Husky Help

Im gonna be getting a husky puppy in a few months. I figured I would read up on the breed and training as much as possible before she arives. Do any of you know any good Husky info sites around...links on training them, or do you have expirience with the breed yourself? If so, I would love to hear from you! I need all the info I can get! I love huskies and I cant wait to learn about em...

I know that they have tons of energy, and they are one of the harder breeds to train. i have read that they are not for most people unless you are abnormally active and very outdoorsy.

Me and my brother love to be outside, and we have this whole summer vacation to give it tons of attention, so that wont be a problem. We also own about 10 acres of land, so that should not be a problem for the boundless energy!

thats great to know! i was worried about you for a minute there

I have 10 Huskies myself, feel free to PM me with any and all questions. There's so much about them that I just cant sum it up in a paragraph or two.

Okay, I will be sure to ask you if I have any questions about em...but I have one right now. What is their over all behavior towards other dogs and animals, like small dogs and cats?

Are those 10 acres fenced??? It is an extreme rarity for a Husky to be able to be trusted 100% offleash. I own two Siberian Huskies myself and have worked/race with many many others. I would be more than willing to answer specific questions, but as Megan said there is just way too much stuff to say! LOL

Some sites you could begin looking at are www.everythinghusky.com www.sleddogcentral.com

Siberian Huskies have a very strong prey drive towards smaller animals so it is highly recommended that if they are to live with them, that they be raised with them right from puppyhood. But sometimes even that isnt enough. I know of one pair of Huskies that accepted the cats that lived with them while they grew up but when the owners tried to bring in new cats, they considered them fair game and ended up killing them.

My one male was heavily socialized with small dogs from puppyhood and tends to be more careful when around them but I sill wouldnt trust him by himself with a really little dog like a Yorkie. All it takes is for the Yorkie to zoom by to trigger the prey drive and thats the end of the Yorkie. My other male I dont trust with little dogs at all.

Hmmm... that might be a problem. I have two grown cats and a Pom. Oh and about the 10 acres thing... I ment like long walks on a leash. I know I will try to train the new puppy to come when called, but I know it will be harder to train the puppy outside because of so much distractions. Thanks for the links, I will be sure to look around at those websites. I think the puppy will come to live with my family when it is about 8 weeks old, sometime in June, and hopefully that wont be to late to raise the puppy with cats and a smaller dog. Peaches isnt that small. Shes about 2 feet long and a foot off the ground.
I will have to ponder over that problem for a while...
Until then, any info on them is very appreciated!

8 weeks isnt too old to be introduced to cats and small dogs. As long as your pup grows up with them, they'll probably be just fine together.
Infact, my pups are scared of our cats! All it takes is one impressionable pup, and one angry cat, and you have a life long fear, lol. (A very tramatizing experiance for them!)
And then you have the adult huskies (never been raised around cats), who would love the thought of chasing down and killing cats and other small furry creatures.
Here's some more Sibe links for you to check out:
http://www.shca.org/shcahp2b.htm
http://shusky.hypermart.net/husky.htm
http://www.homelesshusky.com/homeless.html

Thanks alot for the links, I learned alot from them!

Huskies like alot of the northern breeds are head strong. Training one to come doesn't always work out...
I tend to equate them to a "what's in it for me" attitude.
Alot of the times, they will come because there is praise and fun in it for them. Now and again you're going to have times when they have found something even mildly more interesting then you and won't pay any attention... or even more annoying, look up at you and then go back to what they are doing.
Off leash isn't really a good idea for the most part... I've seen the rare husky who you can train for off leash... but even that takes ALOT of work.

As far as the prey drive goes, you can talk to the breeder and have them assess the puppies for prey drive. They should be able to tell which will be easier to condition to be around cats and other furries. That trait can vary a lot in one litter, even among breeds with high drive like greyhounds.

Thats a good idea! I will talk to the breeder soon and ask her to do some tests on the puppies when I visit them next.

