Help! I'm Running Out Of Three Things, Idea's, Patience And Sanity!

[GoingInsane]

Hello, i found this site at 5 am this morning and I've been searching all over for tips and ideas on what else i can do to settle my 15 month old husky. She's beautiful and my family and i love her to pieces, her name is Karma and we have had her for almost a year. My family and i have tried so many things to get her to settle and to wear her out so that she will calm down a little but no matter what we do, nothing ever seems good enough for her. 

 

When we first got Karma she was fretful and had abandonment issues and couldn't stand being apart from us, especially my mum! The people we rescued her from used to keep her in their flat all day, locked in a pokey kitchen for stupid amounts of hours a day. She was never taken for walks and her coat was filthy! When her previous owners came round to 'show' us Karma they originally came round so we could meet her and see how she would get on with our cats before we made any commitment. Little did we know her owners had other ideas. They had her things all packed in the boot of the car ready to dump her the second we agreed to have her. So within 10 minutes of our poor husky meeting us she was left with complete strangers and her previous owners disappeared off in their car. She hasn't had a great start in life, within her first 5 months of life she has had 3 sets of owners so re-homing karma AGAIN is the very last option my family and i would like to take.

 

Sleeping at night

 

On the first night of getting Karma we put rules in place, She would sleep downstairs and have no access to upstairs, That was our domain and she was to respect that...That didn't quite go to plan. After my family and i dispersed off to bed Karma cried and whined for hours upon hours because she hated being alone. So 1 at a time through the night my mum and i would go to the bottom of the stairs, reassure her, show her to her bed and after 10 minutes we would go back to bed, and then the crying and the whining would start again. I see now that going down to her on that first night was the biggest mistake we could of made, from day one we should of created rules and stuck to them but to hear any animal distressed and unhappy breaks our hearts and i couldn't bear being the ones causing her distress. The next night my mum decided for a decent night sleep for us all, she would allow karma to sleep on the floor at the foot of her bed, This worked wonders!! up until now.. She now paces the hallway and stairs all night, howling at the top of her lungs to go out for a wee up to 10 times a night. She nuzzles my mum awake every night for attention and the sleep deprivation is getting to us all! I am currently 2 weeks away from giving birth to my first child (I'm 21) and we've come to the conclusion this has to stop! we cant keep living under Karmas rules anymore, Seeing to her every need every night for what we believed would make life easier, it hasn't! she rules the roost!

 

So yesterday my mum and i went out and bought a baby gate for the bottom of the stairs, A new plastic bed and a comfy throw, we even lay out her favorite teddy bear for comfort so she had something with her smell on it. We've decided enough is enough and she has to learn the pecking order once and for all. My mum and i spent all day and all night going and back and forth to her new bed with her getting her to climb in of her own free will, demand her to sit and rewarding her with a treat and a stroke so she would know that her new bed is a nice place to go, its not for scolding. We kept this up the entire day, Kept the stairway gated off so that she got used to the idea that she wasnt allowed upstairs anymore, she didn't seem too bothered by this...Until bedtime crept up on us slowly and it was time to put our words into action for real now, it was showtime!

 

We let her out for her last wee of the night, she was fed 5 hours previously like normal and we did what all the forums and husky advice pages told us, do not pamper to her needs, do not overcompensate with the stroking before you leave her because of your own guilt. She will learn that its bedtime and bedtime means you sleep, yeah right! have these people ever owned a husky?! Nothing is quite that straight forward! We told her 'bed' pointed to her new bed she got in and sat down and seemed quite happy to be there, until we shut the gate and disappeared off upstairs. To cut a long story short(ish)

