Newly adopted 9 YEAR OLD Husky

[Kris Froehlich]

Melissa and I just adopted our first husky. (Reese) All the info I have about her was from her previous owner who had to rehome her because she has 2 little kids that Reese was now getting jealous of. We believe she wasn't properly trained and since she was there long before the kids, she thought of her self in a higher rank of the pack. She is 9 years old, spayed, and seems to be in good health. We will be taking her in to a vet when I get back from out of town work. I do have a few questions and looking for some tips.

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FOOD - The previous owner fed her Purina Dog Chow. She also said that Reese wouldnt hardly ever eat her food unless there was soft food mixed in with it. She also mentioned that she would some times fee Reese human food, I can only assume that she would also mix in last nights left overs with her dog food. From what I have read, the Husky digestive system does not do well with wheat. Dog Chow seems to have alot of wheat and no meat within the first few ingredients. (Probably one of the reasons Reese would only eat the dog food with other food mixed in.) We did some searching around and got her Blue Buffalo for seniors. We have been mixing it with the Dog Chow to slowly wing her off and not upset her stomach. She seems to like her new dog food just fine without adding any other food. We have stopped feeding her any type of human food too all though she still begs and I assume will for a while.

BEHAVIOR - Reese does not seem to miss her previous owner. She did not look around for her when she got to our house and doesnt seem to be depressed. I believe she is getting way more attention then she had before and is pretty content. Reese is pretty calm around humans and doesnt jump up as much as I would expect. When we tell her no and sit with a stern voice, she will usually listen by the second time. She has some training but doesnt seem to have gone through obedience training. She does not fetch, I believe she doesnt have the attention span for it with all the new and exciting things going on. She does not bark at other dogs in the neighborhood and ignores them even if they are barking at her while we take walks UNTIL we are within 5 feet of another dog. It seems all other dogs get really excited when she is around and they go crazy. Once Reese gets close to another dog though she will growl at them and try to attack. It doesnt seem like in a playfull manor either. How do I get her to properly socialize with other dogs? We take her on walks every morning and I know the neighbors are going to get fed up with their dogs going crazy.

PEEING - She doesnt seem to go pee all at once, EVER. She will sniff around, stop for a second, pee a little bit (usually on a weed or post), and start walking again before she is even done peeing! Then do it again 2 minutes later. Why is this? I read she could have a urinary tract infection? She holds her pee fine when she is in the house and even during the 2 hour car ride home. (stopped once to let her go pee, same thing. little pee here, little pee there) Is there something wrong with her? Of course we plan on asking the vet when we take her in.

SLEEPING - The previous owner said Reese was not crate trained but we believe she was let inside the house quite a bit. We have a problem with skunks in our area right now so we have been bringing her inside. The first night we brought her in she jumped up on our bed even after I told her no many times. I am not proud of what I did in the moment but I did give her a little swat on the butt immediately. We plan on award training her and I know this was wrong and will not be doing it again. She didnt yelp or growl or scour away. She just went over to the blankets we laid out for her and she laid down. Anyways. Since then she has seemed perfectly fine and content with just sleeping on the floor all night. She holds her bladder fine and lays down through the whole night. She still tries to jump up on the couch even after telling her no and pulling her down by her collar. Since we are not spanking her, what is the best way to teach her to stay off the furniture?

If you read all that, thank you and I look forward to your input. Im sure I will have more questions later.

[Elyse]

Melissa and I just adopted our first husky. (Reese) All the info I have about her was from her previous owner who had to rehome her because she has 2 little kids that Reese was now getting jealous of. We believe she wasn't properly trained and since she was there long before the kids, she thought of her self in a higher rank of the pack. She is 9 years old, spayed, and seems to be in good health. We will be taking her in to a vet when I get back from out of town work. I do have a few questions and looking for some tips.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]59194[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]59195[/ATTACH]

FOOD - The previous owner fed her Purina Dog Chow. She also said that Reese wouldnt hardly ever eat her food unless there was soft food mixed in with it. She also mentioned that she would some times fee Reese human food, I can only assume that she would also mix in last nights left overs with her dog food. From what I have read, the Husky digestive system does not do well with wheat. Dog Chow seems to have alot of wheat and no meat within the first few ingredients. (Probably one of the reasons Reese would only eat the dog food with other food mixed in.) We did some searching around and got her Blue Buffalo for seniors. We have been mixing it with the Dog Chow to slowly wing her off and not upset her stomach. She seems to like her new dog food just fine without adding any other food. We have stopped feeding her any type of human food too all though she still begs and I assume will for a while.

