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Avatar universal

my husky pants at night.

I have an eight month old husky/white german sheppard,  and he weighs about 75-80lbs(he not overweight at all, just a tall large dog). When we bring him into our bedroom to sleep in his kennel (which is plenty large enough to stand up in and turn around in, with room to spare) he is excited and wants to go inside, but anywhere in between 12am-2am he starts panting and becomes restless. It happens every night. It happens on nights that are hot, but it also happens on nights that are cold. We have a boxer that he is very attached to and she sleeps in a kennel in our room nest to him, with no issues. If I make him sleep outside he'll whine all night because our other dog is inside, but there are some nights that it is just too cold for our boxer to be outside. I also want to avoid making our husky feel like an outcast because he’s the only dog left outside. Should I be concerned about the panting? he doesn't pant when his is laying down anywhere else unless its really hot, it just seems to be in his kennel. Is there anything we can do to stop or at least lessen the panting?
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234713 tn?1283526659
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
It could be the heat, behavioral or related to heart or lung disorders.  

As the last commenter said you could try clipping the hair, however if you clip too short he will need sunscreen because dogs are also susceptible to sunburn and skin cancer.

Try keeping a fan on your husky at night.  If this doesn't help than have your dog evaluated by a vet.  Your dog should auscult clearly (no heart murmurs detected).  If your dog does have a murmur or unusual heart or lung sounds than have a chest X-Ray performed and go from there.

If all tests are found to be normal, than it just may be that he is suffering from the heat or it may be behavioral.  If it is behavioral you could ask your vet for help.  There are behavioral modification techniques, and behavioral medications and herbal formulas that may help.

Does your dog still need to be kennelled?  I would eliminate the kennels and allow your dog to lie where he would like.  
Helpful - 2
Avatar universal
I have a 10 yr old siberian husky. I never crate my husky but I know that she does not like to be confined. You might want to try leaving the door to the crate open a jar and keeping your bedroom door shut so she does not have the run of the house while your asleep. My husky always pants in the middle of the night. My house has central air and I
keep a fan on at night for her and she still pants. They also pant more when there getting
ready to blow their under coat. If you do leave the crate door open ajar make sure to puppy safe your bedroom husky pups get into every thing. I hope this info helps.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I walk both my dogs for about 45min to an hour every night and they go on regular visits to the dog park so it can't be the lack of exercise. how do I prevent him from being bored at night? theres not really much I can do if I'm asleep. I would love any kind of advise
Helpful - 0
82861 tn?1333453911
Great news that your dog checked out physically fine!  I had a dog who did the same thing for years.  As it turned out, she always felt like she had to be "on duty".  Yeah, we didn't know much about dogs back then and she was the alpha dog of our family.  Once I started working with her every day, the panting gradually stopped.  One of the keys for good doggy sleep is plenty of exercise.   If you aren't walking daily, it's time to get moving, or add more exercise time.  Chewing can also be a sign of boredom as well.  :-)
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
So I had him check out and he is a perfectly healthy dog (thank goodness). So its just a behavioral thing. I would love to elimate the kennel. I've tried it several times (even prior to my orginal posting) hoping that I would be able to trust him, but he loves to chew on stuff when no one is looking! I can't disipline him for something I  find the next day, the poor dog won't know whats going on! He never chews on anything when we are around. I think he get bored and has nothing better to do. So I now I feel stuck and not sure what to do.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have a HUGE Malamute, and she does the same thing.  LOL  She pants when she's outside laying in the snow in -40 degree weather.  LOL  (I live in Alaska)

During the Summer, we shave her hair off to help her cope with the heat.

Warm Climates are just NOT a good place for a Husky to be.  LoL  We watch the Iditarod Races every year, and as cold as it gets, and as small as those huskies are, they pant like crazy!  LoL  Imagine how hot they'd get laying in one spot in a warm room.  :)

Try giving him a Haircut, a nice, short one, nearly balled, and see if that makes a difference.
If he is locked in the kennel, try opening the kennel door at night, and let him come in or out of it as he pleases.
The Floor of the kennel might simply get too warm for him.
When he is not locked in a kennel, he can move around and lay down in a cooler spot.

Sorry.  :)  We don't own any kennels.  Our Girls sleep on their fluffy beds at the foot of our bed, on the floor, and come and go as they please.  :)
Helpful - 0

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