Hey guy! In the next bit I am getting my very own Husky puppy. Now I have read a lot on the breed and just on puppies in general. I have a dog so I am not new to the dog world and I recently helped with a foster puppy husky mix so I have a little experience. But I haven't had a 8-10 week old in nine years and I want to do everything I can to be as prepared as possible.
So this is where I hope you guys will help me out.
Any products that worked great with your puppies.
Any tips or tricks you used and liked.
Anything at all that you wish someone had told you before you got your husky puppy would be great!

I will also keep researching everything I can get my hands on until my new kid comes home.

Obviously each dog has a different personality but for us, kiba was like everything I've ever read about huskies. Super energetic from day 1, vocal, stubborn, loves to run, digs a lot, has to be leashed at all times, has a decent prey drive ( although my cat gets along super with her), sheds a lot ect ect. But they are such a happy fun breed. the best companions. Just consider that all the quirks and traits you've read about are likely and prepare for it.

As far as products go, granicks bitter apple spray was a great deterrent to unwanted chewing. And get some good carpet / floor cleaner formulated for pet accidents. Good luck!

I wish someone would have told me to get some damn sleep and catch naps whenever the pup sleeps because you will be losing sleep with all the potty breaks in the middle of the night

Advice for getting a puppy? Mine would be don't!!! Sorry I rescued adults cause I did not want to deal with anything puppy. Good luck, all the info u need is on this site

From what I've read it takes a lot of patience, time, and caffeine. Well... Maybe not caffeine, but definitely something to help stay awake during the day as if what I read is correct you wont be getting much sleep. (Edit: I just now have realized that this part is redundant since eddycaaa got to the sleeping part first, sorry about that...)

Either way good luck, all the members on here are super helpful and are able to answer almost any questions you might have!

Yup, Erica nailed it...even if you have a million things to do, if the puppy sleeps, take a nap too. A tired mum is a grumpy one, and trust me, you will need to be at 100% patience!! Also, have fun, take lots of pictures, and ignore all the dog "experts" walking around everywhere all of a sudden.

I wish someone had told me about the incredible range of noises these guys are capable of :)especially when it comes to crate training! Saying they are "vocal" and a puppy will "cry" initially in a crate was a massive massive understatement for my boy! He screamed his face off the first night in his crate (7 hours straight! and I mean absolutely screamed, not whimpering, not barking not little puppy cry's I mean a piercing scream and while he is now generally fine at night he hasn't really shut up in a general sense since  
Orion talks to everything lol me, his toys, his dinner, the cat - he will complain if he is bored, he will woo if he's excited - he just has to make sure everyone is aware of what he thinks

That no matter how much research you do ahead of time (which is good!!!) you will never be completely prepared for a husky puppy!

To me, the biggest change has actually been emotionally. It's easy for dogs to feel like part of the family, but these dogs are just something special. They have such big personalities and quirks. You will find that you will want to incorporate them into as much of your daily life as possible!

General things would be make sure you have a crate and you watch puppy like a hawk. Loki hasn't destroyed much yet as a result. Also, as others say, be ready for no sleep and lots of caffiene. Finally, start training early and be consistent.

I think Loki must be on the calm side for a husky or it will just take him longer to blossom into this insane puppy I keep reading about. I wasn't prepared for how calm he is most of the time. I question the vet if something was wrong with him and he said he is just a good puppy and will likely grow up to be calm dog. Some others here seem to have "calm" huskies too. He gets excited about 1-2 hours a day, but walking and playing with my other dog usually calms him down and then he will just chew on his bones and watch TV. During this hyper time is when he gets a little bad like you would expect a puppy - chase the cats, jump on furniture, and talk back a little more. He does dig, but we gave him his own garden and he took to it very quickly (leaving rest of yard alone). I only had other dog breeds, so the talking back is new for me, but my shepherd mix has always talked some. However, I a bengal cat (others in the past), so I'm kind of use to being talked to and talking back to my pets. All in all, I haven't had a puppy in over 10 years when I got him. At times he drove me nuts (nipping phase), but he still seems easier then I remember by lab and shepherd mix as puppies. And I will admit, a few days I skipped his walk just to be able to get him in the more excited puppy mode as he was making me nervous.

As a result, the other part is don't think he will be exactly like the breed standard and things you read. Loki is either pure husky or has a large part husky. Some things seems like normal husky behavior like digging. Other things do not, like him being pretty calm most of the time.

The simplist tip i can give you that a lot of people forget.. They are a puppy.. And they will be a puppy for a long time.. Even if they dont look like a puppy anymore you have to remember they still are one. There is going to be accidents, and things destroyed. And your going to get frustrated but remember its a puppy..

1. Have lots of things for the puppy to chew, they are chewing machines!

2. Have patience, puppies can really test your ability to stay calm and collected. If there's something that you like to do that calms you, remember to do it and/or keep that something around. For me it's puzzles, for my hubby it's video games, for some it's a book, others it's quiet time outside or a quiet stroll. Whatever makes you happy and offers an escape, it might be good to have close by for those moments you need to take a break.

3. Crates are a wonderful thing. Not just to help potty train or keep your house intact, but it's okay to put your puppy in there when you need a break. Most likely when you need a break, puppy can probably use one too to rest and recharge.

My pup is 11 months old and every day I tell myself (and my hubby) that I never want another puppy again. I much prefer adopting adult dogs!

Everyone has already shared some great advice and Dot touched on what I wished I had done more of: Take LOTS of Pictures! They sure don't stay little for long, and sometimes it is hard to get them to stand still long enough for a photo op. Most of Rogue's little puppy pics are a blur because that is what he was most of the time - a blur of motion! But keep snapping away because they grow so Fast!