BEHAVIOR - Reese does not seem to miss her previous owner. She did not look around for her when she got to our house and doesnt seem to be depressed. I believe she is getting way more attention then she had before and is pretty content. Reese is pretty calm around humans and doesnt jump up as much as I would expect. When we tell her no and sit with a stern voice, she will usually listen by the second time. She has some training but doesnt seem to have gone through obedience training. She does not fetch, I believe she doesnt have the attention span for it with all the new and exciting things going on. She does not bark at other dogs in the neighborhood and ignores them even if they are barking at her while we take walks UNTIL we are within 5 feet of another dog. It seems all other dogs get really excited when she is around and they go crazy. Once Reese gets close to another dog though she will growl at them and try to attack. It doesnt seem like in a playfull manor either. How do I get her to properly socialize with other dogs? We take her on walks every morning and I know the neighbors are going to get fed up with their dogs going crazy.

PEEING - She doesnt seem to go pee all at once, EVER. She will sniff around, stop for a second, pee a little bit (usually on a weed or post), and start walking again before she is even done peeing! Then do it again 2 minutes later. Why is this? I read she could have a urinary tract infection? She holds her pee fine when she is in the house and even during the 2 hour car ride home. (stopped once to let her go pee, same thing. little pee here, little pee there) Is there something wrong with her? Of course we plan on asking the vet when we take her in.

SLEEPING - The previous owner said Reese was not crate trained but we believe she was let inside the house quite a bit. We have a problem with skunks in our area right now so we have been bringing her inside. The first night we brought her in she jumped up on our bed even after I told her no many times. I am not proud of what I did in the moment but I did give her a little swat on the butt immediately. We plan on award training her and I know this was wrong and will not be doing it again. She didnt yelp or growl or scour away. She just went over to the blankets we laid out for her and she laid down. Anyways. Since then she has seemed perfectly fine and content with just sleeping on the floor all night. She holds her bladder fine and lays down through the whole night. She still tries to jump up on the couch even after telling her no and pulling her down by her collar. Since we are not spanking her, what is the best way to teach her to stay off the furniture?

If you read all that, thank you and I look forward to your input. Im sure I will have more questions later.

First of all...THANK YOU for adopting an older husky! Old dogs rarely get adopted from shelters, so you probably just saved a life!

Blue Buffalo is a good type of food, although personally I feed my husky (7 years old) Taste of the Wild. He absolutely loves it.

Haha - huskies in general do not play fetch. They don't see the point in it...after all...why should they get the ball when you just keep on throwing it away? YOU should get the ball yourself!

On the socializing issue...I'm not entirely sure as Suka is 'leash aggressive' as well (though he's fine off lead, like in a dog park.). Somebody else will probably be able to help you with this. That's how he is exactly too...he ignores other dogs until they get really close to him, then he gets all growly and pulls on his leash.

Oh, no. That's called 'territory marking'. Suka does it ALL the time, especially at the dog park. All he wants to do is trot around, pee on trees and fences, trot around some more, pee a little more, and repeat.

It's a natural dog behaviour, though some dogs do it more than others (depends on their 'dominance' and confidence levels, I suppose.).

It's basically to let other dogs know they've been there, through scent. Kind of like if you wrote "[name] was here!" on a wall, along with some other basic information about you (age, gender, etc.). This is because there are hormones in the pee, that dogs' noses can pick up on, that tell the gender, the age, and how long ago the 'pee mark' was made.

I find Suka, my dog, does it more often when he's in an unfamiliar place.

I'm glad you will not spank her anymore; they never respond well to physical punishment. As for the question, I'm not entirely sure on this either, because when I adopted Suka he already 'came' trained in all the basics.

How long have you had Reese for? She looks beautiful, by the way.

[Kris Froehlich]

Thank you for your reply. We have only had Reese for 4 days now and am already super attached. She has been taught some bad habits but is definitely all worth it. It actually makes me sad to be away for work. Makes me worried a little too how she will react with Melissa the times that I am gone. Melissa has already told me that Reese listens to me better and must see me as more of an Alpha then her.

I will look into Taste of the Wild. Thanks

Thats what I figured on the fetch thing. I just want something to do together that we can bond more with besides walking. She does like to play a little bit, I try not to get her too excited though in fear she might start trying to play too rough with my niece that comes around sometimes. What about something like playing frisbee? I guess that is also "fetch" too huh? lol

I plan on taking Reese to a dog park in the area when I get back and see how she acts. I am a little worried to let her off the leash too much though as she needs more training. Thoughts on "cant teach an old dog new tricks"? She is fine in my yard and usually listens to me when I tell her come, unless she is too sidetracked and turns on the selective hearing. lol Gonna work on teaching her to quit pulling on the leash during walks by using the Positive Reinforcment method under the traning tips section.

