Hello there! New to the forums and the Husky world! I have a few questions and wanted everyone to be able to get to know our little family!

We just recently moved to Katy and also just recently got our first Husky, so we are new to a lot of things as of recently!

My pup's name is Sasha, I will post a picture of her here also.
We have a few questions we would like to ask about the breed and some different things we would love to know about Huskies.

So far it has been a wonderful experience, We have had more fun raising her for the short time that we have had her than any other pup we've had!

My Fiancee and I moved to Katy Texas for Fort Worth just this last weekend, We have had our pup for about 2 weeks now. Potty training is giong fairly well although we do have a couple accidents when we don't get her out in time. I am a stay at home partner of my Fiancee, works in Houston I take care of our two little ones (Sasha and our Boxer mix Sam).


After reading the Huskies101 link, I am excited about the challenges and also somewhat nervous. I love my little one and don't want anything to happen to her, I will have many more questions about them as time goes on I am sure but for now these are the main ones.

Some of the things we would love to know about Huskies I will list and bullet for readability.

• When establishing dominance in the household with a Husky when and how should it be done? Is there a certain way that one should assert dominance over a Husky compared to another breed?
  

• Are huskies easily leash trained? Is it better to use a Harness or choker style collar?
  

• This is our first Husky, What is the most important things to know when raising one?
  

• Our little girl is very high energy as most Huskies are if not all, it's fun to play with her and watch her play with her toys but I have been wondering what are some of the better things to give them to chew on and keep them busy?
  

Here are the pictures of our two children so to speak, I look forward to hearing the responses and being a part of the forum!






Edited for improper wording.

Welcome to the forum! Sasha and Sam are such cuties!

As far as dominance goes, I don't really believe in the whole we have to make sure they know we're dominant theory and I just do nothing in life is free training, which means they earn what they get. Basically they respect me, and know that if they don't behave, they won't get what they want, making them more apt to do what /I/ want to get what /they/ want. Positive reinforcement plays a huge role in our training.

Leash trained.. hmm.. It can be done, but I will say it definitely helps a lot if you practice it from when they're young. Yuki pulls a lot, but shes a lot better walking on the leash than Link, who when I got him was a total steam train and just wanted to drag you everywhere. Although his old owners only used a gentle leader on him and swore it was the only thing that worked, he now walks well on half-check collars but my personal favorite is the front pull harness called Walk Your Dog With Love. It's not even so much about them pulling, as it is that I know if they see a squirrel and bolt I won't be damaging their neck. Although most the time I attack a small neckline from the harness to their half-check collars for extra security as they are escape artists and half-checks/martingales are the only thing they can't slip out of.

Most important thing to know I would say is to be aware when their teenage stage hits, a lot of people are shocked when their well-behaved puppy stops listening, so be extra careful about letting her off leash. A lot of people will let huskies off as puppies and then one day instinct takes over and their pup is gone to explore the world. I personally would never risk letting mine off leash, puppy or adult.

Chew toys.. I love kong products.. but really its a test of strength. Link took out a really hard gummy bear the first week I had him that Yuki hadn't been able to put a scratch in for months. My favorite things for Yuki to chew on as a puppy were those teething key rings and similar chew toys, wubbas are also a favorite.

Again welcome.. can't wait to see more pics of your fur-family

Welcome!
A short answer to the dominance question is 'Cesar Millan'
Long answer, be a calm and assertive leader. They don't respect or listen to angry or frustrated people. There's no real 'Husky-only' dominance method, but make sure you walk infront on walks, a trick I've read in another book to establish leadership over dogs is at meal times to put a cracker or biscuit in with the their food (ontop! don't bury it cause you gotta eat that!) and make sure they're looking at you then eat the biscuit without looking at them, then place their bowl down and tell them it's ok to eat. That way they see it as sharing a meal, but your the leader and you had your fill first. Basically you set the 'rules, boundaries and limitations' and once they're set you gotta stick to them. If you waiver they'll see it as weakness and exploit it. And that goes for any dog really.
From my experience they're not easy to leash train. Achilles will still try to walk infront on occasions. Alot of the time he's almost perfect and I'll only have to check him 2 or 3 times throughout but he has the odd terrible day when it's every 30 seconds. Just gotta keep at it. I only started walking him properly from 6 months, so for the first 2 months of walks he was in a harness pulling me along, as with the next part - establish everything early. I use a Martingale collar now.
Socialize with rules! I didn't stop Achilles jumping up on people when people came over, I'd take him away from the situation so he didn't learn it was unacceptable which I now have to work on with a dog thats 4x the size as when I brought him home. Set the rules early.
I think I was lucky and picked a low energy Husky (it was what I was trying to do but didn't really understand how) so I can't answer that one for a hyper dog, he sleeps alot of the day, but when he's a little hyper and busy I'm working a marrow bone keeps him occupied for ages. He also likes sticks but that's probably not something you'd want to encourage.

Thanks for the words of wisdom ad the warm welcome! I will definitely be taking all of what you both have had to tell me and use it to the best of my ability. So far having this little one has been really fun! She is only 8, maybe 9 weeks. We just got her first round of shots and did her first round of medicine for her hook worms. We've been using puppy pads since we live in an apartment, I use the bathroom to keep her in in case of accidents I am working at switching from the bathroom to the Kennel since she is getting a bit bigger. So far she has been really good about not having accidents in the apt. Only when we gave her the first round of medicine for the worms she had accidents it gave her the poops and she couldn't really help it poor girl.
I tried to get to her in time but it never worked out because the damage was done before I could pick her up.and get her outside.


I just introduced her to the leash yesterday, so far she doesn't care for it and refuses to move on it. I think I might hold off a bit longer but I want to start her young. We live in an apartment complex so I really don't want her to get away from me and get hurt. I haven't started walking her yet.

I'd definitely start her on the leash now. Huskies are notorious for not being trusted off leash, the more you prologue it the harder its going to be. Use treats to make it a positive experience, let her drag it around the apartment encouraging her by offering treats whenever she comes to you, and correcting her when she chews on it by giving her a chew toy instead.

That's a really good idea, I actually never would have thought to do that. I will start doing that here in a little bit when she wakes up. Any moment she is sleeping is a moment I'm not busy lol.