new guy with a few questions

[instant-classic]

Hello Everybody

My Husky is 5 months old and a have a few questions if anybody can help !!!

Ok firstly i've always had 2 dogs the last being a Doberman and a Border Collie, My Collie died about a year ago basically of old age then my dobe passed away at Christmas with dialated cardiomyopathy which was a complete shock as he was only 4. Thats when i decided on a husky (don't worry i did all my homework first) I work from home have a large fenced in back garden and love mountain biking so a husky seemed good for me. I intend getting another dog at some point but bumped into a lady while walking Sky who had 2 huskys. After talking to her she recommended i get another husky as they don't mix well with other breeds and that i get a female because mine is male. Now i've never had a problem mixing different breeds or with 2 males or females so is this something i should recognise with huskys or is she basically wrong ??? I don't intend to breed them either.

I'm trying to feed him mostly on a raw diet which he loves but also using (about 25%) dry kibble. I'm using Orijen puppy food just wondered if this is ok or is there something better for huskys.

Lastly i know your not supposed to let them off lead to run which i'm fine with but i had an idea well more i stole it off the dog whisperer ..... my friend has a english bullmastiff who i always walked my Dobe and collie with. He is very well trained friendly and comes back on call. I have walked Sky with him and they get on fine so i was thinking about attaching them together at the collar in a dog whisperer style and letting them run while attached together. Sky won't be able to run away and the mastiff will pull him back worst case. Good idea bad idea ?? i thought i could try them in the garden first and get them used to it but if you guys say it's a bad idea no problem i'll forget about it.

Back to the mountain biking, i used one of those walkie attachment for my Dobe storm so the dog runs along side, would this be ok with my Husky when he gets older or would it be better to get some kind ot attachment on the front and let him pull ??

Thanks in advance

Martin

[valkyries]

wrong you will find alot of people on here with a husky and others breed dog, also i have 3 husky's 2 boy's and a girl they all get on great.

2 of mine are on mostly raw but do get kibble as well.

you can try the two dogs together but can you be 100% sure the bull mastif wont just keep running with the husky ????

The attachment on the bike should be fine once older yes, peopleon here use them xxxx

[davidjk]

pfff the probem with people is they are always so opinionated, and they swear they know best, the best you can do is to ask loads of people and form an opinion.

there are people on this board who have different breeds and people who have same sex dogs.

i have 2 females and they get on fine, the lady we got suki from had 3 males no problem.

and we have since micha was little had a friend come round most days with her greyhounds, and they all play brilliantly, my two never get 2 rough, and huskies do play very rough, it can be very scary, but you will be able to determine the difference between play and fighting.

nothing is impossible, it may be difficult, but not impossible. we let ours off of the lead, but we take them to places where they are unlikely to run off. near the river is best for us.

never listen to someone who has a fixed opinion on something.

i wouldn't tie your husky to a mastiff huskies can pull incredible weights, your mastiff probably wouldn't be able to hold the husky back.

using your bike with a husky isnt a problem, loads of people do it, just be careful with the heat, we live near a canal so the first thing micha does is to go for a dip to cool down so she can run

[Andy]

hi, Martin

I have a Walkydog attachment for my bike and I run Echo our White GSD on it she loves the run.

When Koda our Husky is old enough I'm going to run her too. . .

After getting opinions and advice it seems about 1 year old is the time to start running huskies as their bones

have hardened enough and their major growth is just about finished.

hope this helps. .

[instant-classic]

Thank you all for the quick replies

So the lady i met on my walk was pretty much talking rubbish from the sound of it. I kinda thought she was but didn't want to say anything incase it was more of a sibe thing that i didn't really know about yet.

Ok pretty much a bad idea to tie Sky to my friends mastiff, i'm 90% sure the mastiff will come back but i didn't think Sky would be able to pull the mastiff about but it sounds like i just haven't realised how strong these guys are.

