PanicAcid

Thanks for the reply, I think you might be right about him training me to be a treat dispenser ha ha. With regards to the leash on the radiator was only for the one night as stated until I got the cage.

My line of thinking exactly, see my post above yours. Although I'm sure he wont end up in a general population prison as he will end up in a mental facility if he did I'm sure he'd get his just deserts in the can.

Sorry if my opening line was a little condescending no harm intended. I may pre defend some actions as I'm used to the usual "You keep your dog in a cage? well that's just cruel" etc. etc. also not used to sharing stuff like that and worried some people may think it's cruel, barbaric or idiotic etc.

You guys have no idea what I'd give for 30 minutes alone in a locked room with people like that. Kinda makes me lose a little faith in mankind. - Shame.

My dad was set on having one litter out of his till he saw just how many there are on pet sites nowadays, it's just a crying shame to be honest. I'm really glad I rescued Phoenix, I'd buy all the unwanted pups if I had the land. It's also a shame that I think this abundance of pups has resulted in some amazing breeders such as Zoox (ZOOX) ceasing to breed. There's no confirmation as to that being the reason that they have but it must be hard when you see the over abundance of unwanted animals.

My girlfriend has just taken the two for a walk and keeps sending me pictures ha ha Phoenix Left - Tehya Right (if you don't know the two apart yet ) Nice to see Tehya with her tongue not hanging out of the side of her mouth for a change.

Nice pics, my girlfriend is currently experiencing a similar thing at the moment ha ha.

I think I agree with the general consensus on this one which is use your gut, do what feels right. I tried and tried to get Tehya to walk at heel and she just refused, or I was too soft on her - Probably the latter. Then I just let her walk on a longish lead in front with a slight pull from her, I enjoyed the exercise and so did she. Then I got given a very long retractable lead and once I had got her trained to stop at the kerb and everything else I realised that she loved walking up front, way up front. If she was at the full length of this lead in front she didn't pull - at all. She walked nice and slowly up front calmly leading the way and I'm happy for her to walk like that. My newest one Phoenix is now walking on a short fixed lead using a Y splitter to walk side by side with Tehya and he's copying her perfectly, slight pull to keep a firm tension on the lead and I'm happy with that. I know everybody varies on what they want from theirs which is why again I say do what feels right for the both of you - walks should be enjoyed by both parties in my opinion.

Thanks for all the warm welcomes so far. Phoenix 'the destroyer of harnesses' (he's on his third now) feels quite welcomed. (He spent his first night with us leaded to the radiator as we were unable to gauge his nightly activities. For those who believe this is cruel and horrible it was a one off and only a precaution for us and him. He slept like a baby didn't cry and as you can tell from other pictures is happy as a pig in ****) I've contemplated the treats idea but thus so far I have been unable to find a treat that he likes. I got him a huge raw hide chewie bone and after watching Tehya go at it and copying her he seems to have taken a liking to those. One thing I have to give him is he is exceptionally observant and mimics Tehya perfectly which has made teaching him to walk a breeze, Tehya is showing him everything he needs to know when it comes to walking including stopping and waiting at the curbs and even crossing the road on command. They're currently walking on a split lead and he's taken the left hand position and she's taken the right. A system they've come up with and seem to be sticking to. Once I find a treat the little bugger likes that may make things easier. At the moment I'm carrying him up and down two flights of stairs on a regular basis but as we all know these dogs are creatures of habit and I don't want him thinking I'm some organic Stannah Stair Lift who's going to cart him up and down the scary things for the remainder of his life. My girlfriend who's at home with him while he settles in has been resided to sleeping on the floor: and she's just told me that he's just spotted his reflection in my PC monitor and seems to be quite the vain pup as he can't take his eyes off him self: and if he's not looking at his self he's looking at Tehya's bottom while she's not looking. To be honest we weren't prepared for his arrival, we were looking at getting another to keep Tehya company and while looking saw him, went to see him and fell in love. He has now inherited Tehya's old cage which I'm very concious to ensure is only used for bed times and when we have to leave the house for a short period of time. His bed/cage is NOT used for punishment or time out's etc. and is not permanent. Tehya was raised using this same method and now sleeps on the bed with us and we have no worries about leaving her on her own in the house. I use the theory that it's easier to stop a habit from forming than it is to break it once it has. Plus the cage is HUGE. Sorry to those that disagree but I'd rather him sleep in a cage for a few months and be happy and stress free, than get told off every night and upset / stressed out as a result for chewing something, pooing somewhere and all the other mischief that comes with the package (He can turn taps on...). But so far so good on the re-home. I'll keep you posted on the stairs situation. Thanks again for the warm welcomes. Much love Panic