My first thought was that she was just marking her territory, the way that she did it just seemed strange to me. You would think she would stop completely to go pee and wait at least till the pee quit flowing before she started to walk again. lol

Thank you for your help and the compliments. Everywhere we go we get compliments on how pretty she is. She definitely cleaned up nice after giving her a bath and brushing her for 20+ minutes. lol

[Elyse]

On the 'Alpha' thing, Suka used to listen to my Dad more whenever he ran away (and was being called to come back.). Now, not so much, as Suka's got my Dad feeding him ice cream whenever he begs (Bad Dad!). I always figured it was because the male voice is obviously much deeper and can sound more 'assertive'?

Frisbee would be about the same. Let me know when you figure out other ways to bond with them besides walking. I've had Suka for 3 years, and because he doesn't play with toys and isn't a cuddler, the only way I really can bond with him is with walking and training! The dog park doesn't count, as he's quite a boring dog at the park. I just watch the other dogs for entertainment, haha!

I would hold off on the dog park for now until she gets used to you and your routine, you get her a little more trained and responsive, you figure out her personality (dogality??), and until she gets a good bill of health from the vet. Also, before you go, make sure she's updated on her vaccinations and her flea/tick medication. You don't want her getting any diseases, fleas, or ticks from other dogs.

If and when you do take her to the dog park, make sure it is fenced in and the fence isn't too short (higher than 6 ft). I doubt a 9 year old would actually jump a fence (my 7 year old is already REALLY laid back, much more so than when I got him at 4 years old.), but it's better to be safe than sorry.

4 days isn't really that long. It took Suka a good a couple of months to fully trust and listen to us (though he was physically abused in his past), and even more so before I mustered up the confidence to take him to the dog park. He is the first dog I've ever had, so I was extra careful with everything.

Edited September 17, 2012 by SolitaryHowl

[Removed #5]

First, let me add my thanks to those of [MENTION=3404]SolitaryHowl[/MENTION] - I'm glaad you had the heart to take in an older dog, they do have a pleasure all their own.

<< Laughing >> Fetch! Fetch, hell, you want it, you go get it yourself! I've heard that there are some Husky's who'll fetch, but I haven't seen one!! You threw it away, if you want it back - *you* go get it!!

The little piddle stops are her marking - and yes, female dogs will mark their territory; it's not just a male thing. That's what those little pis stops are all about! When she finally decides "to go" you'll know, it's not a little bit, it's ( in the case of my female! ) a miniature flood!

We;ve had the discussion about dog food, I'm one of those bad owners who feeds purina and I wouldn't say that either of mine are underfed - and they don't get many table scraps ( okay, maybe something once a week or so - but don't beg or you get nothing! )

Husky's, as you may have noticed, are not dogs - they're people in fur! Some of them are affectionate, some are aloof and most fall somewhere in between! I have two, an Alaskan who would play 247 if I'd let him and a Sibe who is completely comfortable laying by my feet waiting ... accept whatever she turns out to be because you'll find plenty of surprises in what you thought you knew!

[Biggles]

Welcome to Husky Owners and I would also like to thank you for adopting an older husky. Looking forward to seeing pictures of Reese.

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

<< Laughing >> Fetch! Fetch, hell, you want it, you go get it yourself! I've heard that there are some Husky's who'll fetch, but I haven't seen one!! You threw it away, if you want it back - *you* go get it!!

;-)

Welcome to the pack , well done on adopting an older husky! As u can see some huskies can and do play fetch however at her age it will probably take a while for her to learn how to if she learns at all , I have a dog (bings) who we got at 3 years old n despite having him for 10years now (in Oct) the only game he will play is tug ov war

My nearly 3 year old husky will not play fetch either

Sent from my ST18i using Forum Runner

[Rosemary]

Hi Kris, welcome to the forum and all things Husky I can't add anything to what has already been said, but just wanted to welcome you and Reese.

[Alan1984b]

Welcome, Firstly Reece is beautiful. My two girls are forever stopping and peeing everywhere, and they started with the little and often when i first got them (at 2½ n 3½) Anue took about 3 months to properly settle, and get her diet right. Ava who i've now had for 2 weeks is settling a little quicker but she has her days where she doesn't eat all her dinner. It's down for half hour, if its eaten they get a treat, if its not then its taken up, they soon realise thats when to eat and usually get the hint if they dont eat then then theres no food. Anue took a week to get that hint and now eats 2 meals per day and doesn't leave a bit. Ava is just getting that hint.