About a year old before we start going for rides cheers Andy. My Doberman loved it but i just wondered if it would be better to have sky in front more like pulling than running along side ?

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

i have 2 huskies and a staffy cross and they all get on fine - blaze isnt keen on sum dogs but thats cuz he got attacked by a few as a pup skyla is fine with all dogs shes met ive got 2 boys and a girl if and when we get another dog it will b another boy - we were originally going 2 get another boy but skyla needed a new home and we cudnt say no 2 her - so its rly up2u which u wud prefer a boy or a girl - if u chose a boy make sure u get ur girl fixed - dont want no accidents

i dont let mine offlead as even tho bings (my staffy x) has an excellent recall - blaze and skyla wud just run off wethere they were attached 2 bings or not - their prey drive is WAY to high - i wudnt wanna risk them running free and gettin hit by a car or something - so instead when im on the feild with them they are on 100ft leads instead - they still get a good run around and i no im going home with all my pack

2 ov mine are fed on wainwrights kibble and some raw too skyla is on raw and beta puppy kibble (tho she will sumtimes rob the boys wainwrights kibble instead) so long as sky isnt getting runs from the food shes on i wouldnt worry too much

hope this helps

[Andy]

Thank you all for the quick replies

About a year old before we start going for rides cheers Andy. My Doberman loved it but i just wondered if it would be better to have sky in front more like pulling than running along side ?

If you want sky to run in front and pull you'll need a completely different attachment. . .I've not looked into those.

Ask someone will know. . .

However before you use one of the pulling types you'll need to make sure Sky understands direction commands. . .

Check older posts that have covered this before.

[valkyries]

as Andy as said plus an X- back harness for pulling rather than a walking harness

[SarahNukka&Shadow]

Actually if your running the dog with a bike you might want to look at a canicross or multi sport harness as they are more suitable for attatching to something that will be higher up like a bike or a person at the waist than an x-back which is designed to be attactched to something lower down like a sled or rig... Also if your gunna have the dog pull you along you might want to try jogging with the dog first to be able to teach some basic commands so your not just attatched to a dog running like a rocket and no way of stopping that doesnt involve getting wrapped round a tree!! LOL I have read of things like that happening!!

As for earlier questions: Yep same sex doggy partnerships work, and yep different breed relationships work too its aaaall about the intro and then the continued training together!

Food question, you wanna read the label, make sure the top listed ingredient is meat! Make sure theres no nasty fillers like wheat or ash and no e-numbers, colourants and preservatives...

And lastly tying two dogs together...? Not sure about that one as Iv never tried it but it doesnt sooound like the best idea as you never know what a dogs gunna do when it wants its own space and is feeling hounded. However I am constantly on the look out for good enclosed off lead areas and nice doggy walks so will keep you updated if I find any in our kneck of the woods, till then flexi's are brill and 100ft training leads are even better!!

[Andy]

Actually if your running the dog with a bike you might want to look at a canicross or multi sport harness as they are more suitable for attatching to something that will be higher up like a bike or a person at the waist than an x-back which is designed to be attactched to something lower down like a sled or rig... Also if your gunna have the dog pull you along you might want to try jogging with the dog first to be able to teach some basic commands so your not just attatched to a dog running like a rocket and no way of stopping that doesnt involve getting wrapped round a tree!! LOL I have read of things like that happening!!

As for earlier questions: Yep same sex doggy partnerships work, and yep different breed relationships work too its aaaall about the intro and then the continued training together!

Food question, you wanna read the label, make sure the top listed ingredient is meat! Make sure theres no nasty fillers like wheat or ash and no e-numbers, colourants and preservatives...

And lastly tying two dogs together...? Not sure about that one as Iv never tried it but it doesnt sooound like the best idea as you never know what a dogs gunna do when it wants its own space and is feeling hounded. However I am constantly on the look out for good enclosed off lead areas and nice doggy walks so will keep you updated if I find any in our kneck of the woods, till then flexi's are brill and 100ft training leads are even better!!

