Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello Everyone!!

Well, I'm new here, I had to find some sort of 'support group' first thing I could this morning, Because I'm a new Mommy, and could use a few tips! ( Some sleep, too!) so Hello Everybody!! We have some of the greatest dogs out there!

My Name's Taryn, My husband (Michael) And I bought our first Siberian Husky on Monday, She's 8 weeks and 2 days old, her names Shiya, and she's beautiful. We just love her, we've been waiting for her to come home since she was 4 weeks! For your viewing pleasure, I've attatched a photo

Well, she's actually a great puppy, pretty well behaved when she's not napping She's got house training down alright so far, only a few piddles in the house, and she only made it half way before I 'EH! EEEHHH!'-ed her up and out the door. Anyway.

What my 'problem' is.. I read Husky books, and articles online.. and articles about puppie's in general. and they all said the same thing about the crate at night. She should cry for a little bit, then lick my fingers, trail off to sleep, and maybe need to get up once or twice. Well. I just want to know if this happened to anyone else, and if so what they did; Because I'm SO TIRED. I have an upper respitory infection (how convenient) and I have bags under my eyes because she has to get up at night about every 1 1/2-2 1/2 hours. She whines so much when you put her BACK in, ( in addition to the share of whining she does to wake me up and get her out ) that when I finally fall asleep it's time to take her out again! I'm losing my mind, It seems like she was worse last night than the first night. Am I doing something wrong? I wore her out BIG TIME before bed (lol... 1 1/2 mile walk, and 30 minutes of play with the mousy toy) She does her business before bed.. but every couple hours she's howling and whining and scratching my arm (her crates next to my bed). I followed all the advice of familiarizing her with the crate first, she likes it-- she goes in it during the day, Naps alot throughout the day, but wont sleep through half of a night... Any suggestions? I'll take anything, really, really really, haha.

Also-- when she chews her chew toys, she cries... I dont think it's an "I'm in pain" cry.. more like a whine, while chewing.. Any one else encounter this?

I could use all the help anyone would like to take the time to give. Thank you so so so much! My husband thanks you too! ( he's still sleeping, even though he's late for work, because he got less sleep than I did!)

- Taryn & the whiney girl Shiya

the picture didnt show!!
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Great picture...she's a doll!

I think it varies how quickly the Sibes adapt to the crate...my wife and I were in the same position that you are in now, but a year ago. Our 16 month old Sibe was just a terror in the crate and took a LONG time to get used to it. She would cry bloody murder every time we put her in it. We used the "life stages" crate which got bigger as she grew and she would cry/howl/scream/shake the crate, etc. for hours at a time the first few months. My wife and I would sit up in the middle of the night just giggling as neither of us could sleep and our little "girl" was not a happy camper, but we vowed not to break down to let her be with us. We "fought the good fight" (as we like to say) and made her stay in there through the night and eventually she would cry herself to sleep and after living with us for two months or so she was great in the crate.

A year later, she'll often go in the crate all by herself after a long day of playing. It took time...a bunch of sleepless nights but we got through it and I know you guys will as well if you stay the course. Sibes are stubborn and like attention, but they need to learn to sleep when it is time to sleep and where you want them to sleep. Ultimately they will make it their home and you guys will finally get some sleep! If you so choose (as we do) to ever let her sleep with you guys (we do it on Saturday nights as a "treat" for her) she will have no problem going from your room every now and then back to the crate.

Enjoy the heck out of her and keep us posted with posts and pictures!

One thing we did (it was my wife's idea) was to play with her while she was in the crate. We would put her in there and put some toys in there with her and played with the toys/her IN the crate. That way she viewed the crate as a fun place as well. At first she also always got treats when she first went in the crate which also helped, but more than anything, we did a lot of petting and talking to her in the crate which showed her it was not a bad place. We also NEVER put her in there as a discpline action. We wanted her to view it as a happy place!

just adding, be careful about over excersizing her right now as it could lead to joint problems later, I usually wait till the pup is 6 months old before going for long walks.

Is it alright to walk her some, and pick her up some? I let her bounce around for a little bit, then my husband and i take turns carrying her ( because we walk alot for excersize for ourselves at night anyway) Then we let her play again. I hope that's alright, she seemed to enjoy it.

- Taryn

Thanks for the quick advice. I've been trying to stick her in there in the day, then sit in front and talk to her, let her lick my fingers, and calm her; then when she calms i say goooood giirll! and give her a treat. I hope that helps, I'll try playing with the toys and her too, i usually just put them in there for her. Thanks so much, I think it's just going to take some time. I was just worried that it was abnormal. Thanks! shiya says thanks too for the compliment

- Taryn

First of all, what a gorgeous pup! Be prepared, though... the mask will probably fade out as she reaches adulthood. My dog's did.

I've never crate-trained, but from what I've read, the key is getting them to WANT to be in the crate. Dumping them in against their will only makes things worse. During the day you should make the crate comfortable, put their food/water in there, and entice them in/out as a game of play. Throw a favorite toy or tiny treat in there for them to go get. Praise them when they're in there. Keep the door open the whole time or take it off.

Eventually, with time/patience, she will want to use that as her place to hang out and therefore won't have a problem with it at night when the door is on/closed.

Good luck and have fun! You don't know what you've gotten into! lol

Walt

HAhahah i'm starting to realize that I think she's worth it though. I just adore her.

I wasnt sure about the food and drink in there, some web sites say it's bad?

Thanks, Taryn

I don't know... I'd think they wouldn't pee/poop in there if their bed/food/water were in there. But they might spill and make a mess...yuck!

Walt

Your dog is Gorgeous i can't wait to get one of my own. wpglaeser how do you deal with your dog not being crated, they don't make messes and destroyed your house, when i adopted the husky i left her alone for couple of hours one day and she did chew a hole in the door. don't our dogs do that?

She does some damage with her claws, pawing things (wall, table), but she's 6 and we have a second dog which keeps her busy. Sometimes she sleeps inside, sometimes outside.

Here are some cute pics...

Walt

awww they are soo cute, she likes sleeping outside??

Yes, if the weather is just right. Normally she gets lonely and barks to come in, or else she'd probably sleep out every night! The lab mix won't sleep outside. She's 8.

Walt

Congrats on the new puppy! She's very cute.

The others have given you some great advice. Sadly, it is kind fo a waiti game for the noise and commotion to cease over time. She'll get the hang of it.

Two things you may want to try- if you are using the crate during the day, it's tough to have a puppy be in the crate at night as well. You may want ot puppy proof a place and let your puppy be in there during one of the extended times of the day. An "ex pen" or a very well puppy proofed room may work wonders.

Your puppy will probably only be able to hold it for about 3 hours at this point in time so the amount of time between outings at night is about right. Yet, don't make those outings any fun at all. No talking, keep lights off if you can, just have it be business and only business. It should never be appealing to wake you up at night and get attention.

Although, I was one of those 'bad' puppy parents that did let my puppy sleep with me at night on the bed. It worked for us though. It's not ideal for everyone.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles

hello! thank you

I'm home suring the day so I keep her out with me, but, sometimes i stick her in there when she's naping, so she knows she can rest there, and i practice ' in the crate ' with treats and such. I think she's getting the hang of it. I was just really worried about the 1 1/2 intervals, I was thinking maybe she had a bladder problem? Or anxiety? it's very comforting knowing I'm not the only one.
I want her to sleep on the bed SO BAD. I just heard it's a bad idea.. when she's bigger i definitely want her to.

- Taryn