Hey Guys,

I have a few concerns with Drake and his crating situation. When we first adopted him, the foster told us that he was not destructive in any way and could be trusted left alone in the house. Well, the first night he chewed a table, ate my shoe, and tore up some paper. So we've been crating him at night. Yesterday we went out for dinner and were only gone about 2 hours, and he shredded a roll of paper towels in 2 rooms and brought items of clothing out from our bedroom (thankfully he didn't eat them).

So basically, he is not at the point to where he can be left alone at home (or at night) outside of his crate. This works out well for us now because I am still in school so I am home 5 out of 7 days a week while my husband works. But I do have some concerns about how long he can stay in the crate during the day time.

This morning I left at 6:15 and usually I am back home around 10-11am, but today I have to stay on campus for a group meeting. I probably won't be home until 12 or 1pm. Even this amount of time is making me anxious to go home as soon as possible and I'll probably be worrying about him all day. And there may also be days where I go out of town and my husband has to care for him, he also leaves for work around 6:15 and gets home at 5pm. I feel like this is entirely too long for him to be left in the crate, but I know that some of you must have full time jobs, so what do you do if you have an 8-9 hour job or if you have to leave for a full day??

I'm starting to get really concerned about when I graduate, at this point I don't even want to get a job because I couldn't fathom the idea of him being crated for 8 hours.

He loves his crate, and even when I'm home if I leave the door open he stays in there most of the time....Help!
Thoughts?? Suggestions??

Our 2 stay in their crates for 8 hours during the day, and sleep for the majority of it. I've checked on them periodically when I've stayed home sick, and they really are just sleeping. We leave a couple chew toys for them, in case they do wake up and need to chew, but they rarely use them.

Just make sure that your pup gets plenty of excersize in the evening, and some in the morning before you leave and he should be fine. Neither of our dogs has ever messed in the crate either, so that wasn't an issue for us.

Lots of people crate their dogs while at work all day long. But if you are crating him all day long then I wouldn't advise keeping him in a crate all night as well, that's a bit too much crate time.

Personally I don't agree with crating a dog for long periods of time like 8+ hours on a regular basis, but that's my personal view and I wouldn't impose it on anyone. But because of my unwillingness to leave dogs home alone that long (I personally don't think it's fair to make them hold their bladder for 8+ hours every day whether in a crate or not) which is why before I decided to get a dog in the first place I decided to only work part time if I had a job at all. I don't work so my dogs rarely are alone and when I do leave them home it's only for a few hours. Back when I did work 35 hours a week I came home on my lunch break every day to let my sibe out to potty and took him for a short walk so he was never home alone more than 5 hours max even when I did work. I don't think it's horrible to crate for extended hours on a regular basis like some people do and I don't think badly of people who do, but it's not something I personally believe in nor something I could ever do to my dogs so I get where you're coming from.

I know doggy daycare some days of the week might be an option and also having a dog walker, friend, or family member who is willing to take the dog out midday is also an option if you cannot avoid long hours away but still do not wish to leave your pets alone that long.

I graduate in May and this is now why I'm so distressed about applying to jobs because I don't want him in a crate 8+ hours either... It makes it even more stressful for me because he doesn't get exercise... He's to scared of being outside to allow me to walk him more than a couple of minutes and that's just to find a place to poop. I have also been bringing his crate into our room but leaving the door open if he wants to walk around or hop in bed and he never gets out of the crate... If I didn't close the door I think he would stay in all day except to eat and pee. With him being 12-18months do you think he'll outgrow the bad behavior to where I could leave him outside the crate???

Let me say my setup is not for everyone but it works for me. My 3 boys (plus numerous foster dogs from time to time) are alone 7 hours five days a week as my wife and I both work. We let them have the house and yard via a dog door. We close off most of the rooms in the house and dog proof the rest. I have a webcam setup to watch the dog door and they spend a lot of time going in and out the door during the day. As a result of that and after work exercise they sleep all night. They also go to doggy day care once a week when the weather is not conducive to outdoor exercise. Crates and crate training are great for lots of reasons but like Val I don't personally like them for long term use. I prefer they have more ability for movement and stimulation from the surroundings than a crate provides.

Also, I honestly think my setup works so well because I have multiple dogs and they interact with each other as well as their toys.

As if I wasn't already anxious enough to get home and let him out (I've been gone 6 hours), when I walked up to the door he was howling!!! I've NEVER heard him do that, and the fosters said they've never heard him howl either. Does that mean he's sad??? Broke my heart!!

Does he have separation anxiety? Our sibe did when we first brought him home.