I never thought a dog could do anything in spite until I met a husky. Sibes are notoriously stubborn and wickedly intelligent. My friend's husky was a red & white husky with bi-eyes. This dog was so smart that one time the husband decided to flick the dog in the nose (not hard mind you) to play with him. The dog decided he did NOT like to be flicked in the nose. So he decided to urinate on the husbands side of the bed, after several times the husband decided to switch sides with his wife. The dog then started peeing on the wife's side knowing the husband was sleeping there!!! the dog didn't even sleep in the room he just knew! The husband apologized to the dog and it never happened again. Huskies are extremely hard to train because they are taught to make decisions while pulling a sled. They are bred to run long distances in hard conditions. They have a thick double coat to protect them from snow and ice. So they dont shed like a normal say labrador would. They "blow" their coats I believe twice a year. Think multiple 20 gallon black trash bags full of fur. This is not a dog for someone who dislikes massive amounts of dog fur or vacuuming every day. They have a very high prey drive but some are able to live with cats. Though I wouldn't recommend leaving the two in a room alone. Always supervise and don't let the dog play with the cat. We taught our dog that the cat is alpha in the pack. Dogs are very pack driven so teaching them a cat is a pack member and above them make it much easier. However my dog will go after a cat outdoors, i find this acceptable if he becomes slightly interested but I still scold him for it. I just think that the cats outdoors are not pack members thus its not a big deal to get overzealous about breaking an outdoor cat chasing habit. However with smaller dogs I would because I enjoy taking my dog to dog parks. I wouldn't trust a husky in an offleash situation unless the fence was 8 feet or higher. I've seen a husky jump an 8 foot fence with ease. They are escape artists. This one lady built an out door kennel with a tarp roof, chicken wire dug 4 feet down, and a steel reinforced fence. The dog still managed to escape by shimmying in the corner and chewing threw the tarp, then he dug under 3 feet of chicken wire to get past the second fence. O.O not an outside dog!!! not a dog you chain in the yard (or any dog for that matter), and not a dog you leave in an outdoor kennel. I would also recommend taking up some kind of serious sport like sleding, roller blading, skateboarding, bikeriding, jogging...ect. This is not a dog you just walk around the corner 2 times a day. They have TONS of energy. They become severly destructive if bored and under exercised. They also like i said are wickedly smart, huskies learn how to train their owners -lol- This is not a dog for everyone. I would recommend doing TONS of research before even looking for a puppy.

Thats what Im doing at the momment. I just got an ordered book from the mail calle "Siberian Huskies for Dummies" lol. Its VERY informative. Im still not done reading it, but I know one thing for certain, the puppy wont be raised as an outside dog. She will also be raised with cats and a small dog. It sounds like a lot of work to train the pup though, but it will be worth it.

I have that book and I highly recommend it!!! Very thorough and informative!

I think a fenced in yard is probably something you'll need. Especially for a Husky. Walking isn't going to do it for them, they need to play HARD and run..

I have had 2 huskies (one which I own currently, the other passed away several years ago-RIP ) and they are wonderful, wonderful dogs. Misty, my 1st husky was a total spaz. lol! We didn't do any researching before getting her, we just met her, fell in love, and took her home. We soon learned that they need TONS of exercise. lol! Misty turned out to be a great dog dispite the fact that she would kill small animals. :yikes: She was awesome with our small dog, and with our cat, but any stray cats, or any rabbits, skunks, possums, etc that came into the yard were fair game for her. We got her when she was a year old, so we never got to socialize her. Holly on the other hand, my current Husky is great with other dogs and cats. I own 2 Yorkies and she loves them! They hate her though p) and don't tolerate her, but she's very submissive to them, and never tries to hurt them. We don't have a cat currently, but the stray we had "adopted" became good friends with her! She loved him. We have since then found him a home, and don't ever plan on having another cat (except i'd love one when i move out!). But because she got the early socialization, and gets plenty of exercise, she's becoming a great little dog. I love her so much. Good luck with your Husky, and if you need any help please PM me!

Just yesterday, me and my family went to visit the puppies. It was two weeks ago that I had last saw them. They are so cute! They are just getting to the age of wanting to explore ...and taste things. lol. They just waddled around, tripping over themselves and knawing on eachother. Thier was one male out of the litter of 7, and he was already being adopted. They were very healthy and active. I really connected with one particular white puppy. We nic-named it "Floppy" because it had one floppy ear and one pointed ear. I was sitting down, watching a puppy sleep while Floppy came over and started burrowing under my legs and knawing on my arm. I had forgotten what puppy teeth felt like, but they hurt! Floppy seems to be the playfullest of the puppies, and thats a good sign. My whole family liked different puppies, but we all fell in love with Floppy. I just felt the puppy had a certain livliness to it that none of the other puppies had. Floppy isnt the puppies name, its just the name we used to tell her apart from all of the others. They are about 4 weeks old. I know we will be getting one sometime in June. I cant wait! im looking for a few good dog names, just the certain name that fits Floppies personality.

Im glad I have people to talk to here if I need help! I know I will...