She has spent the ENTIRE night howling, crying, chewing door frames, scratching at doors and practicing some acrobats, she only manages to climb the banisters, through the gap, past the gate and up the stairs.. I had to watch from the top of the stairs in sheer shock just to believe and to be honest, fathom out how on earth she got upstairs! She has destroyed our carpet at the bottom of the stairs and the top of the landing, chewed the upstairs door frame too, and as to what i can make out, she's peed on the landing. I then decided i couldn't lay back listening to her destroying our home any longer, so i got up, silently walked out of my bedroom, took her by the collar and led her to her bed, repeated the word 'bed' demanded her to sit, gave her a treat for what was good behavior and followed the rules, i closed the gate and disappeared upstairs. This went on for 2 hours, unbeknownst to me my mum has been up in the night too crying and trying to settle her as well, nothing has helped and we are at our wits end. I am due any day now and my mum is working a full time job. Karma has company all day everyday, she goes for a 4 mile walk everyday and i spent up to an hour everyday playing games and practicing her clicker training with her as that's all i can do at the moment as i am so heavily pregnant and i have been advised not to walk Karma as she is a sled pulling dog and i wouldn't stand a chance! 

 

To anyone else this might not seem like a big deal but this is just one of the situations we are dealing with, with karma. She also shreds our mail, howls through out the tv all day and all night because shes not getting our sole attention, shes pulling my mum and brother down the street ( we have ordered a backpack now as just the Halti is not working) she nips for attention, which to an adult is not a big deal because its a playful nip, but to my little cousins its quite frightening, shes a big dog! She will just of been fed and she will still go down the bin and pull out the rubbish, mainly teabags, she does like a good old munch on a pg tip! She howls and rattles the back door keys to go out for a wee, we get up to let her out and she walks off, or she'll go out, run to the end of the path turn round and jump the back door to come back in, less than 2 seconds later, we open the door for her and she runs away. its all a massive game to karma, but were not playing anymore we have had enough. we have tried numerous amounts of ways to get her to stop this attitude she has developed, and my mum stepped up as the Alpha and has become very stern with her. Simple things like 'OUT' when she walks into the kitchen whilst we're cooking, she picks up within minutes, and she can do it. But this sleeping pattern, and her disturbances we cant seem to crack! 

 

 

Please, has anyone got any other suggestions for us to try? We don't want to give up on her and we would love for her to be a part of our family until her very last days, shes beautiful in so many other ways, her behavior is just out of control and with a baby due any day now, there is only so much more of this we can withstand. 

 

Someone help us!!     

 

Thank you, Yasmin xx

[Elyse]

She's adorable.

I don't have any advice, but I will move this to [siberian Husky Questions] so more people will see your thread.

Good luck

[Stranger]

sounds to me like she has a couple of issues...the biggest one being Separation anxiety.

 

With SA, if you haven't already done some research, the following has been suggested by loads of people...

 

You say that she has company through out the day, this will work in your favour as training can start now.

 

Basically with SA you need to teach her how to be happy by herself and be reassured that you are coming back.

 

I haven't had to deal with this myself, so am going on what other people have suggested.

 

Bare with me...

 

You need to throughout the day, leave the room for say 1 - 2 mins to start with.

 

When you leave and return give no attention until she calms down.

 

Increase the time you leave the room again no fussing, simply put her in her bed or just leave her, depending on your routine.

If you have managed to increase the time, and she starts crying and howling, give it a while before returning, so she doesn't associate the first noise she makes with you returning, then when you walk into the room IGNORE her, she needs to see you'll come back, but its not to do with her barking. then back track to the amount of time she was ok with and then once she has that down to a T, start upping the time. This is a slow process, you cant achieve it in a day. she will need a lot of work.

 

Please look this up on line as I am only going on what I have heard.

 

 

 

With regards to the rest of the problems, it does seem like an attention thing, i don't know what to suggest, with my boys, they always want fussing, so i have taught them "enough", and put on a tough voice, get them to go to their beds, once they settle i say good boys and go back to ignoring them. if they go to get out their beds, i get them to go back...i keep doing this till they settle. not sure how to explain this, i have 2 dogs so they tend to entertain themselves together, i haven't had the experience of dealing with one dog.

 

Hope this helps

[Clare70]

Hello!

 

Gosh it sounds as though you are all having a really tough time and can't be easy when you are so heavily expectant!

