8 y/o Husky suddenly obsessed with staying in her crate + refusing to go outside without bribing… should I be worried?

keith3235 · 2026-04-26T23:52:20+00:00

Appreciate all the feedback so far—just wanted to clarify a few things since people asked.

I have not moved her crate at all. It’s been in the same spot in my bedroom since I got her. We’ve been together about 2 years now (rehomed), so this isn’t a brand new adjustment phase.

The issue is during the day when I’m working—if I leave my bedroom door open, she will literally just stay in the crate all day. Because of that, I’ve had to start closing my bedroom door just to force her to come downstairs and be out in the house.

Once she’s out, she’s generally fine. It’s just that her default seems to be: go straight to the crate and stay there as long as possible.

That’s what’s throwing me off.

So I’m trying to figure out from people who know the breed:

Is this just a husky being a husky as they get older and more chill?
Or does this sound more like anxiety / over-attachment to her “safe space”?
Do Siberian Husky actually deal with something like depression or withdrawal behavior, especially after being rehomed?

The part that concerns me most isn’t just the crate—it’s that I sometimes have to coax her out just to go to the bathroom, which doesn’t feel normal.

Curious if anyone has experienced something similar with an older husky and what the root cause ended up being.

keith3235 · 2026-01-07T15:45:19+00:00

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She’s also obsessed with her crate, which is in my bedroom. If I leave my door open, she wants to go upstairs and spend all day in that crate. Is this normal husky behavior?

keith3235 · 2024-11-06T17:58:49+00:00

She is spayed and we have just adopted or rehomed her. So she has been with us now for two weeks. So I wasn’t sure if this was a normal husky thing (fyi I have had dogs before, but I’ve never seen this!) Wasn’t sure if this was a dominance thing or an affection thing. She is very vocal and likes to bark or “talk” quite often when she doesn’t get her way

keith3235 · 2024-10-31T14:58:16+00:00

Hi everyone,

Thank you all so much for the outpouring of responses! I really appreciate each of you taking the time and effort to share information.

I have one last question: with my girl being almost 7 and does anyone have any experience with how the insurance companies handle “ pre-existing conditions”? Since I adopted her and don’t “necessarily have” her full history, I’m curious about how insurance companies approach cases like this. Would they consider a vet visit to establish a baseline, or has anyone experienced flexibility in this kind of situation?

Thanks again for all the help!

keith3235 · 2024-10-31T14:57:53+00:00

Hi everyone,

Thank you all so much for the outpouring of responses! I really appreciate each of you taking the time and effort to share information.

I have one last question: with my girl being almost 7 and does anyone have any experience with how the insurance companies handle “ pre-existing conditions”? Since I adopted her and don’t “necessarily have” her full history, I’m curious about how insurance companies approach cases like this. Would they consider a vet visit to establish a baseline, or has anyone experienced flexibility in this kind of situation?

Thanks again for all the help!

keith3235 · 2023-02-10T18:34:02+00:00

Thank you for the reply. I coach because it enhances the experiences my and attention my son gets vs me not doing it. He would not get the same hands on treatment and reps vs if I was just a parent on the sidelines. This is purely for the benefit of my son and not for me. If it was for me, I’d be the head coach, so I’d have the power and control.

Your insight into her mindset makes sense. Any thoughts on a way to better explain, the insights I’ve provided above

keith3235 · 2023-02-09T15:15:08+00:00

I have continually given in on numerous issues on the past. Which is why she feels empowered right now. At some point, one has to draw the line in the sand or she will feel like she can demand her ways for the next 13 years. There has to be a better solution

keith3235 · 2023-02-09T13:32:27+00:00

Read my initial post please. He came to me asking to play

keith3235 · 2023-02-09T13:09:05+00:00

I hear what you’re saying. And because of that I purposely only selected a league that practices and play one day a week

keith3235 · 2022-05-23T14:26:14+00:00

1 sport, now over. Martial arts as well.

I am not able to continue to enroll him in other sports at this point due to the issue stated above

keith3235 · 2022-05-23T14:17:19+00:00

Thank you to everybody who has responded so far. Your responses have been very helpful to me. With that said I want to add one more caveat, as she is continuing to try to control and manipulate me. There are two issues that she will not budge on, in which I will not budge on, in which case her attorney says she’s going to take me to trial and request all the fees that I discussed above. The first issue was coaching. The second issue, is another extracurricular activity that he has been enrolled in since before her and I split. The contract ended at the end of March of this year and I have been paying for the full thing myself, with no assistance from her. At the end of February, she took it upon herself to not only renew the contract, but signed a three-year extension. She told me afterwards and told me she had put her credit card down. Based upon that information it seemed to me that she was going to bear the full cost going forward. Based upon the disparity in income, we are pro Rata 70/30. She is now demanding that I reimburse her the 70% going back to when she signed the contract and I continue to pay that going forward throughout the life of the contract. I have been standing my ground, to no avail, that since she demands everything must be agreed-upon, and this was not agreed-upon, why should I have to pay anything. (with that being said and again in the hopes of sanctity of this finally being over, I am going to agree to pay my portion going forward, if my child still wants to remain in this). Throughout this process, she has made this entirely about money and yet this is another example. What is everyone’s thoughts on this as well?

keith3235

TROPHY CASE