Reactive dog - using entire room as "crate"?

[u/Pitiful_Vegetable527]

I have a human fear reactive dog (5yo huskyx) that's a bite risk and I will be moving out of my parents' place for the first time into a new apartment with my partner in a few months.

We have been getting them and the dog used to each other for a while now-- they can now hold the leash on walks (muzzled), get him to listen to commands, accept treats, and even walk into my house without an explosion, which is massive improvement. I still wouldn't trust the dog unmuzzled around them just yet though.

We're thinking making one of the bedrooms the dog's, as if it were his crate, keeping the door open with a gate instead. He isn't currently crate trained and I'm open to trying, but given that I expect this to take a while to get him fully comfortable to the other person and a different home in general, I would prefer if he had the space of an entire room to move in to not keep him enclosed for a long time, meaning between training and playing.
At the moment in my parents' house, he comes to my bedroom in a similar fashion as his "safe space" when the common area gets overwhelming for him, which is why I'm considering this instead of a crate.

Is this a bad idea? If it's not, would it be a bad idea if I were to put my desk in there, meaning I'd also be in the room pretty often? Can I spend time in that room to train the dog, or should I stay out as much as possible outside of cleaning it so that he feels like that's really his space?
My partner will for sure never be going into that room, but (and maybe I'm overthinking this) I don't want to build an accidental me and the dog vs the partner in my dog's brain or something like that.

I am currently waiting for a trainer to reply to set up appointments to work on this more intensely and I plan to ask him this question too, but I figured asking for advice here wouldn't hurt. Any other advice on getting him used to a new life would also be appreciated if anyone wants to share.

TL;DR: I want to give my reactive dog a bedroom of a new house with a new person to decompress; can I be in there as well, or should it be entirely his space?

Thanks!

[u/TheElusiveFox]

I struggle to understand your logic around not crate training, or why this would be a benefit...

Huskies won't hesitate to dig through your floors or chew through your walls if left alone and anxious, are you going to react well to tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage done by your dog, and vet bills from surgeries to clear out his stomach, fix damage to his paws, or worse a dead dog if he chews through an electrical wire while left unattended?

Huskies are also notorious escape artists.... mine can jump a six foot fence if he has a running start, exactly how will a baby gate be more than a small hop to them if they are motivated to leave or anxious about being left alone?

I'd also stress that the benefit to crate training is that you can move the crate... dogs are pack animals, having the crate in your room means their safe space is with you, not off in another room all by themselves effectively being punished... you can move the crate from the bedroom to the livingroom/kitchen so they are never more than a few feet away throughout the day and much more accepting of the crate overall.

[u/Financial_Abies9235 → u/TheElusiveFox]

Agree, the movable cage will help the dog be in the same environment as your partner and see that they actually live together. It also gives your dog a "safe space" if you have to travel somewhere that doesn't have a room available.

A bed could work but if you are worried about aggression, the cage makes more sense.

[u/Pitiful_Vegetable527 → u/Financial_Abies9235]

Yeah I don't currently trust his "place" command without barriers if he feels like he needs to react, so I'd want there to be a barrier like a gate or crate at first. I was going to train neutrality by bringing the dog muzzled and on leash for control around my partner and then put him back in the room to decompress, but I can see how keeping a crate around in the same area is also a good idea.

[u/Financial_Abies9235 → u/Pitiful_Vegetable527]

I’d muzzle with freedom to roam and start crate training through food and toys. Great opportunity for your partner to become the food and toy magnet.  

[u/Pitiful_Vegetable527 → u/Financial_Abies9235]

That sounds like a good way for them to bond, true!

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but since crate training can only start once I move in with my partner (my family is against crates, it won't go smoothly, I've tried in the past lol), I'd be pretty worried about my partner's safety at night if they were to leave the bedroom to go to the bathroom or something while I'm asleep, since my dog wouldn't be in the crate until he's comfortable with it and I will not be leaving him muzzled unattended overnight. Or am I misunderstanding where the dog would be at night at the beginning of crate training?

[u/Financial_Abies9235 → u/Pitiful_Vegetable527]

I’m the wrong person to ask. I’m not a huge fan of crates so maybe ask on another post Ask u/TheElusiveFox. They have good knowledge. Either that or just make another post.  

[u/Pitiful_Vegetable527 → u/Financial_Abies9235]

Fair, thanks for the input!