[amanda06claire]

We recently adopted a 2 year old male Siberian husky. At night when we put him in his crate, he whines/howls for about an hour before he goes to sleep. We had his crate in our room for the first few days but it was suggested to us that we move his crate to his own room. We did this and he still cries for the same amount of time. We were hoping every night it would become a little less time as he got settled in but it hasn't! We have a sound machine going (with outdoor cricket sounds - he used to be a strictly outdoor dog) and I don't know if that is helping at all. I have been reading online and have found suggestions for giving him a calming supplement (i found some at Petco) but I am a little leery of this. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

[Todd]

first of all, i'd recommend giving him about an hour or more of run time a few hours before bed. this will certainly calm him down without the need for a calming supplement.

second of all, here what i'd do;

i would bring his crate into your room, and ever night thereafter i'd move the crate about 5 yards further away or so. eventually, he'll be in a room by himself and will be much more adjusted to it. do you prefer to keep his crate on the same level as you or another level of the house?

[amanda06claire]

We live in a ranch so the room that we were putting him in was across the hallway!

[Yogi]

Todd hit part of it with regards to bringing the crate back in the room. Keeping the dog close or so that he feels close to you helps with the bonding and security of a new place. The other issue is to cover the crate at night. Dogs feel more secure in a dark enclosure. This provides a den like calming which in most cases will relax the dog.
Being this is a high energy breed, more exercise would be a plus so that the dog is more tired at night.

Good Luck.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by amanda06claire

We live in a ranch so the room that we were putting him in was across the hallway!

perfect. as i said bring the crate back into the room and then move it 5 yards away every night. if the transition is too fast, slow it down a bit.

[Lara's mom]

My entire brood sleeps on the bed with me. Hence, everybody is happy!

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Lara's mom

My entire brood sleeps on the bed with me. Hence, everybody is happy!

same with my Lucky lol

[Yogi]

If I had my entire brood in bed, I would not have a bed. As is, the 4 that sleep with me now have not comprehended the fact that a King is the largest bed I can get but to have 20 other dogs in there too...I would be on the couch.

[Lara's mom]

With 24 dogs, you'd have to rent a hotel room for the overflow!!!

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by Lara's mom

With 24 dogs, you'd have to rent a hotel room for the overflow!!!

Now you know why I say that my idea of a vacation is getting away long enough to get groceries at the local market.....

[Lunareclipse]

I climbed in the crate with Buster and fed him treats and cuddled with him until he began to realize that having a crate wasn't such a bad idea.

[Lara's mom]

Absolutely!!! I can truly sympathize with your situation Yogi. I only have three dogs and a geriatric cat and I consider it "a day out" when I go to the grocery store!!!

Parenting can put one hell of a damper on your social life!!!

Luna: I would have paid good money for a picture of you and Buster sharing a crate!!! lol!!!

[amanda06claire]

Thank you very much for all of your suggestions! Slowly, each day is getting a little easier!

[Todd]

Originally Posted by amanda06claire

Thank you very much for all of your suggestions! Slowly, each day is getting a little easier!

Glad things are going better! Keep up the good work!