# Crate Training a Stubborn Husky



## SpudNZasha (Apr 25, 2008)

Hello! 


I recently decided to crate train my husky, a 10 month old female (see avatar). 

Today I decided I'd start. This morning, I filled one of her favorite bones with peanut butter and put her in the crate (she had to be dragged nearly the whole way, though.. regardless of me telling her she's a good dog in my nicest praise voice possible) with the bone. I timed her on a stopwatch for 5 minutes and made sure to stay in the room cleaning, praising her constantly for being a good girl, etc. It went okay - by the three-minute marker, she starting the usual husky 'digging' routine, trying to dig her way out of it. Thus I learned it'd be a bad idea to bed a comfy pet bed in there because I know it'll get ripped to shreds. Instead, I think I'll throw in an old blanket or something.

Anyway, that was test number one. I also gave her treats while she was in the crate, and one the moment she got out and I praised her a bunch for that, too - though she immediately ran out of it across the house. 

So tonight ... I decide to try for ten minutes. I put her favorite squeak toy in there and open the door - she runs across the house immediately so I say 'good girl, Zasha' about a jillion times and pat her on the head... and proceed to drag her toward the crate. About two feet from it, she decides she's okay to walk right in, so she does, and I close the door behind her. She ignores the squeak toy altogether and just looks at me like I'm the devil. I praise her like crazy, then decide to test walking out of the room. I do this every two minutes or so for 10 seconds each, and every time I do, she yelps/barks until I come back in the room. After about five minutes, she starts the digging routine again. I give her treats and praise her like crazy some more. At the ten minute mark, I let her out. 

Any suggestions for how I could do this better? I have no idea if I'm doing it right or not... I would love some input. I'm training her to do this so when I leave for a couple hours at a time, I'll have a couch when I return.


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## Ronda (Jul 18, 2007)

As you are learning, dragging her in, even for a few minutes, is a big fat disaster. I sooooo relate to this issue. My princess pants Mastiff, HAD to be fanned or she squealed like a pig in there. You put a fan in front of the crate, and she'd go in and fall asleep. 

I would recommend NEVER closing the door on her, until she is 100% fine with the crate. She will associate the crate with fear and frustration. Always keep treats in there, and let her come and go as she likes. Over time, she will see it as her safe happy place. THEN you can start putting her in and shutting the door for the short periods you talked about in your post. 

Edited to add that puppies are a pita....hang in there, I know it's hard...


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## SpudNZasha (Apr 25, 2008)

Ronda said:


> As you are learning, dragging her in, even for a few minutes, is a big fat disaster. I sooooo relate to this issue. My princess pants Mastiff, HAD to be fanned or she squealed like a pig in there. You put a fan in front of the crate, and she'd go in and fall asleep.
> 
> I would recommend NEVER closing the door on her, until she is 100% fine with the crate. She will associate the crate with fear and frustration. Always keep treats in there, and let her come and go as she likes. Over time, she will see it as her safe happy place. THEN you can start putting her in and shutting the door for the short periods you talked about in your post.
> 
> Edited to add that puppies are a pita....hang in there, I know it's hard...



ah thanks for the reply 

1) I think I'll buy a fan. It wouldn't hurt to try, right? Do you just use one of the floor box fans, or a small oscillating one?

2) The only problem is that my shepherd/pit mix, who is completely crate trained, will see that there's treats in the crate, and they'll be gone 0.05 seconds after they hit the floor of the crate. So - although that's fantastic in theory, I don't know if it will work having both pups out and about. 

The B part to this scenario also is that she has some kind of major separation anxiety issue. I can not leave her alone in a room, nevermind the house, for more than two minutes (literally). She goes nuts, howls, barks, and tears things up like crazy if she's alone.... and she was like that since the day I got her two months ago(which I learned the first day when I decided to take them on separate walks, and learned never to do again). I know she's very much a pack animal, and loves companionship... and so I've been chalking it up to be a breed thing. Nevertheless, as such, it's not even an option for me to separate the dogs ... i.e. put my shepherd into a room while she has the option of roaming in and out of her crate secretly being trained to like it and consider it safe.