 

I'm a relatively new husky owner, so cannot offer lots of advice but it does seem pretty clear your dog is ruling the roost.  I'd also say it sounds like maybe her training is a bit inconsistent and perhaps you and your Mum are too soft with her. Sometimes, as I've found, you have to be really firm and almost robotic with them, otherwise they just push their luck all of the time. That doesn't mean physically punishing them, just show them some tough love, not giving in.

 

When you have a toddler and it wants something it cries. If you say no and it cries some more and you eventually give in it won't take long for the child to realise this is a good way to get what it wants. I think it may be the same with Karma.

 

It appears you have many issues to address with her, but I'd imagine the lack of sleep (yours and your mothers) is probably amplifying them, so I think the first thing would be for you all to get a good nights sleep, then once refreshed you may be able to tackle all of the other problems.  Could a friend not come round and stay with her, whilst you and your Mum go away for a night so you can get a decent sleep?

 

It's obvious to me you really love Karma and want things to work out with her so maybe it's worth considering some professional help. For the meantime though have you not thought of crating her at night? I don't crate my dogs so can't really offer any advice but there are many here that do and am sure someone will be able to help, otherwise there are quite a few threads about crating. She probably won't like it to begin with and will no doubt cry and howl for many nights but seeing as you aren't getting much peace form her at the moment, you've probably got nothing to lose just gain.  Also your house won't be getting trashed and once she's settled down and you all get some sleep, you'll be able to address the other issues with a clear mind.

 

Also I think you and your Mum need to agree on any course of action you might take and support each other in doing so.  I really hope you get things sorted and good luck with your new baby

[GoingInsane]

Thank you for replying so quickly, i wasnt expecting a response for days! haha.

Im finding being home with her all day every day extremely tiring, its great for her socially but for me mentally and physically its draining. Im currently almost 9 months pregnant and running on 5 hours of sleep in two days and its starting to make me feel quite ill. Where as before i was pregnant i could be quite dominant with her and if she was naughty i would walk her to the back door and put her out until she calmed down her behavior, i can no longer do that as she is 28.5kg and the little lardy weighs a tonne of bricks! 

 

 

 

Thank you Toni for your advice, i must admit it sounds like SA to me to but i thought that having someone here all the time would make her settle because when we used to all go out to work, luckily we had jobs that interlinked so when one person was going out, the other was due home in the next hour, so she was never left alone for long before i became pregnant. When maternity leave started we thought that her having company all day long would calm her down and settle her anxiety but if anything she has gotten worse and im starting to believe its because she used to my constant attention so now when i leave her shes 1000x worse than she was before. Its gone from one extreme to the other! Iv even tried having her sleep outside of my bedroom door with a baby gate up so she can see me and knows i'm there, but shes just not allowed in. but even that's not good enough for karma, she has to be right next to me and have access to us at all times. I knew having a husky was a lot of hard work and we read all the horror stories and how hard she would be to train and we're 100% committed to finding a solution to this, and we've tried so many things, even things such as you suggested such as leaving her for little amounts of time and then coming back so that she gets used to the fact that were not like her old owners, we're not gonna just disappear one day and not come back, but we can be gone down the local shops for 10 minutes, come back and she's chewed a huge lump out of our door frame, ripped up the carpet and peed all over the carpet. Our house used to look so nice and we knew having a puppy was going to cause havoc and a mess but we thought by 15 months she would of outgrown the chewing stage. We dread going out the door now because we know we're going to come back to a huge mess. 

 

