I have had my husky Evelyn since she was 8 months old....she will be 1 in January. All of a sudden, within the past week or so, she has gotten into EVERYTHING....She has chewed my clogs, chewed my reading glasses, and today, my husband's very expensive Oakly sunglasses...he was not a happy camper. She has started even chewing the electrical cord for my laptop.....she is just out of control.

There has been a change in house. My husband is home with her every day but he took a temporary job for the holidays and now she is home alone alot. I told my husband that she is acting out and she is lonely. I bike jor with her every day on the weekend and she gets walked every day and has off leash play with our neighbor's dog...or I should say was.....when my husband was home.

Here's my dilemma.....my husband will hopefully find permanent work soon but if this behavior is an indication of things to come, this is not good.....I am considering adopting another husky but not sure if that is going to help. Any advice anyone???'

Thanks...Claudette

That's how I feel about Luna, They do good in packs from what I've been told. They will tire each other out. We going to wait until she's 1 to make that big change. I hope people can an answer your question about adding because more than half have two huskies.

When Luna was chewing, we just add hot sauce and it been working perfectly. Some people would say about this apply spray, truth be told Luna would lick it

is she crated while away? could also be the husky "teenage phase"

She has never been crated. She is confined to the kitchen during the day....the undesirable behavior gets worse when we get home.....and believe me, this pup has so many toys, it puts most kids toyboxes to shame...(no not really) but she does have a lot of toys to occupy her.

Oh, I feel your pain! Teenage stage for sure. So, you said that she only goes into destructive mode when you're home, right? Unfortunately, they can't be left unattended. I'm constantly after Asia. If she's not where I am I immediately go find her because I know that she's up to no good. Same with Kody when he was one. Mya too. If she's being destructive when she's home alone then crate training would be your best bet.

It's much, much, much easier when you have two IMO. They tire each other out and take the energy out on each other. I would never have just one again. Ever. I regret waiting so long to get a 2nd when we just had Mya. We got Kody when she was 4! She would have benefited so much from having a brother/sister when she was younger.

When should i Expect Teenage stage for Luna,right now she's going to turn 6 months in the 19th.

Sounds like the teenage stage for sure. None of mine went through that with me, Sophie just got real bratty with maya and still is. I'd say just keep her near you when your home. Then you know exactly what she's doing when she's doing it.

Two is a lot better then one. Twice the fun and they tire each other out. I'm still trying to figure out if three is better then two.

MayaAndSophie wrote:

Two is a lot better then one. Twice the fun and they tire each other out. I'm still trying to figure out if three is better then two.

Same here BUT i love my lil baby Asia and wouldn't have it any other way!

How long does the teenage phase last?

Kizmat wrote:

When should i Expect Teenage stage for Luna,right now she's going to turn 6 months in the 19th.

In my experience I'd say 8-10 months! And then it lasts a while..lol

MelissaI wrote:

MayaAndSophie wrote:

Two is a lot better then one. Twice the fun and they tire each other out. I'm still trying to figure out if three is better then two.

Same here BUT i love my lil baby Asia and wouldn't have it any other way!

I love my little Kay too, they'll just have to learn to get along.

Garebear wrote:

How long does the teenage phase last?

I think it depends on the dog but I'm not sure.

okay, you all got me laughing...right now, she is putting her two paws on her bone and she pushes it forward around the living room (we have hard wood floors) and this makes it all worth it.

I adopted my husky at 2 years old. just in the past week, I've noticed if I do not give her the exercise she needs... She will demand it!

How long are your walks? Juno gets one at 6am and 3pm for 1 hour each. It sure wears her out.

Evelyn gets two walks a day....about 1/2 an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening....before my husband went to work, she was able to play with the neighbor dog for a good hour and a half.....

I truly think her behavior is because he is not home as much......

One hour walks don't normally cut it....I took her hiking last week and we were on some aggressive trails......We were hiking for 3 hours....I was beat but at the end of the hike, it was almost like she got a second wind and had more energy. It wasn't until she calmed down in the car did she exhibit any sign of being tired.