I have got Anue playing fetch, at first she looked at me like "get stuffed i ain't gettin that", but as they have a hid prey drive i got a little teddy and started playing with her and gradually started usng different toys.

The bad habits are the hardest to break but are breakable, have fun.

[Stranger]

hey, welcome to the forum....

my two play fetch, admittadly its when they want to and there has to be something in it for them, and im not talking about..you'll throw it again. treats if you dont have them they arent really interested

[Kris Froehlich]

Thanks for all the info and compliments guys. I am a little worried about the time that I spend away at work and Melissa has to take care of Reese by herself. I got a call this morning and Melissa was a little stressed. Reese has been sleeping in our room on the floor and seems to be fine. The last few mornings Melissa said that she would wake up and Reese would look over wagging her tail, ready to go out and on the morning walk. Aparently this morning right when Melissa woke up, Reese got off her dog bed and came over to the side of our bed and barked at Melissa once right in her face. This really startled Melissa and somewhat scared her especially since we havent heard her bark before. She said no loudly and sternly. Reese walked around the room and came back beside the bed about a minute later. Melissa went to pet her and she snapped at her hand and let out a growl! So I got a call and Melissa was scared and upset. I told her to take Reese out side and let her go pee and let out some energy. Melissa took her outside. She didnt go pee, didnt run around, just sat there in the grass.

I also find out at this time that Reese snapped and growled at Melissa yesterday too. Reese was outside on her long teather and Melissa had to get into the car to get something. Reese seems to love car rides as she jumped into the car passed Melissa. Melissa told her no and grabbed her leash to get her out of the car. Thats when she growled and snapped that time.

I told melissa that if Reese wanted to bite her that she would have got bitten. But why the random growling and snapping 2 times when the rest of the time she seems fine.

Reeses current schedule.

Wake up and let out of the house to roam the yard and do business.

30+ minute walk around our neighborhood, sniffing around, marking territory, pulling on the lead, watching other dogs go crazy.

1 to 1-1/2 cup of Blue Buffalo and her water bowl of course. We tell Reese to sit and wait while we fill her food bowl and set it down. then say ok. She scarfs it down.

She is left out side while Melissa works for 5-6 hours.

Melissa comes back and ATTEMPTS to play with her. She says she just roams around the yard. Isnt interested in toys. Seems to want to rough house. (not Melissa's form of playing) She works on getting Reese to listen to her. Sit, lay, and so on.

Feeds Reese her dinner, another 1 to 1-1/2 cups. Same sit and wait, ok. And she scarfs it down again.

Brings her inside and lets her roam around while Melissa watches tv and cooks dinner and such. Reese will usually just lounge out in the bed room. When she comes around Melissa will pet her and talk to her.

Then they go to bed for the night in our room with the door shut. Her water bowl is there by her dog bed and she goes to sleep fine.

[Stranger]

kaiden and parker both bark at me if they want something, but i dont know about the snapping and growling?!?!

[LittleLuka]

Thanks for all the info and compliments guys. I am a little worried about the time that I spend away at work and Melissa has to take care of Reese by herself. I got a call this morning and Melissa was a little stressed. Reese has been sleeping in our room on the floor and seems to be fine. The last few mornings Melissa said that she would wake up and Reese would look over wagging her tail, ready to go out and on the morning walk. Aparently this morning right when Melissa woke up, Reese got off her dog bed and came over to the side of our bed and barked at Melissa once right in her face. This really startled Melissa and somewhat scared her especially since we havent heard her bark before. She said no loudly and sternly. Reese walked around the room and came back beside the bed about a minute later. Melissa went to pet her and she snapped at her hand and let out a growl! So I got a call and Melissa was scared and upset. I told her to take Reese out side and let her go pee and let out some energy. Melissa took her outside. She didnt go pee, didnt run around, just sat there in the grass.

I also find out at this time that Reese snapped and growled at Melissa yesterday too. Reese was outside on her long teather and Melissa had to get into the car to get something. Reese seems to love car rides as she jumped into the car passed Melissa. Melissa told her no and grabbed her leash to get her out of the car. Thats when she growled and snapped that time.

I told melissa that if Reese wanted to bite her that she would have got bitten. But why the random growling and snapping 2 times when the rest of the time she seems fine.

Reeses current schedule.

Wake up and let out of the house to roam the yard and do business.

30+ minute walk around our neighborhood, sniffing around, marking territory, pulling on the lead, watching other dogs go crazy.

1 to 1-1/2 cup of Blue Buffalo and her water bowl of course. We tell Reese to sit and wait while we fill her food bowl and set it down. then say ok. She scarfs it down.

