Akita Husky Needs Help

[Canis-Equus]

Nowt wrong with that Miss Wiggle!

Anything that makes her happy outside and chilled.... thats important - outside isnt JUST for playing about..... is going to help.

You might have to trick her into going outsie by spending ages out there (After filling her up with a big drink), nip inside and straight back outside again.

If you use a totally different lead for 'toilet' trips to walkies, that will also help eventually - i suspect right now she thinks 'outside, woohoo, time for play'.

So get a chair, go outside, sit down, do nowt.

If you use this different leash for this, she will come to realise when she sees it that nothing exciting will happen at all.

Id also take something shes peed on, or some poo, put that outside int he place you want her to toilet. Make sure stray dogs etc cant get to this, if they scent mark over it she may not want to go there.

 

[karmagl]

We built a large dog run when we got her and we throw all of her poo outside. She likes to go outside but she can be out there for 2 hours and will not go. She had another incident last night. My 17 month old was sitting petting her (she is so wonderful with her) but while petting her she kinda well over and I think her hand may have put a little pressure on her. She growled really light and put her mouth around the baby's arm very light not like a bite. The man I talked to in denver yesterday (dog whisperer) said that is the first step. Next time she could snap at or bite baby. Do you think this is true she has always been so good with kids.

We built a large dog run when we got her and we throw all of her poo outside. She likes to go outside but she can be out there for 2 hours and will not go. She had another incident last night. My 17 month old was sitting petting her (she is so wonderful with her) but while petting her she kinda well over and I think her hand may have put a little pressure on her. She growled really light and put her mouth around the baby's arm very light not like a bite. The man I talked to in denver yesterday (dog whisperer) said that is the first step. Next time she could snap at or bite baby. Do you think this is true she has always been so good with kids.

 

[LisaLQ]

I think it's probably best if you dont let the little one pet her any more, was she in her bed, sleeping - or playing with a favourite toy at the time? Dogs like their own space sometimes, and generally dont understand babies clumsiness. I still dont let my little ones (4 years) pet Sky unless she comes to them and I'm sitting with them. They're not allowed near her bed or her toys or food - it's the rules. At 17 months your daughter wont know how to respect animals yet as she's too little to understand.

On a plus note, it sounds like your dog has bite inhibition, if she wanted to hurt your baby she would have done - it was a warning, saying "Oi, that hurts kid, stop it!", I doubt it will lead to anything else - but it's best you dont let her have the opportunity again. Leave the petting to the grown ups

 

[Miss Wiggle]

She likes to go outside but she can be out there for 2 hours and will not go.

when i said take her out cos she has to go eventually, i do mean stay with her until she does, take some warm clothes and a book and prepare for the long haul if nescessary. even if you (or maybe if you and your partner take it in turns to wait with her outside) are sat there 10 hrs eventually she's gonna have to go. then you reward her not only with the treats, fuss, etc but with coming inside.

 

[Canis-Equus]

Ok - your dog when she growled softly and mouthed your baby, she was INCREDIBLY polite and well mannered there.

That means, in dog language 'dont do that, it hurts'.

If you allow someone to do whatever it is that made her do that, ie the baby falling on her, and not backing off then she may learn to up the ante and go to biting harder.

Whatever you do, IF this happens again, you remove the baby (or stop doign what ever it is that made her react) and you calmly go and do something else. If you punish her for doing this, or ignore it, she will 'get worse' ie feel the need to react more forcefully.

Obviously the best thing to do is limit the things that can happen that will make your dog feel threatened, so as LisaLQ says, no kids in dogs bed, no hugging with arms round neck, no taking things off the dog, allow the dog to come to them instead.


Miss Wiggles idea for toiletting could work - just depends if its practical for your situation.

Otherwise my plan would be to have the dog on a lead attached to my waist, and take her out for five minutes at a time however often you can.

Either way she HAS to go eventually, and go with you present so that you can reward her for doing it, just pick the one that suits you best - theres little point using a method you cannot be consistent with though so have a good think.

