Jump to content

New Husky owner struggling!


Atlas_mommy

Recommended Posts

Hi everyone,

I have a 3 month old Husky male. I brought him back from Mexico with me when he was given to me as a gift. I’ve always wanted one since I was a little girl so when they gave him to me I had to bring him home with me. I’ve fallen in love with him already so easily. However, I’d like to mention I’m 6 months almost 7 months pregnant and he’s a handful. I have my husband and he does most of the active work with him (thank god!) but we’re having trouble training him to go to the bathroom outside, stopping the biting, and what I find the most problematic is he has separation anxiety. My husband and I both work in the mornings, there’s nothing we can do about having to leave him alone for at least 6 and a half hours. We leave him inside our room because we haven’t really fixed the backyard and we’re scared he’ll escape or someone will steal him from us. Another thing I should mention is we live with my family and my mother doesn’t want him in the house if he’s not trained. 

I guess what I’m trying to say is this is a cry for help and I could use ANY advice for any of these problems especially the separation anxiety. We have carpet and he completely destroyed the carpet that’s where the door is when we’ve left to work. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you all so much in advance! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When you're both leaving him is your family taking over with the training? 6and a half hours is a long time for a pup to be locked in a room without any toilet breaks , this is probably hindering his training and it will take longer for him to learn if he has no other choice but to go Inside, what's your current routine for the toilet training?

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Husky Owners mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Crate training is probably going to be the best option for you and the dog. It does take time! You'll have to put him in there for a minute or so to start with and then build up the time he's in there, this will be difficult though if he's on his own for 6 hours. Don't put a bed in there as he will just destroy it, mine are fine with just the tray. Give him a Kong Extreme or something similar (large size or above) and stuff it with treats so he associates being in the crate with something good. Astro had accidents in his tray for a few months, if he does take the tray outside and clean up the worst, boil a kettle and pour the water on it which will clean the rest and then clean it with a disinfectant and rinse again.
You can try making the crate into a den which will make him feel safe by putting a blanket over it. Make sure it's thick enough so he can't pull it through the bars!
Huskies are quite bitey at that age, I think Astro was about 9 months old before it started to stop a bit! That's going to be a problem if you're having a baby though, so you need to try and curb that a bit earlier. If Astro did it to me I would stand up, fold my arms and turn my back on him, and huff like I had had enough. Both of mine huff when they have had enough so he should know what it means! He should learn that he gets no attention when he bites


Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, BingBlaze n Skyla said:

When you're both leaving him is your family taking over with the training? 6and a half hours is a long time for a pup to be locked in a room without any toilet breaks , this is probably hindering his training and it will take longer for him to learn if he has no other choice but to go Inside, what's your current routine for the toilet training?

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Husky Owners mobile app
 

I know 6 hours and a half is a long time for a puppy and we feel super bad leaving him for so long but I work in a school and my husband works in a warehouse. Sadly everyone who lives in my house works in the mornings. The house is completely alone during the day until like 2:40 when we come home. We all start to get out around the same time (when my husband does over time), if not he gets out by 12:30 so he’s home by 12:50 because there’s no traffic during that time. We don’t live close enough where we can come over during our lunch breaks to have him go out a while.

As for his routine, my husband wakes up at 3:00 am to get ready for work. We started noticing that he usually needs to go during the time my husband has to leave, my husband takes him out before he leaves and at first he would go, but since we went in vacation during the Christmas break he lost that routine i’m assuming since my husband didn’t have to wake up so early. We’re trying to figure out how to get him to get back in that routine. When I wake up to go to work as well, I take him out, sometimes he does sometimes he doesn’t and then when my husband comes home from work he takes him out as well. The 6 and a half hours when we are not home is the longest he has to wait to go outside. We have training pads all over the bedroom floor because we really wanted to associate him going on them with peeing and pooping, it’s worked so far he will only pee on the pads now but the pooping he still goes anywhere. It’s a learning process. I’ve never had a dog so I’m trying to learn as best as I can to help the little guy. 

3 hours ago, Rachael_Astro said:

Crate training is probably going to be the best option for you and the dog. It does take time! You'll have to put him in there for a minute or so to start with and then build up the time he's in there, this will be difficult though if he's on his own for 6 hours. Don't put a bed in there as he will just destroy it, mine are fine with just the tray. Give him a Kong Extreme or something similar (large size or above) and stuff it with treats so he associates being in the crate with something good. Astro had accidents in his tray for a few months, if he does take the tray outside and clean up the worst, boil a kettle and pour the water on it which will clean the rest and then clean it with a disinfectant and rinse again.
You can try making the crate into a den which will make him feel safe by putting a blanket over it. Make sure it's thick enough so he can't pull it through the bars!
Huskies are quite bitey at that age, I think Astro was about 9 months old before it started to stop a bit! That's going to be a problem if you're having a baby though, so you need to try and curb that a bit earlier. If Astro did it to me I would stand up, fold my arms and turn my back on him, and huff like I had had enough. Both of mine huff when they have had enough so he should know what it means! He should learn that he gets no attention when he bites


Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners

Yes we just bought a crate because I was told it was the best way to train them, thenproblem is I still haven’t really learned how to go about the training. He’s sniffed it a few times but he still won’t go in. We’ve been working on the no biting thing a lot and he seems to start to be getting it. When he bites he notices that we stop playing with him and we’ll say “No!” He bites less then at first but it’s still a problem, he’s very playful he likes to play with kids but the problem is he bites not to be aggressive of course, but he’s teeth are so sharp that he leaves marks and kids and us suffer the consequences so we really want to start to get that under control while young. Mostly as you said because we have a baby coming in the way. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldnt fill the room with puppy pads , I hate them personally, you're just teaching him it's ok to toilet in the house , you need to get a really good cleaner to get rid of the toileting smell too or he's just gonna keep pooping in the house , ideally he needs taking out every couple of hours or so , is there anyone you can get to pop in n take him to toilet etc?

