i really need help

[jfrey]

I have a 2.5 month old husky pup, named Zoey. She's adorable, and playful, and sweet and we love her. We've never had a husky before though and need some help. We're trying to crate train her, but every time she gets in there she howls NON STOP! She doesn't sleep at all during the night, because she is too busy crying and this morning when we got up she was COVERED (it was even smeared around her nose and her eyes!) with feces and urine. She will eliminate outside, but does it more inside.

I really need your help! I have never had such a hard time with a puppy before, I dont know what we're doing wrong....

Thanks,

Jen and Zoey

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

with the crate training u rly just need 2 ride it out dont let her out WHEN shes howling or she will do it non stop till u let her out - maybe give her a toy or sum treats maybe a kong with food in 2 occupy her? my dogs arent crate trained so i cant help u much but others on here will b able too

also welcome to the pack cnt w8 2 c sum pics

[Tikaani&Aiyana]

Oh no it sounds like your having a hard time with Zoey

You need to make sure that she feels like the crate is a safe and enjoyable environment for her. You may be doing this already but its a good idea to:

*feed her in there

*leave the door open so she can wander in and out of her own free will during the day

*try leaving her in there for short periods of time during the day. If she is howling as soon as she stops go though let her out and really praise her/give her a treat

*Try giving her a teddy as a friend

*Give her a old bit of clothing with your scent on it like a jumper

Hope this helps,let me know how you get on and post some pics

[Mazz]

First off. . . Welcome to the Pack. It's nice to see someone join from the neighboring state of Illinois. I live in eastern Iowa. The help on the crate issue is excellent. One thing I might add has to do with duration. A puppy cannot hold for very long. The rule of thumb I go by is 1 hour for every month of age, up to about three or four months. It gradually increases, so by the time they are ten to twelve months old, they can go from six to eight hours. Also, keep the crate small enough for them to turn around in, but not so large they have extra room. Too large, and they will use it for bathroom duty.

When Zoya was a pup, I got up every hour or so during the night, for the first few months, and took her outside. When she went potty, I praised her, gave her small treat - as she re-entered the crate, and went back to bed for an hour or so. Not fun, but we never had an issue. Oh, she cried at first, but soon calmed down. We put the crate in our bedroom, so she was near us. Maybe if you have her crate in another room, that separation may be keeping her agitated.

[Sid_Wolf]

Good post naomi, added to rep

Also try putting a thick blanket over it to make it dark and more den like (they like this lol)

How big is the crate? it should only be big enough for her to go in, turn around and lay down, if she has a lot of space in there then she can use one end as a toilet, the other as his bed, which isnt the idea, crates work on the idea that dogs wont mess their sleeping area. Also, if she's toileting in there you should get up 2-3 times during the night to let her outside, gradually increasing the time between these breaks until she can hold it throughout the night.

[Tikaani&Aiyana]

First off. . . Welcome to the Pack. It's nice to see someone join from the neighboring state of Illinois. I live in eastern Iowa. The help on the crate issue is excellent. One thing I might add has to do with duration. A puppy cannot hold for very long. The rule of thumb I go by is 1 hour for every month of age, up to about three or four months. It gradually increases, so by the time they are ten to twelve months old, they can go from six to eight hours. Also, keep the crate small enough for them to turn around in, but not so large they have extra room. Too large, and they will use it for bathroom duty.

When Zoya was a pup, I got up every hour or so during the night, for the first few months, and took her outside. When she went potty, I praised her, gave her small treat - as she re-entered the crate, and went back to bed for an hour or so. Not fun, but we never had an issue. Oh, she cried at first, but soon calmed down. We put the crate in our bedroom, so she was near us. Maybe if you have her crate in another room, that separation may be keeping her agitated.

Good point Dave We had Tikaani in our room initially too and he only ever cried for a few mins,even when we eventually moved him out of the room. Puppy nite duty is a bit of a killer but def the only way to do it

[Sarah]

great advice guys n gals - added to reps

Welcome to the pack Jen look forward to seeing you around and getting to know you and zoey - be sure to post up some pics so we can all swoon over her

[Chewbacca_&_me]

Hello welcome to the forum!

Heres some good things you can do for your husky girl.

Limit her to three times a day where you let her eat and drink as much as she wants.

Within 15 minutes of eating take her out on leash, take her to the same spot every

time to potty, and wait until she goes.

Never feed her or give water after 6PM and be sure to take her out every night right

before you go to bed, so she will have that last chance to empty her bladder/bowels

before you all should be sleeping.

