[addamohara23]

Hi, i have recently undertaken a rescue dog into my five person family. i have three children, so i figured it would nuture both my kids needs, and the dog's need for attention.
i have found out quiet alot of issues as of right now with the dog. he's 2 years old, and he is completely untrained. doesn't know any basic commands, will run if let off the leash, pees and poops in the house. that's the interesting part. when taken outside the only thing he will do is the instinctual spraying of his territory. i don't know what to do...
i don't want to give up on this poor dog, but i'm fairly new to this. He seems to have an eatting issue, but i know by sheer will power i will get him to eat. won't eat dog food, so i know the way to handle that is to outlast his stubbornness. Is there a person out there who knows how to handle this? or someone who can direct me to a site where i can get some help?
Again, he pees and poops at night in the house. Won't do it outside, aside from marking territory. actually, he marks territory in the house too, alot. He is two years old and completely untrained. Also training is difficult, becuase he is scared of me and my wife. It seems like he has been beat or abused in his life. Any way to get him to trust me, and let go of his fears? Realise that i would never hurt him?
Please someone help me. I don't want to give up on this animal. Everyone else has.

Thank you,
Addam

[cigwyllt]

He's a beautiful looking dog. I have no experience of huskies at all but there are some things that apply to any breed. First of all, if he is marking and toileting in the house you need to restrict his freedom. Can you perhaps confine him to the kitchen or another room with an easy to clean floor for the times you or another adult in the household are not able to supervise him closely. If you are watching him he is far less likely to toilet indoors.

You need to clean the areas where he has been really thoroughly. If you google cleaning dog urine you will find all sorts of inexpensive but effective recipes that will remove the odour that he can still smell that attracts him back to the same spots.

You really need to treat him like a young pup and take him outside at least every hour. Even if all he does is spray/mark while you are outdoors with him give him a fantastic treat and make out he has done the cleverest thing ever.

Overnight he could be toileting because he is stressed - keeping him in a smaller area or even a crate could be the answer there.

As for getting him to trust you just I think you are doing a great job. Just be patient and let him see you as the most wonderful thing in the world. Feed him part of his dinner from your hand rather than a bowl, just be really really slow and unthreatening and let him relax in his own time.

As I said, I have no experience of the breed at all but I was watching an exhibition of huskies at a show last week when they said that you should never ever let your husky off the lead as he will run away and you will never see him again. I can't really believe that is true of the breed as a whole and hopefully someone will contradict that soon!

[CorkyMax]

Here is a link you might find some info that may help: Siberian Husky Information, Husky, Huskies, Sibe, Sibes, Siberian Huskys, Siberian Huskies I think this breed needs a lot of exercise and a firm handler--Needs to know who is the alpha (YOU). You need to get him to trust you---Take him for long walks (tire him out)--be gentle but firm--praise and reward him while on these long walks. Kind of touchy situation until you can gain his trust as to teaching him anything.

[reeskujo]

Everything you're going through is quite normal for a lot of rescue dogs...My suggestion would be to see if you can find some puppy classes in your area and get your puppy signed up...

Having owned a Husky that I rescued at 4 months I would highly recommend crate training for housebreaking...Most rescue dogs are confined to a kennel all day so they really have no choice but to go to the bathroom where they have to sleep..This can be a hard habit to break...You have to make sure you're getting the puppy outside every 2-3 hrs and make sure you give the puppy a treat and a ton of praise each and everytime he uses the bathroom outside..Also make sure you are feeding on a schedule as this will make it easier to know when he has to use the bathroom...

Huskies are very intelligent dogs but their stubborness can make them difficult to train...You have to be firm and very,very consistent...

They also require a ton of excersize since they are a very high energy breed and because they were bred to run they have a very strong tendency to escape every chance they get...You should never trust them off leash because they love to run and they also have a very high prey drive so they will chase smaller animals...

