Noob Husky Owner Questions

[Mazz]

Dave - thanks!  Any opinion on the 4 options I laid out above?  Your input would be valuable!

I like Al's reply to the 4 options, and would not be able to do one better.

[dewittsc]

First, happy new year to you all!!  We've made it a whole week and a day with our new pup.

 

@Al - thanks for your suggestions.  It has been an interesting couple of days.

 

For now we decided to go ahead and keep her tethered at all times.  I am feeling a little bit guilty about this but I guess it is no different than the kennel idea or even that different than putting up baby gates for setting boundaries with a baby.  She gives me "the look" a lot when she's tethered and laying down! 

 

So now that we've both had some time to get to know each other, I have a few more questions about her that I'd love folks advice on.

1. So I've been following the rules consistently for if she has an accident - taking her directly outside.  I am pretty darned sure she has now learned that's "how to get outside".  I know from getting through the night that she can already hold it from 2.5-3 hrs without problems.  And yesterday she "had an accident" - I took her outside and nothing, then brought her in and she immediately peed and headed to the door so I took her outside and nothing.  She did this 3 times.  Here is what I have decided to do, please let me know your thoughts.  If she has an accident, I say "No, we go outside" and stop my foot as usual.  I take her outside.  But instead of walking with her to let her "finish" I just stand there in one spot and encourage her to go.  This way I'm hoping maybe she will stop associating "peeing" with "fun/walking".  After I stand there for 10min, I put bring her inside and put her in her crate for a bit as a "timeout".  Like I said, hoping this makes a clear difference between when we go outside to walk or play and when we go outside to potty.  Thoughts?
2. I do feel pretty bad having her tethered all the time.  But from the suggestions here and from reading about how they have "no recall" and should really never be let off leash except in a penned in area (read this in Siberian Husky magazine), that's what I've been doing.  I don't want to start a debate as I realize there are probably mixed feelings on this but... thoughts?
3. When is it safe to start running with her?  I believe it was someone earlier on this forum that said its bad for them to run at this early an age.  But I think that will help her get her energy out.
4. On that note, I know folks said they play hard but she -really- nips a lot and fairly hard.  She likes to try and eat my girls' hair and the other day pulled my 4 years olds pants off (which was hilarious).  But she also has gotten REALLY fiesty a couple of times growling and shaking her head and nipping.  Any suggestions?
5. So per suggestion I have been giving her water only with her food and/or when I see her panting.  Is there a rule of thumb for how -much- water she should have each feeding (1 cup, 1.5 cup, etc?)

Thanks all for your time in advance!!  

[BIGBY]

While a dog nipping at this age is fun and cute when she's got her adult teeth and starts playing rough it'll be a whole different story!

It's very important that when your pup chews on human skin that you let her know that it's not acceptable (don't hit, or shout loudly @ the dog). What I did when I first got Bigby was that when ever he tried to nip at me I would stand up and calmly walk out the room and leave him in there for 30secs- 1min so he'd know that nipping = no playtime.

And then when you return to the room, pet and praise the dog and generally make a fuss of her but remember everytime she tries to nip human flesh just walk out the door and keep repeating the process.

[Removed #5]

Okay and in order:

1. Aha, you've figured out that you have to get her to understand that "potty time" does not equal "play time".  And you've been bright enough to see that she can manipulate you into taking her out by indicating she "needs to go" ... gee, you're not so dumb after all!!  << tease >>   The only thing you've said that I would disagree with is "stomping your foot", it's easier if you just use your voice to indicate displeasure, they understand tone of voice and, except for shock value, she may not have any idea what you're doing when you stomp your foot. (( even if it is a natural reaction to some people ))  I'd say that you've got a pretty good handle on this.
2. Good on keeping her on lead, as I've said before I had a beautiful loving Sibe who I let run because she was exceptional and always came home - until one time she didn't ( two years later I still don't like to write that line! )  And the only debate comes from people like I was who have the "exceptional dog", we all know what's going to happen, it's just a matter of time.
3. Running her before her joints solidify can cause her problems in later life ( arthritis and aggravate any tendency toward dysplasia ) however letting her run on her own in the back yard as play time is a great way to burn off the energy. Others can give you the desired times but I don't recall them at the moment.
4. As you're finding out, Sibes are a mouthy breed.  They don't have hands so they use the next best thing and teeth are handy to grab things with.  I'd have loved to be there when she "attacked" your four year old - I'd probably have burst a gut laughing!! There are two schools of thought on this and I'll suggest the second one, immediately say "No!" put her into a time out! That's the easiest way to get her to understand.  Accept that she'll probably be more mouthy than you'd like, but teaching her the limits are important. BTW, the other school of thought - the pups dam and siblings might have resorted to a snap of their own to show displeasure, some people consider it appropriate to hit the pup to "get the point across".  You'll have more success with a loving pup if you use loving, positive reinforcement
5. Bad move! From the time she gets up till an hour or so before you put her up for the night, she should have water available to her.  It's especially important when she's doing something that's going to make her warm that she have water available since they cool themselves primarily by normal breathing and panting (evaporative cooling from the surface of the tongue, etc).  Limiting her intake during the evening (so that she doesn't have to go as often overnight) is acceptable and with a lot of us, probably the norm.