Thank you Clare for your crate suggestion but unfortunately we tried that when we first got her, and the damage she made to our house out of the crate was nothing compared to what she managed from inside the crate! it was clever i'll give her that.. but it was devastating to see the destruction she had caused. She had worked herself up into such a state being in there for just half an hour that she was foaming at the mouth and her eyes were bulging out of her skull and we swore we would never put her through that again. We done as we was told by the vet and introduced her to the crate slowly over the space of 2 weeks, left the door open so she could freely walk in and out, she had her toys in there, we would hide treats under and within the blanket so she could see it wasnt a bad place to hang out, and the day we left her in there we left her with a marrow bone, her teddy, a blanket and the radio on but 2 weeks of hard work was destroyed within 30 minutes. Iv been up with her most of the night i went to sleep at 1 when she finally stopped howling for attention, which unbeknownst to me is when she was rearranging the furniture and i thought she was sleeping.. and from 4 am onward i have been awake with her. She is currently pacing the entire house howling and whining but iv tried affection, food, water, games, training to stimulate her mind, my brother took her for a walk at 6 am before he went to work and she came back more energetic than ever, she's had less sleep than i have i dont know how shes still on the go! there has to be something that will send this dog to sleep! its unbearable to live with any longer, and im dreading being home alone with a hard to please husky and a newborn baby whilst everyone else is at work. i dont think im going to be able to cope, its my first baby too so all of it will be new to me and quite stressful. 

 

We've spent over £1,500 trying to find ways to settle karma and nothing so far has worked and we're becoming low on funds now and we are reluctant to waste anymore money. 

Our lives have been completely turned upside down by her, and we've been amendment that we wont give up on her but its getting to the point now that we dont know what else to do for her anymore. Something as simple as wanting to watch the tele of a night, she nuzzles me and my mum and howls in our face for attention the entire time. Everything we watch has to be recorded because we miss half of the programme due to her howling, we spend most of our night rewinding the tele because we didnt hear what the person said! 

 

Thanks again for your replies, its really appreciated 

[Storm Angel n Auroras Mum]

oh dear it seems like you do have your hands full.

I would suggest a behaviourist but you said you are pretty out of funds.

Rehoming her will solve the issues for you, BUT who has her will still have the issues.

[Chula]

Has she been to a vet? Going to the bathroom ten times a night is not normal. How much exercise does she get each day? I mean real cardio running type exercise. I can't relate on the sleep issues, but on the constant need for attention and interaction, I know if mine doesn't get two hours a day of real exercise she is a beast. At 15 months she's probably bursting with energy.

You could also ring a behavioralist and see if they have suggestions on the sleep and s/a issues.

[Stranger]

my two boys have SA between themselves...

 

Once they got big enough i thought about putting them into separate crates (these are the open metal ones not the plastic one with grate front), well i had been in bed 5 minutes and the crying was un believable, they kept it for 2 hours before i gave up, went downstairs and moved them both into the same crate...silence!

 

They could see each other, the crates were next to each other so when they laid down they could touch...but no not good enough they had to literally be on top of each other.

 

It does sound to me like extreme SA to me...

 

With the crate, how much training did you go through? and when you said she was destructive, how did she manage it, and what type of crate did you have her in?

[mydiamond]

Hello Yasmin and Karma welcome to our big husky family!  

I have nothing to add... looks like you got have received quite a number of advice already but I can say this:

 

As Toni mentioned above, it looks like you're dealing with SA. A terrible one. SA is a tiring, stressful issue that is unfortunately common with neglected dogs. Maybe it's time to ring a behaviorist? Because sometimes it's really something you can't clear up yourself...

 

Good luck xxx

[Removed #5]

As I write this - I'm not saying that you've done anything bad, nor am I condemning you for your natural actions, I'm simply stating fact as I see them from what you've written.

This is going to sound bad, but your situation is all too common - you have a dog who you've allowed to become the master of the house.  She cries and you respond - quite natural.  The problem with that is that in her 'knowledge' she knows she shouldn't be 'leader of the pack' and that causes all kinds of grief - as you're finding out.

 

My first suggestion - and it's a very regrettable one, you don't have the time before your baby arrives to do the training she so badly needs - rehoming her to a good understanding home is probably the best of the options you have.  Like you, my concern is her behaviour and how she's going to respond when the little one is there.

 

Short of that, you have your work cut out for you.  <Now hows that for an understatement!?> First, you and mum have to agree on how you're going to handle various situations and you both are going to have to 'walk the walk' ( do what you say you're going to ).

 

Since you're now home full time, she sees you as an available 'play mate' and she's going to do everything she can to get your attention.  You have to be able to say "No!" and mean it.  My two know that when they're playing and it gets too rough my "Enough!" means that it has to stop and has to stop now! (Doesn't mean that they won't sometime push the limits but they know when I'm serious and it's time to quit.) 

