Crate Training is excellent for Huskies. It’ll help control their destructive behavior and control them and make them a well-behaved pet all around.
Training them while they’re puppies is much easier than training a grown Husky, so it’s better to start the dog training while they’re younger. This’ll also help him recognize the crate as his personal space.
But The Question is, How To Train Them?
To find out, Continue Reading…
Table of Contents
Why Should You Crate Train, Your Husky?
Crate training a Husky has a lot of reasons.
But one thing is certain; Crate training is perfect for both you and your dog because:
- You can leave your Dog at home without hesitation, knowing that once you return, nothing will be destroyed or damaged by your husky.
- You’ll teach him where he should be during specific time periods, and while you’re not home, it will also help to limit his boundaries until he learns more about the house, like where to go potty and where he shouldn’t.
- It will make it easy for you to house train your Dog in the future and will prevent potty accidents from happening inside the house(make sure to take your dog for a potty break before putting him in his crate).
- Crate training will also help your Dog take part in your journeys because you can simply put him in a Portable Dog Crate for travel.
- An escape proof dog crate provides safety for your dog while you’re away from home or when there is no one to supervise him.
- Also provides shelter for your Dog while he’s tired or stressed.
- Your dog will not feel lonely while being inside the crate, like if he’s been put in the basement or kept outdoors because it’ll make him feel he’s with you all the time, even if he’s inside the crate.
- If your dog gets used to his crate, it will make him feel that he has his personal Den where he can take a nap and stay alone while you’re away from home.
Crate training will help your Dog to reduce behavior problems like barking and digging because they are spending less time being alone outside and spending more time with you and your family inside.
So now you might have a clear idea of why you should crate train your Husky or any dog for that matter.
When Should You Start Crate Training Your Husky?
As I said before, it’ll be easier for you to start the dog training while he’s a puppy. Training after he’s a bit older can be so much harder. Typically a 3 to 4 months old puppy can easily recognize the crate as his home. However, you can start training him earlier than that.
If you bought the puppy from a breeder, they might know the restriction and will adapt quickly inside the crate, but if it is a rescue dog, you might want to struggle a little bit more because they might have some other problems that should be addressed first.
So if you’re crate training a rescued puppy, make sure to address his prior behaviors first.
Choosing A Crate For Your Husky
It is essential that you find a crate that perfectly fits your puppy without having to put him into a problem with a lack of space for them to move around and without making your Husky feel trapped.
So before buying a crate, make sure to follow these factors for a perfect and cozy crate or check out Barkforce’s dog crate sizing guide:
- The main thing you should take into consideration is checking whether your Dog can stand and move freely inside the crate without any problems.
- The crate should be a few inches larger than your Dog.
- Your Dog should be able to turn around and get out of the crate easily.
- If your Husky is aggressive, then a heavy-duty chew-proof crate might be necessary.
If your Husky is a Male, then the perfect crate size for him would be 42 x 28 x 30 inches. For a Female Husky, Going with a 36 inches long crate would be ideal.
Also, avoid buying crates that are significantly larger than your Dog; it may not work out well because a supersize crate will make your Husky to toilet on one end and sleep at the other end.
Things You Should Do Before Training
Before you go on and train your Husky, there are some things that you need to address first.
Placing The Crate
Placing the crate in the correct place plays a big part in crate training your Husky.
Place it where the majority of the people in the house spend their time; this doesn’t make him feel that he is being isolated or abandoned.
If it’s at night, the only place your Husky will feel better is with you, so place him inside your bedroom beside your bed. That way, it’ll be great for your pup.
Also, you can place him in a quiet spot, wherever you put your Dog in; if he’s still a puppy, you should be able to hear him, especially if he’s still potty training.
Customizing The Crate For A Comfortable Place
You will want to make the crate much more comfortable and make it more appealing for your Husky.
You can do this by placing a soft clean blanket inside the crate for them to lie down comfortably; for entertainment, you can place his favorite toy and chew bones so that he can happily play with it once you’re away.
You can put some treats here and there inside the crate so that he can find them one by one, and this’ll encourage him more to get inside the crate and search for treats.
Crate Training Your Husky
Now that you’ve found a suitable for the crate and made it comfortable so now it’s time to start crate training your Husky.
Make sure to follow the steps below thoroughly and slowly and do not try to hurry up the process in order to complete the training; you would end up making mistakes, so stick to the process.
