Hi Everyone! I'm so glad a friend referred me to this forum. My family and are in the process of purchasing a husky, she is 4 weeks old and we will be getting her first week in July. We live in Minnesota so I'm so excited to have a cold weather dog. Now I know this breed is not like any typical dog but our yard is not 100% fenced in so we were going to tie her up outside on a 30 ft rope or something when she is outside, and obvisoulsy take her on daily walks. I hear they are SUPER high energy which is fine, will keep my kids entertained as they are super high energy. But I'm scared about the training, I hear if you screw it up the dog will own you. I'm looking for any and ALL tips on what to do with the new pup once we get her. I know I'm going to enroll her in puppy kindergarden asap. But anything else PLEASE share! THANKS SO MUCH

Hi and welcome I'd love to see a picture of the puppy. Check out "Huskies 101" up in Stickies and Announcements on the right. That will have a ton of information for you to start. ..I guess advice beyond to go look there is to take what people on the street say with a grain of salt. As soon as you get a puppy and take them around with you, everyone on the street thinks they're dog/husky experts and you'll be up to you ears with conflicting, probably pretty uninformed information. Also, remember that you have a puppy, and keep your expectations reasonable. With the tie out, don't leave her unattended, it's not unheard of to have a dog, especially a super cute little husky puppy, stolen. I'd also attach it to a harness, in case she bolts after something and reaches the end of the line, you don't to damage her neck. Try to keep her out of high-traffic dog areas until she has all her shots. This doesn't mean she can't go out- it's important to be well socialized in that time- just no dog parks, etc. I would highly recommend crate training, mine loves her crate, sleeps in it at night, and it keeps her from chewing on things (for my sanity and her safety) while I'm out. Also helpful for potty training. Also, you'll need to post lots of pictures here for all of us.
I can't give you much more than that- go check out those great threads!

Welcome to the forum and to Huskies! What Rhia said is spot on and to add to that, with a family with a kid a big issue is going to be consistency. Puppies in general but Huskies specifically need structure and boundaries and rules consistently in place and enforced and in general, you all are going to benefit from being on the same page.

Training a puppy is in large really training people who interact with your puppy. Decide what you expect from your puppy and coach people around you to follow suit. The pup will love you for it and respond to your leadership so much better.

And remember, week one is not how it will always be......your panic and frustration and anxiety will pass

Good luck, and keep us up on the name and pics!

Welcome! Definitely explore the stickies and other topics on the site.

And remember, no matter how hard you try, your husky will always end up owning you

thank you ALL SO MUCH for your tips! We are very excited and anxious and everything. Haven't had a puppy in years

Like Jeff said, don't worry if you want to kill yourself and/or your puppy in the first couple weeks. Remember IT GETS BETTER! I had a wonderful, smart, fun, crazy, hyper, sassy siberian before my current puppy, and although it had been 15 years since I'd had a puppy, I felt totally confident in my awesome husky puppy raising abilities. Let's just say I was mistaken. The first 2-3 weeks I seriously wondered what in the HECK I was thinking and if I got a 'defective' puppy. I cried over my lack of ability to deal with him. The biting everything that moved (or didn't) was what was killing me, my arms were covered in scratches from his needle sharp teeth, he would literally grab my arm and shake it, the same way he would a toy!. But, thankfully I started to notice small improvements every day, and now he only bites if he gets way beyond his excitement threshold, and its up to me to keep him below that threshold by controlling his environment and the people around him. I wouldn't worry about making a training mistake or two, it takes consistently reinforced mistakes to get you to a terror of a dog, or inconsistent rules/boundaries. Just be willing to take a step back if something isn't working, but don't expect too much too fast, after all, he/she is just a baby. What I'm realizing, is that it really is a relationship of give and take that I'm developing with Dizzy. I've had him for 4 weeks now, and things have settled down for the most part. I feel like its a result of my getting to know him, what he can handle, teaching him what is okay and what isn't, and knowing his limits and mine.

One final tip, don't assume everything he does/or doesn't do is out of stubbornness. For example, if he doesn't have an accident for 2 days or 2 weeks and suddenly he does, don't assume he did it on purpose or is being stubborn. Just assume you increased your expectations and let your guard down too quickly. Huskies can be stubborn, but puppies are just learning.

I can't say I've ever felt owned by a dog, but I can say, the relationship with a husky is different than with other breeds (my other dog experience is with goldens), its more of a mutual respect and understanding, with you as the leader, rather than dog and owner. You must earn and keep your huskies respect to earn his or her love. It wasn't until about 3 weeks in that Dizzy started looking at me with love in his eyes. Whereas goldens love everybody!

Beautifully said Jen. The "defective" part......Haha. "what's wrong with this puppy and why doesn't he like us??". No recent experience with that here

Hey Heather .

I kind of skimmed everyone's responses, so forgive me if I repeat anyone .

Jen mentioned this, but A LOT of people have this crazy notion that dogs do things out of spite. They think their dog is thinking, "Hey! You dumb owner! You didn't let me chase that squirrel, so now I'm going to pee on your bed!!" No. It doesn't work like that. They don't THINK like that. They think in the here and now moment, especially the little puppies. If they have to pee, by golly they are going to pee. Doesn't matter where they are, they are going to pee. As puppies, they need taken outside at LEAST every hour. When my girl was a puppy, she was taken out every 30 minutes until about 6 months of age.

Some huskies take longer to potty train then others. Sheba took about 6 1/2 months. I was ready to kill myself. I was getting so frustrated and so angry. I didn't understand WHY an almost 7 month old puppy was still peeing in the house. But she was, and that was the end of it. Eventually, it's like in the cartoons. A light bulb just "clicks" and they get it. So don't think you have a defective puppy (LOL!) just take your expectations down a step and step up the crazy praising.

Now, huskies are independent. AND you're getting a little girl, which if she's anything like Sheba..she will be a little miss queen b. Sheba is a bitch; I love that girl, but she is what she is. At times, you will probably feel like your puppy hates you and couldn't care less if you existed. DON'T WORRY! A huge majority of us have been there, done that. Don't take her aloufness too personally , it will probably pass.

Get her used to brushing RIGHT AWAY. Buy a little slicker brush and just get her used to it. Also get her used to nail clippers and having the hair in between her paw pads either cut with scissors or trimmed with an electric trimmer. Also play with her feet, her ears, lift her gums up, and put her on her back. I am NOT talking about an alpha roll, I am talking about just gently setting her on her back and playing with her tummy. Give her tons of treat while you do this; you never know when it will come in handy (think at the vet wise).

Get yourself well educated with positive reinforcement training. These dogs do NOT do well with harsh training; they will shut down and ignore you (like most dogs). I know you said you were looking into puppy school; be very vigilant of the trainer you choose. A lot of trainers think that "huskies can't be trained" and you don't want one of those trainers.

Most of all, have fun. Set boundaries, and stick to them. No dogs on the couch? No dogs on the couch, not even once (but why wouldn't you want your furry love bug on the couch?!) Teach your kids boundaries too. Don't let them pester her and pull her ears and tail. Set all of them up for success.

From personal experience umbilical training has served me really really well. Basically keep the pup strapped to you at the hip 3-4 times a day for 20 minutes while you do things around the house. If you keep training fun and always change it up they seem to tune in better and it's always fun when you incorporate it in your walks but be warned people may give you weird looks lol. Good Luck and have fun

Welcome to the world of husky parenting. I promise it will be full of great stories. Whether you laugh at them right then or some time later might be different, but siberians have the best character in my experience. I bet you are counting down the days!

you all ROCK! Thank you for the feedback and support!