 

You mention "stepping out to the shops for ten minutes" and the destruction you see when you get home.  Dogs live in the "now" and there's not much of a window beyond that for an untrained dog.  One minute can seem like forever to her - much less 10! The suggestion that you "disappear for a while" - with a dog with SA means you start off disappearing for 30 seconds, then 45, then a minute - gradually building her confidence that you will return.  And I'm not one to tell you to ignore the behaviour if you can hear her starting to tear something up while you're standing outside the door - step back in and tell her a stern "No!" - - but this alone is going to take weeks and probably months before you and she are confident.

 

The thing that makes this amazing is that once she realizes that she is not going to get her way all the time is that she will, as you phrase it, settle. 

 

As I said to start this off though, you don't have the time before the arrival of your child to do the training she needs ... with regrets, in my opinion, rehoming her is probably the best option all the way round.  And I never thought I'd ever suggest that!

[GoingInsane]

oh dear it seems like you do have your hands full.

I would suggest a behaviourist but you said you are pretty out of funds.

Rehoming her will solve the issues for you, BUT who has her will still have the issues.

That's the thing, i couldn't stand the thought of sending her off to someone else, and why should we? We took on the responsibility of her, palming her off on someone else and elevating her separation anxiety even more is irresponsible and selfish on our part. But my family are i are at our wits end. We dont know what else to do with her 

I would like to be able to try something that doesnt cost us even more money, because we have broken the bank trying to help her and nothing seems to work! 

 

 

[GoingInsane]

Has she been to a vet? Going to the bathroom ten times a night is not normal. How much exercise does she get each day? I mean real cardio running type exercise. I can't relate on the sleep issues, but on the constant need for attention and interaction, I know if mine doesn't get two hours a day of real exercise she is a beast. At 15 months she's probably bursting with energy.

You could also ring a behavioralist and see if they have suggestions on the sleep and s/a issues.

By 'going to the bathroom 10 times a night' i meant she is not necessarily needing a wee, she just wants to get out in the garden and play, but if we don't let her she howls the house down. And its a risk to take assuming she's having us on when she could potentially pee or poo on the carpet, which would be a set back in her training, so we don't know what to do for the best. Each day she goes for a walk, 40 mins is her quick walk if everyone has been at work all day and they are exhausted. Her long walks consist of an hour and a half through the park, through the wildlife chase and round the main road and back home again, But that tends to be of a weekend she gets that walk as after a 9 hour shift at work my mum and brother don't have the energy for it as they are on their feet all day working in a busy preschool. I have heard that putting a dog on a running machine can be a good idea, but that's also a lot of money to waste if that's something that is going to freak her out and she wont ever get on again, and that's a rather expensive test! When she's good she's really good, she has a heart of gold and gives the best cuddles and she has such a funny personality, but its the sleepless nights and the constant attention seeking and the fact that she cant spend 5 minutes alone without tearing up our house, its driving us all insane and is costing us a fortune in repairs!  

[Chula]

Honestly, that doesn't sound like enough exercise for her on a daily basis. Both the other half and I work 8-10 hours (he does physical labor) and she still gets close to two hours of exercise a day. I walk or bike with her in the morning, OH runs with her in the evening. We also take her to dog parks, or play fetch, or have doggy playdates with other dogs. She goes to doggy daycare once a week, and that exhausts her, since she's literally playing for an entire day. I'm not exaggerating when I say that if she doesn't get that level of exercise, she will NOT leave us alone. It is unbearable to be around her if she hasn't been properly exhausted.

 

Some dogs are lazy and don't need that much, but it sounds like yours could benefit from some real running. If she's sleeping and exhausted, she won't be howling. Are there any off leash areas/dog parks she could go to play with other dogs?

 

I might ask your vet too though for suggestions. I'm sure they've dealt with it before, and they could rule out any other possible issue. 