Try covering her crate with a sheet or thin blanket at night, and since she is so young,

you should at least get up one time at night still to take her out because she will still

have trouble holding it in at night. Once you have started taking her out right before

bed, she will probably howl to say hey mom, i gotta go, take her out, place her calmly

back in her crate and cover it with the blanket again.

Your pup may continue to still howl a bit for a few days, but give her time to get used

to her new routine, and im sure she will be ok at night soon.

Hope this helps.

[Melli776]

we started crate training Fia right away. The first night was hell... she cried all the time. Then, we just go up 2 or 3 times a night to take her out and put her right back in, no playing, cudding, or kissing in between ( its hard when they r so damn cute). We put the crate close to the bed. If she cried, first I would talk to her, then if she continued, I put my hand so she could lick. She would be concentrating on licking my hand so she would forget to cry and fall asleep lol

During the day, we would also put her in the crate. She would eat in the morning, go out, play 20 mins and go back to the crate.

Make sure the crate is not too big. If it is there are dividers you can use to make it smaller. It sounds crual but otherwise they will eliminate in the crate.

We put some of our t-shirts in the crate so that our smell would be with her.

Just keep up the good work, it is so worth it in the end

Good luck !

[jfrey]

thanks for all the replies and the warm welcome:) Ill put some photos up as soon as i can get zoey to sit still long enough to capture her! haha

I have a big crate, but we have a divider in it. so it is a little longer than i would like but a good size i think. its obviously tall enough (it will be a perfect size when she is about a year im guessing), she can turn around and lay down with some room to spare at her feet. Still has an accident everytime she is in there....i listen for her to stop crying to assume she is about to go but she just never stops until i am standing right in front of the crate.

anyhow- thanks again! OHHH she is sitting calmly on my lap while i type this...maybe i can use my webcam to get her!!!

[Val (Zebedee)]

Hiya, Jen & Zoey, welcome to the pack

Zoey is really testing you, hey? We've nearly all been through this, those of us who have crate-trained, it's not easy to listen to your furbaby crying & sounding miserable but get in a routine as has been suggested & she will pick it up quickly, huskies will if you keep repeating it.

Try the suggestions here, it shouldn't be too long before Zoey gets the message & manages to stay dry through the night for you. Good luck, let us know how you both get on, xx

[marcos]

Hello and welcome. When we first got My'a (our female) i guess we were lucky. we had no problems with her. but then again our dogs arent inside. but they would sleep in their crates outside in the begining. but you can bet your but they were scratching and making a fuss in the crate at 6 in the morning. And yes puppy dutie is a pain in the tookous, but it helps very much.. also i have a litter of six beautifull puppies right now and their 5 weeks old. and they all sleep in a crate. I was reading up on some information and it said that when they get four weeks they should be sleeping an a seperate area in a crate.. that it will be a major help to the new owner for crate training later on in life... granit their is no door on the crate.. but they love being in it... and when i put them in another crate to clean the whelping area.. they are just fine as well....

good luck. theirs a lot of good info on here. i prob wasnt much help but wanted to tell my story..

[chianya]

hello and welcome sorry i cant give u any advice but sounds like u got some great advice already im really quite lucky i dont get all this crate training i just used puppy pads when i brought suki home 4 the first night i slept downstairs with her but the second night she slept in the kitchen she did cry a bit but i didnt give in by the 4th she slept all the way through and was toilet trained in a week so dont know if crates r the best way as there r others anyway good luck

[Damrod]

Here are some links with some ideas:

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/crate_training.html

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/cratetraining.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crate_training

[Lisa (Fragglebabe)]

Hi Jen & Zoey,

Welcome to the pack,

fantastic advice already given I hope it helps. Best of luck with your new furbaby & can't wait to see some pics xxx

[gefref]

Oh I feel your pain! Kobe howled the house down for the first week or so... ouchie!

All I can recommend is don't feed after 6.30pm.

Unfortunately you have to get out of bed every couple of hours during the night to let them out to pee until they get older.

Then you can stretch the time little by little.

One thing that may help is leaving a radio or a TV on in or near the room that dog is sleeping in.

The noise helps them think they are not on their own.

I've also used a noisy ticking clock in or beside their crate, it's supposed to replicate their mothers beating heart!!

May the force be with you!!

[lauraxxx29]

Good point Dave We had Tikaani in our room initially too and he only ever cried for a few mins,even when we eventually moved him out of the room. Puppy nite duty is a bit of a killer but def the only way to do it

Hi I also had this problem with my Willow. I put her in our bedroom and well she slept the whole night. Once she is used to it you will be able to move the crate. She now sleeps down under our stairs with Akia. Good luck and welcome to the site...Laura