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## Ronda (Jul 18, 2007)

SpudNZasha said:


> ah thanks for the reply
> 
> 1) I think I'll buy a fan. It wouldn't hurt to try, right? Do you just use one of the floor box fans, or a small oscillating one?
> 
> ...


I'm sorry I didn't see your reply, I'm still very new here and trying to figure out how to keep track of things. 
My rotty (my older dog) was trained to stay out of her space (the rotty trained HER to stay out of his place, so I didn't have to do that . He isn't allowed to poke his fat face in the pup's crate at all. He WOULD try to steal her treats if he could get away with it. I know it doubles the work, but I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to make her see it as doggy disney in there, if there aren't surprises and treats. Can you train the older dog to stay out of the crate under all circumstances? Maybe squirt him with a squirt bottle if he tries? My dogs each have an area that is ONLY theirs, and they just don't dare traipse on each other's area. (imo it's kind of like them being able to go in a bathroom and shut the door if they are annoyed with each other lol, tell me of a married person who has never done that!


1) the fan thing may or may not work for your pup. My pup is just a drama queen, who loves being fanned. In the winter, she lays in front of the fire. She is very particular about having her temperature PERFECT. Can you think of anything particular about your pup that she loves? Something that you could incorporate into the crate? 
This is her in front of a fan when she was a pup:








LOL! 
I used a floor fan, oscilating, but pulled the pin out so it would stay in one place, she liked the direct wind the best. 

As far as separation anxiety, I don't know a ton about that. My gut instinct would be to put the pup in an area (cordoned off) where she can't get into trouble. Like an xpen with toys. And come back as often as possible to let her know you are there, and she is OK. Try turning on a radio or tv (with no cords near the pen) and keep it on a med low setting, so she can hear voices. 
I believe strongly in not giving a lot of emotion to dogs with separation anxiety. I think if you get stressed by it, she will get more stressed out. Come and go and try not to get anxious. Of course she needs a lot of interaction, but a pup should be able to play for toys alone here and there, too. I hope this helps


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

Or you could just put dog in crate and take out 2 hours later. Instead of a 3 month job it could possibly be a 2 hour job. Dog goes in crate you throw a treat on floor of crate and your done. Sometimes with all the extra stuff being done you make more problems than you had when you started. During this break in period keep other dog away as it would tend to aggravate the problem. Remember to take dog outside before and after crate exercises. Why take a simple operation and make it a complex project. This is my opinion with 5 or 600 dogs crate broke through 45 years of dog work.


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## SpudNZasha (Apr 25, 2008)

thank you both for your responses!


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## Ronda (Jul 18, 2007)

wvasko said:


> Or you could just put dog in crate and take out 2 hours later. Instead of a 3 month job it could possibly be a 2 hour job. Dog goes in crate you throw a treat on floor of crate and your done. Sometimes with all the extra stuff being done you make more problems than you had when you started. During this break in period keep other dog away as it would tend to aggravate the problem. Remember to take dog outside before and after crate exercises. Why take a simple operation and make it a complex project. This is my opinion with 5 or 600 dogs crate broke through 45 years of dog work.


The op already said she put a treat in with the pup, and the pup was upset after only a few minutes. Your response to my help, which was directed at the op, was rather rude. 

To the original poster, best of luck with the pup. They are cute for a reason


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

Ronda
I'm sorry I wasn't responding to your reply at all, you gave a reply that explained on how you would crate break a dog. My reply was intended to explain how I crate break a dog. The OP' original post,

*"Any suggestions for how I could do this better? I have no idea if I'm doing it right or not... I would love some input. I'm training her to do this so when I leave for a couple hours at a time, I'll have a couch when I return."*

There was absolutely no rudeness involved. There are many different methods of training. The OP can try your method, my method or another poster's method. That's what the forum is all about.


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## Miss Mila (May 17, 2008)

I always learned that you should start out slow. Putting treats in the crate randomly and letting the dog learn that the crate is thier little doggie home. Shoving them in there is not fun for the dog. Make the crate fun. If you play toys with the dog throw them in there. What really got my dogs to like it is I feed them in it. If they want to eat they have to get it out of the bowl in the back of thier crate. These are just things I have done Im no expert.


