Hi all. I'm a soon-to-be-husky-owner. I was just wondering if anyone has any first-timer tips for me! I've done a LOT of research, but I figured it's best to hear it first hand. Here's just some info about me/my current pets/new dog.

My husband and I share an apartment with my younger sister. So yes, it's an apartment, but wait, hear me out! I work literally across the street from where I live - I'm lucky, I know. So here's the plan for Jake (the new guy!). Wake up in the AM, between 5:30-6. Go for a 2.5-3 mile walk/jog/run, depending on the heat (I live in Las Vegas, so it's ridiculously hot here right now, but that early isn't too bad). Go to work from 9:30-1ish. He will be crated at that time. Come home on lunch, take him for a 30-40 minute walk depending on how long my lunch break is that day/again, heat. Then he'll be crated until roughly 5:30ish, when my husband will get home from work and take him out for about an hour. Then at night, around 8:30-9:00, I'll take him out for another walk/jog/run, the same distance. So total, he'll be getting at least 5-6 miles of exercise a day, possibly more, and add in the weekly trip to the dog park. Will that be good, or should I up it a bit more?

Now for a bit about the current pets. We have one Chihuahua/Spaniel mix (Rex) who is about 2, and one fat cat (Chewbacca), who is about 2 and a half. We DID bring Jake home last night for a trial run, before we made a decision, and all went well. The dogs became friendly, although the Chi was a bit skittish at first, by the end of the night we had both dogs, my husband, and I, all sitting on the living room floor watching a movie. The cat is another story. Jake had absolutely no interest in her, which was excellent. BUT, she is scared because he's so much bigger. She hissed a few times, Jake left her alone, and she calmed down. We're going to be super careful until he realizes that he is much bigger than they are and can't play rough with them. He was picking it up fast though, when he tried to play too rough with our Chi, we corrected him, and by this morning it wasn't a problem. However, I slept in the bedroom with Rex and Chewbacca, while my husband slept in the living room with Jake. We didn't want to take the chance while we were sleeping of anything happening.

And last, a bit about Jake. He's a 1 year old, husky/pitbull mix. He's absolutely gorgeous. He is fairly trained, knows sit/stay/lie down. He's crate trained, leash trained, and house broken. He's also off-leash trained (according to his current owners. I won't be trying this for a VERY long time, don't want to take the chance). He does jump up on people, so we're trying to correct that behavior. I'd love to be able to bring him over to my grandmother's when we all go over there (we bring Rex), but he would knock her down. No bite history, and honestly, just one of the sweetest dogs ever. His current owner got a new job and doesn't have the time to exercise his husky side.

So, I know this was long and really rambly, but I just wanted to get all the info out. Any advice that anyone has would be fantastic. We bring him home Wednesday night (only three more days!!), since my husband has a 4 day weekend.

It sounds to me like you are doing everything right! Only thing about the cat is he is going to want to play with him/her but it will subside. My husky is still a pup and he doesn't ever chase or try and hurt my cats he just thinks everything and everyone wants to play! haha I also actually have a chiuaua too, and it's the same thing. What I do is if he gets too rough i separate him from everything so he knows if he can't play nice he gets no playing at all! Good luck with your new addition to the family he sounds absolutely wonderful!

Sounds like your on the right track!

He's here, he's here!! We just brought him home. It's been a successful first night so far. We've got Chewbacca under the couch, her usual spot. Rex is on the couch next to me, and Jake is lying on the floor with a ginormous rawhide bone we bought him last night. No incidents bringing him in, AND we even brought him over to my grandmother's to show her, and started her out on the opposite side of the room until we knew he could be calm enough. And guess what! No jumping on her, woot! It was like he knew that she is a very fragile/small woman. The most he did was bumped into her on accident.

Thanks for the advice, ksheen. So basically, what I'm understanding is you sort of do a time-out? Do you put him in a crate or just a separate room?

danie22090 wrote:

He's here, he's here!! We just brought him home. It's been a successful first night so far. We've got Chewbacca under the couch, her usual spot. Rex is on the couch next to me, and Jake is lying on the floor with a ginormous rawhide bone we bought him last night. No incidents bringing him in, AND we even brought him over to my grandmother's to show her, and started her out on the opposite side of the room until we knew he could be calm enough. And guess what! No jumping on her, woot! It was like he knew that she is a very fragile/small woman. The most he did was bumped into her on accident.

Thanks for the advice, ksheen. So basically, what I'm understanding is you sort of do a time-out? Do you put him in a crate or just a separate room?

For time outs a separate room will work. You don't want to use his crate as a time out, he could start seeing his crate as a bad thing.