Need help with newly rescue Siberian Husky and mobility issues.

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Hi I am a 38 year old female who over the last year has been dealing with health issues from having mental health psychological issues of anxiety borderline personality and and PTSD along with having and deficiency anemia very bad bad weakness in my body to where it's hard for me to go more than 5:10 ft at a time so I wound up getting a 6-month-old have been husky 6 months ago he just turned the old in March but because of my limited mobility is hard for me to exercise him I'm looking for the best ways to train and or exercise my dog.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there,

Welcome to the forums,

I am sorry to hear you are dealing with all of these health challenges along with limited mobility. This can be challenging because Huskies are so high-energy dogs.

I really hope you have a family member that can walk him because these dogs were built to walk and run and can get very frustrated if their exercise needs aren't met. At 1 year old, your Husky is also nearing the adolescent stage which is when they have boundless energy.

 https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/

If you don't have a family member to help out, having a neighbor, friend or dog walker who can walk him is important. Another option is doggy daycare.

With their exercise needs met, then these dogs are easier to manage and that is when we can work on providing them with the mental stimulation and training they crave. 

So you have lots of brain games to choose from if you go to this page: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/

Clicker training tricks can also be a good way to keep that brain busy: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/

Nosework and scent games can be fun yet somewhat tiring activities. 

One game I love a lot and that can help drain some energy is the "kibble-toss game." It can be done by sitting or standing and consists of keeping a portion of the dog's daily ration of kibble in a pocket or treat bag and tossing the kibble at a distance repeatedly. The dog should therefore be repeatedly yo-yoing back and forth between you and the tossed kibble.

To make the game even more "productive" insert some behavior before the treat is tossed. For example, you can ask your dog to sit in front of you before tossing the treat, or hand target or lie down or any other trick. You can mix and match behaviors so he never gets bored. 

Automatic treat dispensers, food puzzles, automatic bubble machines,  automatic ball launchers can also provide some exercise remotely, but you still want to be involved in some activities so as to help strengthen the bond between you and your dog.

Remember to prioritize your health and well being while caring with your dog. Its OK to ask for help and take it easy and adjust your routine as needed.

I hope this helps!

[[email protected]]

Thank thank you for the information I'll be honest it's hard to understand where to start or how to alleviate problems honestly I don't know where to begin like ghost will go to place ghost we'll go to a crate if I have food ghost will wine and wine and wine when he put in his playpen and when I take him out for walks he just tries to run at every child dog or anybody he sees. I am 101 lb dealing with iron deficiency anemia so very weak very brittle and afraid of what to do

[Adrienne Farricelli]

You're very welcome!

The best approach is to start with the most pressing issue and what you are struggling the most. So if we have high energy levels that may likely transfer to walks, let's do the brain games : https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/ and kibble toss game which can be easily done by sitting or standing and consists of keeping a portion of the dog's daily ration of kibble in a pocket or treat bag and tossing the kibble at a distance repeatedly causing your Husky to repeatedly yo-yo back and forth between you and the tossed kibble. If your dog knows how to sit, lie down or hand target, we can insert these behaviors before tossing the kibble for the benefit or adding obedience. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/

If you have food and he's whining, try your best to toss the kibble only once he hasn't whined for at least 10 seconds or you can try to preempt the whining by doing several quick sessions in a row so that he doesn't even have time to think about whining. Asking him to sit prior to tossing the kibble will also keep his mind off whining and more in an operant state. 

Doing these activities prior to the walk may help lower some energy, but this is only a part of the problem. The other problem is training him to walk politely on the leash. The type of walking gear you use can make a difference, you may need to use a front-attachment harness or a head halter. But prior to walking him outside, it may be best to practice a lot indoors, like in a long hallway, possibly initially without a leash. Then, you can gradually start practicing in the yard, in front of the house, and then in short back and forth walks around the neighborhood, but only where there are little distractions. Distractions need to be incorporated very gradually. You may need to practice a lot around people, and getting some volunteers such as friends and neighbors can help. Distance can help keep your dog under the threshold. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ 

You can find more about how to train polite leash walking here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/pulling-on-the-leash/

If walks are too energy straining or difficult, it may be best to have a family member or friend implement this training and then let you take over the task of walking once the dog's energy levels have been drained and he's better under control. Or maybe do walks together and have your helper/friend walk him at first and then you may try to walk him on the way back once all the excitement has been turned down a notch. There are also leashes crafted for having a dog walk with two people, with each person holding one leash attached to the dog. However, the ultimate goal is always training which requires some time to implement. 

If he's whining when in the pen, have you tried giving him a frozen stuffed Kong when he's put there? This should keep him happy and entertained for some time. Although this guide is for teaching dogs to love the crate, it can also be used to teach dogs to enjoy being in the pen: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/

Please use extra caution, and remember to prioritize your health and well being.  Ask for help and take it easy and adjust your routine as needed.

[[email protected]]

We have tried to work on his walking and on getting him exercise but we still having an issue with getting him out enough to relieve the anxiety and he has been biting my wife more and more does a lot more whining and is trying to tear up his cage what should we do he is acting afraid of harnesses head collars everything 

 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Sorry I missed your update to this post. 

Getting him out and exercised is important considering that these dogs were built for running. Lack of exercise can lead to the problems you are describing such as biting, whining and chewing  up the cage. I hope you have some friends or relatives who can help out. If not, is it possible to hire a dog walker or have some neighbor with experience with dogs walk him?

Have you tried the kibble toss game mentioned earlier? It can be done by sitting and it can help drain some energy while putting your dog's kibble to good use. It can also preempt biting. I would keep some kibble always available in a treat bag or pocket and read to toss across the room as soon as we notice the dog approaching so that we can prevent any biting. I would aim to then start asking for a sit prior to tossing the kibble. 

Here are more exercises to work on biting: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/replacement-behaviors-to-stop-puppy-biting/

Bite inhibition games (some of these may require some physical activity, so please try only the most suitable, such as hand targeting) https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/

Training impulse control is also important: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/10-impulse-control-games-for-dogs/

Dogs need some time to acclimatize to the cage, it is best to create positive associations with it, and be cautious in not keeping them in there for too long, especially if they haven't been provided with enough exercise and mental stimulation. Giving a frozen stuffed Kong to chew can help keep the dog's mind off chewing the crate for a little while, but the crate chewing may resume once done chewing the Kong if we fail to address a dog's exercise and mental stimulation needs.

Here is a guide about crate introduction with videos: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/ However, if your dog finds the crate to be aversive or he has too much energy, he may try to escape and chew it. You may find it better to use a exercise pen which allows more space and the ability for the dog to still play/move around freely. 

If he is afraid of the harness and head collars it could be he's nervous about going on walks if he is not walked often enough or he wasn't given a chance to habituate to wearing them. A step-by-step approach may be needed. Here is a video demo on conditioning to a head collar: