Am I a suitable owner? I really hope so!

[markquinton]

Hi all

Great website you have here!

Im a 31 year old male from Norwich, England and have always had a fascination with the Siberian Husky. Its a strange fascination as i've never been interested in another dog, just the Husky, and it's not just down to their looks.

I am married and we have a child who is 5 next month and we also have 3 cats.

Over the last few months i've been researching the breed practically everyday with a view to getting a puppy in the near future. I am certain that I would like to bring one into the family even though most things you read on the internet are mainly quite negative in regards to the breed with regards to their difficult to train, stubborness, destructiveness etc etc

The thing that concerns me is that I seem to be quite the opposite to what many (possibly inexperienced) people recommend?

For instance,

• I have 3 cats ,not recommended with a husky apparently - although I've seen many posts on this site saying they can grow up in harmony with each other
  
• We have a 5 year old and will likely have more kids in the future
  
• I have never owned a dog before - Many people don't recommend this for husky ownerhip but I really feel that if i'm determined enough and are aware of the pitfalls then I can be a sucessful owner
  
• There is 1 day of the week when we are not home for 8 hours - I would look to pay a dog walker to let the puppy out for 2 breaks during the day
  

I really want a Husky and believe it would benefit us by making us more active and would be a fantastic addition to the family. BUT I need to make sure that I can give the dog everything that they require for a happy life as I will not under any circumstances take on a commitment without the dog's best interests at heart.

Please could you let me know whether the above points can be conquered or whether I am deluding myself?

Thanks in advance

Mark

[Storm Angel n Auroras Mum]

Hi Mark welcome to Husky owners, my favourite place in the web world

There is a few people with cats and huskies. I think that if you are dedicated you can get the husky and cats to co-exist. BUT I would never assume things were 10000% safe and would never never leave them alone with the cats. You would need to seperate the husky and cats when you were gone.

Plenty of people work 8 hours a day and leave their huskies, some have dog walkers, some go home for lunch, some do neither.

A lot depends on whether you are thinking puppy or rescue. If you go rescue route you will need to find one that has previously lived with cats and a lot of rescues will NOT rehome to people with cats. Some are ok.

Puppies, a puppy could be trained to live alongside them but will not cope being alone for 8 hours a day, even if it is only one day.

Unless you could take a few weeks/month off of work to settle a pup in?

I dont see any of the points you mentioned meaning you cant have a husky. Sure there are a few minor issues to work out but I cannot see why not.

You have done the best thing and sought us out first, which in my eyes means you are dedicated.

good luck x

I forgot to add, my daughter was 3 1/2 when we got Storm. We had a bit of hard work raising a puppy with a young child but we did it and it was fine. You do have to be tough on the nipping and biting.

Edited September 20, 2012 by Storm & Angels Mum

[Stranger]

For instance,

• I have 3 cats ,not recommended with a husky apparently - although I've seen many posts on this site saying they can grow up in harmony with each other
  

I have a cat, she is 7 ish, we unfortunately did not introduce them properly, as we kept them apart for a fare while, my advice would be if you got a puppy insure introductions are done, and dont try to keep them seperate, they need to get used to each other if you are to trust them together. with this aside, they may just not like the pup, but as long as he learns to leave well alone then you will be fine.

• We have a 5 year old and will likely have more kids in the future
  

Being brought up around kids is good for the dog, and also teaches the kid to learn how to treat animals, insure proper socialisation is carried out, including introducing to babies. insure you child has its safe zone, ie childrens room, dog to stay out, and the dog also has its safe zone, child to never bother when they have gone there, but at the same time child and dog knows not to become over protective of their "zones" reducing risk of accidents, also obvious one would Never, ever leave child and dog alone, dogs teeth can be and are sharp, playing can cause damage and children are sometimes to pully and touchy which can cause reactions. further more training so that puppy does not become posessive over anything is good idea so if child trys to take toy or bone there isnt a nasty reaction. child to learn dogs body language to help reduce accidents.

