Niber Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Niber is my first dog, let alone Husky. When I first decided to get one I done loads of research on the breed, as I have four kids, the youngest being 3 months (at the time). I found that they are family friendly, great with kids and other people. Since I got him however I have heard a few people say what bad press huskies get, something I didn't come across when researching. Niber loves my kids and is good as gold with all people and other dogs. However a few other owners have said things like 'he'll rip your throat out - I've read about huskies' to her dog and another said 'he'll have you for dinner' to hers. Where does this idea come from, or is it just the likeness to wolves that other people who are unaware of the breed are concerned about? I haven't read a single horror story about huskies apart from one aggressive one who was tied up outside every day, so as with any breed, mistreat them and they'll grow up bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Tao&Sky Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 I'm afraid that it is shear ignorance of the breed that people have. What they don't know they make up. I had threats from my ex neighbours that they had heard my two had savaged my young granddaughter, so they threatened to slit there throats. I still get comments from people like " Oh you have wolf dogs" and they can't be trusted. I just put it down to ignorance..........Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracey8 Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 I'm afraid that it is shear ignorance of the breed that people have. What they don't know they make up. I had threats from my ex neighbours that they had heard my two had savaged my young granddaughter, so they threatened to slit there throats. I still get comments from people like " Oh you have wolf dogs" and they can't be trusted. I just put it down to ignorance..........Ron[/QUOT E] Ron, i can't believe they threatened your dogs like that!!! have to agree just pure ignorance !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmscott Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 The general public cant tell the difference between a siberian husky and any other spitz or even hybrid. Spitz breeds, with the exception of the sibes, are known to be snarky and short fused at times. And of course hybrids are known to act on their dual natures. So when a sib hybrid or another spitz attacks a child, the only thing people know to call it is a husky (part of why I do my best to ALWAYS say "sib/siberian" and not just "husky".) People don't know that there are other breeds called husky or even that "Actually, the husky is not a pure breed but a general type of dog, able to endure severe cold, and with great strength and endurance." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvMyKai Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Completely agree with the above points, it is complete ignorance and even stupidity sometimes, i has someone ask me once if i knew who Kai's dad was and i said well yes i did, and then he said, well how big was he , was he a really big wolf? I was confused at first and when i asked what he meant his response was 'well hes half wolf isnt he?' I tried explaining that huskies werent half wolves but he just said, oh you dont know, my mate has one and he told me theyre half wolves and his are vicious you know, they always attack everything!! So basically not only is it ignorance its silly people spreading their incorrect information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollys Dad Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Ignorant idiots - don't waste your time on them. On one single walk I had two separate people call ours wolves. One said " look son, a wolf - an actual real life wolf" as if to compund his stupidity. Wolves are not pets in this country for one thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kieferwolf Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Ignorance stupidity we have had some corkers ie look at the Akita hybrid ehhhhh?? why do you have one of those when you can't let them off lead? they have a bad reputation with kids but its never IMO the dog, my son knows dog rules he is nine. Ie you don't go near dogs if feeding, if they are play fighting I deal with it not him etc. I hate Cesar Milan to a degree but he is right in a way alot of dog problems are owner based not dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niber Posted November 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 It's the reputation with kids I also don't get. Having 4 of my own I researched all sorts - all the things I read said they were great with kids. I had to teach the dog the rules as well as the kids. I read that 'give' is one of the most important commands. I completely agree. I taught Niber with bones. I gave then I took. If I could take without him growling he got rewarded. Eventually I told my 8 year old it was his turn, but before I had told him how to go about it, he just went and took the bone. Niber growled and tried to snatch it back, and caught Cameron's thumb. Niber got really told off but it was my fault for not taking Cameron to the side first and explaining how to do it. All of my kids can take stuff from him now. With a baby, he had to know that he could not be possessive of anything. I do still try to let him eat in peace though - usually outside as it's mostly raw. 