A few questions about my little Jelly :D.

[Tatipu]

I decided to post it here since there's many questions on my husky so here goes:

Please answer what you can .

1. I feed Jelly Blue Buffalo, the puppy one and I want to know how much I'm supposed to feed her? I usually only give her 3/4ths cup per meal and 3 times a day. All my relatives have been telling me that she always looks hungry and since huskies look wolf-like to them, they stay away. She finishes her food in less than 30 seconds after I give it to her which makes me think she really is underfed since my other dog takes FOREVER to eat even when he was small. (She's almost 4 months and weighs 22-25 lbs atm and not sure if this is relevant haha) She basically scarfs it down and doesn't even chew, just swallow. (At least I think so, my chi I can hear him chomping away and she's just going om nom nom nom no crunching) A little help on this? I tried feeding her more before when I first got her (6 weeks) and she ended up having diarrhea so I don't wanna over do it unless I really have to see how much. Any who, every meal time (every 6 hours) she's like barking and whining like crazy which I'm guessing means she's really hungry but she doesn't start whining and barking until she sees me get the food. So yeah ;-; . [Or am I supposed to follow the bag? It says 1 1/2 - 3 cups per day?] I did check the food guide thing in the food or general health section (I forgot where it's at in this forum) I don't know how many calories/day she needs or any of that stuff so ;-;. And I don't want to underfeed nor overfeed. Me no want my doggy to be fet. >: . But yeah ;-;.

2. Jelly's been amazing, don't get me wrong -- I'm totally glad I decided to get her but are huskies always so hyper? I mean -- around me she's normal unless I leave her alone in her pen for an hour or two and she's really excited to see me when I come back. But when someone outside of my nuclear family comes to see her she goes crazy! I thought that if I introduced her to enough people she'd eventually calm down but she's always so excited or nervous and she ends up peeing. Will this fade in time or am I supposed to do something to prevent her? She jumps on people and I always tell her no and she gets off but then she runs around and then pees. I'm pretty sure she's potty trained now but she almost ALWAYS pees when she gets excited/nervous so I have to clean up after her maybe once or twice a week depending if we have guests or not. So that's that -- onto the next one!

3. She's almost 4 months now and that makes her able to go to doggy parks now. yay! Unfortunately, I live in Houston and it's hot as freak as well as humid. It ranges from 80-110 not including humidity therefore my only option is to go early morning or late night which no one is ever there when I go to the park to play tennis. I don't know anyone that owns a husky in my area and she's met my cousin's chi mix and all they do is play. Jelly's really friendly with our neighbor's dog and I'm going on vacation in August and my neighbor is taking care of Jelly so of course Jelly needs to get acquainted with her dogs. As you all very well know huskies like to play rough and since I got her too early she never learned when she's playing too hard or rough. I don't know how to fix this but oh how I wish I could have just left her at the breeder's for a few more weeks x_o ! so what do I do here?

4. Omg too many questions T_T! Okie, well i started summer school recently and I'm only gone for 2 hours tops. I don't wake up early enough to walk Jelly so I usually walk her anytime after 7. I think on this forum many or some people said each month = 5 min? So she should be around 20 minutes. Is this a strict rule or no? My dad always makes me walk her for 30-40 minutes unless we walk on the track near our house which is 3 miles which is definitely more than 40 minutes if I were to walk at a leisurely pace. Sometimes we jog but I kind of feel bad for Jelly because she starts dragging behind me. Not literally but usually she walks a little in front or right next to me nearing halfway or the end she's a little behind me and panting pretty hard. She'll still jog if I ask her to but normally she would run next to me but when we jog at that point she's behind me. Is this too much for her? My dad's the one that usually takes her out if I'm not home at night or if I went to the gym at night so he would walk her instead. She gets a walk every day for more than 30 minutes so I'm just worried her little paws might hurt ): . My chi just runs the whole way even though he's kinda chubby. Oh and is walking on asphalt bad for a dog? ( I think it's asphalt, it's black -- any who some kind of track thing) I don't like it when Jelly walks on the grass because she tends to ignore me and eat grass as we walk or push her face into the ground and get all dirty. But if the asphalt or whatever isn't good for her I will put her in grass.

