A few kinks to work out with new Husky. Advice?

[StarCrossed]

I need a little of advice on a few problems that are starting to bother me, and the other people in the house or who comes over. Yuki likes to steal food. If you are not looking she takes it. If you leave it on the counter it is gone. If the baby walks by with food she follows until they are around a corner and she steals it from her. She just never stops eating. It takes her forever to eat her food, but if she sees or smells people food she will find a way. She has gotten in the trash once on pizza and wing night, scared me to death! But she was ok. She also likes to eat baby socks for some reason. If she finds one she will quickly swallow it when she sees you coming. Also I am afraid to leave the house for long periods of time. She doesnt like to be left alone, even be in a different room. She is fine in the crate if we are home. The second we leave and she goes in the crate whining, howling, barking, and panting. It's like we put the Tazmanian Devil in a box, she goes crazy being in it. we got an XL Kong crate that we have to put clips on because she can push the crate door off of it track ( it opens up not out ). And when we come home sometimes we see a little blood on the floor from her trying to escape. I dont want her to hurt herself, but I will never leave her in the house alone again. She will chew and use the bathroom when left alone. Anything I can do? I tried a bark collar, but it doesnt work she knows how loud to be and still goes about chewing her way to freedom. And since I am staying with my inlaws. I need to find a way to make her less needy. She likes to try to wedge herself between her and babies and kids. They would like her not to get between them and grandkids She is given bones, rawhides, kongs and squeakers to destroy. She is also walked everyday and if it is raining she does well on the treadmill. So she does get exercise and has her toys. Is there anything else I might be doing wrong?

[Elyse]

How long are her walks?

[StarCrossed]

I take her 2-3 miles. Same as on the treadmill when it is a crappy day. She does run off sometimes, but I know this is a typical Husky thing that can't be fixed. Should she be walked longer?

[SA DA KA]

If we haven't welcomed you yet, we would like to welcome you to the greatest husky forum we have come across. In regards to your questions and concerns, you need to watch out for the baby socks, there is always the potential for a sock to cause a blockage in the intestines. When you see her with a baby sock, instead of going for the sock which makes her swallow them, either get a toy or treat and distract her from the sock and do this at a distance because the moment you probably go for her, she swallows the sock, you can also teach the command "drop it or leave it". You can even act as if you found something on the floor which will draw her attention and hopefully she will drop the sock and come investigate what you are looking at. The crate: try and make it a pleasant environment for her and not to use the crate as a punishment tool. Place her favorite treats in the crate with the door open or get a long beef bone and let her enjoy it in there, while leaving the door open. In time, she will look at the crate as a pleasant and enjoyable space. When you shut the crate door, do the same thing and make it pleasant for her. She will eventually and hopefully know it is ok to be in there. Siberians as you know are very social and love to be part of everything. When you see her going towards the grandchildren, re direct her with play or with a treat, eventually it may "click" that she shouldn't go between them. Hope this helps and keep asking questions and be patient with her. To look at her pictures, she looks rambunctious. In reference to the beef bones, make sure they are long enough so they don't get stuck on her canines. This happened to us, the small round bone got stuck on our Sasha's upper canines but she was able to get it off, after some pushing from her front paws, but they can be dangerous. Hope this info helps. Let us know of her progress.

Husky Lovers in Vermont:doglick:

[SA DA KA]

Here is a good article on Crate Training.

[StarCrossed]

Thank you. I joined a few days ago after googling husky hairloss.

I try to make a loud noise when I see her with socks. Sometimes she drops them sometimes they are alreadyon their way down. I try to keep them away and out of reach for both to avoid the problem, but you never know when a baby is going to rip her shoes and socks off. But thank you for the advice. I really would not want that to happen. My brother in laws Lab got a hold of a shoe string and it was a 4,500 surgery I will just make sure I have a sqeaky, she will drop anything she is doing for a squeaky! Her loving to be involved doesnt bother me a bit, I understand it more than they do. But when grandbabies are over and she wants in on the action I can see why it would upset them too. She does also do it with my baby, but she isnt as bad with her because she sees her everyday. I am going to try those things in the crate. Maybe a bone from a butcher. She doesnt really chew on the beef bones from the petstore too much. She does prefer her rawhides over them, weird dog. I dont let it bother me too much. She is new and needs to adjust to how things are around here. I do think it is pretty incredible how a husky can get themselves out of anything. Wow.