Hey hey hey, don't worry this isn't another one of those "I've purchased a Husky and I know nothing about the breed and I have no idea what I've gotten my self into because I'm incapable of doing any research I just purchased the animal on a whim because they look awesome and wolf like although I feel that I may have taken on too much and I thought these working dogs in non working environments would yadda yadda yadda" threads. I've owned my 3/4 Siberian Husky 1/4 German Shepherd (Mother was a half and half - Daddy was a Pedigree) named Tehya now for nigh on eight years. She's not a pure breed pedigree but dag-nambit her personality rocks and I wouldn't change her for the world. This is Tehya Sleeping : This is Tehya Stretching : This is Tehya mothering a squeeky rubber chicken my house mate got her for Christmas that she treat like her own child for a while.. : Although she started getting very protective over it and snapping if anybody made it squeek (she thought it was crying for it's mummy) so we had to make it vanish one day when she wasn't looking. So that's Tehya my eight year old puppy.. Yes I said it, puppy. She's the dog that time forgot although my girlfriend says it's because I'm too soft on her and she's a big daddy's girl. But I just can't get mad at her because she's a talker and when she starts arguing back and chattering away... well I'm sure those of you who also have the chatty types.. you just can't get mad at them. But yeah, eight years and I'm just signing up now? Why you may ask.. Good question, I rescued a pure bred 10 month old male at the weekend. His owners couldn't handle him any more and he was too rough and tumble in an environment with 4 small children and an expecting mother so they decided he needed to go to a home that could give him the attention, freedom and training he really needs. So allow me to introduce to you *drum roll* :eek: : Phoenix Or at least that's what the previous owners called him, he doesn't really understand that is his name and my girlfriend and I are tempted to change it. Now Phoenix isn't that much of a hand full as far as we're concerned, I've grown up with dogs as pets my entire life. I got Tehya at the tender age of 16 while living at home and she raised the total dog count to 3 along side our female bitsa called Skully and a female pure white Alsatian called Sasha. I've always grown up with bitches and we only ever had a dog for a short period of time that my parents couldn't handle and re-homed (little jack russell) but that's neither here nor there. So I've rescued this young chap and couldn't have asked for more in a dog. He's placid and gentle but can get a little carried away when play fighting but he's young and hasn't been raised with the best training - so I'm not expecting miracles. He's due in for the snip this Thursday which I'm hoping wont make him hate us as he's just moved into a new home, new environment, new people and suddenly lost his bollocks. But we'll see. The only thing I've had a problem with is separating him from Tehya when he tries to mount her, he shows a little bit of sexual aggression but then suddenly realises what he's done and from the look on his face feels bad for getting 'snappy'. But again he's young not used to being around a bitch and has had little to no training and again - I'm not expecting miracles. One thing I may need some advice on though is this guy has never climbed a set of stairs in his life. When I went to pick him up the first thing I noticed was a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs. So it's safe to say in the 10 months he's been with them he's not had much experience on the old manual escalators. He seems quite scared of the steps and he fell down the two into my garden resulting in a grazed chin - so anybody got any experience of removing a fear of stairs? And for the sake of sticking with the title, here's the missus (with Phoenix) If you have actually read this far, congratulations and thank you. Much Love Panic