Kilo2014 Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 My husband and I adopted or make husky from a shelter 2 months ago, he did great and didn't have any accidents in the house until about a month ago. We take him out in the morning before work, at lunch and again when we get home around 5 pm. We had been letting him loose in the house, but then he started popping and peeing...he didn't have accidents when we are at home, only when we are gone. We tried crating him, he did good for 2 days then he started having accidents in his crate. We have tried everything we can think of!!! Covering his crate, pheromone spray...everything. Please help- I don't know what to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asslinn Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 It could be separation anxiety if he only does it while you're out. Do you leave anything on for some background noise tv, radio? It may help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chula Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 (edited) If you are going to crate him, you need to go through the motions of properly crate training him. I would start with short periods of time in the crate. He probably does not see it as his den yet. You could start feeding him in there as well, so that he equates the crate with food. Dogs won't usually potty where they eat. I would also pick up his water an hour before going in the crate and making sure he relieves himself before going in. If he has done his business in the crate you need to be sure you have properly cleaned it with a pet stain cleaner to get out all residue that may be lingering because even if you can't smell it, he can. Edited May 6, 2014 by Chula Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilo2014 Posted May 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 He won't even go towards the room where the crate is I'm the morning because he doesn't want to go in the crate. He goes outside before being in the crate and I don't see how he would have anything left in him to pee or poop because he does allot outside. I'm just so frustrated, I will try to put his food in there, and maybe crate him dir awhile will we are with him tonight... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilo2014 Posted May 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 We did try to leave the radio on for him for awhile, but it wasn't helping so we stopped. If it is deportation anxiety how do we fix that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chula Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 How did you introduce him to the crate? Did you just put it up and then lock him in there? There are several threads on properly crate training a dog. I would read through this thread - and see if it gives you any ideas on how to get him to accept his crate. Where in Virginia are you? I am in Richmond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chula Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 One suggestion might be to move the crate into a part of the house that he considers to be his "home". Our crate is in the dining room. We tried putting it in a different part of the house and she peed in her crate. If there is a place in the house that is somewhere he spends a lot of time, I would try putting the crate there and see if it helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilo2014 Posted May 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 He loves spending time in the Living room and that is where he spends most of his time, buy am hesitant to put the crate in there because it is carpeted. We did just put him in the crate, how would you crate train him from scratch? He had already been through 2 homes so he has history we don't know about which makes it hard. He has gotten so much better (with dominance issues-he now knows we are the boss) but this issue is driving me crazy. We just remodeled our home and everything is new, so I feel like it is being ruined! I love him to pieces and am trying to figure it out. I appreciate your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 When we re homed Koda he was 18 months and wasn't crate trained. Hubby spent 2 days at home crate training all day - he litterally put him in and then let him out and gave a treat. Few mins later he did it again, left the door shut 30 seconds then took him out and gave him a treat. He did this throughout the day gradually increasing the time he left him in there. After a few days he was crate trained - although that was literally none stop work - walking him just before we started training helped too Hope you get on ok- maybe try a DAP diffuser we used that, it releases pheromones to calm them - you just plug it in x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 Megan, you've gotten some good comments so I'm going to be the Grinch ... You've got a Husky and you either love them all and accept all their foibles ( like chewing on you! ) or you're going to have some major problems. They're one of the most intelligent breeds going, work with them and they'll give you their all; try to force them and you'll have an uphill battle on your hands. A few things you don't tell us and the one most important is how old he is. I know it's going to be a guess, but the shelter should have been able to give you some idea. What you're feeding him and how much real exercise he gets would also help a lot. There's a whole but Sarah gave you a quick run down on how to do it. You want to convince him that the crate is his den and it's a good place to spend time - so from your comment about him not even wanting to go into the room where the crate is, you're going to have to undo some damage already. He loves spending time in the Living room and that is where he spends most of his time, buy am hesitant to put the crate in there because it is carpeted He spends time in the living room because that's where you spend your time and dogs are pack animals and want to be with their pack - er, that's you and hubby. I don't know what kind of crate you have (does it have a tray on the bottom or not, for example) but I bet he'd be a lot more receptive to good crate training if it were where he could be with and see you all. If you can, get yourself a piece of plywood (or