can he be left alone?

we recently adopted a husky about two months ago, his name is sky. we keep him sectioned off to the living room/kitchen area and when no one is around to babysit him, we keep him in a crate. we've noticed that when he's left alone he can be quite mischievous, and a lot looks like its for attention (but he gets more than enough attention as it is) such as he'll enjoy pulling tupperware off the table to tear it apart, he'll take oven mitts off the counter but just leave them on the floor, and he'll just move stuff around it seems.

when left to go upstairs, he gets quite excited and has been caught peeing on some stuff (hes just been neutered a couple days ago so we'll see if that helps). and downstairs in the computer room is the furniture from my recently deceased grandfather, which is quite expensive white furniture which my parents are very very sentimental about.

i feel bad that sky is pent up in one little area but it seems like he is just so mischievous that he cant quite be trusted yet...at night he doesnt mind the crate but during the day, if you have to go somewhere, or have something to eat or something where he has to go in his crate, his sob stories can make a person cry lol...is there any ideas on this problem of his it seems, or is it just something that may take a bit more time? we havent left him alone for more than 10 minutes at a time in fear that he may divert his attention away from pulling stuff onto the floor to ripping the cotton out of the furniture.

Do you give him any toys or chewies in his crate? If he has something fun to do while you are getting a sandwich etc. then he won't be as upset. It's also important to never, ever let him out while he is still fussing otherwise he thinks that fussing = being let out, and he will always do it when put in.

You can also put him on a leash and tie it around your waist. That way, he can be in the other parts of the house with you and you will be there to make sure he doesn't pee on stuff or chew anything inappropriate.

From how you describe things, I would definitely not be letting him be unsupervised, esp. around your grandfather's furniture. In fact, if it's possible you might want to keep the door to that room closed. The best way to train good habits into the dog is to prevent them from doing "bad" stuff. Things like eating garbage and chewing furniture is fun, and if they don't ever get a chance to start they don't learn that it is fun. Teach them that their toys and things are fun to chew instead.

How old is he? How much exercise does he get? Huskies are a very high energy breed. The saying goes: "A tired dog is a good dog" and that is very true. Many of the chewing/digging/barking/etc. destructive behaviors dogs can have come from boredom. Physical exercise and mental stimulation (training and games) are good for this.

As for him marking, neutering may definitely help. I suggest you clean the areas he has marked with an enzymatic cleaner like Nature's Miracle. Urine leaves residue that humans can't smell, but dogs can. If he can smell his urine in a spot then it will remind him that he peed there before and he may try it again. I would also have him wear a belly band in the house so that if he tries marking again, it doesn't ruin anything and you don't have to worry about cleaning up his mess.

well ive posted here a couple times before and the vet from the animal shelter thought that he was between 1 to 3 years old...and he has plenty of toys in his crates and bones and chew stuff but as soon as he notices that hes all alone (and hes not already asleep) he instantly cries and stuff....we dosometimes keep him tied aroudn our waists and introduce him to other areas of the house but when he gets the chance to get out of his designated area he still causes mischief....he does get energy out (4 to 5 mile walk every day, plentyof playing in the back yard, plenty of running and a walk around the block about 5 to 6 more times in the day) but he still seems to have plenty of energy until late at night when he's ready to go to sleep

It takes most dogs several weeks or even months at least until they learn the rules of the house well enough to be left alone in the house unsupervised. Getting an adult makes that time a little quicker, but huskies IMO are particular difficult in the house, they are smart and like to figure out how to get into mischief!

Sibes are a different "kind" of dog. You need to be much more creative and interactive with them or they do get mischievous on their own.

My suggestion for now would be to crate him when you can't watch him, or, like Romy said, tie him to you. It can be a pain, but you need to teach him now what he is allowed and not allowed to do. Another thing to do is when you pen him in is allowed areas, get everything out of his standing-on-his-back-legs reach. You'll come back to a lot less destruction.

Crying in is crate is attention seeking behavior. You need to ignore whatever cries he's making, because he has realized that his fuss is getting him out of his crate/attention. Believe me, I know what noises they can make, it can be HORRIBLE and hard to stand, but you're not hurting him in any way.

Get him some problem solving toys or make up some games. You may want to start obedience classes as well, it really helps you understand each other much better. Whatever you do, make sure it's varied and you set him up for success, not failure.

The first time my sibe was alone in our house (after he escaped his crate) he flipped every garbage container in the house, ripped up the rug by the back door, lit the gas range, scared the crap out of the cats and destroyed 2 pairs of my underwear.

He actually has some separation anxiety, he tends to drool profusely and obsessively try to escape if left alone. (we're working on it.) This can be a common problem with sibes I have found out, as they are very pack oriented.

The Husky Forum (thehuskyforum.com) has a whole thread chronicling the destruction that huskies have done to people's homes. You do need to keep him supervised and confined when you cannot supervise him.

I have 5 Siberian mixed dogs, and maybe every other day or so, I have them pull a log on our walks. He may be needed the extra weight and they are bred for it. It gives them a job, steps up the walk intensity, and you can also train them for commands for sledding, mental stimulation.

Husky are very intelligent dogs and need to be challenged mentally and physically. And can be very destructive if not given enough stimulation. And I have found out that the quality of time spent together is more important than the quanitity of it. There's a big difference of just going through the motions and really engaging with them.

As far as the crying, a husky's cry can sound like they are being strangled. You just have to bite the bullet and ignore them until they are quiet. They can really test your patience. I don't know how many times I ran to the crate thinking someone was caught on the door. lol only to have them stand there wagging their tails. Believe me, they are not hurt, they are trying any way to get your attention, and the one that does it, they keep on doing it.