'Give' also helps when out and about. He used to be a bugger to take dead birds off etc, but will drop anything now when told. Slightly off topic anyway... guess it's ignorant people rather than husky's bad rep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzlin Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 [ATTACH]63708[/ATTACH] Here is my one year old with Akira my 18 month old female, I trust my two siberian's with my little girl but I always watch them like a hawk at all times. I used to try and educate idiots about siberian's but I no longer do as most of the time I'm wasting my breath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Because people are ignorant and stupid. People ask me ALL the time if he's a wolf or a hybrid. When I say no, people insist as if they know my dog more than I do. I think some of the negative feelings towards huskies has to do with actual bad press. There have been small children/babies injured or killed by huskies, that that is largely due to the bad owners/parents than the dog's fault. Then the dog is put down. It's put into the press, and as we all know the press loves to exaggerate things. So it will go, for example: "The husky mutilated the 5 month old baby" when really the husky would have just bitten the baby because Mom/Dad weren't watching the two and the baby provoked it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicky2512 Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 firstly thank you for this thread :-) i have always had GSD's before we got our seccond GSD boy i researched getting a mal, was quite shocked at some of the negativity regarding mals and how they are with children and that until they get older they could go one way or the other so we decided to stick with the breed we knew both of my GSD's were excellent with both the kids both being babies/toddlers and we knew that they could deal with a certain ammount of "torment" from the kids. sadly both have since passed and not having a dog in my life left such a huge void :-( we looked again at mals and sibes ( on the recommendation of my boss that had 2 rescue sibes) and i have to say he has brought so much love and laughter in our lives expecially with their personalities - as much as i loved my GSD's i now wish id of done more reserch into the breed - we have a very busy loud house and Kaos just fits right in - i think personally people should stop blaming teh breed and blame the owner and the media (after all that goes full circle after badly written jopurnalism about GSD's, rottys, staffies, bulldogs etc) after all when a puppy is born its not born with and inbulit aggression that only comes from negative contact from an owner. i didnt mean this to be so long but ignorant folk need to be educated, all in all he's my dog i know i can trust him especially with my children perhaps dog licences should be brought back but thats another deabate..... Tori & Kaos x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Some bad backyard breeders actually breed aggression into their dogs (most noticeably pitbulls but other breeds as well). And, of course, stupid people buy 'em because they think its 'cool'. Pit bulls are banned in my province, and if you already had a pitbull at the time the law has been put into place its to be muzzled at all times (except in your house) and fixed. They won't make you get rid of it. However, since that law, I've seen a whole lot of 'staffy mixes' appearing in shelters. They don't look quite like a pitbull, maybe crossed with one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleLuka Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Some bad backyard breeders actually breed aggression into their dogs (most noticeably pitbulls but other breeds as well). And, of course, stupid people buy 'em because they think its 'cool'. Pit bulls are banned in my province, and if you already had a pitbull at the time the law has been put into place its to be muzzled at all times (except in your house) and fixed. They won't make you get rid of it. However, since that law, I've seen a whole lot of 'staffy mixes' appearing in shelters. They don't look quite like a pitbull, maybe crossed with one. Which further explains why I found three abandoned pit mixes pups last night. They probably picked the top ones our of their litter and dumped the rest. I think it's all about how you raise them! I'm really gonna hear it now, a pitbull and a husky? Haha my two vicious dogs ... Oh please both are sweet as pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Yeah, I know! I heard from pitbull owners that most pitbulls are really sweet, thy just get a lot of bad press! To be perfectly honest, the last time I saw a pitbull and it was muzzled...I was pretty afraid. It might have been because the muzzle actually makes it look more scary, or maybe it was because there was an attack just a few weeks ago on an adult. The fear was unfounded, because it WAS muzzled, but I'm generally a fearful person anyways so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 A friend of mine had a pit he used as a hog dog ( won't go into my feeling about that ). This guy was so vicious he'd sneak up onto the couch, crawl over and put his paws into my lap and then sneak his head over onto my leg - just to get a little attention! He'd go for walks with me and I never had to worry about snakes, I don't know whether he chased them off, but more than once I'd see him with one that wasn't going to bother anyone again. Give this dog his head out in the field - and he was a holy terror, he wanted to go get that hog; at home a completely different animal! People who think that a particular breed of dog is dangerous really need to have their heads examined - as has been said here several times, it's seldom the nature of the dog, it's the way it was