I have a 4 month male Malamute. When we first brought him home, we had problems for the first 2 weeks with him screaming at night. Well after many nights of restless sleep he is finally quiet at night. The problem I am having now is that when I cannot supervise him, I put him in the utility room. It is a good size. He has his crate in there with him, his toys and it is closed off with a baby gate. But whenever he is in there, he screams. I never go down to him while he is screaming as I don't want him to get in to the pattern of me responding every time he does it. But I don't know what else to do. I give him a Kong filled with goodies but he plays with it for a while then starts to scream. If I was to let him roam the house then he would be fine, but obviously, I cannot do this as he is not housetrained yet. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Charlene

This is the same as Hudson was...separation anxiety ...we housetrained Hudson first and then tackled the AS. You can get good info on the net. It is a long and hard process getting him used to being on his own ..it took us months , but we can now leave Hudson all day if necessary :)

Have a look here [link http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Dogs+Separation+anxiety&spell=1]AS Google results[/link]

Most dogs want to be with their 'pack' and a not just lonely but concerened when they are left on their own. It take a lot of care and kindness to assure them that it will be ok and you will be back soon.

Thanks for your ideas. I have been reading about the separation anxiety.

Just out of interest Melody, how long did it take you to housetrain Hudson? We put paper on the floor for him to go on, but when he is roaming the house which is when I supervise him, he sometimes sneaks off and wee's on the floor. If I catch him in the act I say 'No' and put him in the garden but he just lays down out there. Because he loves the garden so much, I am worried that he may think I am rewarding him by letting him play in the snow. Is there anything I am doing wrong?

Thanks
Charlene

I would start over again with him Charlene ..Mals are generally very easy to housetrain. I wouldn't use paper at all ...just TAKE him outside (you go with him) every 15-30 minutes or so ...whilst outside , say *hurry up* repeatedly until he performs...then give him lots and lots of praise . Take him out after a drink and something to eat too. IF he does a wee inside , don't say anything , but take him outside again. Where he HAS peed inside , wash the area with hot water mixed with biological soap powder as this will clean up the smell.

I realise you are in Canada and going outside with him is going to be tough ..but should get the idea very quickly that going out for a pee and poo results in mum being a happy hippy ;)

Hudson only had 3 accidents in the first 2 weeks I had him and hasn't had one since :) Remember ...YOU have to make sure he knows WHY he is going out , which is why YOU need to go out with him and then praise he when he performs :)

Melody

I agree about the housetraining - and i believe too that if an owner starts off with papers, often we are  teaching that it is in fact quite OK to "go" in the house :)

Re the anxiety, i have a generally quite highly strung and sociable breed, but can leave my dog happily for some time (usually up to 3 hours but once we got caught in a traffic jam and it was over 5 hours) and i started by first of all keeping her with me when a tiny pup, at night; then gradually taking her downstairs, then sleeping downstairs with her for about one week, and also practising shutting doors for about 20 seconds. I also popped in to the garden or across the road for maybe one minute and graduallyl lengthened the process over a period of time :) I also started to vary the amount of time i was out.

I am lucky as i am at home during the week, but i feel that starting off so that the dog never actually feels anxiety for any longish periods really helps. She also makes  a "nest" on the top of the sofa and entertains herself by watching out of the window, and snoozing :)

Good luck with your Malamute, they are gorgeous :)

Lindsay

Hi nanuk - re your dogs separation anxiety, sounds like you need to get some ear muffs!  As my partner and I work full time we knew that our collie would have to get used to being on his own for parts of the day so we started from day one by confining him as you do - in a penned area with his crate and toys etc.  We just extended the period of time we left him in there gradually and ignored the whining (even though its soooo difficult esp.when they are so cute and small!) He is now 6 months and does a whole morning (about 4 hours) and afternoon (about 3 hours) on his own and we never have any problems with weeing, destruction etc - he has plenty to do but i think alot of the time he sleeps -he's always yawning when i get in, now he gets crabby if we disturb those nap times! You just need to persisit and he will get the message and feel ok with being alone - its a case of who will back down first to a degree so keep going you are doing the right thing. 

Re the housetraining - you are bound to have accidents along the way so just be prepared for them and eventually your dog will gain control of himself, remember dogs don't like to mess their own areas either so he's only doing it because he can't help it!  You will get there!