• I have never owned a dog before - Many people don't recommend this for husky ownerhip but I really feel that if i'm determined enough and are aware of the pitfalls then I can be a sucessful owner
  

there is alot more to consider when getting a husky, although personally, i havent felt it was much more difficult to previous dog ive had...if you do your research, and are prepared for the "teenage" stage where they are somewhat over the top in everything, along with long walks, toilet training, socialisation, the OMG so much fur, and most of all stubborn attitude you'll be fine, you have to start somewhere, and as much as i would like to say dont get a husky as your first dog, i believe that you have to start somewhere, as long as this isnt a 5 minute oh how beautiful are you i want one thing then you should all things considered be fine (please dont take that the wrong way, its something we come across alot while walking our boys) but you seem to have done your research and most importantly you are asking fellow husky owners their advice...my hat comes off to you (although i never wear hats and frankly look soooo stupid in one )

• There is 1 day of the week when we are not home for 8 hours - I would look to pay a dog walker to let the puppy out for 2 breaks during the day
  

I work monday to friday 7:30 - 5, leaving the house at 7 in the morning returning by half 5...long day, and although when we got them our situation was different, as we would never of considered getting any dogs, the boys are used to our routine, get long walks and are fine with it (i hope) they are healthy, fit, and loving, and i am looking for another job closer to home so i can let them out during the day...needless to say, as long (while he is a puppy) you make arrangments for him to be let out and legs stretched (esspecially during house training stages) you should be fine.

I think overall, if you believe that you can keep your dogs best interest at heart, learn to love and understand them you'll be fine. there are hundreds of huskies being rehomed these days because people dont do their home work, or "dont have time", "have a kid on the way", blah blah blah i dont think, being that you are here asking you are one of those. and they are an amazing dog, in more ways than one, who can be extremely rewarding, they just need patience...alot of it too

hope this helps

much luv xx

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

Welcome to the pack well done on doing your research first

Huskies can live with cats ok if brought up with them from a puppy and introduced correctly , I don't have cats so I can't give u any advice there I'm afraid apart from to keep them separate when you can't supervise them, never leave them alone together

Huskies get on great with children but bear in mind a puppy WILL nip its up2u to train the puppy not to , there's a great thread on here called bite inhibition the most important thing you can teach ,, I can't link on my phone tho I'm afraid

If your willing to put in the work and realise how stubborn the breed can be and your prepared there's no reason why u can't have a husky as a first dog imo , they aren't easy but it's possible

With regards to the 8 hour day letting out a puppy that young twice a day won't be enough puppies need to go out to toilet usually every half hour / hour and right after eating , drinking, sleeping and playing , I'd also recommended looking into crate training so the pup doesn't get destructive when you leave

Also be aware that this breed can be prone to separation anxiety as they are pack animals

Sent from my ST18i using Forum Runner

[Rosemary]

I agree with Louise, none of the points you mention need mean you are not a suitable husky owner. They can all be overcome with planning and thought It would be important though, that both you and your partner both want a husky.

A suitable husky owner, in my view, is someone who loves the Siberian Husky for who they are, the 'difficulties' everyone always mentions, included. If you are able to provide the exercise they need, are able to give them a stable and safe home with lots of love and attention, and just as importantly, understand them and their peculiarities, you are well on your way to being a good husky owner.

They are certainly not for everyone, the current state of homeless huskies in rescues all over the world can attest to that, but with the right owner, they are the most amazing breed on earth. They are intelligent, very funny, stubborn, can drive you nuts at times, but they are so worth all the effort you put into them.

If you are going to go the puppy route, make sure you choose your puppy from a reputable breeder and you won't be sorry, they can be your biggest help in adjusting to life with a husky.

Good luck with your decision, and if you decided to go ahead and join the "I am owned by a Siberian Husky club", we look forward to lots and lots of photos

[markquinton]

Thanks for all the replies so quickly!!

It seems the house training issue on the day when we are not there is the biggest issue. Any ideas on how to overcome this? Surely there must be some people who have had to work and house train a puppy?? Is it possible to get them to use puppy pads when we are not there but to go outside when we are there? Or is this just sending confusing mixed messages to the poor puppy?

Thanks again

Mark

[Stranger]

Thanks for all the replies so quickly!!

It seems the house training issue on the day when we are not there is the biggest issue. Any ideas on how to overcome this? Surely there must be some people who have had to work and house train a puppy?? Is it possible to get them to use puppy pads when we are not there but to go outside when we are there? Or is this just sending confusing mixed messages to the poor puppy?

Thanks again

Mark

our boys are crate trained, so when we went out we made this "Pen, with a chicken wire lid so they couldnt get out... seems silly now. this was so they had a puppy pad (toilet area) and bed area. on the days my brother was out for couple of hours at college we would come back to a puppy pen stinking, both dogs needing baths, water bowls knocked over due to playing and Sh** everywhere lol. it didnt make for an easy life and took them a while to be house trained. on these days when you are out all day you may find you come home to this, but your puppy may become distressed as being alone for a long time isnt easy on a puppy. we had two which made life a little easier as they werent home alone, but everything else a tad harder...slight understatement lol.

your not the first person who has to work so it is possible. just be prepared for it possibly taking longer, and having to possibly bath the pup.

x

[Stranger]

god all my posts today seem rather...whats the word...matter of fact...sorry i am normally extremely light hearted...