Also make sure that when he's acting fearful or skiddish towards you or your family do not tell him things like it's ok or try showing them affection...This will only reinforce the behavior since you'll be showing him positive attention when he's exhibiting a negative behavior...The best thing to do is to ignore him when he's acting like that and let him come to you on his own and then give him a treat and praise him so that he'll learn getting attention from you is something positive...

It's also good to remember that because Huskies have so much energy and are so intelligent that they get bored very easily and when puppies and dogs get bored this can lead them to become distructive...They don't do it to misbehave but simply to have something to do...You need to make sure that he not only gets plenty of physical excersize but mental as well...I know my Husky loved retrieving her ball and bringing it back to us...She could do it for hours...Once your puppy gets adjusted and starts engauging more with you and your family you'll be able to tell what types of things he likes as far as playing...

Keep in mind every dog is different...Some will adjust very well to being in a new home where as others may take a month or longer to feel comfortable and secure...

You'll really just need to have a lot of patience and show him as much love as you can when he allows it....Don't however feel sorry for him and let him get away with bad behaviors as you'll just be doing him more harm then good....

A little tip in closing,Huskies can suffer from seperation anxiety and my Nina was one of them so I would suggest when there is no one home you crate him until he can be trusted in the house alone and oh yeah, you said he's marking inside and outside? Is he neutered? If not I would get that done right away as that usually cuts back on the marking issue...

Keep us updated!

[addamohara23]

thank you guys very much for helping me with this problem. i do have one more question. My husky barks and whines at night when i put him in a confined area. I have three kids and one is only 10 months old. How do i stop this annoying habit? thanks..8-)

[reeskujo]

That is a common problem as well and I know this isn't the answer you want to hear but truthfully the best way to break the habit is by completely ignoring it...You don't even want to give a voice correction...If you give a puppy any kind of attention when they're whining and barking they quickly learn that it's an easy way to get your attention and can make the problem worse...

Can you tell me what kind of set up you have for him at night?

[addamohara23]

he goes into the bathroom any time i can't observe him myself. He goes in at night, and any time we are to busy to pay attention to his potty habits in the house. We put his water and food in there, and his bed. We never, under any circumstances, treat that room as a punishment room. We want him to associate this room with sleeping/relaxing. We use it becuase we know dogs are clean by nature. They usually won't go to the bathroom where they sleep, so we use this room to our advantage. He has been going potty outside more, since i found out he really does have to find the right spot to pee. Pooping in the house still. My wife took him out of the bathroom this morning, and he didn't go. Upon bringing him back in, he immediately went into my kids room and pooped on the floor. This is the second time he has pooped on there floor. Once in the living room last night.

[chiclet]

I am a very new dog owner, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt and I will accept lashings with a wet noodle if I am totally wrong here. I find that sometimes a very short walk will get my puppy to poop.

Any chance your family could set aside a day where you spend it all outside with him, even if you take turns? I would imagine that at some point in the day he would have to go. Don't let him back in the house until he goes. Just a thought here.

[reeskujo]

Are you feeding him on a schedule as well as taking him to the bathroom on a schedule?

Also what kind of food are you feeding? the cheaper and the lower quality foods will cause him to poop more then the higher quality no filler foods..

[Yogi]

you have received good advice for the prior posters. IE: crate training is essential at this point and covering the crate at night helps. Huskies are sight oriented dogs. The more things they see they more they can obsess.
Metabolism in pups is a key thing in helping them take care of their business.
Kicking it up by walks or in this breed allowing it secure space to run will help induce the dog to want to go.
Like all breeds, dogs in general are routine oriented. Being he is new to you and your routine you have to expect to give him ample time and patience to learn your as it is new to him. Staying with a set feeding schedule followed by time outside is going to be something you will need to work on. But above all, it comes to patience. Good luck.

[Todd]

First of all how much exercise does the dog get? This could be quite a bit of the problem. Teach him basic commands. Possibly consider puppy obediance. Teach him to sit, stay, lay, heel, etc. Also establish yourself as the alpha so the dog will follow your directions/commands and behave under your command.