[SA DA KA]

In regards to her separation anxiety, which is normally created most of the time by us humans unintentionally by making a big fuss over them when we come and leave the home, or make comments like "I am so sorry I have to go" they pick up on the smallest inflection of worry or sorrow in our voices which triggers the beginning of their anxiety. Giving a treat or and activity before you walk calmly out the door and not make a fuss about leaving. When you return, again act calm and give a greeting, but then spend several minutes doing things like checking your mail, listening to your phone messages, etc. before making a fuss over Yuki, By doing this you are teaching her it isn't a big production when you either leave or return and she must wait patiently before receiving undivided attention. If you have the time before leaving, do a good play or walk, remember a tired dog is a more relaxed dog. Again, good luck and keep asking questions because others here must have had similar issues and can give their advice on how they corrected or did a turn about with their Siberian.

Husky Lovers in Vermont:doglick:

[SA DA KA]

Thank you. I joined a few days ago after googling husky hairloss.

I try to make a loud noise when I see her with socks. Sometimes she drops them sometimes they are alreadyon their way down. I try to keep them away and out of reach for both to avoid the problem, but you never know when a baby is going to rip her shoes and socks off. But thank you for the advice. I really would not want that to happen. My brother in laws Lab got a hold of a shoe string and it was a 4,500 surgery :eek: I will just make sure I have a sqeaky, she will drop anything she is doing for a squeaky! Her loving to be involved doesnt bother me a bit, I understand it more than they do. But when grandbabies are over and she wants in on the action I can see why it would upset them too. She does also do it with my baby, but she isnt as bad with her because she sees her everyday. I am going to try those things in the crate. Maybe a bone from a butcher. She doesnt really chew on the beef bones from the petstore too much. She does prefer her rawhides over them, weird dog. I dont let it bother me too much. She is new and needs to adjust to how things are around here. I do think it is pretty incredible how a husky can get themselves out of anything. Wow.

One mention about the Rawhides, never leave them unattended with raw hides, pig ears for there is a possibility of choking. We have had a close call, we gathered all their raw hides, pig ears, rope toys and put them up until we were with them again.

[Povodny]

Hello from lanky-shire

[persephona]

Thank you. I joined a few days ago after googling husky hairloss.

I try to make a loud noise when I see her with socks. Sometimes she drops them sometimes they are alreadyon their way down. I try to keep them away and out of reach for both to avoid the problem, but you never know when a baby is going to rip her shoes and socks off. But thank you for the advice. I really would not want that to happen. My brother in laws Lab got a hold of a shoe string and it was a 4,500 surgery :eek: I will just make sure I have a sqeaky, she will drop anything she is doing for a squeaky! Her loving to be involved doesnt bother me a bit, I understand it more than they do. But when grandbabies are over and she wants in on the action I can see why it would upset them too. She does also do it with my baby, but she isnt as bad with her because she sees her everyday. I am going to try those things in the crate. Maybe a bone from a butcher. She doesnt really chew on the beef bones from the petstore too much. She does prefer her rawhides over them, weird dog. I dont let it bother me too much. She is new and needs to adjust to how things are around here. I do think it is pretty incredible how a husky can get themselves out of anything. Wow.

Hello and welcome here!

You could also teach the commands "drop it" (drops the items she has in her mouth) and "leave it" (don't pick up the item). It would be extremely useful.

There are also impulse control games to play - again, immensely useful when it comes to puppies that like to grab whatever they can find on the floor.

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Finally, although situation when she swallows sock should be avoided, if she does, the first thing to do is to induce vomiting - you can do this with hydrogen peroxide, 3% concentration. That's the type you can find in the pharmacy, commonly used to disinfect wounds. It does, however, induce vomiting in dogs and it is widely used by vets.

What you need to do is give her hydrogen peroxide, approximately 1cc (1ml) per kg of body weight. This should induce vomiting in 20 minutes, although if it doesn't work you can give her another dose. If this doesn't work either, you can then call the vet. Vomiting needs to be induced within an hour of the object being swallowed. It is quite safe to induce vomiting and I would recommend you do that if she swallows a sock. It's faster than getting her to the vet, who will do the exact same thing anyway.