I too had done tons of research before committing to the breed. However nothing prepared me for the amount of love that I would feel for Rogue. I just can't spend enough time with him, and I really think separation anxiety takes a toll on me more than him! They are truly amazing, and unique, and with all of the things that will at times try your patience - worth every moment!

mmwhiteside wrote:

I just can't spend enough time with him, and I really think separation anxiety takes a toll on me more than him!

Same here! I miss him when I'm just at work for the day!

This helped out alot Loki when he was puppy but we baby gated off a small section of the house and he was only allowed in those rooms (kitchen and living room) at first. It allowed us to know where he always was and helped with keeping the accidents to a few spots.

Touch their paws and ears every day. You will have to clip their nails and clean their ears and you need to desensitize them to you touching them.

I use Nature's Miracle as a enzyme cleaner it works great and gets red wine out too. Make sure you have a bottle on hand before the puppy comes. Spray everything with an anti chew spray. I did all my furniture (to this day no chew marks) and the only thing I missed and he loved to chew as a little puppy was the ends of shoestrings ( I forgot to spray the shoes).

You are going to be tired. You are going to look like crap from lack of sleep (someone at work told me that after having Loki for 3 weeks). You are going to have scraps and bite marks but if you stick with it you will love it and want another.

I will say this as a tip, because I think it helped me and Okami bond much faster. I am a winter person, I love the snow. So do huskies! (Look at captain obvious over here hehe) Anyways, I adopted Okami during the winter time. It made outside time so much more fun for the both of us. Playing in the snow, digging, it also helped with teaching her to potty train in a specific spot. All around I couldn't be happier that that is when I made her part of our family.

Another thing, if you haven't looked into it, clicker training is the best thing since sliced bread. Granted it isn't going to work for every animal, but it is worth a try with consistent good timing and lots of praise. Okami is 8 months and knows many tricks and little quirks on command, and over half of them she learned before she was 3-4 months old.

If you are going to crate train, make sure you get one that has a separator. You certainly want to get one that is big enough for when she is full grown, but they grow out of the separator really fast, so you don't want to buy multiple crates.

If when you get you're dog they are on a food that you aren't sure about, make sure there is no grains, corn, or anything unhealthy in it. Huskies need high quality food to match their unpredictable metabolisms. There is a lot of great suggestions for quality food here on the forums, or there is raw diets, but that can also be way more expensive and time consuming; it is worth the research.

Get lots of husky reading material. You can never stop learning about the breed, it is impossible to know everything! I research daily so I can learn something new to try with her, may it be tricks, conditioning her behavior, or just simply how to do certain things from many different perspectives.

Get a furminator! It is pretty much the best way to make sure your huskies double coat gets the un-matting it needs and it really makes a difference with shedding season.

For potty training- Get an enzymatic cleaner for carpets or hard floors - whichever you have or both. It is recommended to do the bells method, but it isn't impossible without them. If you find that you are having a hard time, they make sprays that you can create a spot outside that encourages a dogs business.

Hope any of this helps!!! Can't wait to see your pup!

I don't know if a Furminator is the best idea... A lot of people on here claim that it irritates skin, pulls fur out, damages the coat, etc. Although I don't speak from experience at all.

Besides that though I agree completely with everything else!

Move everything! Socks, underwear, clothes anything you don't want nibbled (aka shredded) It's amazing what a pup can do when you go to pee lol

Like Erica we limited roaming with stair gates and closed doors. It made potty training much easier knowing they couldn't sneak off and toilet. We use stair gates now (we just moved July) to show them where they're allowed to go because they aren't allowed in the kids rooms or in the kitchen when I'm cooking..

AMB wrote:

I don't know if a Furminator is the best idea... A lot of people on here claim that it irritates skin, pulls fur out, damages the coat, etc. Although I don't speak from experience at all.

Besides that though I agree completely with everything else!

If a furminator is used incorrectly, it will be very drastically bad for them... you really have to know what you are doing with it for it to work right. But yes you are right, when used improperly it can damage their under coat or hurt their skin.

Don't do it! Hahah kidding, I love puppies! I've had all of mine since they were puppies, and I love being able to mold them into what I want in a dog.

First things, NEVER fall behind on potty training or crate training. Stay consistent no matter how tired you are at 2am, or even if you're sick of doing it every 30 minutes. It'll all be worth it in a couple of weeks.

Don't give into the crying in the middle of the night, it'll just make things harder in the long run.

lillith87 wrote:

AMB wrote:

I don't know if a Furminator is the best idea... A lot of people on here claim that it irritates skin, pulls fur out, damages the coat, etc. Although I don't speak from experience at all.

Besides that though I agree completely with everything else!

If a furminator is used incorrectly, it will be very drastically bad for them... you really have to know what you are doing with it for it to work right. But yes you are right, when used improperly it can damage their under coat or hurt their skin.

Oh okay, that's good to know then! ^_^

Mine would be to make sure you have time to exercise them properly. Also, to crate train, and take them to training classes. Danzig is the best behaved dog I've ever had because of those two things.

It looks like we would either be getting him/her the beginning of November or the beginning of January depending on what litter we go with. One of the possible litters was born yesterday and the other mom seams to be pregnant. We have been getting ready and waiting for over a year its almost weird that it's actually happening.

Not sure if someone asked already, where are you getting the puppy? Just curious We demand puppy pictures!

The breeder is out of Washington she is great shows sleds and weight pulls. I would have to look up the name of her kennel when I am at home because I can not remember it. But I can not say enough good things about her she has been great with all the questions I have been harassing her with. What can I say I am an excited bundle of nerves about getting my new little guy. Or girl.

And when I have pictures I will share them, you will be sick of puppy pictures soon.

Saide's and Wash's Mom wrote:

And when I have pictures I will share them, you will be sick of puppy pictures soon.

Pfft. Fightin' words