5. Last one, I swear. So I just went to petsmart today to buy more blue buffalo nomnoms for Jelly and I just wanted to see the grooming prices. Well they gave me a pamphlet and all and it looks pretty interesting but I was wondering is it worth it -- and which one is worth it? I brush her every other day and brush her teeth every other day as well. Clipping her nails though -- I gotta admit I'm always pretty scared I'm going to cut too close and she'll bleed. Usually I only cut her front lets because she jumps on people with those but should I be clipping it in the back too? (her 2 back paws -- not the dewclaws <- butdo I clip those too? I usually do..) Any who , yeah right now since she's < 5 months I can get her bathed, brushed, ear cleaning, nail trim, shaving pads (idk what this is), and anal gland cleaning for 11$ I think it's pretty cheap but I don't know anything about grooming since this is the first time I'd be doing it professionally? So yeah .

Any help is appreciated and sorry for the bombardment of questions :< . Been holding them in until I had a decent amount .

Thank you ^-^.

Edited July 9, 2012 by Tatipu
Changed font color to make it easier to read.

[Removed #5]

I'm in the process of running out the door, but have a suggestion and a question.

While you're going to get some answers - you really do have several topics there that would be better addressed in separate forum messages. I can see this topic getting cluttered real fast. After you get a coupl eopf replies - which will probably be in answer to one or two topics - think about making separate posts for those that don't get answered, okay??

and the question - what part of Houston? I lived over there for 30 years, everything from Cypress Station, to South Houston to (almost) Katy to far SW - I even one time lived inside the loop ( that was a mistake! ).

Welcome to the forum and bear with us as we tr to answer you plethora of questions ...

oh, and if you're even thinking about following the feeding instructions on the bag - you're feeding way too much - as you've found less is better, about 1/2 to 3/4 of the bag recommendation.

One other tacky comments - please watch the colors, some of us who are over the hill have problems reading things in light purple on light blue ... please.

[Elyse]

1. I don't have an answer for this one, simply because I've never had a puppy. But, huskies have very efficient metabolisms and you don't need to feed them as much as the bag recommends. If your pup has the runs, then he's most likely being fed too much!

2. How old is Jelly? They don't have full control of their bladder until...7 months was it?...so maybe he IS potty trained but he can't control it very well and therefore it comes out when he's excited. And, haha, I've heard huskies are hyper...but I've been blessed with one of the rare few that are relaxed and laid-back so I wouldn't know about that, haha!

3. Again, I don't have an answer for this one either as I've never had a puppy...

4. I'm a firm believer in NOT walking your dog too much when they are young. This stresses their joints and can cause many joint problems, like hip dysplasia and arthritis that shows itself at an early age (I think Suka, my dog, was exercised too much early on in his life. He started showing symptoms of arthritis at 5 years old.)

I've been told by my vet that, generally, grass/dirt is the best surface to walk them on because its better for their joints (and for our joints, too!). Concrete and asphalt don't 'give' as much as grass and dirt does, so it sends 'shocks' up your joint and that can damage it in the long term.

5. I take Suka to PetSmart to have his nails done, and a bath. His package is around $80 (the furminator package). I find that they are too rough on him for brushing and bathing, and he shakes so much while we're in the 'waiting room'! I've tried to find other grooming places, but they either don't return my call or they don't want to take on a husky...so I'm going to try to bathe him myself this summer.

About the nails, if you're nervous, I think nail clipping is only 5 bucks at PetSmart, so you can ask them to JUST clip his nails and nothing else. I've been told by a member on here that PetSmart employees have to make the packages as expensive as possible (its apparently in their job description?), so maybe you might want to try another place that is insured, bonded, and licensed.

