Hi all,

i was hoping that there may be a light at the end of the tunnel!!
I am currently at my wits end and desperately need a beacon of hope, so any help offered will be eternally grateful.

My husband agreed to allowing the family a dog, so last friday i went and collected our new puppy. She is a husky crossed with a saarloos. Now, she is a completely lovable little gem when she is out of her crate, but howls the house down when i put her in the crate. I was told that husky's are very inteligent and stubborn but i had geared myself up for this. My problem is that although she is just coming up to 8 weeks old she is keeping me up all night.

I was advised by the breeder that crate training was a must as they get bored and can become distructive etc... so i did as i needed to. First night..... i got 3 hrs sleep. Put it down to the fact that she misses her mother & siblings. But during this time, tried to remain firm with her. Next night, she went into the crate during the day whilst it was left open .... idea being its meant to be her 'little place'. Same happened that night when i tried to go to bed.....whimpering, howling etc.

I'm not at day 6 and as you can probably tell, a tiny tiny bit tired ( i have have raised 3 young children!!) I have tried leaving the tv on for background noise, lamp on, i have even tried to lay her down in the crate and stroking her reassuringly. She just whimpers like mad!!! I have to do the school run of a morning and it must sound like someone is killing her!! My husband has been at home the last 2 days to keep a check on her, yesterday she was fine, no whimpering etc, but today she was completely the opposite.

My question is, how can i stop the whimpering/howling that she does everytime we walk out of sight..... i am now at the stage where my husband thinks getting her was a bad idea, but i am adamant she is trainable! But just very very stubborn. One bit of info that may be useful is her previous owners ( her mothers owner) had to hand rear 7 pups as the mother rejected them at 3 weeks. Now my little one seemed a bit spoilt, seems very 'needy' and clingy, this was due to the owners 12 yr old daughter constantly cuddling the pups.

Is this problem just due to the crate? Her age? Her experience of life so far? And more importantly, is it fixable? I am so so sorry for all the questions but i am seriously at my wits end and she is a true gem when not crated, but still whimpers if you go out of sight. She is my 1st experience of this breed as i have previously had labs, GSD's etc.

Many thanks

Hailey

Hi Hailey and welcome! I'm sorry that you are having such a tough time though! Crate training can get very difficult and take quite some time to adjust.

I have a few questions before I can offer any advice though. Where is her crate at night? Is she in a separate room or is she in the bedroom? Huskies are pack animals and they don't like to feel separated from the pack. You might want to try putting her in the crate in your bedroom while you sleep. Just being close to you may calm her down and then you can gently try to wean her out of your bedroom if you're not keen on having her sleep in your room.

What is in the crate with her? Do you have a soft bed? Is there a blanket? When we first got Koda he would HOWL, whine, whimper... keeping EVERYONE awake. We realized after a week of this that he didn't like his bed in his crate! He would dig it up, destroy it and then cry and cry. The moment we took his bed OUT of the crate, he calmed down and went right to sleep! I know quite a few huskies that are similar and not the biggest fans of soft beds (I think it has to do with them being so warm). Koda usually prefers a hard, flat surface to lay on.

Lastly, and what I think might be your problem is at 8 weeks old, she's not going to be very good at holding it for too long. I know you said you've raised three children, so you're probably used to late-night feedings, but most puppies need to be let out every couple of hours. She may be crying because she really has to pee. I would try taking her out once or twice in the middle of the night to do her business.

I know it can be tough and I know it sometimes seems hopeless, but all huskies are different. Some take longer than others, but knowing the breed and knowing your dog can help you get through it. Stick with her! Let me know how it goes, and feel free to PM me if you need any help!

.

I agree with the advice that Koda gave. With both Sirmiq and Kiwi I would have their crates by the bed. I would put my fingers in their cage until they settled down. Puppies just taken away from there mom aren't used to being alone, so just letting her know you are their will help. If the crate can't be in your bedroom, I would suggest using an alarm clock that ticks or leave the tv or radio on for her. Also, as Koda mentioned expect to get up once or twice a night for potty breaks. Although, never take her out when she is howling or wimpering. Even if you know she has to go pee, wait for a silent break, even if it is only for a second. You don't want her to think whimpering will get her out of the crate. Once she starts learning some commands, I always have my dogs atleast sitting before I open the crate door, and they have to be calm.

i know some people have suggested before feeding your dog in their crates before leaving them in it to build positive associations. I have never needed to do this, but I hear it works good. Also, leave the crate accessible during the day, and throw some toys in it and maybe some treats. That way if she wants them she needs to go into the crate. My two still freak out when we leave them in their crates, but they do like the crates, they often go in there in the middle of the day when it is nap time.

Also, when you guys are home, leave the puppy in the crate while you do the household choirs. If you do the feeding trick do it around meal time, or what I did was I would put them in when they started to get sleepy. This helps to let the dogs know they don't only go in the crate when you leave or it's nighttime and it helps them associate it with sleepy calm time. Neither of mine will use a kong in their crates. They go in there and after a few minutes of whining they go into sleep mode.