 

There are also some crates that are more escape proof, you could try crate training again, starting with really short periods of time. There are heavier steel crates, and there are the airplane style crates that people secure with zip ties so that the dog can't get out.

 

I don't think there is going to be a magic pill here, it's going to take time and probably some investment.

 

Most of the internet has similar advice as you've received here - desensitization exercises, crate training, exercise, and some suggest meds as a last resort.

http://hspca.convio.net/site/DocServer/separation_anxiety.pdf

[GoingInsane]

As I write this - I'm not saying that you've done anything bad, nor am I condemning you for your natural actions, I'm simply stating fact as I see them from what you've written.

This is going to sound bad, but your situation is all too common - you have a dog who you've allowed to become the master of the house.  She cries and you respond - quite natural.  The problem with that is that in her 'knowledge' she knows she shouldn't be 'leader of the pack' and that causes all kinds of grief - as you're finding out.

 

My first suggestion - and it's a very regrettable one, you don't have the time before your baby arrives to do the training she so badly needs - rehoming her to a good understanding home is probably the best of the options you have.  Like you, my concern is her behaviour and how she's going to respond when the little one is there.

 

Short of that, you have your work cut out for you.  <Now hows that for an understatement!?> First, you and mum have to agree on how you're going to handle various situations and you both are going to have to 'walk the walk' ( do what you say you're going to ).

 

Since you're now home full time, she sees you as an available 'play mate' and she's going to do everything she can to get your attention.  You have to be able to say "No!" and mean it.  My two know that when they're playing and it gets too rough my "Enough!" means that it has to stop and has to stop now! (Doesn't mean that they won't sometime push the limits but they know when I'm serious and it's time to quit.) 

 

You mention "stepping out to the shops for ten minutes" and the destruction you see when you get home.  Dogs live in the "now" and there's not much of a window beyond that for an untrained dog.  One minute can seem like forever to her - much less 10! The suggestion that you "disappear for a while" - with a dog with SA means you start off disappearing for 30 seconds, then 45, then a minute - gradually building her confidence that you will return.  And I'm not one to tell you to ignore the behaviour if you can hear her starting to tear something up while you're standing outside the door - step back in and tell her a stern "No!" - - but this alone is going to take weeks and probably months before you and she are confident.

 

The thing that makes this amazing is that once she realizes that she is not going to get her way all the time is that she will, as you phrase it, settle. 

 

As I said to start this off though, you don't have the time before the arrival of your child to do the training she needs ... with regrets, in my opinion, rehoming her is probably the best option all the way round.  And I never thought I'd ever suggest that!

I completely agree with you, My mum and i both know we made a massive mistake in the beginning pampering to her every need. It was our instinct to let her know from then on she would be loved and would never be mistreated again, we wanted her to realize she could trust us and she was safe, but now shes become very spoiled and the whole thing has backfired on us big time! Your right, we have let her get away with murder. we started off very forceful and we was getting places with her, but once she settled into our home and she was completely part of the family, she has blended in and slow made her way up the pecking order and suddenly we have found ourselves running our lives around what Karma wants and last night was our breaking point, this has to stop and it has to stop now.

 

I will be completely honest in saying that i am worried about her jealousy when the baby comes along, because she has had our sole attention for almost a year now and i don't think accepting a lower ranking in the pecking order is going to go down to well with our 'little darling' i think it will hit her like a tonne of bricks and shes not going to take it lying down. But i cant stand the thought of palming her off onto someone else, who then in turn may find they cant handle her and she's passed from pillar to post, her anxiety gets so bad that she can no longer fit into family life because she is too fretful and destructive and she's put to sleep or ends up in a shelter until her last days.

