Getting A Second Husky

[Chula]

Question - and am ready for blunt answers

 

Would adopting an older dog (say, 3 or 4 years old) be helpful, or an impediment, to improving Chula's behavior? I don't think she is anywhere near ready for puppy companionship, and I think she needs an older male dog who doesn't have food or toy aggression but who isn't afraid to put her in her place. 

 

We have plenty of space, and money is not an issue.

 

Chula has a few issues still:

 

- She jumps when greeting people and jumps/nips while trying to invite play. She will ALWAYS stop if treats are presented.

- She pulls HARD on her leash if there is something she really, really wants and will throw a tantrum if not allowed to go after it.

- She hoards toys that don't belong to her, but happily shares her own toys

- She would probably be food aggressive with another dog for awhile. She will sit next to another dog and wait her turn for treats or water, but I don't think she'd enjoy a dog taking a treat or bone out of her mouth.

 

Honestly that's pretty much it. She still eats things she isn't supposed to sometimes but that's probably not going to be affected by another dog.

 

I plan to start obedience school in July, and then hopefully look at getting her a playmate around late August/early September. 

 

Also, if anyone has any advice at what to look for/think of when looking at rescues or shelters, I'd appreciate it!

[Elyse]

Personally, if I was in your position, I would not get a 2nd one. As much as I advocate rescuing - now is not the time. The older rescue may pick up on Chula's bad habits - and that spells trouble!

Before you get another dog, I would get Chula's behaviour to the way you want it to be. Remember: she is going through her teenager phase now, and will push boundaries whenever she can. Adding a 2nd dog may just make her current issues worse as she may 'rebel'. 

[Mia-Blue]

I agree now might not be the best time, IMO I think you have your hands full at the moment with Chula.

When we made the decision to get a second husky we opted to get an older dog for a lot of the reasons you have mentioned. Teo is a very calm dog and a really good influence on Mia, he is a great companion for her and also keeps her in her place. But we waited until we felt Mia was at the right stage of her development before we began looking for another dog. And i must say this has worked really well for us. I appreciate how addictive huskies can be and really do advocate rescuing, but for you, Chula and a prospective dog the time really needs to be right as moving from one husky to two is a big step.

Good luck with whatever you decide though, as it ultimately it has to be your decision x

[Chula]

Those are definitely valid points. I was wondering if maybe some of her issues are from boredom. We take walks, play fetch, play in the yard, but she ALWAYS wants more.

I guess we will evaluate in a couple months after obedience school. Like I said I'm not looking at adding another for 3 more months or so.

[Mia-Blue]

There's no harm in getting in touch and registering with rescue centres now so when the time is right you're ready to go

But as with human kids, enjoy the one you have at the moment before you add to your family. You have them for a lifetime so don't rush through the stages xx

[Emma]

What we found with Bear is that although she taught Ice some good habits, he taught her far more naughty ones!  Good luck with obedience classes, hope things work out well for you.  x

[Stormy]

I personally would say no it won't change how chula is you are better of training her yourself to the best you can now there is also no guarantee another dog will put her in her place and you may even find that distressing as much as you may want it you may get upset when another dog does actually do this.

It's also a very different story taking on a rescue its amazing but has its issues that you need to be mentally prepared for

I took on an older male when shadow was 6 months old was apparently fine with other dogs etc. turned out he had food aggression towards shadow and its horrible seeing your dog getting attacked like that and my hand also got hurt once when shadow decided to start fighting back! What I'm trying to say is sometimes you think things will make everything better when infact it may not so you need to think from both sides and weigh up if you think it's worth it right now

Hope that made sense!

[sjwrx]

Would not get a second like others have mentioned until Chula is at a point in which you are satisfied with.

 

I do not think some of the issues you are experiencing are from boredom. Some may be but not all. Remember she is still young and still needs a lot of guidance and consistency from you.

Panda used to pull hard on the leash, i had to stop and turn around and stop when ever he pulled, 40 mins later and i have yet to reach the end of the street. 

[Jay]

I would agree with the others, but it sounds like you already know to have Chula trained how you want her first.  When I got Yukon, Nikko was 9 months old and just went through all of the training classes.  Yes, his behavior improved but it did not solve all his problems.  It did take care of his boredom   

[LittleLuka]

I would say no. I got Knox when Luka was like 7 months I think. It helped with him as far as playing but otherwise all it did was cause me more work. Knox has picked up some of Luka's habits (like digging). I'm fortunate that Luka had just completed obedience class because if not I would've been ripping my hair out with both.

 

Adding Bexley (he's older, 4) has actually made Luka act like a jerk in some ways. You woudl think he'd behave better after being around a dog that has GREAT manners but no he acts the opposite. I've had to spend more time training him.

 

I'd wait until you have her where you want her.

[Austinville]

I have the 'perfect' husky - the pRYNcess Ryn. She had very few (and they were very minor) habits that I would call annoying - not bad, just annoying. Seriously, she is the perfect husky!.............

Forty days ago I adopted Petunia Rose. She's approximately 13 months old. She was found with mange and heartworms and spent four months in a rescue before being cleared for adoption. I fell in love with her gorgeous smile and her always happy attitude.

 

Tunes is outgoing, loves kisses, toys, hugs...even is getting along with the cat.....her only problem is that she has NO idea how to tell me she needs to go outside to potty.

 

Result? Ryn has on two occasions, made messes in the house as well. Of all the issues to pick up, this is the one I feared the most.

 

Another husky won't 'fix' the one you have.......it's a two-way street, while one teaches a good habit, it's just as easy for the second to teach a not-so-good thing.

 

Meanwhile ----- Pray for me..........I'm slowly becoming un-glued!

[Jay]

Oh wow. Yeah that's my worst fear too. I've been very lucky with mine. Nikko never messed in the house when I got Yukon. Not even when I got Kodi and he peed inside a few times.

Getting Yukon made Nikko better in my situation but that's not the norm. Nikko had a playmate and wasn't as demanding of my attention. The biggest difference is that Nikko would hump my leg all the time. He hasn't done it since I got Yukon.

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[RedJasper]

My only benefit to having a older one with a puppy was the biting.  Rusty tought Rori not to mouth us.  He has also been teaching her not to chase the cats as they are his kitties and he loves them.  We brought her home at 6 weeks and having her dad was a good thing.  As he is very mothering.

 

I have been lucky that the only bad habbit that has been passed along was Vader's heavy mouthing.  Rori has caught on to that and she did so well as a pup and now uses her mouth a lot more.  The one thing we were relieved to not have to deal with when she was little.