For this training session, you are going to need:

• A Crate
• Playpen
• Elevated bed
• Treats
• Toys
• Frozen kong toy with food - Prepare the frozen kong the night before for this training session.
• Meditation music

At Husky Trainers, we are strong advocates of crate training your Husky. With the training you will do in this lesson, your husky will associate the crate as a safe and comfortable place to relax and rest. Before continuing, we want to discuss that if you decided beforehand that you will not submit your husky to a crate because you think or heard it is cruel, we want to encourage you to follow this training closely.

1. Selecting an area for crate and playpen

Be warned that if you did not crate trained your husky since they were puppies or they have never seen a crate, this training will be challenging, especially at night. Keep positive and trust in yourself and your husky.

We begin by looking around your house and selecting a permanent area to put the crate with the playpen. Use walls to your advantage and put them in an area where you can easily remove the crate and playpen if needed. The area should be as big as the playpen allows it to be.

After you set the crate with the playpen, go inside it with your husky. Have your treats ready to allow your husky to explore the crate and playpen area. If your husky gets inside the crate on their own, immediately reward them by giving them a treat through the crate bars. 

You are not going to say or do anything. Use this moment to sit close to the crate and meditate while your husky explores. We highly recommend you put some meditation music in the background to make this exercise peaceful. Practice breathing exercises and decompress the stress of life with your husky by your side. Remember to reward your husky with treats every time they go inside the crate on their own, and always give the treat through the crate bars so your husky gets used to the metal bars of the crate.

2. Remain quiet. Don’t engage

For this exercise, you are not going to engage with your husky. If your husky attempts to play with you, simply fold your arms together and turn sideways until your husky gets bored of you and calms down. Don't talk to them, don't look at them. Stay calm and as dull as you can be.

Continue doing this training exercise until your husky lies down. After they lay down, wait about a minute, stand up, open a section of the playpen, and get out. Leave it open and allow your husky to get out by themselves. Make sure that you go out first. Do not allow your husky to get out before you.

3. Take your husky for a walk

After finishing this exercise, take your husky for a short walk so they can pee or poo. When you return from the walk, you will repeat the same exercise from before, but this time, we will use the frozen kong toy.

4. Get back in the crated area with your husky

Get in the crated playpen area and wait until your husky lies and calms down. Remember to reward your husky every time they get inside the crate. After your husky lies down, get out of the crated area, but this time, you will close the playpen area. Immediately after you leave, grab the frozen kong toy and tell your husky with a very excited and high-pitched voice that you have something for them.

Use a lot of hand motions and movement to get your husky excited about the toy. When you have your husky full attention, you will throw the Kong toy inside the crate. Your husky should follow the kong toy and start eating what is inside. When they do, step away from their crated area and get out of your house. We strongly recommend having security cameras to monitor what your husky is doing.

5. Monitor the husky with the security camera

If your husky peacefully eats from the kong toy inside the crate, you can call it a huge success. You will be able to see this from the security camera feed. If this is the case, return to your house after about 10 minutes and do some chores around the house, leaving your husky inside the crated pen.

Do not speak or look at your husky. Let them keep eating from the kong toy until they get bored or stop eating from it. Do not let them out of the crated playpen area when they stop eating. Wait for them to calm down and only let them out when the husky is lying down.

If you notice your husky fell asleep, let them sleep. You can let them out of the crated playpen when they wake up. Repeat this exercise every day if possible. After a while, you can safely leave your husky in the crated playpen area for long hours.

6. Husky panicked after you left him with a Kong toy

If, on the other hand, when you go out of your house, you notice on camera that your husky ignores the kong toy and is nervously and forcibly trying to get out of the crated playpen area, then immediately get back to your house and quietly and calmly walk inside the crated playpen area and sit with your husky. 

Simply get in there, sit on the floor, and meditate as you did before. You will not engage with your husky, fold your arms, and turn sideways if they try to get your attention. Only give them treats if they go inside the crate on their own. Wait until your husky calms down, and then get out of the crated playpen area and leave your house.

7. After leaving the second time, Husky still freaked out. HOLD YOUR GROUND!

Check the cameras and monitor what your husky is doing. If you notice your husky is nervously and forcibly trying to get out, wait it out. Let the husky figure out their frustration and that the only way to fix the situation is if they calm down. In this step, you need to fight off the urge to go and save your baby. It will be tough seeing your husky screaming and crying inside the crated playpen area, but you have to fight through it.

Wait until your husky is entirely calm and lying down, and as soon as you see that on camera, get in your house and get back inside the crated playpen area with your husky. Quietly lay there with your husky (do not say anything to your husky. Use the opportunity to meditate) and wait for them to calm down. When that happens, stand up, open a section of the playpen area, and get out. Leave it open and allow your husky to get out by themselves. Remember that you always get out first. 

Left Husky, and they jump over the playpen!

You must be aware that if your husky jumps over the playpen area and gets out while you are outside, you must get inside your house immediately.

As soon as you are inside, you will calmly and quietly walk your husky inside the crated playpen area. Use the leash to walk your husky inside if you need to, but do not forcibly pull them inside.

If your husky refuses to go inside and pulls away, you will stand your ground and slowly pull them in. Once inside the crated playpen area, repeat the process of sitting down with your husky and wait for them to calm down (do not say anything to your husky. Use the opportunity to meditate).

We are crate-training you too

You are going inside the crated area with your husky because this training exercise is also training you. You are training to remain calm and quiet, and your husky will emulate the same behavior. The sole purpose of the crated playpen area is to be a place of relaxation and peace for your husky (and for you as well). As their leader and caretaker, you must show peace and relaxation so your husky can emulate your calmness.

Wait, we didn’t leave the husky on a closed crate

To conclude this training session, you may have noticed that we did not put your husky inside a locked crate. Not even once. We believe your husky should never be locked inside a crate during the day. They should have an area that is spacious enough to move around but still in a controlled area. However, we recommend letting your husky sleep in their crate at night.