I had to laugh about "that look" she gives you ... get used to it, beside being bright, they probably have more facial expressions that a lot of other breeds.  It's when it turns into "... are you stupid or what? I'm telling you what I want!" that you have to worry!

Edited January 2, 2014 by Al Jones

[dewittsc]

Okay and in order:

1. Aha, you've figured out that you have to get her to understand that "potty time" does not equal "play time".  And you've been bright enough to see that she can manipulate you into taking her out by indicating she "needs to go" ... gee, you're not so dumb after all!!  << tease >>   The only thing you've said that I would disagree with is "stomping your foot", it's easier if you just use your voice to indicate displeasure, they understand tone of voice and, except for shock value, she may not have any idea what you're doing when you stomp your foot. (( even if it is a natural reaction to some people ))  I'd say that you've got a pretty good handle on this.
2. Good on keeping her on lead, as I've said before I had a beautiful loving Sibe who I let run because she was exceptional and always came home - until one time she didn't ( two years later I still don't like to write that line! )  And the only debate comes from people like I was who have the "exceptional dog", we all know what's going to happen, it's just a matter of time.
3. Running her before her joints solidify can cause her problems in later life ( arthritis and aggravate any tendency toward dysplasia ) however letting her run on her own in the back yard as play time is a great way to burn off the energy. Others can give you the desired times but I don't recall them at the moment.
4. As you're finding out, Sibes are a mouthy breed.  They don't have hands so they use the next best thing and teeth are handy to grab things with.  I'd have loved to be there when she "attacked" your four year old - I'd probably have burst a gut laughing!! There are two schools of thought on this and I'll suggest the second one, immediately say "No!" put her into a time out! That's the easiest way to get her to understand.  Accept that she'll probably be more mouthy than you'd like, but teaching her the limits are important. BTW, the other school of thought - the pups dam and siblings might have resorted to a snap of their own to show displeasure, some people consider it appropriate to hit the pup to "get the point across".  You'll have more success with a loving pup if you use loving, positive reinforcement
5. Bad move! From the time she gets up till an hour or so before you put her up for the night, she should have water available to her.  It's especially important when she's doing something that's going to make her warm that she have water available since they cool themselves primarily by normal breathing and panting (evaporative cooling from the surface of the tongue, etc).  Limiting her intake during the evening (so that she doesn't have to go as often overnight) is acceptable and with a lot of us, probably the norm.

I had to laugh about "that look" she gives you ... get used to it, beside being bright, they probably have more facial expressions that a lot of other breeds.  It's when it turns into "... are you stupid or what? I'm telling you what I want!" that you have to worry!

 

Al: Thanks again for your responses!!  A few responses of my own, also in order:

 

1. OK, we will continue with our potty regimen.

2. OK, will continue to keep her on leash even inside (but out of her crate).

3. OK, I will reluctantly wait. :-)  Re: your comment about letting her run in the yard, I bet you assumed I have a fence. :-)  Unfortunately I don't.  I have a nice sized backyard but no fence.  We have looked into getting one but they are upwards of 5K, especially one we'd need to keep her in (8 ft high and like 2ft below ground).  As an alternative, we've looked at the Boss Pet - Prestige 100ft Skyline Trolly.  My only concern with this is that given how creative they are she might get off and then I'll never see her again.  But at this time it's looking like our only option if we want to let her have some free time in our backyard.  Thoughts?

4. OK, started timeouts today for nipping.

5. OK, I have restored her access to constant water.  I think the reason it had been suggested (not sure if it was this forum or somewhere else) is that she had been having accidents like every 10-15 minutes.  I know for a fact she can hold it at least 3 hours since she is doing it every night (knock on wood for me).  So not sure what is up with the accidents.  Now that she has her water back, she definitely is back to more accidents.  I guess I will just have to deal with that (hopefully not for too much longer....)?

 

Thanks again for all your responses.  If i got this "My Media" thing right, hopefully the little devil will appear below.... 

 

[Removed #5]

That's a great "You want me to do what?" picture!!!!

 

It looks like you have her in a harness in that picture, so I wouldn't be overly concerned about her getting loose.  If you go with the skyline trolley, the first couple of times you put her out on it watch and see how she handles it.  Expect some struggle but she should adapt quickly.  Avalanche has a 30 foot lead and Sasha has a 100 foot lead (outside different doors, I got tired untangling them!) and both handle them pretty well. 

[Chula]

Mine chewed through her harness...actually two harnesses. She's sneaky.<br /><br />Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk<br /><br />