[HuskyMom09]

1. As mentioned Siberians do not require the amount of food suggested by manufacturer. Too much will produce upset tummy and diarrhea. At this age you need to pay attention to their weight and build, too lean up the food too fat cut back the food. At 4 months I believe I was about on the same feeding plan as you are now. And don't worry about the food hoovering too much as being a sign of needing food, it's how puppies are most breeders feed the entire litter together in litter feed bowls they compete for food so until they realize there is no competition they hoover. You can get bowls designed to slow down their eating habits if you so choose.

2. Over stimulation = pee in puppies. This is a phase, but obedience training and outward socialization will help. Huskies are HYPER and puppies even more so. Hang in there they do eventually calm down!

3. She will figure it out, as a puppy they don't always realize their own strength. Closely monitoring play and correcting bad behaviors by you will be how to change this, or let her get put in her place by the other dogs. She should be playing with size appropriate dogs to prevent her doing any damage to the other dog. Also don't be taking her anyplace unless she's had all of her vaccinations!

4. At 4 months they should NOT be jogging, let alone exercising for over 30 min. You can do damage to their growth plates and joints that is irreversible! Exercise at this age should be less than 20 mins, she's even telling you when enough is enough by lagging behind or not jogging any more.

5. I do all my own grooming either at home or a do-it-yourself dog wash costs me $13 and every 10th one I get free. With 9 dogs you can see how this helps the wallet! You can trim the pad hair (the hair between their pads should be equal length to the pad) with grooming scissors or standard hair scissors, brushing daily or every other day is great for their coats and will help in reducing the shedding as well! ALL nails need to be trimmed and kept to appropriate length this includes rears and dew claws! Nails grow and eventually get too long and uncomfortable, nails that are constantly too long will damage the formation of the feet by causing their toes to splay outward. I prefer the dremel over clippers, it's much more comfortable for them as well with less risk of cutting the quick.

[Tatipu]

Thanks so much guys ! I keep telling my dad but he won't listen to me. I think he's trying to tire her out so she'll sleep when we get home. x_o. I'll let him know that's it bad because he never believes me. I mean, he wants to feed her beneful or purina because it's cheaper x_o . Curse having cheap parents. I'm paying for it all myself anyways but yeah ): ..

Do you know what age they will be able to jog? One of the reasons I got a husky was a jogging partner for long distances later -- around 3-5 miles. I'm just not sure what age they can do that. I don't have aproblem bathing her and brushing her but I was just thinking about petsmart in case I got lazy one day .

[MENTION=5355]Al Jones[/MENTION]: I live in South Houston? About an hour from Galveston. I live near Pearland The closest thing I saw to a husky at the dog park was a malamute but she's huuuge D: . My brother's friend has a husky but I've never met her/him. I was told my brother's other friend has a husky pup just like Jelly a little younger -- would it be a good/bad idea to meet up with him to play around with the pups?

I desperately want Jelly to be socialized because when I was younger I did not know animals needed to be socialized with others x_o and they ended up pretty badly.

[MENTION=6615]HuskyMom09[/MENTION]:

1. What are these bowls called and are they available at petsmart/petco?

3. Is appropriate meaning slightly bigger/slightly smaller dogs? Because when she was little she played with my cousin's chi mix and it's pretty small. Now Jelly's practically towering over her so I don't really want Jelly to hurt her. My neighbor has a small, medium, and large dog x_o.

4. Thanks . But for instance when I swim in my backyard, I usually let her run around outside since we have a big backyard(I have a fear that she'll run away even though we blocked the fence below ;-;scary ) . It's okay for her to run around and play for 30-40 minutes on her own right? Because she runs A LOT in our backyard and when we come in she falls asleep in the next 20 minutes. Would that count as the 20 minute exercise? Because I usually walk her for 30-40 min (changing to 20 min now) and then come home and let her run and play while I swim.

5. I didn't know that xD. I guess I'll try to do the stuff myself. Time to clip her back legs +_+ . Hopefully she'll be good and let me clip is without fussing. I will look up the dremel too -- i think I have the clippers , not sure it came with this grooming kit my mom bought me .

Thanks everyone for the answers +_+ much appreciated!