similar) that extends a ways away from the crate and put the crate on that. Okay, it's gonna look tacky, but it would be only for a while. Don't use plastic or another piece of rug, he'll have it all in the crate with him We just remodeled our home and everything is new, so I feel like it is being ruined! Now comes the real Grinch ... sorry. Husky's are beautiful dogs, everybody loves them and generally they love everybody but they are definitely not the dog for everyone. If you really want a house you can be proud of, no speckles on the rug, no hair, no torn couch cushions ... then find this guy a good home and get yourself a pekinese. (( ouch, shoot me! )) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilo2014 Posted May 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 Al, Thank you for your honesty. Kilo will turn 2 May 9th. This is my first Husky and I'm trying really hard to do everything I can to learn, so I appreciate all the feed back. Kilo is very much a love bug, stubborn at times but we have come leaps and bounds since we brought him home. I can't imagine our life without him. I'm having trouble fixing his potting in the crate and house, and would be having the same frustration if it was any other dog breed. I am proud of my home, and I also love my dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 Megan, thank you, now I'll tone down a bit. I have a reputation to uphold for saying what I think and "house proud" and "husky" don't often go too well together. So okay, you're having to work out 21 months of someone else's training - or lack thereof; you've already figured out that it isn't going to come real quick or real easy. For purposes of really getting him to accept the crate as his den, it would really help if: One of you could take about a week off or work from home You have a doggy day care who can care for him, for a while, while you're at work. You've already said that he doesn't like the crate and that's going to take time to work out. If you force him into the crate when you go to work, it's going to make it almost impossible for him to accept it. Stephanie, reminded me that it was her Shiloh who was so distraught at being crated that he had broken several teeth just trying to get out. You don't want to let it get to that point but by forcing him, you may. One thing that's in your favour and also not in your favour is that dogs have almost no sense of time. Except for bad repercussions, something that happened 15 minutes ago is long gone. That means that when you walk out the door, whether it's for 15 minutes or four hours - it's still forever to him. You can use that to your favour when you're crate training him since he isn't going to really know whether he's been in the crate for a few minutes or a few hours... I'm going to offer some suggestions - things I've picked up from others here since I'm retired and don't crate. This is not going to be a one day success - you may, full time(ish), spend a week or two getting all the way through this list - and that's if he coöperates. Get the crate out of the room and set it up someplace that's comfortable to you and him (not that he's going to be comfortable with the crate at first, but ...) Give him an evening to get used to seeing it and then start guiding him towards it. Toss a treat or a toy for him over near it, then closer and eventually into it. (( bear in mind that if he balks, then take a break and eventually, just keep tossing them at the point that he's comfortable, work up to it )) When he'll happily go into the crate for a treat then think about feeding him there, you want some reason for him to stay in it and be comfortable. Swing the door shut, don't latch it, you don't want to undo what you've done but you want to let him get used to having it "shut" Shut it and latch it, but stay there, if he gets wound up, let him out. Eventually, hopefully, he'll accept having it latched as long as you're right there. Go away, just a few steps but somewhere where you're not right in his view, give him a minute (or 15 seconds, whatever he'll tolerate) and the come back and let him out. Praise and treats for waiting nicely, of course. Increase the time that you're "away" until you can stay out of view for 15 - 30 minutes. At this point, you can probably safely leave him in the crate for you 1/2 work day. It should be obvious that what we're trying to do is to overcome his fear of being locked in, his separation anxiety. You don't want to go on to the next step until he is comfortable with what has gone before. And yes, he may at any point become anxious, so be prepared to back up a step or two and try again. You never did answer how much exercise he's getting or what you're feeding him .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stefanie_jane Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 Like others have said, don't put him in the crate and just lock the door. Really work hard on trying to get him to love it! We had a really big struggle, and have since stopped crate training. Which is a shame, because at night, Shiloh loved her crate, and even in the day she was happy in it, but we could never get to a point where we could leave the room without her going absolutely insane (which, as mentioned above, led to her breaking a fair few of her teeth and needing surgery to remove 2 of them). The advice given above is really good. We had 4 weeks off work in total between us to help her settle in and get used to things. Although I feel we failed, we have now got her comfortable in the hallway. Definitely get some cable ties! Shiloh pushed the crate apart, she did this even with cable ties on actually haha bless her. I'm sure you will get there! Just need a fair bit of time and patience! Although I now know crate training isn't for every dog, I think it's worth giving it a good go. And even though we weren't successful with the crate training in the sense that we can't leave her in it, it really helped with her toilet training! We don't often have accidents now, and if we do, it's only a wee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 I've nothing more to add at the moment but just wanted to say great advice Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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