[Stormy]

With my first sibe Shadow i had a week off work then went back i left puppy pads down for him and got a friend to come in mid day as he was also fed mid day. The only downside to this was it took alot longer to toilet train him!!

Skye however my second i was fortunate enough to be able to be at home for a couple of months due to not having a job at the time unfortunately but it was alot different to train her than it was shadow... Toilet training i didnt use puppy pads atall i just kept an eye out and took out after everything etc and she was fully toilet trained by around 4 and a half months old where as shadow wasnt fully trained till over 6 months!

I definitely would advise crate training as it will be their safe place when you are gone but also prevents your house being destroyed which will more than likely happen at some point!!

I only have one day that i have to crate mine for work as i now work two days but one is a saturday so rob is home. They will be walked before i go to work then i pop back for lunch let them out run about etc then whoever is home first will let them out again and we will then have another walk

[Elyse]

Great suggestions and advice! I can only add that my husky, Suka, is the first dog I ever had. And he was a rescue to boot.

And I'd like to think he turned out fine, too!

So, it is possible to have a husky as your first dog. It's just a lot of work and can be quite the shock going from 'no dog' to 'fur-everywhere, pulling-your-arm-off, and stubborn-dog!'

[Jay]

My first dog was a Husky as well! If it is only 1 day a week that the pup would be alone for 8 hours in a row I would look into hiring a dog walker to come in and let the pup out in the middle of the day, or doggie daycare. Mine have been crated for up to 5 hours at a time when I am at work in the morning and I haven't had any problems, and my youngest was barely 8 weeks old when I did that.

[Sarah]

My first dog was a husky lol now i've got 3

I also have a cat - she's 9 and Kimba and Kaiser have grown up with her so they don't bother with her at all, we rehomed Koda last year and he is bad around cats, we are very careful and the boys are always crated when we're not in.....never every trust them i've read so many stories where people have said oh they're fine together then one day - no more cat

As for toilet training - it may take longer with working, it did with us, but they will get the hang of it eventually

You're doing everything right - research, asking questions, and researching again

[Seren]

Seren was my first dog

Was also able to leave her for 8 hours with freedom of the downstairs (happened rarely) and she was perfectly well behaved!

[Paranormal Wolf]

So many have chimed in and given advice so I won't echo too much. I think if you are dedicated and comited and keep on with your research you'll do just fine with a husky. Hey you've already done more than a lot of first time owners by researching, asking questions, and thinking about the dog and your family before getting it so I tip my hat to you on that.

[Tyrone&charlotte]

We've had our pup 3 weeks now, like you never owned a dog before, but felt we were up for the challenge and had done a huge amount of research. We have a cat and our son is 8. Although we are at home I do work 3 nights a month so he is left crated while I sleep in the day And I just get up and let him out a couple of times between 9am and 2pm, which a dog walker/ sitter could do. Our cat initially was not happy and hissed a lot! He has certainly put the puppy in his place And made sure the dog knows he is second to him, this to us kind of helps with the alpha male thing! They are now at the stage of tolerating each other, but think this will continue to improve. The hardest thing that we have found is dealing with our son and dog, they do get exuctable especially around children and do nip, we would not leave our pup with our son unsupervised yet. The best bit of advice I could give is just be careful, puppies take a lot of your time and attention and is easy to suddenly focus the attention you used to have on your child to the puppy. Took us a while to realise this and that our sons excitement of the dog turned to almost jealously. Having now worked this out we have found a balance and all is harmonious! Obviously we are still very inexperienced but as new owners thought I'd share what little experience we have had. Go for it and good luck x

[Marc]

I'll be completely blunt. Often the problems are not that people have xyz wrong with them, their surroundings, etc etc but the people themselves. If you stick to exactly what you are doing now, and stick to the dedication, work your way around the problems you have then you will be a very good owner.

Problems I can forsee you having. The cats first of all. You cannot have a husky without knowing that they have a very high prey drive. We have a cat ourselves, and if you have them together you have to (as sad as it sounds) know the fact that there is always a potential danger to the cat. Its nature.

We also had the issue of working. I did actually take some time off to begin with and try and work their way into in gently, which was difficult however it worked. I would strongly suggest crate training and sticking with it. It will be one of the best decisions you will ever make LOL.