[HuskyMom09]

1) They are called Slow-Feed bowls and are available at most Petsmart's

2) I would let her play with same size to slightly bigger dogs at this point, she could unknowingly hurt a Chi.

3) Puppy play is a lot different than structured exercise, limit structured exercise should be limited allow play time.

[persephona]

1. Puppies can behave like they are really hungry, mine used to be the exactly same way. But being so hungry all the time has good parts as well - because she seems to be so food motivated, you can actually use her meals for training rather than using special treats and being able to use kibble for treats does make one's life much, much easier. She will slow down when she gets a bit older. In the mean time, if you want to slow her eating down, besides feeding her one bit at a time, you can also get one of those special bowls or try putting a large-ish ball in the bowl, so that she has to pick the kibble from around the ball.

Every puppy is different, there is no set quantity they need to be fed, but as long as her stools are solid and she doesn't look too skinny, the amount you are feeding is right.

2. Puppies don't have a lot of bladder control - as it's been pointed out, it can take a longer time for them to gain that control. Every time you have somebody over, she gets overexcited and that's why she involuntarily pees. Give her a few more months, it will stop.

Puppies can be quite hyper, but you'll see in a year or so that she will begin to calm down and behave better. Huskies are usually puppies at heart so they'll always be somewhat excitable when you have people coming over, but adults, especially with the right training, are never as bad as puppies and tend to be much less boisterous.

3. You could try puppy classes for socialisation, they are really good. Other than that, supervised play will be good for her. Most of the time, dogs will let each other know if play is too rough, so unless things get really out of hand, you probably won't need to intervene. The other dog will most certainly protest in one way or another if play is to rough for him and she will learn not too do it anymore. Of course, if things get out of hand, do intervene.

4. I would say 30-40 mins walks at this point are not very good at this point, this will exhaust her and it's not good for her development. Shorter walks would be much better and as long as she is not walked excessively, the asphalt won't destroy her legs, although grass is indeed better. But not all of us have access to that, so we have to make do with what we have. Another point is that it's summer and even with walking her in the evening, it's still quite hot so you should always have some water for her on your walk and you should avoid spending too much time outside if it's particularly warm or humid that day.

5. I think grooming for a husky is pretty much useless - we bathe ours and do everything else on our own. It's worked just fine for us so far. I wish I could take him to the groomers every time he gets a bath to avoid being soaked but I don't think it's worth the price, plus he would not allow other people to bathe him as he hates water (he'll tolerate us, but I wouldn't have high hopes for a stranger trying to get him washed).

[Removed #5]

I see that the crew decided that if I was going to say it was going to be one way - that you'd get replies to one or two topics - that they'd show me just how good they can be. Okay, y'all happy - made me wrong again!!

@Tatipu you got some real good answers so I'm just not going to say anything more ....

[mydiamond]

Do you know what age they will be able to jog? One of the reasons I got a husky was a jogging partner for long distances later -- around 3-5 miles. I'm just not sure what age they can do that. I don't have aproblem bathing her and brushing her but I was just thinking about petsmart in case I got lazy one day .

heya glad to see you posting again there is no real rule on what age a dog should be able to jog, but I believe she should be no younger than 6 months old. And when I say "jogging", I mean running slowly for about 30 mins or so remember 6 months is just a baby they might look big but their joints still need some development safest age is above 12 months IMO but that's just IMO

btw.. I believe that Jelly is your dog. You might live with your parents, but she's yours. Not your dad's. You should decide what is best for her and if you see anyone--including your parents--do something that might damage Jelly's health or training, you have every right to voice your concerns. After all, I believe your dad wants you to be responsible with Jelly. Tell him this is the form of your responsibility good luck!

[Tatipu]

Oh, trust me Diamond, I do xD. It's always the parent speech of, "I'm right, you're wrong -- I'm older so I know more" kind of crap I get because I get pretty mad when my dad does things with her that I disagree on.

Thank you persephona (:

+_+ . Answers helped a lot. .

[mydiamond]

aw V I can relate =\ parents are like that here as well =\ school's gonna keep me busy real soon but in case you feel like chatting to someone I'm always happy to receive PMs