LOL. . .

See I told ya, someone would know what doobriewhatnot you'd need.

It's what we do here. . .Share the Knowledge.

[Sarah]

Hi and welcome to the pack

I have two un neutered males and they've never had a major fight - play fighting yep allllllllllllllllllllllll the time but you learn, as they do, to understand the difference personally, I don't think it makes a different what sexes you have

Feeding wise, i feed mine on a mix of raw and burns kibble, just ensure you're going to beed to right amounts - have a look at some of the raw food threads in the feeding section, posts by Sid_wolf are really informative

I run my two boys on a scooter, after 1 yr old is best as andy has said, you can do work with them before this, small jogs etc but wait until they're at least 6 months old. Watch where you jog as well - running them on concrete isn't great for them, softer surfaces eg a field is better.

With the scooter, I use an x back harness along with a bungee line and shock absorber - sibes are VERY good at pulling - it's what they were bred for - pulling lighter loads over long distances. You can have them running along side you on a bike however they would probably take to it better running outfront. I've never done this on a bike so probably best speaking to anne or rose on here - they bike with their a lot

Finally, with tieing the two together, i'd probably say no.........a 50 / 100ft lead is much better and gives you the peace of mind you need

[instant-classic]

ok well i'm going to look for the 100ft lead next, i didn't even know you could get those, i'm guessing ebay !!!

The tieing 2 dogs together thing i saw on the dog whisperer just a though but looks like a no no.

As for the biking i have already walked him a few times with the bike just to get him used to it . No t riding it just walking with the bike and Sky. I think maybe i'll try with him next to the bike at first with the walkies things i already have then maybe move onto him puling after, so if i can get a harness that will do the job for both that would be perfect. I'll go google canine cross and multi sport Sarah ...

I'm thinking tennis courts for off lead running !!!!

[Sid_Wolf]

Hey welcome to the pack

I have a female sibe, and we live with 2 greyhounds, one male, one female, they're best friends, we sometimes have some growling but thats from the greyhounds if Kira bothers them when they're sleeping lol

Where abouts are you? Could you contact the council and find out if theres any safe anclosed areas? I emailed my council and they told me of the dog park

I work Kira in harness, she pulls the bike/scooter along, I have a set of 2 dog lines from Culpeppers, and use an H-back harness from Forstals

[shellneil]

i would say she was wrong huskies mix well with all types of dogs, of course i would bring yours to meet the new addition and see if its a match. i have 2 huskies and a beagle and a corgi mix, and they love each other very much and are a very tight pack, sleep together, eat, run together, they even groom eachother, my corgi mix of course is alpha he my oldest, of course some dogs dont get along just like us humans but that wrong to say they only like huskies.

i have 1 male and 1 female husky, my corgi mix is male, and beagle is female... all nuetered of course

[taz291819]

As others have said, you can get a different breed. Nanuck loves playing with my parent's dogs, 2 bassets and a boxer-mix. The woman you spoke with may have said that just because of the energy level, as Nanuck wears the other dogs out quickly (especially the bassets). It's not a bad idea to get another high-energy dog, someone that can keep up with him.

As for tying the Sibe to a Mastiff, I really don't know if that's a good idea or not, as I don't know anyone who has tried it. I've seen Caesar do that before, it seems to work well with him.

As far as taking a Sibe off the lead, it's mainly a safety issue. It's not necessarily if they'll return, because most the time they will, but they'll do it when they damn well feel like it. It might be in 10 minutes, it may be in 10 days. But no one wants to lose their dog, either being picked up by someone else, hit by a car, etc.

I let Nanuck off the lead at my parent's house, because it's a very dog friendly neighborhood (their yard is the meeting place for about 10 dogs), no major traffic, and they like to go down to the river. He never goes off on his own, he always follows the pack, but I also know that the one time a deer or rabbit comes into his view, he'll take off. But so do the other dogs.