raised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Tao&Sky Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 (edited) A few years ago I visited my sister who had a huge German Shepherd called Max. He was a very lovable dog with the right person. One morning I walked into the Kitchen to get a cup of tea and as I picked up the cup of the kitchen table Max without warning sank his teeth into my shoulder and my sister had to pull him off. She thought it was natural for him to do it. Then she told me that he didn't like her son and used to growl at him. In response to the growling Martin her son would throw cups of hot tea in the dogs face. So if any one picked a cup of tea up near the dog he would go for them. Her son who was 17 laughed at what the dog had done to me. He wasn't laughing a few minutes later as I dragged him out side and gave him a good beating. It wasn't for the dog biting me, it was for what he had been doing to the dog. Max and I became good friends as I treated him how he should be treat by taking him on long walks and reassuring him that he was not going to get ill treated any more. Edited November 11, 2012 by Ron Tao&Sky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmscott Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 I don't know if they do it in the UK, but here in the US we see a lot of pit bull terriers being called new breeds because their owners are stupid enough to breed for specific colors. Ive know of at least 6 "breeds" where the only difference is in the color, so they are often inbred, which has been linked to aggression in many species. Either way, most pit bull breeders wouldn't know a standard pbt if it ran them over with a prius. note that the pooch doesn't even come up to the guys knees. http://www.pitbulltraining101.com/american-pitbull-terriers-history/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleLuka Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 Yeah our new pup is considered a "blue" which is a highly desired color. I could care less if he was purple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malagirl Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 You should she people's faces when I tell people maggie has her Certified Good Canine Certificate and can take her into all stores. I have heard it all. She was around my mom's dog who is 10-15 pounds most her life. She rather be with little dogs all day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosemary Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 I think the misconception that the Siberian is a 'dangerous' dog also has a lot to do with the way they play. I know that when we get visitors who have never met, or even seen a Siberian, they are shocked at the way Ozzy & Micah play and wrestle with each other. The problem is that they then go away thinking the Sibes are vicious and dangerous. Unfortunately, these people know more about our dogs, and dogs in general than we do They then tell the story to their friends and acquaintances and before you know it a hundred more people believe the myth about the 'dangerous huskies'. It is up to us to try and educate/convince them that it is rough play, and NOT aggression, but with all the armchair dog behaviourists/Ceasar wannabees out there, it is a tough sell. There is no getting away from the fact that the Siberian is a powerful animal and can do serious injury, but education is key, and we just need to keep at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niber Posted November 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 Interesting point about muzzles earlier. I have started using a gentle leader with Niber as was still pulling. More people are wary of him now as they think it's a muzzle, despite the fact it doesn't stop him opening his mouth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niber Posted November 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 Another example today - went to watch my boy in Remembrance Sunday parade and a young lad asked about his halti - 'is that to stop him biting?' When I explained what it was he said, 'oh, coz they're the dogs that usually attack people aren't they. The dad didn't correct him so I explained. The dad looked surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 Had someone say blazes canny was a nmuzzle they got corrected by a little kid , made my day He now wears a non pull harness instead tho works better for him Sent from my ST18i using Forum Runner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devildust76 Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 We've been out with Kodi today with a large group of Mals and Huskies and the amount of other dog owners that made comments to their own dogs like 'careful or they'll eat you alive' was staggering. Kodi is, as far as I'm concerned, one of the most gentle dogs I've ever known and it really annoys me that people have such a skewed view of both breeds. Fair enough the sight of a lot of snow dogs heading towards you probably does look a bit daunting but it certainly doesn't mean your dog is going to be the entree!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niber Posted November 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 Had someone say blazes canny was a nmuzzle they got corrected by a little kid , made my day He now wears a non pull harness instead tho works better for him Sent from my ST18i using Forum Runner That worked well with Niber for a while but I want him to pull when old enough, so worried it would have an adverse effect. Too many people see the halti as a muzzle, but it really calms him down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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