# rescued abused husky - halp



## DPA

I haven't had a dog since I was a kid, been wanting one for a decade, finally picked out this sweet beautiful alaskan husky - long story short, Cookie has problems. She's attached herself to me but she's afraid of my husband for unknown reasons. If I leave her alone with him she acts the same as if I left her completely alone. She barks and whines and eliminates all over the floor. We haven't had any luck with the crate, but then I've also read that you shouldn't crate a dog with separation anxiety. Given that, I'm not sure how to house train her. It seems like a catch 22. She runs around outside in the yard not fenced, we're in a pretty rural area, and she seems happy out there, she doesn't cling to me outside like she does inside, but she could spend a half hour out there and then come inside and go on the floor. But she always sneaks off to the other room to do it, so she _knows_ I think, and she does GO outside too. I'd say more than half of her bathroom breaks take place outside. SO I don't know why she also goes inside. Any advice?


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## ireth0

I would keep her tethered to you so she can't sneak off until her housetraining is under control. If you see her exhibiting signs that she needs to go- interrupt and take her outside. It's possible that in the past she was punished for going inside, which can often lead to a dog being afraid to go in front of people, which causes them to sneak off.

Does she behave that way with just your husband or all men in general? It's not uncommon for dogs to be afraid of men if they've been abused by one in the past.


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## Amaryllis

A lot of members have had this problem. When you punish a dog for going inside, they rarely learn that "inside" is the issue. They more often think that the sight of a dog going, or the pee/poop itself, makes humans very angry and then bad things happen to dogs, so they won't go in front of you, outside or inside.

The tethering idea is a good one. Also, when you take her outside, keep her on a long leash (25' ideally) and turn your back to her. I know, how will you know if she goes?, but she can't handle you seeing her go right now. Slowly make the leash shorter, but keep your back to her. When she's close enough to you you'll know when she's going, quietly praise her when she does. Over time, turn more and more towards her and keep praising her. Over time, she'll realized that seeing a dog go doesn't bother you at all. Do not punish her going inside. Don't even interrupt her. Just clean it up and betray no emotion while you do so.

As for the freaking out when you go, how long have you had her? Recently adopted dogs are stressed out and express that all sorts of ways. I'd exercise her regularly and take it slowly for now. Let her calm down and adjust to her new world. Don't expect too much from her right now, and make every interaction with her positive and rewarding to her. You need to prove yourself to her, you can only do that with time and patience.


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## DPA

Thanks guys - these are really great replies. I was hesitant to seek help on a forum because I've done it in the past for unrelated issues and found the forum members to be rather cliquey and rude. But I can see they're not all like that!
Re: men - that was another odd thing. She was fine with my husband for the first few days and then out of the blue she decided he was the devil. Getting worse too. She will no longer take food from him or stay in the room when he enters. She has met a couple other male friends and family members since we got her a few weeks ago and was very happy to meet them, very friendly and outgoing even. My Husband thinks it started the first time he told her "no" when she was about to steal some food from my 3 year old. :der:
And no I don't punish her for going inside, and I do praise her for going outside when I witness it. I'll try your suggestions as best I can over the next few weeks, though I admit it hasn't been easy potty training a dog (unanticipated, the shelter didn't tell me she wasn't house trained) AND a 3 y.o human at the same time!


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## ireth0

Depending on how he said it, I could easily see that setting off a dog that's been abused, especially a husky since they tend to be more sensitive.


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## froeschli

I volunteer at my local humane society, and from what i have seen there so far, there can be many reasons your shelter never told you about house training issues.
lack of time, lack of communication between the various volunteers, or simply they decided to omit the fact to increase chances of adoption (i hate it when they misrepresent dogs - either good or bad).
There is also the chance that within the crate, Cookie had perfect house manners. But with that limited experience, looking at an entire house as "den" may take some time. 
Now, I've never crate trained my dogs, but from what i understand, it is actually supposed to help with separation anxiety (due to the fact that they cannot pace and wind them selves up even more) - but you have to be diligent about making the crate a safe, enjoyable place to be, not just somewhere your dog gets shut up when other options are inconvenient, and never as a punishment.
My dog came house trained. he gets very upset when he has an "accident", and i always apologize to him for not realizing he was ill when i left for the day (that is the only time it ever happens) and i take him for a walk before i even think about cleaning up. But, he takes cleanliness to the point where he will not have a dump in his own street, nor at the park where he plays. So, even after taking him to the park, i have to walk him around the block once for him to do his business. I am not complaining, just mentioning another point of view.
You may want to keep an eye on where she decides to go. Some dogs don't go in their territory, others like to have a particular corner of the garden set aside to do their business, and still others will go anywhere. Apparently, if you approve of the location, you are supposed to not pick "it" up for a day or two, so the dog gets the idea of "bathroom, here" - unless he/she is one of the picky ones that don't go where others have before . Mind, after that initial day to "scent" the place up a bit, you proceed to clean up as necessary.

As for your husband, does he interact with her at all? some playing and reassuring contact, maybe even basic obedience, where she knows what is expected and no corrections are necessary - anything to form trust and make him a "fun person" in her eyes. If the correction "no" sets her off, try a diversion like "come" "sit" etc, that interrupts the behaviour without being an admonishment. usually the word "cookie" gets any dog's attention 

Karin


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## DPA

update: We've worked our way to a mess in the house about every other day at this point which is down from multiple messes a day. So things have improved in that respect. She started on prozac a few days ago, as I understand that can take several weeks to see an effect. She's still terrified of my husband. won't stay in the same room with him, wont' walk past him, growls at him even when he comes to bed at night (usually after I do, and she sleeps on the floor in our room). Also having trouble with the fleas. Can't catch a break. 2 doses of advantix and 3 flea baths and I'm still finding them on her.
In other news, she seems to like the rural life. She found some deer bones in the woods and has been leaving antlers and disturbingly-sized femurs in the front yard. She's also made friends with a local skunk. She thinks they're friends anyway. Also, she doesn't like baths.


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