containing a dog in the house

Question
the dog is thirteen. I need to know how to contain him during the day.
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-----Question-----
My son has a siberian husky, He is 13 years old. We are at the end of our rope, because he is gone all day  and I am stuck with being chained to this house, because this dog destroys and eats everything and pees and poops all over the place. we got him a huge crate and   he pulled the door off of it. We can't put him outside because he howels constantly and the neighbors  complain. We had him in the garage and he ate all the stuff of the door. We had another dog who recently died. These dogs were together constantly in a pen outside during the day.  This is a sweet dog, but I am am sick of being stuck in the house with him all day.
We also had gates , but he just destroyed those too. and he runs away if  he happens to get out the door. I can't walk him on  a leash, because he runs , and he dragged me across the yard  one day, and got loose. )I was black and blue  for a week. )I just dopn"t know what to do any more.   Any help would be greatly appreciated. Shirley Lee
-----Answer-----
I am assuming it is the son who is 13? The dog sounds too active to be that old.

Sibes particularly need a job to do; they were bred to work. The dog needs to be in ongoing obedience classes, and your family needs to learn how to be alpha to him, give him commands, and make him work for his food and any attention. Another thing you need to practice is Nothing in Life is Free (http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm).

I have a good friend with an 8-year-old Sibe who comes from working stock (sled dogs). The dog has spent YEARS running the fence line, all day, every day. Pretty much a massive case of what seems to be OCD, but everyone thought it was due to her hereditary. Recently the dog had her thyroid tested, was found lacking, put on medication, and she has now somewhat miraculously turned into a "normal" dog with no more running.

So some behaviors can be due to medical issues, and some  (chewing, etc.) can actually be due to diet. Along with the training, you might want to explore some of those options.

Answer
The DOG is 13! Well, that is amazing! He ought to live to be 20*G* (sorry, but most of mine spend their days sleeping at that age...)

Okay, I talked to my Sibe person and we pretty much agree. First, I would get a strong pen for him and set it up in the garage. Here is one my friend highly recommended: http://www.optionsplus.com/ She thought the "Ultra" would probably be sufficient, and she liked the latch on that one.

Put him on a high-quality, high protein, high fat diet, but you probably need to feed him a bit less so that he doesn't put on too much weight, particularly if he is neutered. She thinks too many carbs in the diet could be contributing to your problem (along with genetics). So feed something around 25% protein and 15% fat.

He needs something to occupy himself, so give him some good big marrow bones, or something he can busy himself with safely while you are gone; maybe fill them with a bit of peanut butter. You might also try to think of some way to increase his exercise. My previous dog food supplier has Sibes, and I know that during the winter months he runs them at least 50 miles a day in front of a sled. Maybe train him to run on a treadmill? We do that here with our agility dogs to keep them in condition.

Finally, check with your vet as I know there are meds that can be given to calm a dog down.... doggie prozac, if you will.

The howling could be because he is now alone, and he is missing his "pack". Some dogs do grieve when they lose a friend.

Good luck with him.
Karen