Hi,
I have a husky named sadie she is going to be a year old next month and I cannot leave her alone in the house. I have resorted to having someone with her at all times. I should mention I'm 22 a college student that lives in an apartment complex. I have tried leaving her with her toys in her crate with treats, covered her crate, left the tv on. Nothing. My husky will just bark and howl and bother the neighbors. I have had them complain to my landlord. Sadie has destroyed the mat and some of the bars of her metal crate. Any suggestions would be helpful.
Thanks,
Pam

Hi there Pam!

Could you give a little more information about what you do when she hollers and whines?

If you let her out or give her ANY type of attention when she throws a temper tantrum to try to convince you to let her out, she will continue to throw the tantrums. We're having the same trouble with our puppy right now.

We also live in an apartment complex and my concern has also been that people would complain. We live in Florida, though, so we can't "technically" be evicted just because of noise. (There is no "Quiet Enjoyment" act in FL.)

Do you know if you can be evicted because of your husky being loud?

When someone is with her, does that mean that she is not in the crate?

If you could tell us what you do when she starts howling that could probably help get you some more answers as well. But she looks older too--did you adopt her or have you had her since she was a puppy? If you've had her since she was a puppy, did you try crating her when she was little? If you adopted, do you know how she was treated by the previous family? Something could have happened with her and crates and she could have a negative association with crates.

If you are only crating her when you leave, too, that could be another reason why she hates the crate. She'll associate it with you leaving her. You might be able to try crating her at home when she takes naps during the day to get her used to it. I have heard some people place a ticking clock next to the kennel to simulate the heart beat of another animal as well. (We haven't tried that, so, I'm not sure if that works or not.)

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Edit:

I also saw this post, it might help! https://www.itsahuskything.com/t918-crate-training

Here's a link to a thread about crate training. https://www.itsahuskything.com/t918-crate-training

You may have to start from scratch with her, i have issues with my girl Kay who has separation anxiety and we're still working on crate training her.

I can be evicted if she continues making noise. My landlord and I have an agreement that she wont be left alone in my place therefore she wont cry and make noise again.So you can see how now bein able to leave your dog alone at home has become very difficult.
I have has sadie since she was 2 months old. When I first got her i introduced the crate system and she would sleep in it every night but when I would leave to go to my room (her crate was in the living room) she would wake up and start whining until I stayed. After about a month she would cry less and less. But then I went back to college and her crate was next to my bed so we had no issues with that. She lived in a house with 3 more people so she was never really alone. This semester however, I moved from there into my own apartment where if i left she would be completely alone.
I will walk before leaving making sure she doesnt have to use the bathroom until I'm back.
Leave her with her toys and a kong toy with peanut butter.
She would stay quite and play with the kong toy.
I did record her once after the neighbors complain I have the video and I was shocked.
She just paces and howls and tries to break out of the crate. She will pee in the crate sometimes too.
Since I'm not home when she does this I don't do much. If i hear her whine before I leave which she did sometimes I would say "NO WHINE SADIE " in a harsh voice and she would stop. Until she thought she was alone again and then she would begin whining and try to break out. When she is left with other people while in gone she is usually outside the crate playing with whoever is with her.
Help please any suggestions would be appreciated.

The problem with negative reinforcement is that they could continue to do the act when you're not around. (IE: When we yell at them when they pee in the house, they'll just pee when aren't looking so that they don't get yelled at.)

I do feel your pain, we are having the same issue with our puppy right now.

I agree with Abby and to be quite honest, I don't think you're going to be able to train her without her whining. Whining and throwing a temper tantrum is a part of her learning how to tolerate things she doesn't like.

To be honest (and not to say you did something "wrong", but,) I feel as if where this made it more difficult is when after she whined for a long time, you would come back out and sleep near her. Any attention (even yelling) to her whining is telling her that her whining will get your attention (an possibly what she wants), so, she will continue to do it. If the subtle whining doesn't work, it will just increase until it does work. If it never does work (after a certain amount of time) they should eventually stop, however; be careful. Even if she has been trained for years and than whines and cries once in a crate and you give her attention, she could decide: "Hmm, maybe I can get what I want," and you may have to go through the process all over again. That is called a "Variable Schedule of Reinforcement" and its why quitting things like smoking and video games can be so difficult.

A book that may help as well is called "Don't Shoot the Dog". It is how to change and mold behaviors and it works on dogs, people--anything! It goes over how to break or change habits too.

I know that having to have someone to stay with her all of the time so you don't get evicted isn't a nice thing to have hanging over your head. I feel like re-training her is going to be your best bet, but that is going to come with whining and throwing tantrums. Perhaps you could consult with your Landlord and let them know of your plans, and talk to your neighbors? A little pain for a short time will offer a lifelong of gain.

I wish you the best of luck!

Crate training from scratch is going to be your best bet for a long-term solution.

I have ran into the same problem with my Loki since I also live in an apartment. Luckily my upstairs neighbor is an animal nut, so she put up with him during his worst phases.

There are two things that were almost an immediate help: a Thundershirt and playing classical music.

It took a few days but the Thundershirt made a huge difference. If it doesn't work you can easily return it, as they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee. The classical music also seems to help. I've recorded him in various scenarios while I continue to work with him. Having both the Thundershirt and classical music almost completely eliminate his whining/howling/crate chewing. He used to go for hours, but now the worst is only 2-3 minutes of whimpering then he sleeps all day.

When she howls you need to ignore her completely. No eye contact, no "no whine", no sitting near her, nothing. Let her cry it out. I suggest, like others, to crate her when you are home. Even for 5 minutes. The more she realizes that she WILL eventually be let out, and no matter HOW loud she howls, she won't get what she wants. This is how they learn. If they do something that gets them any kind of attention, negative or positive, they will do it. If they do something that gets them nowhere, they will stop. Easy peasy.

Get her desensitized to the crate. Feed her in there, make her go in and out of the crate for no reason. Make sure your reward her every single time. If she goes in, treat her. If she stays quiet, treat her. Not her normal treats though, a big jackpot treat.

She NEEDS to get used to being alone, that's all there is to it. Let your landlord know that you are working on training her. If you need to, bring in a professional trainer. There is no way somebody can be with your dog 24/7, that's just how it is. She needs to learn that being spoiled brat isn't going to get her what she wants, and by you going in the same room as her and yelling at her when she howls, has only ingrained that thought process in her mind. Retraining her will take time and patience, but you can do it. Tough love is your best bet at this point.

Thank You everyone for all the suggestion I will definitely try talking to my landlord and try all the other methods.Since I put this post up I have tried re training her in the crate and there has been progress she stays in her crate and doesn't whine while I shower (she would cry when I use to do this) and I have noticed her starting to sleep near her crate more often.
Thanks everyone again for the suggestions. I will keep everyone updated on the progress.