So here is the thing...

[Aladdin]

I am having a bunch of problems with Abu.

1. I let him have the basement during the day. Although he does not go to the bathroom in his crate he does go int he basement. Should I keep him in the crate all the time he is not with me? is there a way to make sure he does not go to the bathroom downstairs?

2. He is not learning commands very well. Is he supposed to know his name at 11 weeks? Or is it okay for him not to know his name? I think he knows the sit command but he is very inconsistent. He never comes to me when I call him over either. I am so lost at what to do. =\

[Mazz]

Aladdin - At 11 weeks, any dog is going to have issues with holding all day. I think a crate is too confining for all day. We have a kennel in the basement that is five feet wide by about ten feet long with a top. When we have to both be gone, Zoya goes to the kennel. We have a pee pad, and she will use that if she needs to. But at nine months, she hardly ever uses it any more. When she was younger, she did go on the pee pad, both #1 and #2.

Do you have a schedule for taking Abu out? In otherwords, do you take him out around the same times and with the same frequency? When you arrive home, and find potty, don't scold him. He won't know what he's being scolded for. When you do take him out, and he does his business, praise him and reward him. It won't happen overnight, and it requires both consistency and repeated enforcement. Evenutally, the concept of going outside will click.

We picked up Zoya at nine weeks of age. The breeder had been using her name for about four weeks before we picked her up. It was probably about four weeks after we brought her home, before she started to respond to her name. So at 11 weeks, I would not get too worried. Just keep using Abu's name, followed by the command. If you use the command by itself, or the command followed by "Abu", it's going to take him longer to figure out if his name is "Sit", "Stay", or "Abu". Find a small size treat that Abu likes, and use those to hold his attention and to reward him. We found that rewarding with a small treat was an effective means to train Zoya. My wife was able to train Zoya to sit, stay, and "gimme da paw" (shake), using small treats for rewards.

Keep in mind, Huskies are extremely intelligent, but also have a very short attention span. They will often go onto some other agenda, leaving you wondering what's going on here. So you just have to be patient and be consistent. Don't let it get under your skin, and show Abu lots of love and attention. Don't try to do training sessions for extended periods either. He's going to quickly become bored. You may want to sign up for an obedience class. We did that with Zoya and it helped more than you can imagine. My wife took her to the classes. Zoya was able to socialize with other dogs, and the instructor was able to show my wife, how to work with Zoya.

Our first Husky, Elke, was a nightmare to train. We could not let her alone by herself, until she was almost four years old. Not even at night when we slept. She would not come when called, would not allow us to trim her nails, brush her, and did not want to eat half the time. We worked with her extensively, but it just took her years before she responded. We think perhaps she was aloof.

Our current Husky, Zoya, at nine months, can be left in the house if I need to go up to check the mail, or if I take a shower. She sleeps in our bedroom, without being in a crate, but that is a recent development. She was kept in a crate at night until she was eight months old. She comes when we call her, stays when we feed her until we say "Zoya - OK".

You just have to work with Abu every day, several times a day. How long are you out when you have him kept in the basement? If it's an entire day, he's probably getting bored. Make sure to take him out for walks. You may have to get up earlier in the day, and take him out for a walk in the morning, then again in the evening. Getting him exercised is key to being able to train him effectively. He's still a puppy, and as a puppy, he's wanting to explore, be entertained, and push the envelope as much as he can. - Dave

[Bec]

I totally agree with Mazz.

If you keep him in the basement all day, where else do you expect him to toilet? Puppies do not have proper control over their bladders so you need to preempt any toileting by taking them out on schedule.

I generally follow the rule of taking them out every hour, after each meal, after they drink water, after they wake up, after they play and any time they look like they are 'looking' for a place to toilet.

Puppies have very short attention spans so any training you do with him needs to be done in short burts. I would keep any training to 3-5 minutes MAX, a couple of times a day. What are using to train him? What is he most motivated by? Remember to keep it fun and exciting otherwise he will have no 'incentive' to learn.

[Sarah]

excellent post Mazz added to rep totally agree with you:) Smeagle same to you too rep added.

No point in me throwing more questions in until you've answered Mazz's Abu LOL

Patience is def a must with the breed lol

[infinitykate]

Living the 11 week old life...

I can definitely relate to the 11 week old state of mind. I just got Finn on the 8th, and she's going to be 12 weeks old on Friday.

All I can tell you is that puppy pads are pretty much the greatest invention of all time.

However, because Finn knows what the puppy pad is for, she tends to sneak out of my sight while I'm doing something else and not ask to be let out. I came up with a trick for this that might help you thought!

I put the puppy pads into a room that can be closed off. As soon as she started using them consistently, I started shutting the door to the room when I'm home. She goes to the door of the room, and scratches to get in when she has to go, and that way I know it's time to take her out, even if I'm distracted with something else. That way, she can't be lazy, and neither can I.

