Crate Training

YAY congrats on your husky. I have one too (see avatar)...

the BEST thing about your husky is that you got her so young. I got mine at 8 months and I will soooo never get another husky I can't train from scratch. You're at an awesome advantage to that.

Ok crate training -

ALWAYS make her crate time positive, and for huskies who howl (like mine), it's really important to give her something to do in there - a baby kong with a treat inside or some peanut butter maybe ?.. Mine loves tennis balls. (She's an odd duck)...

You're doing the right thing by ignoring her when she's howling/barking. I'd say work her up to longer periods... right now it'd be a great thing if you made the crate as positive as possible - give her treats in there. Feed her in there. Make her associate the crate with good things.

I wouldn't crate her at all when she goes to the bathroom in the house. That's using the crate as a punishment, which you don't want to do - saying "bad dog" then putting her in there is saying to her "when you do something wrong, you go in this big scary metal thing all alone"... Of COURSE she's not gonna like it... and that's not the purpose of it

Instead, when she goes pee/poop in the house, bring her right outside. You're not helping to house-train her at ALL by crating her when she goes.

Thanks for the reply. I'm still learning on the job. It's just hard to work right now, because I have to watch her like a hawk either to make sure that she isn't using the bathroom or to make sure that she isn't chewing on something she isn't supposed to be touching. She is starting to get into everything.

SHe has her bone in her crate and some toys as well. I am certain;y trying to make it a positive experience for her for sure. It's just that the minute I take my eyes off of her there is pee on the carpet somewhere. ALl she needs is a few measly seconds and she'll do her thing. I'm just really really trying hard to get her to understand that "potty time" is outside.

We've only had her for like 3 days and she hadn't had that much human contact at all and had never walked on a leash either. She is walking on a leash very well right now I must say. She is just afraid of the stairs where I live, so I have to carry her up and down the stairs and what I'm doing now is putting her like 4 to 5 steps to the top or bottom and making her do small distances at a time to build her confidence up. She seems to love going outside to play though.


I just hope that she'll stop the constant howling and barking. It's to much at times and I really don't want her to resort to that when I'm gone and she is in her crate.