 

[starrynightxxi]

From the sounds of things she hasn't been trained to go outside because she was trained - albeit accidentally - to go inside, which means you need to totally reverse a learned behavior. It's not going to be easy, especially with an animal from two very hard-headed breeds, but it can be done with due diligence and because you are already staying at home all day you have the opportunity that someone who might have to go to work eight hours a day wouldn't have.

Also, if she isn't crate trained I would suggest trying that, at least for night time or any time when you simply cannot be with her at all times (putting the baby to sleep, etc.) because dogs tend to not like making messes where they sleep (and if she cannot hold it in for whatever reason, then it will at least be easy to find ). Be sure that the crate is not used as punishment, though. It should be her safe place (meaning no kids and other dogs allowed).

As for the rest, I'd have to agree with the things already mentioned. If you can keep her with you at all times, or take her outside for an entire day, then reward her profusely, she will begin to see the light. Getting her to understand is the hard part, but once you do things should go much quicker and smoother.

I would be wary of anyone who told you that your dog is GOING to bite simply because she growled and held your daughter's arm that way. Perhaps they just meant that that was the next step if the baby was allowed to continue to harrass her. That behavior is a warning and a reprimand as well. My friends dog also has a great deal of bite inhibition but she did the exact same thing to a young girl who had put her hand over her muzzle. She pushed the girl's hand off her nose with a paw, then took it in her mouth. It just means "stop".

Keep in mind, though, that akitas and huskies can be very stubbourn, strong, and dominant animals. Huskies are very active and Akitas are large, so I wouldn't let your daughter play with the dog unnless you are in the room and, as others have said, the dog comes to her. Not just because the dog may bite if pushed far enough, but also because this is no doubt a large, playful animal who may well hurt her without meaning to.

good luck with your training

 

[pica_nuttalli]

ok, now i'm curious about this: why has no one suggested making Oreo an "outside dog"? if the fenced-in area is sufficiently large (say 20ftx20ft), then i personally don't see why the dog couldn't spend most of its day outside running around with the other dog and only be brought in for smaller time periods. i know that this is something of a band-aid solution, but it would eliminate most indoor "eliminations". (sorry, couldn't resist the pun.)

another idea, one more in line with previous suggestions. if all of these things don't work, then once it finishes warming up where you are, you could try camping out in the backyard with Oreo. most dogs don't like to go where they sleep and most dogs like to sleep with their owners if given half a chance. so maybe a few evenings of you and her in the tent would somewhat "force" her to try going to the bathroom in the great outdoors. obviously, this won't be possible for you to try just yet (too cold!), but it might be something to consider a few months down the line.

 

[karmagl]

A lot of people mention the outside dog thing to me. Well for one it gets around neg 40 here and it is starting to warm up but I would feel awful leaving her outside. I'm sure she wouldn't mind it but I would feel horrible. She has been a spoiled house dog since we got her. But do like the camping idea. The thing is though that unlike most dogs she refuses to sleep with us. She hates our bed don't know why but I think thats why she peed on it. We have to pick her up and put her up there then she just jumps down after about 5 minutes.

 

[Canis-Equus]

Simply sticking her outside wouldnt solve the problem - she may learn to toilet outside which is half the issue but the whole issue is attempting to get her to toilet outside in preference to inside. If you turfed her out and then occasionally let her back in chances are shed still go inside too.

That aside, dogs are gregarious they want our company so in 'solving' this issue by turfing her outside, youd simply create more issues bourne out of lonliness and boredom.

Funny you say Karmagl, that she doesnt like to be on your bed.

Does she like to snuggle up with you anywhere at all? or sit in other places that are quite personal to you?

I dont think shes peed on your bed because she hates it - i do think the not wanting to be on the bed is another symptom of some underlying anxiety.

Being totally honest here - does everyone in the house love her as much as you do, or is there some feeling of dislike towards her shes picking up on?

As i mentioned before - weeing in beds or piles of owners clothing or in own bed is very very often a sign that the dog is insecure in her environment, and is scent marking in places that smell strongly of the owner, in the case of beds and clothes, in an attempt to make her feel its 'her' environment.

We have to remember that whilst for us, toiletting is simply relieving the need to expell waste, for dogs it isnt, EVEN when they must relieve themselves, where its done is a big deal, and thats aside from more specific scent marking which both dogs and bitches will do.