Lola is one also and just decided to talk back and put my hands and feet in her mouth. It is like she is teething but she has her adult teeth. When she gets this way, we will play ball or go for a walk or do some training. Sometimes i give her a cow ear.

Is there a different time of day she can play with the neighbors dog? Their dog is probably missing the play time too.

I am giving my neighbor my house key...She is home all day and we are going to see if she will come and get Evelyn to play with her dog....and yes, Duke(a male boxer) misses it too......my neighbors come knocking at our door to see if Evelyn can come out and play. And I thought I was done raising my kids.....hehehehehehehehehehee

I adopted my rescue Husky at 10 months old, and she is now 1yr 1mo, has grown a helluva lot more comfortable, and has succesfully started chewing things when we test her home alone, outside the crate with the rest of the pack. Mixie and Soshanna both had that phase too. I thinkk supervision and consistent redirection was key in maintaining order until the first two grew out of it, and its working well with Panzer.

I think having a second dog is very beneficial. Huskies especially need a pack to be part of, but all dogs strive for it. Another dog is someone they can actually compete with in the pecking order, rather than just obey like the alpha. Our 6 run each other wild and Panzer is finally starting to try to find her place among the pack, which has helped her confidence tremendously.

stevedette wrote:

I was beat but at the end of the hike, it was almost like she got a second wind and had more energy. It wasn't until she calmed down in the car did she exhibit any sign of being tired.

I swear they're like toddlers in that they don't want to admit they're tired. I was at the dog park with her for three hours one Saturday and it wasn't until she went in her crate for dinner that she showed any signs of being tired.

Unfortunately, I cant trust shiva anymore. Shes ruined 2 couches, multiple granite/wood furniture and walls. If my absence is over an hour I just crate her. If its under I put a muzzle. I love her to death, but enoughs enough. Ive been doing that for a while so I dont know if shes outgrown it and Im not brave enough to find out. I constantly buy her toys and play with her. But when shes alone she gets bored and anxious so I cant trust her. Until I can get a pal, shes staying on that routine. Thats just what I had to do.

It definitely sounds like that change is what has made her that way. I know boredom is just the leading cause of chewing in most dogs. I know this one guy on the internet is an engineer and he makes robotic toys for his dog that self move and interact while hes away. I think the neighbor idea sounds great. Hope that works as she adapts.

I am not sure if I can crate her now....she has never been....one time we tried it....and she went bezerk.....she actually moved her crate across the room and howled and whined...I know people say tough love...but it kills me when she gets like that. I also am hoping that having a second husky is going to be double the trouble......

Here's what I know about the teenage chewing:

Teenage chewing usually starts around 1 yr old (can be earlier or later) and last indefinitely. They begin chewing things up and misbehaving more at this stage because they start feeling like they can challenge the established hierarchy of the house. They chew your stuff because they're saying they think its theirs now.

Here's the method I've found most effective for chewing:

Find a toy your dog just loves, preferably a really chewy one. Whenever your dog is chewing on something inappropriate, tell him No and take it away, but replace it with his toy, and when he chews that, praise him for it. Simple redirection. The dog learns that his stuff is the stuff you give him, and that he can chew that when bored, but that its not okay to go find something to chew up. It can take a while, but I haven't had a dog fail to respond to that yet, that I have trained.

Ugh, the teenage phase. Boy, that was a load of fun.... Months of training went down the drain during that phase (most of it) and man, did she test me. During that phase she would actually disregard commands, have selective hearing, did more damage chewing since she had more strength, potty training went backwards, etc I wanted to choke her lol. Luckily she grew out of it and has become more obedient then before. Thaaaank goodness.

Lol just reading all this makes me feel like my husky is defective or a late bloomer XD

I wish one of my dogs would have been defective in the way that caused them to miss the terrible teen years... We buy gently used furniture, but 3 sectional couches in 2 years was still pretty hard on the wallet.

...The things you never remember to calculate into the cost of owning a dog.