Longest Appropriate Crating For A Sibe

[firehockey91]

Hey Guys!

 

  I recently adopted my Jadie from a guy who had no idea what he was getting into with owning a Sibe.  She is 11 months old and full of energy and the sweetest most loving dog.  At 11 months she is crate trained, potty trained, understands basic obedience commands and is surprisingly well behaved on her leash ( for a husky! haha)  But I am running into one major issue with her.  That's my work schedule.  I have a unique job which, fortunately means 3 days of the week I'm out of the house no more than 6 hours tops.  No biggie.  but my two long days can push 10 hours.  I have looked into the puppy daycares but they close at nine and I wouldn't be able to make it at that time.    This is the first time owning a husky and having this delimma and I have spoken to people (vets, trainers, etc.) that say that as long as she feels that her crate is her "den" she should be fine for that long of a time frame.  I'm still not sold on it, even though she's my running partner for a t least an hour every morning and we play games and go to the park every day as well. I try to wear her out as much as possible before I leave, and the crating is tempting because I don't want to come back to a destroyed house.  But my questions are, is that too much time to crate in one sitting? and also will she stop howling while she is crated? I don't want her to disturb the neighbors and she only howls when she's alone.  I hate the seperation anxiety but I want to train her off of it as quickly as possible.  She has her rawhide, her Kong with peanut butter and her tug of war rope with her in her crate when I leave. And most days my sister comes home to take her out but there may be some in which she can't.  What do you guys think?

[RedJasper]

First off let me say Congrats on your new addition.  Second thing we need to see some pics .  Third thing it would be recommended that someone be there to take her potty and play with her for a bit while you are gone.  The howling certainly sounds like SA.  Do you know if she always does it?  If so how long?  I would not recommend leaving he out of her crate there is so many dangers with that.  With the exercise that you described she more then likely will do okay.  It is so hard to say because they are all different.  I can leave Rusty out in the house that long and he is fine.  Rori has to be crated and can handle 6-7 hours.  Vader as well.  But I can hear the choir as soon as I get out of my car.  

[love4Luna]

Is there a way on your long days to take her to doggy daycare for say part day? Take her before work and pick her up and take her home on lunch? That way, crate time is diminished at least a bit. That of course depends obviously on your length of break, and then distance from work, to daycare, to home, then back to work...

[Storm Angel n Auroras Mum]

I do know people stranger on here is one who work and crate their dogs all day and the dogs cope fine. Will it work with a dog with sa? I dont know.

Mine are never crated for more than the max 5 hrs. Thats my personal rule and even on holiday when we visit places i still stick to my time schedule.

[sharloid]

Personally I wouldn't leave any dog for 10 hours, I don't think it would be fair. Nevermind a young husky! 

 

I hope you manage to find a solution. 

[Stormy]

I would say it would be fine if you could get someone to atleast let her out in between Mine have been crated for 9 hours before with no issues but it isn't a regular thing. Mine love their crates though and instantly relax in them and generally just sleep.

 

Excersize wise sounds fine to then go into a crate as sounds like you would tire her out enough Do you freeze the kong you put in?? That would last alot longer

 

So i would say all is fine but i would look into someone to come in and just let her out for even just 10 minutes just to break that up. 

 

Regarding the SA that you will need to work on to get her happy while you are gone

 

Obviously your other option is to leave her loose perhaps even just to one room if she is not destructive?? 

[firehockey91]

Thanks for the responses guys!  I'm working on getting pics of my Jadie soon. I have owned huskies before but never in a situation like this.  A little backstory on her:  She was adopted as a newborn pup by a guy who had a motorcycle accident and just wanted companion dog.  Well as with most he liked the wolf-like features of the sibe and just bought her without doing ANY research.  My friend's mom is a breeder of Corgis and he contacted her trying to find someone to take her in.  So she called me and that's how I got my Jadie.  She's been with me for a week now and we are practically inseperable (as long as the door is closed!) The majority of my schedule is acceptable for her (I leave at 11AM and am home no later than 5PM) but like I said, on my long days I'm out of the house from 11 AM to 9-10 PM.  Fortunately I live with my sister and on those days she is there or able to be there for some period of time 75% of the time.  But I'm concerned about the days in which she cant be there.  In her crate she has her rope toy, raw hide, and I'll leave her a kong with frozen peanut butter in it.  But apparently she will still whine and howl.  I don't like leaving her and I'm considering finding a way to bring her to work.  I have a feeling I dont want to be away from her any more than she does me!

[Steve]

I like the sound of the last solution. I'd love to be able to take a dog into work, but definitely not possible in my work! Good luck in finding the solution, and looking forward to the pictures.

[Stormy]

Good luck and let us know what you figure out

[firehockey91]

Thanks Guys! Update: Yesterday I talked to the vet and he told me to boil some turker in Chamomile tea and see if it calmed her down.  So we tried an experiment where i used the turkey as her treats and then made sure that she only had her Kong wobbler while I was gone. Sure enough I came back and watched my webcam video and she just played with her Kong and slept.  

[Stormy]

Great news!

[Stranger]

hello...

 

As Storm Angel n Auroras Mum mentioned, my boys are crated on an average of 10 hours a day 5 days a week due to my work commitments.

 

Ill admit that this was not the original plan as there was 4 of us to manage it, now there is just me.

 

My boys cope extremely well, being litter mates they suffer from SA between themselves, so this is not something i can help with in regards to yourself.

 

K&P have always lived like this so they dont know any different, where as being yours is already 11 months it may be strange for her, and hard to begin with, but once you get into a routine she should settle.

 

My two get walked morning and evening, and in the summer left in the garden to play once i get home.

 

I have noticed though on the rare occassion i am off ill, that my two just sleep all day anyway...so i dont feel too bad.

 

I know its not the best situation, but they are happy, and safer with me than in kennels.

 

hope this helps x

[LittleLuka]

mine get crated for about 8-9 hours and do fine. i leave them toys. honestly though, i think they just nap most of the day lol because they act like loons when i get home.

[jessiezara90]

With my job my day can vary. But he can be crated for up to ten hours my other two have the run of the house because they can be trusted(non-husky:)) but he seems fine and in my holidays they are asleep during the day anyway then turn into loonies in the evenings. But Fortunately if I kno it's gonna be a long day my oh will take him to work with him.