The Process
Introducing The Crate To Your Husky
Once you’ve placed the crate in the desired place, you can now start to bring your Husky’s attention to the crate to do so. Here are some steps you can follow.
First, you have to open the door or doors (if you’ve opted for a two-door option) of your crate; make sure you keep the door open as much as it can. This will help him get inside safely without getting hit by the doors, which might make him afraid and even lead to injury.
Do not urge him to get inside, first let him get familiarized with the crate and once your Husky gets near the crate and interacts with it, start using the word “CRATE,” do this for a few minutes.
Getting Your Husky Inside The Crate
Now that the Dog is a bit familiarized with the crate, Next with a calm voice, bring your Husky near the crate and encourage him to get inside the crate by dropping some treats near the crate or his favorite toys feeding his regular meals near the crate can also help.
After he gets inside and stays in for a few minutes, without closing the crate door, reward him with some treats and praise him for going inside, continue this process a few times.
Closing The Crate Door
Now that your Husky’s spending some time in his crate, it’s time to close the crate door while he’s inside.
While he’s inside, close the crate door and reward him with some treats while he’s inside, do not leave him alone. Stay there beside him until you complete the process.
You can also do this process while he’s eating his meals inside the crate or sleeping.
Before you feed your puppy while he’s inside the crate, make sure to place the food further inside the crate away from the door.
If the Dog does not go on and eat while kept that far, then take the food to the entrance of the crate and keep it there and gradually increase the distance throughout the process.
After the Dog starts to eat his meals inside the crate, you can keep the door closed until he finishes his meal.
And once done, you can open; each time you do this, gradually increase the waiting time for your Husky inside the crate after he completes his meal.
Make sure your pup gets used to this process before you go into the next one.
Leaving The Dog While He’s Inside The Crate
By now, your Husky should’ve somewhat gotten used to being inside the crate. Now it’s time for you to step away from the crate gently.
Move away from the crate and return after a few minutes. If the Dog’s doing alright, then reward him with treats and open the crate for him to get out. After a few minutes, repeat the process once again, and this time you leave him inside the crate, gradually increase the time you return and work your way up to 30 minutes if achieved. You can start to leave your Husky alone.
Avoid Keeping your Husky in the crate for much longer. It’ll make him anxious. Always let him out of the crate after you return and reward him with treats.
Follow each of these steps every time until your Dog is completely fine while being inside the crate with no sign of anxiety and fear.
The time that it will take to complete this training depends solely on You and Your Dog’s effort, so be consistent and repeat the process frequently.
How Long Can You Leave A Husky In The Crate?
As I said before, you should avoid leaving your Husky inside the crate for a more extended period.
Leaving them inside for too long can make them feel abandoned, frustrated, and trapped.
So for how long should a dog be crated?
Typically a Dog can’t be left inside the crate for not more than 5hrs. For puppies that are below 6 months, they should be left in for 4hrs not more than that, because it’ll be hard for them to control their bowel periods for long.
Crating Your Husky at Night
By now, your Husky would be pretty much fine while he’s left alone, and now it’s time to make him spend his night there.
Put your puppy into your crate by the time you go to sleep, but before doing so, you can have a session of exercise and take your Husky for a potty break. This’ll help reduce your puppy whining at night. And also prevent potty accidents from happening inside the crate.
Placing the crate inside your bedroom will help your puppy sleep well, and especially you will be able to hear him if he whines to go for a potty break.
You can also move the crate to another place after your puppy falls asleep.
What Should You Do If Your Husky Is Crying And Whining In The Crate?
There are a few reasons for your puppy to whine at night, but it might be hard to figure out what exactly it is.
He might be whining because he needs to get out of the crate to eliminate or just wants to get out of the crate, or else he might be asking for something to eat. If you’ve fulfilled both of these, then the reason is he’s trying to get your attention simply because he’s bored.
If this is the case, then ignore him while he is whining, and return to him after he stops it.
Never rush to your Dog whenever he cries because this’ll only make the situation worse because he’ll always continue to do this in order to achieve his needs.
So you need to teach that whining cannot solve his need.
Final Verdict
Crate training can be fun and, at the same time, can be time-consuming, but if you’re in the process, you should be consistent.
Always practice the process until your Husky happily accepts to be inside the crate.
Never force your Dog to get inside a crate or leave him for a longer period of time.
Be patient and successfully continue the training and complete it.
Happy Training!
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