We're doing a lot of obedience training, but I do it when we're about halfway through our walks, so that I know I have her attention. We're doing quite well with quite a few different commands and I'm really focusing on things that keep her safe, because I live in an urban area. Finn is consistently obeying sit, down, paw, other one (other paw), wait (short stays), off, no, and backup.

The one tip I can give you that will save you a world of trouble later is that you need to make sure Abu is getting a lot of exercise, especially if he's home alone a lot. I'm usually gone for 6 - 8 hours a day, so I make sure that we do a walk for about 15 minutes in the morning, one as soon as I get home, and try to get a third one in before bed. If we don't get the walks in, I can really tell, and I may as well take her out because I'll spend just as much time correcting destructive behaviors as I would have walking her.

Days that Abu doesn't get enough exercise could really start to feel like days spent smashing your face into a wall, if he's anything like Finn, but thank god for it being an easy fix

I don't have much insight, but that's my thoughts.

Have an awesome day!

[Dunc]

Good post Kate rep added

[Bec]

The one tip I can give you that will save you a world of trouble later is that you need to make sure Abu is getting a lot of exercise, especially if he's home alone a lot. I'm usually gone for 6 - 8 hours a day, so I make sure that we do a walk for about 15 minutes in the morning, one as soon as I get home, and try to get a third one in before bed. If we don't get the walks in, I can really tell, and I may as well take her out because I'll spend just as much time correcting destructive behaviors as I would have walking her.

Days that Abu doesn't get enough exercise could really start to feel like days spent smashing your face into a wall, if he's anything like Finn, but thank god for it being an easy fix

I don't have much insight, but that's my thoughts.

Have an awesome day!

Good post Kate, the only thing I will add though is that you need to be really careful about over exercising young pups - if you do 2 or 3 15 minute walks a day that can add up to 30-45 minutes of walks a day which is FAR too much for a pup under six months. At this age, their joints are soft as they are still growing and forming, and too much structured exercise can cause long term joint and developmental damage. You often hear about hip displayasia in young dogs and it's often because the dog has been exercised too much before their joints were properly formed.

[Ice and Cripton]

He's only 11 weeks so he really needs to go pee on the hour really >> espec during the day as he'll be moving around and stimulating the need to go! But i think it's best you do crate him when your not around so the him peeing when your gone does not become habbitual!

I got Alaska (my 1st sibe) when she was 7 1/2 weeks old, i taught her to sit and wait on the day, we wasn't too sure on her name but she already knew come (i think her breeders tuaght them well), by 9weeks she knew paw and down and her name, by 3 months she knew right and left paw, her name, donw, come, sit and wait >>> heel is still a working progress at 11 months lol << it's the best time to teach em knew stuff >> Alaska is a grumpy teen now and will only 'perform' when she feels like it! lol:rolleyes:

Puppies brains are like giant sponges ready to be filled with new things >>> they really want to learn and be trained >> its fun for them >>> Youve got a male right? They can be a bit more stubborn and dissmissive of human authority so ive found with Alaska's brother Balto, who we got at 5 months.

Be firm >> i taught Alaska to sit at meal times, so i would get her food and hold it high above her head and the little sweetheart sat on auto pilot lol >>> So i said 'sit'. I would do this with toys and treats to.

( i think treats are the key)

Give him a treat for any little thing you like >> i had liver training treats on demand as Alaska loved them, each time he comes to you play tug-of-war with him >> get him hooked on a toy >> this is so important, get a teddy and play with him and he will asscoiate you with fun,game, and treats.

[infinitykate]

I didn't realize that that was too much exercise. I suppose the next logical question is, how do we get her enough exercise to keep her slightly mellowed out, and not hurt her?

When we do the 3 x 10 - 15 minutes she still has plenty of energy to play inside and then crashes out later in the evening when it's bedtime, and sleeps through most of the night, and she is so much more focused and easier to train when she is getting the exercise...

[Bec]

I didn't realize that that was too much exercise. I suppose the next logical question is, how do we get her enough exercise to keep her slightly mellowed out, and not hurt her?

When we do the 3 x 10 - 15 minutes she still has plenty of energy to play inside and then crashes out later in the evening when it's bedtime, and sleeps through most of the night, and she is so much more focused and easier to train when she is getting the exercise...

I know it sucks, but unfortunately, especially with a larger breed like Siberians who can be prone to HD and cruciate ligament damage, you need to be very careful not to exercise them too much as puppies.

The general rule is five minutes per month of the dog's age - so at 12 weeks you don't walk to be doing any more than 15 minutes of walking a day - max.

There are lots of things you can do to tire her out mentally, 10 minutes of solid training a day can often tire them out more than pure exercise as it's more mentally intense. Free play is also great as are games like tug of war and fetch. But then I am a sucker for punishment because I much prefer to train a dog who is full of beans than a dog who is only focused because they are tired LOL!