[Emma]

We've got 2 bengal cats and things are fine so far but Ice is crated when we go out so he hasn't got any chances to misbehave! I found that it kind of depends on the attitude of the cat, some are fighters and some are runners. You want the fighting kind! Bengals are bred with Asain leopard cats and although they look small, they are built like wild cats and act like it too, solid muscle, crazy prey drive, and very strong! Ice soon learnt that their claws are painful and leaves well enough alone but if he spots them running, you can tell he wants to chase them.

Being inexperienced is both something and nothing. It would be beneficial to have had some experience but if you're truely devoted and stubbornly refuse to give up NO MATTER WHAT, then you'll succeed. Just make sure you are prepared for the pitfalls, some of which are: Husky pups can and WILL destroy anything and everything in their path if they feel like it. Partly this can be down to boredom due to lack of stimulation and exercise, sometimes separation anxiety, sometimes just because they have a desire to chew and your furniture looked good! lol. Another thing is husky's require much more exercise as adults than most breeds, general rule of thumb is about 5 minutes per month in age, so a 3 month old pup would need 15 mins but a 1 year old would need 60 mins/1 hour. Big diference! Husky's can not be trained a 100% reliable recall, many people claim that they have achieved this, sadly some of these peope have ended up losing their dogs. Now I'm going to get really disgusting and mention poo! (Boy, bet you're glad I showed up now! lol) Husky's can be intolerant to wheat, not all but quite a few are. They also require less food than most breeds and certainly less than what's stated on the can/box. Overfeed or give too much wheat and be prepared for multiple explosions through the day and night ( I speak from personal experience here!). There are hypoallergenic foods available that are wheat free and rather oddly chappie seems to work well on some sensitive stomachs?! The last thing I'll bombard you with is the HEAVY SHEDDING/BLOWING of the coat. Basically twice a year every single peice of fur on the dog is going to pop off in chunks all over your floor/clothes/bedding/food/drinks/visitors....it even gets in your mouth!

Have I put you off yet??? If not, and you're prepared for all this and sooooo much more, I haven't even really started yet! Then yes, I think the rest can be worked around. It's really down to how determined you are!

Good luck xxx

[jim_tinmois]

Hi Mark. Would you consider adopting a dog, as there are hundreds of unwanted Huskies in this country alone, in Shelters and being fostered, just hoping that somone will take them on. Many people , as you will find out, dont research the breed first and just get a Husky because they are 'Adorable puppies' and when they become boisterous adolescents, people abandon them and makes all sorts of excuses like 'we havnt got the time now, because we are both working, and its not fair on the dog' Well what they mean is that they are probably shocked because their bored adolescent is now chewing things up when its left. I recently assessed a most beautifu female for a rescue . 18 months old, crate trained, lives with cats, is good around young children. The couple had broken up and the girl was unable to give the dog the attention it needed.

If you were to consider taking a rescue, you wouldnt have to go through the puppy training stage at all, and you would probably gain a lot of satisfaction , as you get to know more about Huskies, in that you had given a poor rescue dog a loving home.

I am not trying to put you off getting a puppy and I have no ulterior motive in asking you to consider adopting. I would just say that I have had a puppy in the past, but the two subsequent rescue dogs I have had , gave me more saitisfaction, knowing that I had given them a better life.

There are a number of Husky rescues about if you were to search in a search engine for them.

I'd be delighted if I saw that you had decided to adopt !!

[markquinton]

Thanks ever so much for all the replies. The answer is yes I am prepared for all of the above, I just need to ensure my wife is too!

With regards to adopting, I personally really like the idea but the worry is an older dog may be less tolerant of the cats, crate training an adult husky (if not already trained) is possibly harder and my wife really only wanted a puppy on the basis that they will grow up to be more tolerant of our child and only brought up by ourselves. I may try and persuade her otherwise but I can understand her thinking behind it.

Thanks again

Mark

[Storm Angel n Auroras Mum]

Thanks ever so much for all the replies. The answer is yes I am prepared for all of the above, I just need to ensure my wife is too!

With regards to adopting, I personally really like the idea but the worry is an older dog may be less tolerant of the cats, crate training an adult husky (if not already trained) is possibly harder and my wife really only wanted a puppy on the basis that they will grow up to be more tolerant of our child and only brought up by ourselves. I may try and persuade her otherwise but I can understand her thinking behind it.

Thanks again

Mark

i crate trained a rescue. it was harder than crate training a puppy. but not totally undoable.

having a rescue was different to a puppy.

However, I would never change the fact i have her. all the work i put in her ive gotten back tenfold.

I love both my babies for different reasons. xx

[Mollys_mum]

Hi all

Great website you have here!

Im a 31 year old male from Norwich, England and have always had a fascination with the Siberian Husky. Its a strange fascination as i've never been interested in another dog, just the Husky, and it's not just down to their looks.

