

That's not bad, so it might have just been the stress. Had you guys left him locked up that long without you before or was that the first time?

Okay, I need some help. Mishka hates his crate. He will go in it at night for bed time with little fuss. I have been feeding him in it and even that is not making him take to it.

Right now he's throwing a fit and spilling his food all over the crate. I've put toys, treats, etc. all in there to get him to go in it on his own and while he's gone in it maybe one or two times and I've praised him for it. He still isn't really taking to it. What else can I do? I try to put him in it positively a few times each evening. I don't know what else to do. :/

it took willow almost a solid week before she would even go in by herself. all i would do is praise her for going in when she did - and any time she got sleepy, i would pick her up and put her in the crate. i started putting her in for 10 minutes at a time while i was in the next room (bathroom or office, etc) that way she could get to know the crate other than sleepy time. at first she would cry and cry and cry. it just took time because now i put her in there & she just lays down and chews on a toy.

the best i can tell you is to keep trying!! he will eventually learn to like it !!!

And crate training is terrible and inhumane, it's a excuse to not train your dog to not chew on things and not piss on the floor. Mine was crate trained when I got her at 8 weeks and halfway potty trained. With some "I don't put up with your crap" attitude towards the potty training, she now sleeps in her crate that no longer as a door on it. And has free roam of most of the house when I'm not home about 13 days later. Maybe I got lucky and she's taking onto it quick. Or maybe crate training isn't the "best method" considering I made more progress, faster, by paying attention to her and not using the crate.

Quote :

And crate training is terrible and inhumane, it's a excuse to not train your dog to not chew on things and not piss on the floor.

That's kind of harsh don't you think? Crate training worked wonders for us with our puppy and we didn't leave her in there for hours. And she willingly goes in there now on her own. Its her safe place, her den where she goes when she wants to. I never put her in her crate for doing something wrong because its not for punishment. Where does your puppy go to get away from things she doesn't like? You should really watch how you word things, they come off harsh a lot.

And btw, I potty trained her with the assistance of the crate. And my dog has never destroyed anything that wasn't her's. Yes, she's chewed on stuff, but I've always stopped her, corrected her, and redirected her. No shoes lost, no furniture, nothing. The crate is a great tool if used properly. You obviously didn't read this thread at all.