 

Karma doesnt seem to take no for an answer, and when your almost 9 months pregnant and are surviving on 5 hours sleep in 2 days, keep getting up and down with a huge bump and very little energy is exhausting and honestly making me quite ill. The only thing i can think of it being is she is due her season, because she has never been as bad as she was last night. In one day she has destroyed most of our hallway, its now an embarrassment to open the front door to anyone. Before when we used to demand her to 'sit' she would, she would lay down, give paw and walk away on command, but for the past couple of weeks she has been uncontrollable, she will take things off of the table which she would never do before, shes starting to jump up people when they start stoking her, or when my dad or my aunt come round she jumps up them, and only them. its never anyone else. I dont know whats gotten into her, like i said the only thing i can think of is shes randy, the howling is because she is calling for a mate and the attitude is her hormones. We have arranged on 3 occasions to get her spayed and each time she comes on just before, we have only had her a year and she has already had 3 periods! surely thats not normal? i was under the illusion it was only once every 6 months. 

 

When we first got her it was a month into having her and she was 6 months she had her first season. that lasted 3 days and it just stopped completely. 3 months later she had another one.. which lasted a week. and for the past couple of days there has been little red dots every now and again around the house which im assuming is her season starting. Typically when we got her we arranged to have her spayed a month after we got her so that when we take her to the vet, by then she would trust that we wouldnt just leave her and not come back. she came into season the day before her operation and the vet refused to operate. So we rebooked for 3 months after as thats when the vet said all her symptoms of her season would have cleared up and it would be safe to operate, 3 months down the line, she came on 3 days before her operation ( im sure she knew what was going to happen! ) so once again we had to wait for her to finish, funds run low over the few months after that due to spending a lot of money on training her and we couldnt afford to get her spayed at the time she had come off season, Funny enough 2 weeks ago my mum and i were talking about how we need to get the money together in the next few weeks to get her spayed once and for all, and now this behavior has started and im beginning to believe it may be down to her coming into season.. Does anyone elses husky have this many periods in a short amount of time and do your huskies attitude and behaviors change when they are in season, e.g. chewing, nipping, howling, calling for a mate, ratty attitude, stinky hormone smell coming from their fur? 

 

Thanks again for all your help everyone, im starting to feel a little more confident in finding a way to help her!

I dont want to give up just yet and im determined that i wont! 

[GoingInsane]

Honestly, that doesn't sound like enough exercise for her on a daily basis. Both the other half and I work 8-10 hours (he does physical labor) and she still gets close to two hours of exercise a day. I walk or bike with her in the morning, OH runs with her in the evening. We also take her to dog parks, or play fetch, or have doggy playdates with other dogs. She goes to doggy daycare once a week, and that exhausts her, since she's literally playing for an entire day. I'm not exaggerating when I say that if she doesn't get that level of exercise, she will NOT leave us alone. It is unbearable to be around her if she hasn't been properly exhausted.

 

Some dogs are lazy and don't need that much, but it sounds like yours could benefit from some real running. If she's sleeping and exhausted, she won't be howling. Are there any off leash areas/dog parks she could go to play with other dogs?

 

I might ask your vet too though for suggestions. I'm sure they've dealt with it before, and they could rule out any other possible issue. 

 

There are also some crates that are more escape proof, you could try crate training again, starting with really short periods of time. There are heavier steel crates, and there are the airplane style crates that people secure with zip ties so that the dog can't get out.

 

I don't think there is going to be a magic pill here, it's going to take time and probably some investment.

 

Most of the internet has similar advice as you've received here - desensitization exercises, crate training, exercise, and some suggest meds as a last resort.

http://hspca.convio.net/site/DocServer/separation_anxiety.pdf

We have looked around in our area for doggy day care as it looks like such a fantastic time, but there isn't one around my area, the closest is Manchester and i live in essex, its a bit of a trot! haha! I understand that for her breed that is not an ideal amount of exercise but i dont think thats a bad amount for the long hours my mum and brother are working and then to get home and walk for over an hour is a bit much all in one day, bear in mind my mum is 53 and my brother will take her out when his in a good mood or my mums reached breaking point with her. So really at the moment what with me being 9 months pregnant almost its all been left down to my poor mum. 