I am married and we have a child who is 5 next month and we also have 3 cats.

Over the last few months i've been researching the breed practically everyday with a view to getting a puppy in the near future. I am certain that I would like to bring one into the family even though most things you read on the internet are mainly quite negative in regards to the breed with regards to their difficult to train, stubborness, destructiveness etc etc

The thing that concerns me is that I seem to be quite the opposite to what many (possibly inexperienced) people recommend?

For instance,

• I have 3 cats ,not recommended with a husky apparently - although I've seen many posts on this site saying they can grow up in harmony with each other
  
• We have a 5 year old and will likely have more kids in the future
  
• I have never owned a dog before - Many people don't recommend this for husky ownerhip but I really feel that if i'm determined enough and are aware of the pitfalls then I can be a sucessful owner
  
• There is 1 day of the week when we are not home for 8 hours - I would look to pay a dog walker to let the puppy out for 2 breaks during the day
  

I really want a Husky and believe it would benefit us by making us more active and would be a fantastic addition to the family. BUT I need to make sure that I can give the dog everything that they require for a happy life as I will not under any circumstances take on a commitment without the dog's best interests at heart.

Please could you let me know whether the above points can be conquered or whether I am deluding myself?

Thanks in advance

Mark

Hi there, Mark! And a very big to the forum; I haven't done anything other than glance at the replies (cos I have to go to bed in a little while for work tomorrow ) but I suspect we'll all be singing on a similar song sheet, as it were. Using your own bullet points, I'd say this:

1. The Husky (if a pup) will treat the cats as part of the pack. It is the cats that you have to consider here. A good thing to remember here is that cats don't value people as highly as their home - with dogs, it is the other way around. (This is why you have to keep cats indoors for a period of time if you move house - otherwise they'll try and go back to their old place.)

I have owned cats (Siamese only) for the last 20 years, and they will make their own mind up about dogs. They will either get on, or not. My current Siamese tolerates one of my sibes, but not the other 2. I have 2 dogs that are re-homes and they are now fine with the cat, but the cat still isn't so keen.

2. All breeds of dog need to be closely supervised around children in my view. When I was a teenager, I witnessed our 10 year old Spaniel shake my 15 month old sister around like a rag-doll. It was totally 'out of the blue' and had never happened before. It was an aweful thing to witness and as a result, I would never let a dog (any dog) very close to a small child.

3. A Husky was the first and only dog I have owned. To be honest, I don't think I'd know what to do with a different breed of dog. I now have 3. (2 are re-homes, and I'm proud of that).

4. A dog walker? Wow! Lucky you! Once a week isn't going to hurt him/her btw.

It seems to me that you have covered a lot of the basic things, and that's super!

Do please consider these things though:

1. Get a re-home/rescue rather than a puppy if you can concede to the idea. (There are plenty out there that will fit in with children and cats. )

2. Huskies ARE addictive. I cannot stress this stongly enough. They are also pack dogs, so at some point down the line you'll convince yourself of this, and realise that you need another one...and possibly another, etc.

3. Forget having a very clean house. Husky hair will be a constant companion in your life. (I even have some on my keyboard at the moment.)

4. You'll be inclined to buy shares in duck tape/ gaffa tape/parcel tape...

Best of luck, hun.

[sutsibe]

Siberians can learn to live with with cats, but it's particularly helpful if your cats are more inclined to stand their ground and hiss, at least, rather than running.

[Povodny]

I grew up with dogs but a husky was my first dog. Now I have four. And we have two cats, one was already in house when we got our dogs and the second was introduced later. The cats manage the dogs quite admirably lol

You're obviously thorough and methodical. It will always be a challenge owning a husky regardless of however you approach it, that's the nature of the breed. But it's masses of fun and quite hilarious as well. You'll laugh about something your dogs done every day whether it's been naughty or nice lol

[jim_tinmois]

Just to add a note about cats. The cats will maybe dislke either a puppy or a grown dog. I have integrated my latest rescue with a soppy male cat and a furiously aggressive male. If you keep them separate, and feed cats in a different place to the dog (I always feed the cats before the dog) My husky wants to play with both cats but the aggressive one just stands his ground, hisses and sometimes lashes out with a paw; the other cat just runs and jumps up onto a higher place.What I wouldnt do, ( I found out by experience) is to just let the dog into the house for the first time when the cats are in. Best to allow the cats in after the dog has had a good sniff, run around and (often happens) pee in your house. It only really took a couple of weeks for them to all agree to differ in their own ways. and I have no trouble now with the three of them. They all tolerate each other