ETA: It us up to you how you want to go about it, but it's not a risk I would ever take especially considering a lot of joint damage is due to environmental factors like the dog being over exercised as it was growing and too much pressure being put on it's joints as they are developing. This is just going from info I've had from various breeders including my own, canine chiropractors, vets, trainers etc. Not sure what it's like in the UK, but here in Oz, Siberians aren't even permitted by our clubs to run in harness until they are at least 12 months of age for this very reason.

[Sarah]

Good post Kate rep added

agreed, added to rep kate

I agree with Smeagle, again, rep added. Try mentally tiring her out as well, working in the home can also be a great way to bond and ensure the commands are sinking in before going out into the big wide world

[siberian_wolf]

wow! excellant answers peeps added to reps

I can honestly say that I cant think of anything else to add at the moment

[Chewbacca_&_me]

Hi Aladdin,

I appreciate your situation...as most puppies have these issues. I really think that alot of people on the forum are coming together and giving you the best advice they possibly can...thats what I like so much about them....seriously I mean that.

At first Chewbacca was quite afraid of all the noise of my home and children and during that time I really had to dig deep to figure out what to do with Chewie. Kepping his attention was tough if everybody was here and awake. I would like to just add 2 things to your arsenal lol...

(1) Take 5 minutes about twice a day...get some cheese or turkey...dogs value these treats above all others...and turn the tv/radio/other noise off and take that 5 minutes to do on the spot training with him. When he does as you have asked him you give a small piece of cheese or turkey...little pieces though.

(2) even if he only gives you a good response 2 or 3 times in a 5 minute session...dont be upset about it...this is progress. Puppies sometimes take 45 seconds to respond to a command...so allow some time after you give the command. Dont give him the treat if he doesnt do what you ask.

(3) dont be afraid to do plenty of short bursts of play time and fun with your puppy. Play is bonding time.

and lastly, be patient. It may take a week or 2 to start seeing more consistent responses from Abu...start with sit and once you get a good response at least 60% of the time...add Lay down....(DOWN).

One tip I would like to share with you is that...if you want the best result...never give a treat if he doesnt fully respond to the command. If you say SIT and he only goes halfway down then jumps as you bring the treat to his mouth...bring the treat hand to your chest and try again. When he sits in place and calmly waits for the treat to come to him...and takes it nicely without getting up from the SIT position...that means he is paying attention and that you are doing a great job!

and when he does this at least 60% of the time when you give the sit command...then it is time to add a new command...lol.

Basically to get a true SIT Abu needs not only sit on command but basically stay in place without you giving the STAY command. Feel free to use the STAY hand signal with ABU...use your non-treat hand- (open hand/palm out, directly in front of him.) Most puppies respond even better to body language and hand signals than they do to verbal commands.

Hang in there and keep trying...if need be I can also tell you how to teach Abu the ATTENTION command...but I suggest the easier stuff like positive tone of voice and body language first.

[Sarah]

great advice Chewie - added to rep

[siberian_wolf]

excellant advice chewie added to rep

[Sqwidge]

also one thing i have learnt is to get them to learn the command is do not say the word until they are in the position...so don't keep repeating sit sit sit, when they don't know what sit is, or they may start to think sit is jumping around like a loon!

hold a treat on their nose and slowly draw your hand towards their butt....they should automatically sit...then say the word sit...

same with down, but draw your hand in towards their front feet. it is easier to get them into down from sitting.

puppy classes will really help with this, as they mainly teach you on how to teach your pup.

[Sarah]

good point Sarah - added to rep

[siberianandy]

great advice all i would just like to add 1 thing and that is to always make sure you end youre training session on a good note i.e after he has reponded to a command and you have treated and praised him.

if you feel he will no longer pay attettion or obey you end the session there as if you end the session frustrated he will not be so keen next time

[siberian_wolf]

great advice all i would just like to add 1 thing and that is to always make sure you end youre training session on a good note i.e after he has reponded to a command and you have treated and praised him.

if you feel he will no longer pay attettion or obey you end the session there as if you end the session frustrated he will not be so keen next time

always a vital thing to remember Andy - added to rep

ending on a positive note means they are more likely to become obediant and will make training easier. Also start on a good note also - start as you mean to go on

[Aladdin]

Thank you! I have been doing a lot of what you guys suggested. I changed up some things and Abu is doing great already! It is a lot of information and I appreciate it. With every solution another problem arises.. Don't you love it?

[Sarah]

Thank you! I have been doing a lot of what you guys suggested. I changed up some things and Abu is doing great already! It is a lot of information and I appreciate it. With every solution another problem arises.. Don't you love it?

That's great news, glad things are progressing.

Oh yes, they will keep you on your toes! lol

We need some pics :D

[Aladdin]

More pictures?? If you say so I can get plenty!

[Sarah]

oh yes, we love looking at pictures