The state that karma was in when we put her in the crate for half an hour was awful to see, she was foaming at the mouth and was so destructive from inside the crate, she managed to wiggle the crate over to the stairs and shred the bottom stairs carpet to pieces, from INSIDE the crate.. her eyes were bulging out of her skull and her mouth was full of froth from the state she had got herself into, and from that day me and my mum swore we would never put her through that again, as we believe that her previous owners went out all day and left her in the kitchen, they told us she was left to roam free in the kitchen and that it was a huge kitchen, we have since found out that her previous owners lived in a flat with her and their kitchen was pokey, and for all we know she was locked in a crate, so honesty isn't exactly their best policy. They told us she was vaccinated when we took her on too, but miraculously couldn't find her vaccination certificates when we asked for proof, so we had to pay out to get them done again just to make sure she would be protected. We gave karma time to get used to the crate over the space of 2 weeks and was starting to become comfortable in it as long as the door was open, the one day we tried it with it closed whilst we popped out quick, we come back to a distraught little puppy. So who knows what kind of treatment her previous owners gave her. 

[Chula]

You could try getting a dog backpack and weighing her down on her walks, that might help tire her out some. 

 

You could also try exhausting her mentally with treat dispensing toys, kongs, etc, and that can help her be more independent too as she has to "work" for her food.

 

Can your mom or brother bike with her? Not pulling, just having her trot along side, that way 30-40 minutes of exercise is much more aerobic than a 40 minute walk. I have a walkydog attachment that limits her ability to get tangled in the wheels or gain too much traction and pull.

 

I understand that it's difficult to really give a husky the exercise it needs, I certainly don't always love waking up an hour early to take her out no matter the weather, but they really DO need it for the most part, particularly at her age. It's in their DNA. I know it doesn't necessarily solve the separation anxiety issue, but most of the advice I've seen really pushes the importance of proper exercise. 

[Stranger]

May i ask when you put her in the crate for half hour was it the first time you did this?

[goingsolo]

I can offer no help as we have not had these issues but wanted to offer support. This poor girl has been passed around already in her young life and you and your family are doing your upmost to help her settle into a family. I hope you find a solution, please keep us posted . good luck with the baby xxxxx

[Clare70]

Please do not take this personally but I think the problem is you and your family. I understand you love her and don't want to see her leave and potentially be pulled from pillar to post but surely you have to think about your own health and new baby. How are you going to cope with a crying baby and Husky, at that rate you won't be getting any sleep at all! Then you have to consider how Karma is going to react to the new addition. Huskies are renowned for being good with children but considering how she is at the moment, I personally wouldn't risk it.

 

You have left it quite late to address her issues and now you have run out of time before your big day. If you really love Karma then maybe she would be better with a family that can adequately exercise her, be firm from the off with her training and in a place where she feels there is an alpha in the family, because at the moment it does sound like she doesn't know whose boss and this won't help.

 

If you are really determined to keep her, what about finding out about fostering. Where I live in France there are many associations organised for dogs and cats that need rehoming where they are fostered by a family until a forever home can be found. This maybe worth considering, you could still see her, walk her etc but let her stay with a foster until you are ready to have her back full time. It will give you time to concentrate on your baby, then once you feel strong enough have her back full time and start her training all over again but this time do not crumble at her every whim.

 

I really hope you manage to sort something out, sometimes you have to put yourself first and especially your new little one.

 

good luck

[Elyse]

I agree with the others - 40 minutes a day is not enough, especially at her age. Exercising her more will help to calm her down. If you can't afford the extra time - then increase the intensity of the exercise. Running, biking, or putting a doggie backpack on her are all good suggestions. If you don't have a dog park near you (which is another good energy outlet), buy a 100 foot long lead, and take her out in a field and let her run around for an hour or so. In the meantime, you could read a book or something. 

Also: What are you feeding her? I think too much protein makes them more hyper. 

Mine has extreme SA too (although not as bad as Karma's), and we've never been able to get rid of it. We've tried crate training too, but he never took to it. He's gotten better in his old age, but obviously this won't help you at the moment.

Have you tried the Nothing in Life is Free method? Basically, she gets nothing for free...which lets her know who is in charge. She has to earn everything (food, water, walks, outside, etc). Whether its by good behaviour, or by doing a trick. If you google it, you'll get a lot of hits.