I have a 13 month old Malamute. As of last week, when I put him in the crate, he attacks the cage. As if he is defending his space. When I safely pull him out he is normal. I have tried 2 things to alleviate this problem and I want to know if I should continue this or try something different?

1. I put a prong collar on him and strung a leash through the crate and clip it to the collar. Whenever he exhibited the behavior gave him a strong correction. Maybe a 7 on 1-10 scale. This got his attention and the crate aggression has lessened. As of now I can see that when I get close he tenses.

2. Now that he is not charging the gate and is tensing up I stand 3 feet away and give him a command, as if I am giving obedience training (sit, stand, down), and giving him treats whenever he follows the command. Compare to when he is outside the crate he is very slow to follow the command.

Here is some back round of the mistakes I have made with this dog from getting horrible recommendation from other people.

1. Alpha Rolls
2. Pulling his food away.
3. Leaving his toys out all day.
4. Letting him run pass us down the stairs.

I bought a few leerburg DVDs and they are a god sent. They were a eureka moment for me. A " why didn't think of that.". As of now he is on a leash all day with me. I feed him by hand. No more pulling on the leash. Gave him a few good correction and now a relaxed leash for the past 5 walks.

Hmmm, sounds to me like you are already making huge progress. Other than the prong w/leash through the crate, I don't have any help for you. If it's lessened already, and he's not doing it anymore, I bet the tension will go away in time b/c he'll realize that he only has a reason to be tense if he's being a jerk.

Kudos for being so open and honest about your past mistakes; move on. Live and learn.

IMO, if he is tense, then he remembers the correction well, and I wouldn't go overboard. The OB is a fine idea; OB never hurts. I think you are well on your way.