There is another Dog Whisperer/trainer named Paul Owens whom I really liked and I found his methods very easy and with great results. The DVD was great and easy to follow and learn. This may help with simple commands to help keep him off counters and furniture. Though I agree with others that he not be allowed in any rooms where you don't want him hurting things.

Remember also that things are still strange and new to him. He's probably still going through an ajustment period and may do so for a while. He's still learning to trust you and getting to know what is expected of him. And depending on his history he may be struggling with certain areas or situations. One of my dogs is a rescue dog, and every day is a challenge with her. She is still learning to trust me and our situation. Just hang in there. Every dog is different and every dog learns things differently. The more quality time you can spend with him, will greatly help out.

Huskies are wonderful, quirky, mischevious, and very comical. The more you can harness those qualities to work for you, the more you are going to love this breed of dog.

Good luck.

thank you, and yes ive realized he is pretty mischievous, he was recently neutered so he's had the cone on his head so he cant quite go stealing stuff off the counter, although he runs into everyone with the cone lol i cant figure out if hes doing it for enjoyment or if he just isnt used to it yet lol its been about a week and he's successfully broken it, 3 huge cracks and a couple chunks out of it and a lot of duct tape to fix it lol.

but also today he escaped his normal area of confinement and made his way upstairs, he didnt destroy anything on his way which was a good thing lol. he gets the cone off on saturday so then his training will have to start all over again, and yes i do agree that he needs a bit more physical exercise to get the energy out to start the mental exercise.

i do like the idea of him dragging a log, i can try that at the beach (about a 2 mile walk from my house cuz we have to bypass the bridge cuz hes afraid of it lol) i tried him with pulling me on a skateboard and he didnt like the sound and went full sprint, which was a bit scary for me lol, especially when he make a quick left turn up onto our lawn and pulled me with him lol, i think he'll just need to get used to the sound but next time i find a log that washes up on the beach i'll havet o try that out with him....he enjoys the beach but is very curious of the waves, he runs away from the crashing water like a little ninny. only problem with the beach is the other dogs that are there, he doesnt do well with other dogs, especially smaller dogs for some reason...he met a bermese mountain dog and played for about 45 minutes with him, but with a smaller dog he'll just try to fight.

well i tried him today to see how he would like pulling a cinderblock around in the back yard (because i figured it wasnt that much weight) he instantly saw the harness and started trying to chew it while it was on his chest and then tried chewing the line attached to the brick....i dont think he'll enjoy pulling stuff to wear him out very much lol

A cinderblock? Those things are heavy and they don't really slide across the ground! Sure, it'd be easy for the dog to pull after he's been trained to pull, but you have to start with easier objects until he gets the idea of what to do.

Try reading this article: http://www.pulldoggies.com/weight_pull_training.htm

thank you for the advice, i thought that it m ay have been too heavy but i wasnt sure cuz he has a lot of power in him still lol

Yes, I agree with Lizzy. You need to start with something small, that they actually just drag around and get used to something behind them. I'm not sure what kind of climate you are in, they should only be pulling in 40 degrees or less. Believe me, I'm not a professional dog sledder, I'm just learning for the fun of it. There is probably some good info on the web on how to start. First it looks like you'll have to get him used to the harness. lol Distract him from the fact he has it on by just playing with him wearing it. Also you can use treats when putting on and taking off. (It took me 6 months for my on Sibe not to bite my hands while putting it on) Then it becomes no big deal. Then move to the next level of adding the line with a small log or something that is heavy enough to stay to the ground and not hit him, but not so much that he's straining to pull it.

Out of my 5 dogs, I have 2 that are naturals, couldn't get enough of it. Are super easy to train. One that will do it, one that tolerates it, and one that just fights all the way.

It is only a suggestions as that's what I've done with mine. It may work, it may not work. lol But it's fun just to try.

Here's another place to google: sled dog central. I think that's the name of it.

Sorry if that sounded misleading that you could just hook him up and he would go. I wasn't thinking about all the baby steps involved. I was just trying to give you some ideas of different things to do with him.

Hope that helps.

well ithought that there would be baby steps involved, i just kinda figured that these were all things that i had in my immediate area when i had time to try the idea with him, and yes it is cold here, for the past week its been about 25 degrees on average without the wind chill (here in nj its unusualy cold for this time of year) i will also have to think of what else i have inthis area that i can try him with, he used to walk with this harness on and didnt mind it, but now when he gets really excited then he doesnt like to have it on lol, i dont know what else i can do to tire him out, he loooovvveeessssss to run, i play with him in the backyard and all he'll do for 20 minutes is run at full sprint, and i'll get way tired out before him lol so i assumed that maybe he would like to try to pull something.....ive had him pull me ont he skateboard before, but he seems to get scared by the sound of the skateboard and runs nearly uncontrollably and as soon as he saw the yard he instantly sprinted right into the yard and pulled me off the skateboard and into the yard with him lol so i odnt know if i shold try to get him used to the skateboard?

You could certainly try the skateboard. I'd start off by having him walk next to it and giving lots of treats until he gets comfortable around it. Then put a little bit of your weight on the harness (so he's pulling a little, not your entire weight), and gradually add weight until he's pulling all your weight. You could also teach him to pull a scooter (much easier for you to steer), or a bicycle, or just have him run next to you while you ride your bike. You could also get a dog backpack, and put a little bit of weight in it at first (about a pound) and work up to putting a few pounds of weight in it to help tire him out.

i thought about the doggy back pack...id ont know ohw much they run though and right now im out of work....i have the skateboard laying aroudn in my basement and the bike outside, i used to ride him on the bike but he seems to have gotten a bit afraid of it, plus its hard to control him when he sees another dog, he doesnt quite stay in the zone of running forward