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## Ronda (Jul 18, 2007)

wvasko said:


> Ronda
> I'm sorry I wasn't responding to your reply at all, you gave a reply that explained on how you would crate break a dog. My reply was intended to explain how I crate break a dog. The OP' original post,
> 
> *"Any suggestions for how I could do this better? I have no idea if I'm doing it right or not... I would love some input. I'm training her to do this so when I leave for a couple hours at a time, I'll have a couch when I return."*
> ...


Thank you for clarifying that  I'm sorry I was snippy, I thought you were being rude, now I understand what you were saying. I appreciate you clarifying what you meant, rather than escalating it more  

There is a lot of good advice here imo, I hope some of it is helpful to you Spud


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

Ronda said:


> Thank you for clarifying that  I'm sorry I was snippy, I thought you were being rude, now I understand what you were saying. I appreciate you clarifying what you meant, rather than escalating it more
> 
> There is a lot of good advice here imo, I hope some of it is helpful to you Spud


Ronda
Sometimes my answers may be a tad blunt. That's why we need posters such as yourself to balance my bluntness. 95% of the training I do is on a time allotted schedule and not a lot of sensitivity is used. An amateur has the weapon of time to accomplish their goals.
Thank you for the balance needed.


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## phoenixpup (Jun 7, 2007)

I got lucky with my husky, crate training her was fairly easy--she was afraid of her new home, so she stayed in her crate because it was her 'little den' and place she could hide. Here are my suggestions, from dealing with an irate husky myself 

1.) Don't use any kind of yelling or forcefulness when getting her into the crate. Use treats if you have to. 

2.) When she gets into the crate, say "Good girl" once, go and sit down--whether it be the bed or couch, wherever you have the crate. Then, read a book, look out the window, do ANYTHING other than pay attention to the dog. She might bark, growl, everything, but you MUST ignore her. Do this for about 5-10 minutes at a time, and gradually increase the time you leave her in there and 'ignore' her until she stays calm and quiet the whole time 

3.) The last tip I have is that whatever type of crate you m ight have (I have a huge wire one), if it is open on all sides, you may want to consider draping a blanket over at least half of it. My husky likes to crawl back to the dark part of her 'den' to sleep, and she cries like mad if that blanket is off of there!! Different dogs have different quirks, like the fan thing 

I got all of these tips and ideas from different dog books I read when my dog was a puppy, these are the one that worked for me.  Best of luck!!! 

P.S. Do all Huskies love squeaky toys!? Mine goes absolutely nuts for them!!


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## Ronda (Jul 18, 2007)

phoenixpup said:


> 3.) The last tip I have is that whatever type of crate you m ight have (I have a huge wire one), if it is open on all sides, you may want to consider draping a blanket over at least half of it. My husky likes to crawl back to the dark part of her 'den' to sleep, and she cries like mad if that blanket is off of there!! Different dogs have different quirks, like the fan thing


I hadn't thought of this, but I do this too. I have a plastic crate with air holes on the side. We cover it with a dark sheet, so only the front is open (for the fan lol) It feels more like a den to her, and she goes in there throughout the day. In fact, she gets up, has breakfast, goes down to the creek/meadow to play and potty, comes in, crashes in her crate till dinner  
I really think if you keep trying, your pup will LOVE the crate; it's the natural thing for them to love it in there


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## JustTess (Mar 19, 2008)

I had better luck with a plastic airline crate also. My adopted husky broke out of the wire one. He also tore anything he could drag into his crate during the day. Now, he goes into his crate especially if there is a thunderstorm outside.


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## Ronda (Jul 18, 2007)

JustTess said:


> I had better luck with a plastic airline crate also. My adopted husky broke out of the wire one. He also tore anything he could drag into his crate during the day. Now, he goes into his crate especially if there is a thunderstorm outside.


 Funny you mentioned that. We have a separate,massive wire crate in the garage that we put ours in for punishment (our dogs are so freaking spoiled, seriously there is NO need for pity on them lol they have a 200 dollar bed in there) and they HATE it. It feels exposed to them I think, and it is like jail lol!


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