Alpha Boot Camp

As far as him running away off leash this goes with becoming the alpha. Also here is a technique I have given many times...

You need to make it clear that your dog must come when you say so. Start simple. Start on leah. Have her sit and stay then call her name. When she comes, reward her with a yummy treat, toy, praise, or all of the above. Whatever flaots her boat By the way, if you ever say her name in a negative tone she may associate it with something negative so whenever calling her make it all positive no matter how frustrated you may get. Positive reinforcement is the key in this situation. Outside, a much better method may be a whistle (specifically for dogs or just a standard whistle is fine) or maybe even a clicker, however a whistle is probably beter outside because the sound travels further. Take it one step at a time. As I said earlier, start on leash, have her sit, them maybe blow the whistle and gentle pull her toward you so she comes then reward her. Eventually have the leash tension allow her to go further and further doing this exercise until she can do it off lead. Maybe use an extendable leash or long rope. I saw this method used on It's Me Or The Dog with Victoria Stilwell. It was with a labrador who didn't come so they used the whistle and yummy pieces of chicken as a reward. It worked wonders! Good Luck!

As far as going to the bathroom in the house goes he may not get out enough. Does he mark in the house or are they accidents or only at night? Has the dog been fixed? If not fixing could help many problems. I would try to say "no" firmly when the dog marks (poops and pees) and take him outside to go then praise for going outside. You may need to use a crate at night if all else fails. Use pet odar nuetralizers on the market spots to eliminate future incidents.

As far as the food goes, leave it for him to eat. A dog will not starve themselves. If u need to mix some yogurt in or something apitizing and gradually reduce it until there is none left.

[shandwill]

When we were preparing to foster, something I read online made a lot of sense to me. The author, an experienced foster herself, suggested that anytime the new dog is in the house, it should drag a leash. Further, she suggested having the leash tied around your waist. This keeps the dog closer to you and teaches them that it is a good/safe place to be AND it allows you to more closely monitor any housebreaking issues!
It's been useful/helpful for us, hope it will be for you, as well.

[reeskujo]

Originally Posted by shandwill

When we were preparing to foster, something I read online made a lot of sense to me. The author, an experienced foster herself, suggested that anytime the new dog is in the house, it should drag a leash. Further, she suggested having the leash tied around your waist. This keeps the dog closer to you and teaches them that it is a good/safe place to be AND it allows you to more closely monitor any housebreaking issues!
It's been useful/helpful for us, hope it will be for you, as well.

As a trainer I can tell you that it's good advice for potty training but being Huskies are bred to run weather your alpha or not because I certainly was it's almost impossible to trust them off leash!

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by reeskujo

As a trainer I can tell you that it's good advice for potty training but being Huskies are bred to run weather your alpha or not because I certainly was it's almost impossible to trust them off leash!

As one who grew up with them, I second that....

[reeskujo]

I've never known anyone who could trust their Husky off leash,myself included...I had to put Nina on a tie out even with a 6 ft fence...LOL

[hollyhuney]

My husky decided he didn't want to eat after the loss of his mate. He was devistated and depressed. I tried everything with him. No luck. Then I found this recipe. I have to say this recipe is the world's greatest recipe for dogs. Not only did Luke eat it, but he loved it! I didn't even walk out of the room yet and his bowl was empty! *note* Luke has to be the slowest eater ever. If there was an award for slowest eater, he would get it hands down. No lie, it takes him about 5 minutes to eat ONE piece of kibble) I have also found that it is not only much more healthy for Huskies BUT it is cheaper than the high-end kibble!!!

The recipe name is Satin Balls ... (yeah yeah I know, I thought the same thing LOL) Google it and choose the first link. There it is. Perfect recipe for dogs (good eaters or bad eaters) I have modified my recipe a little to add rice (boiled in beef or chicken stock - not watered down) It makes it last a little longer, meaning there is more to "dish out" lol


Let me know how it goes

Holly <3
Luke 1 year.jpg