She is left out side while Melissa works for 5-6 hours.

Melissa comes back and ATTEMPTS to play with her. She says she just roams around the yard. Isnt interested in toys. Seems to want to rough house. (not Melissa's form of playing) She works on getting Reese to listen to her. Sit, lay, and so on.

Feeds Reese her dinner, another 1 to 1-1/2 cups. Same sit and wait, ok. And she scarfs it down again.

Brings her inside and lets her roam around while Melissa watches tv and cooks dinner and such. Reese will usually just lounge out in the bed room. When she comes around Melissa will pet her and talk to her.

Then they go to bed for the night in our room with the door shut. Her water bowl is there by her dog bed and she goes to sleep fine.

luka barks at me all the time. i would like to mention most huskies are VERY vocal. from back talking to howling to barking they're a loud breed of dog. Many huskies don't bark often (mine is an exception). if you don't wish her to bark in your face a stern no should help.

she might also be testing her dominance with melissa. huskies are very independent, intelligent dogs. they love to test boundaries. be consistent and things should get better. you still haven't had her that long and training takes time. she has learned traits and it will take awhile to break ones you disapprove of.

and lastly, congrats on your new bestfriend! you'll soon realize (if you havent already haha) that you can't imagine your life without a husky! they're the best!

[Elyse]

Like already stated, it seems like she's testing her boundaries with Melissa. I'd encourage her to keep up on the training, and (I know its hard) to not be scared of her or what she might do. They can easily sense fear, and they'll take advantage of that because they see it as 'weakness'.

Has she had a checkup at the vet, too? Maybe she's snappy around that area (head area?) because there's something wrong with her (health)?

As a side note, it seems like you are feeding her too much of the kibble...especially at that age (not as active). Huskies have very efficient metabolisms...and my boy (7 years old) maintains his weight with 1 meal of 1.5 cups of Taste of the Wild (kibble), and a 50 minute walk every day.

[Kris Froehlich]

Thanks for the info and reassurance again. I already told Melissa not to be scared as Reese can sense that and that she might be testing her dominance so it sounds like we are on the same page. I was also thinking that all though Reese acts fine most of the time and not depressed, but that she could still have some anxiety? After all A LOT is changing. New home, new owners, new routine, new food, ect. I could see how she could have an underlying health issue but I havent seen her act weird about her neck/head personally. Ive pet and brushed her around there and even gave her a bath and washed around her neck and face. No issues. I could add that the previous owner did have her on a leash or dog run only using a collar, it might have even been a choke chain. There is almost no hair around where her collar would sit, there isnt any broken skin or scabs though so I dont really think it as a choke chain. That being said. I still havent seen that area bother her.

We will be taking her to the vet to get updated on shots and all checked out when I get back. The previous owner said she last shots were about 3 years ago.

I double checked with melissa and she is feeding her 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup at night. The bag recommends 2-1/2 to 3 cups per day and I read Huskies generally need 60% of recommended serving?

Here is a video of Reese. I told Melissa she needs to work on consistency and using one command at a time. Sorry, I dont know why it is sideways.

CLICK TO PLAY

[Kris Froehlich]

I posted up a response but it said it needed to wait for approval form admin. Im guessing because I linked a photobucket image? How long does it take to get approved?

[Dave]

I posted up a response but it said it needed to wait for approval form admin. Im guessing because I linked a photobucket image? How long does it take to get approved?

Hey, I have just approved it for you Welcome to the forum

[Storm Angel n Auroras Mum]

could she be in pain?

is she intact and due in season?

[Elyse]

Oh my god. Reese reminds me so much of my Suka. The way she moves, prances about, and even does the enthusiastic downs! If they were closer in age, I'd be tempted to say they are siblings!

It's possible she may have some anxiety still. It took my Suka a good couple of weeks to be fully relaxed with us.

That is possible, with the no hair around her neck, that it might have been a choke chain. But, that symptom always confuses me...because my Suka is on a martingale collar (sorta like a choke chain, but it only closes half-way and it has vinyl along the half that touches the neck) and he's NEVER had hair problems.

FYI: Choke chains shouldn't cause any scabs or scars anyways. They don't even break the skin. I think you're thinking of the prong collars, those are cruel, IMO.

When Melissa is telling her a command, tell her to not reward her with any 'good girls' or any treats if she does the wrong command. (ie: laying down instead of sitting.) That just rewards that behaviour and it might even confuse her.

I think the way Melissa is training her in the video is fine, overall, though.

Edited September 20, 2012 by SolitaryHowl