And yes, I think it's entirely possible for him to progress to a point that he wouldn't need a crate. Our sibe was quite destructive when we adopted him at 2 yrs of age, for his own safety we HAD to crate train him. By the time he was 4 yrs old I started testing him outside the crate when home alone. I started by leaving him loose in a single room for only 30 minutes at a time or less while I ran a quick errand. He did well so I kept increasing the length of time he was left alone loose in a room and eventually started leaving him with free run of the whole house and to this day he does great. But that certainly wasn't the case when he was younger and we first got him. Each individual is different so some may come around faster than others but I do think it is possible.

I don't think he has SA....he doesn't seem to be upset when we leave (granted I only leave for an extended period of time twice a week) and he doesn't seem overly excited when I come home and let him out. He is getting to where he wants to be around us more and more, he'll approach us if he thinks we have food and that's about it...I think he's lonely because he's always been around other dogs and we don't have any. And actually the rescue said they thought he would do BEST in a single-dog home...but I don't know if I agree because I think that he's lonely and I don't know how long it will take for him to seek out our companionship...all of his progress happened AFTER his playdate with Sara's dogs.

When I got my rescue husky, he was crate trained. But I couldn't leave him alone in the house without major destruction resulting.

So I took him to work with me in his crate. Every couple hours, I would take him out for a walk and pee break. Then when I put him back in the crate, I'd give him his Kong stuffed with treats so he'd have to work at it awhile to get them out.

Gradually, I lengthened the time to 3-4 hours.

Of course, I am in Oregon and it was winter so heat in the car was never a problem.

I don't know if this would work in Florida.

I don't think he was howling because he was happy I was home. I live in an apartment, and my door faces away from the parking lot, so even if he could hear cars pulling up he wouldn't know it was me. And I heard him howling as I was walking, he stopped as soon as I put my key in the door. It's just so hard to know what he's thinking because he never acts "happy". And now that he's had food and peed, he's back in his crate... I have to shut the door to get him out.

While I personally don't like to leave mine crated very long (and I have been fortunate enough with my work not to have to) I want to assure you that it IS okay and plenty of people do it. The exercise definitely has to be amped up a bit (which can be mental or physical-- if Drake won't walk with you outside, training is a great way to exhaust him and it's also a great way to bond with him too).

Now, I spend all day everyday with my dogs because I've had a WFH job. And let me tell you... these lazy bums sleep all day. I let them out once to pee around noon and the rest of the time they literally sleep. Thus, your situation is not the end of the world, and I wouldn't be so anxious about it

Like Val, I'd recommend a doggy daycare once (or more if you can afford it) a week and a dog-walker or coming home at lunch time. He is new... you need to really and truly give him time to settle in. While he is howling now, he might not in a few months or even a few weeks.

You're a good dog mom, which means you care, are concerned, and you worry. It also means you're likely worrying too much Give him time to settle in before you start worrying about how your job will affect him after you graduate, because he WILL change his personality a lot in the coming weeks. Always be prepared, never worry You will tackle whatever you need. He can be trained to stay in the crate calmly. He can be trained to be loose in the house. It all works out if you're willing to put in the effort and it sounds like you are

PS- FWIW, Hailey howls everytime she hears someone approaching the house or walking around upstairs. However, I'm pretty positive that when no one is around, she's calm and quiet. He could have heard you coming, which cause the howls of excitement

Thank you, Tori you just made me feel so much better! I was looking this stuff up online and most people were saying that you're a horrible person if you crate and the dogs will be miserable and it just made me upset! And then when he was howling I just knew it was because he wanted out!! lol. While ideally I would love to NEVER have to crate him, it's good to know that it's not the end of the world. For the time being, I am here almost all of the time. But I feel like I can't leave for the day to go see my family or go spend the night somewhere because he'd be alone until my husband got home from work...

This whole experience has definitely been a learning one, and it's pretty hard right now but I know it will get easier once he starts to trust us. I just know that he must be lonely and want to play, I wish he would play with me because I would love that!!

Give him time He'll come around. It doesn't mean he doesn't love or like you. It just means he needs time. And yes... it's perfectly fine. Sometimes that's the only option owners have and they make it work by making sure their huskies get daily exercise and are well-loved and attended to. Breathe. You have plenty of time to figure it out.

On a happy note, DRAKE FOUND A FRIEND!! I was talking to Melissa on facebook and heard Drake on the porch barking at something, went out there and there was a HUSKY! They were looking at each other through the screen, his owner probably thought I was crazy because I literally stood there speechless for several seconds! Then I invited him in and they played and now he's such a happy dog, running around jumping on things and looking out the windows. He and his fiancee just moved here a few weeks ago, their husky's name is Apollo and he's the same age as Drake. We exchanged numbers and I'm so excited he has a friend!!!!!! It's amazing how doggy time affects his demeanor!

And he wooed!