 

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Husky Owners mobile app

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, BingBlaze n Skyla said:

I wouldnt fill the room with puppy pads , I hate them personally, you're just teaching him it's ok to toilet in the house , you need to get a really good cleaner to get rid of the toileting smell too or he's just gonna keep pooping in the house , ideally he needs taking out every couple of hours or so , is there anyone you can get to pop in n take him to toilet etc?

 

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Husky Owners mobile app

 

 

 

 

Yes, I don’t like them either but since we haven’t been able to find a way to let him out when we’re not home it’s the only way. Since he completely destroyed the carpet we’re looking into putting hardwood floor but we can’t have him inside my room forever. We want to get him used to being alone in the backyard the fixes we need to make are minor. He loves being outside but he doesn’t like us not being around. He becomes very anxious even if one of us just goes to the bathroom and the other is still in the room with him. It’s like this every day. We don’t want to keep leaving him all anxious but we have to work. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you carry on like that he's never going to be house trained properly, he needs someone to let him out for regular toilet breaks, isn't there anyone that can come round to the house?
I would not recommend leaving a husky in a yard unattended, they are amazing escape artists. And if he's anxious he's going to have even more of a reason to find a way out


Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, Rachael_Astro said:

If you carry on like that he's never going to be house trained properly, he needs someone to let him out for regular toilet breaks, isn't there anyone that can come round to the house?
I would not recommend leaving a husky in a yard unattended, they are amazing escape artists. And if he's anxious he's going to have even more of a reason to find a way out


Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners

I understand, maybe I can talk to my manager and ask her to give me my lunch and last break together that would be 45 minutes it takes me 10-15 minutes to get home during that time because no traffic. I wouldn’t be able to be with him for very long maybe like 15 minutes max and then I would have to leave. Do you think that would be a good idea? I work at 8am and my lunch is at 11:45am then I get out of work at 2:45pm latest and by then my husband should be home or arriving him as well. Would that be a better way to train him to be potty trained? I just really want to do things right for him. He’s like my first child lol it’s a learning process Haha 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would stick the three month old in the crate and walk away. Put toys in there make sure they are easily cleaned off because there will be accidents so be prepared. Take him out every couple hours makes sure he is tired.
My 9 month old Siku is fully kennel trained. Will be running free in the house at ten months with the others.
Huskies are a whole new world.
Your wasting your money on puppy pads and soon it will be your carpet or room that will need new things. Crates are the best option they are pretty fast at learning so it shouldn't take forever. [emoji4][emoji4]

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Husky Owners mobile app

And Hello!! [emoji4][emoji2]

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Husky Owners mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, with my 2 as pups I took them out every 20-30 minutes when they were 3 months old, sometimes they’d pee or poop other times they did nothing, I’d overly praise when they did and I did this for 3 weeks solid, day and night, both have never messed in the house since 4 months of age.
Is this something you could do on weekends? 6 hours is a long time to expect him to hold it in, he’s still as a baby.
Biting is normal at this age but it needs to be addressed before he gets his adult teeth. With my 2 I always had toys with me or I’d give them frozen carrots and if they started to bite I would say ‘No’ and give them the toy or carrot if they persisted with biting I’d do as suggested, arms folded and back turned and only turn around when they were quiet. As they’re older I just say ‘No bite’ and they stop, it takes time and lots of patience and when they get it right lots of praise and a treat.
With separation anxiety I would put them in the kitchen with a safety gate at the door and I would leave through the front door, in full view, no goodbyes, at first I left for 5 mins 2-3 times a day and I built the time up gradually, Cai is 2 in Feb and Luka is 2 in April and I can leave them for 4-5 hours. Neither of mine are crate trained but I did restrict access to certain rooms using safety gates, I’d advise a dog safety gate as they are higher. I’ve found training is ongoing, even now, husky’s like mental activities as well as the physical, a bored husky will become destructive and they like to be with you, a lot.
Good luck with training [emoji3]


Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I understand, maybe I can talk to my manager and ask her to give me my lunch and last break together that would be 45 minutes it takes me 10-15 minutes to get home during that time because no traffic. I wouldn’t be able to be with him for very long maybe like 15 minutes max and then I would have to leave. Do you think that would be a good idea? I work at 8am and my lunch is at 11:45am then I get out of work at 2:45pm latest and by then my husband should be home or arriving him as well. Would that be a better way to train him to be potty trained? I just really want to do things right for him. He’s like my first child lol it’s a learning process Haha 


It's still a long gap for him to have to hold it in, but it's better than 6 hours!


Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners mobile app
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can’t add much to the advise that’s already been given but I will say that working on the separation anxiety will help you as I found that Bear would have accidents from that alone as she got older due to the panic and fear of being without us. I’m not sure how absorbing hardwood floors are but if it’s going to soak in urine then personally I’d leave the carpet down until things improve and use a good cleaner designed to remove pet urine scent as otherwise you’ll have to keep replacing the flooring which would be costly.


Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy , along with dressing your husky as a unicorn on the first Thursday of each month