Yes, we all mean well and want what's best for the dogs. I'm curious why you chose a husky in the first place. They're very pack oriented and while independent, require human interaction because they have been bred to be pack animals. Huskies require a lot more work than most breeds, which is why they're generally not recommended for first time dog owners.

Again I apreciate a lot all the comments... let me try to adress a few things.

Yes, I'm in a Brazil and I don't know if there's a difference here from whrere you guys are in how people handle their dogs, but here, it's very very rare for people to keep large dogs inside the house.
Many people have  backyards with dirt, plants, grass, and the dog gets really dirty. It's hard to let him both outside and inside.

I don't know your standards on size, but huskies ARE large breeds. My dog is only 9 months old and he is huge and heavy (he's not fat, before anyone says anything. He is very fit actually as used to run with him a lot).
My family used to have a german sheppard and Lupo is just a bit smaller than she was.

The reasons I chose a husky? Let me see...
- I love the way they look.
- I always wanted a dog that was very active to be my running buddy and I saw that huskies where perfect for that.
- I like how independent huskies are. They seem more "noble" than other breeds, like they have a little bit of "cat" in them.
- I also like how rare and exotic they are. I think there's only 3 or 4 huskies in my city and I can't go on a walk with him without people stoping me all the time to ask about him.

Also Sara, you're right. We don't have the custom to consider our dogs part of our family. Many people do that of course, but most don't. This doesn't mean we treat them badly, we just don't do certain things.
I would never sleep with my dog for instance (altough I wanted too a lot of times when he as a puppy). This would be very weird in here.

I AM very busy currently, and I AM trying to make more time for him, but I'll never be able to spend 3, 4 or more hours a day with him like some people here do. That's totally impossible.

Lupo is the first dog that is actually mine (all previous dog's where my parents') and I appreciate all the tips I can get on how to raise him.

Thank you all.

Well all of that makes sense, thanks for your explanations.

You still have the problem of a bored, lonely, and very understimulated Husky, no matter what the justifications for your absence and disengagement are. You have received some really good, experienced solutions and possibilities as to what is best for your dog, your particular dog.

Hopefully for both of your sakes you can turn things around for the better, one way or the other.

Good luck

Thank you for not taking our member's comments in a negative way. I had no idea how different Brazil and America were in terms of dog culture.

For that being said, I don't want to repeat what everyone else is saying. I fully agree with them though. Try to spend more time, stimulate his brain, etc etc.

As far as the pee spot, go to a pet store and get a 'urine cleaner'. It has certain enzymes (ingredients) that break down the pee so Lupo can't smell it anymore. He pees there because he thinks it is okay (and he can smell it). You can also get some baking soda and vinegar to remove the stain. http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Pet-Urine-from-Carpet

Thank you for taking our advice. I really hope you can strengthen the bond you have with Lupo soon.

I understand how things are for you and how customs are regarding pets in your country. But the fact remains that you have a Siberian Husky. Their needs are not going to match and haven't been matching what you've been doing thus far. They want to be with their people and if they cant they will make their own fun which is nothing that you have in mind. They will dig, destroy, rip up plants, dig out, climb out- anything to give them some stimulation. They ARE very intelligent.

Is your male neutered? He probably could use it if not. I would also start trying to actually exercise him. Take him for a good walk in those 40 minutes you have to spare with him. Putting them in the yard doesn't exercise them and you will start to see a different dog when you take care of his exercise needs. They NEED it. It's not a custom or part of "being in the family." They need it. Along with stimulation and interaction. This is not a yard breed. In any sense of the phrase.

I think everyone else's advice is good.

Just wanted to say, I have personally seen my husky puppy need me much more then my shepherd mix ever did as a puppy or young dog. Even though my pets typically have us around 18+ hours a day most days, I honestly could say if my shepherd mix was an outdoor dog I think she would generally be pretty happy. Before my puppy came (she follows him around and maternal instinct kicked in), she would choose to be outside 10+ hours a day and contently watch the things in the yard and take in the nice day. As long as she got some time with us on walks and fetch she seemed happy. This was her choice as I would let her in or out based on her request.

I would think of what of your current activities you could maybe drop and replace with dog friendly things. At 9 months, you can do walks 1-2 times a day and work on leash training. In a few months, you can start running and doing a lot more activities.

Also, for awhile I had a zoo in my house with all my pets (dogs, cats, reptiles, aquariums, hedgehog, ferrets). This is not acceptable in US, so I only told people I trusted or those who may be interested. Not everyone needs to know what you do in your own house. If you want to sleep with your dog, sleep with it. The time alone will help your dog feel companionship and you don't even have to sleep in the same bed. Just same room. My puppy stayed in crate next to bed for quite awhile happy just close to us.

arooroomom wrote:

Is your male neutered? He probably could use it if not.

He's not and I wouldn't like to do it either. I know one or two dog owners that have female huskies and we talked about putting them to reproduce in the future.
Also, I'm not very sympathetic of neutering... I don't know... even if I didn't intend for him to reproduce later.

arooroomom wrote:

Take him for a good walk in those 40 minutes you have to spare with him.

Yes, that I already do everyday. We used to run for 30 minutes as I said, but I exchanged that for a 40 minutes walk now, until he grows a bit more.

VintageJeans wrote:

As far as the pee spot, go to a pet store and get a 'urine cleaner'. It has certain enzymes (ingredients) that break down the pee so Lupo can't smell it anymore. He pees there because he thinks it is okay (and he can smell it). You can also get some baking soda and vinegar to remove the stain

I couldn't find the urine cleaner that people recommended here in the pet stores here. I'll try the vinegar trick first, some other people also told me that it works for removing the smell. Let's see. Thanks.

techigirl78' wrote:

Not everyone needs to know what you do in your own house. If you want to sleep with your dog, sleep with it.

I just used that as an example of things that might be considered common there but are not here. I don't want to sleep with him =P

Well.. I can see now that Siberian Huskyes indeed require much more attention than other dogs.
I already started letting Lupo insid the house while I'm there so he can get used and can stay by my side a little longer during the day.
Other than that, there's one walk everyday and a few homemade toys I'm making for him. Also I take him to my parent's farm every weekend too.
I hope that's enough to keep him happy.

Thank you all again. You've been very helpful and I'll be sure to stay around on the forum.

Daniel the neutering would aid in relaxing him a bit more as he wouldn't have adolescent raging hormones running a muck in his system as well as the marking could be diminished if not stopped. I would look around the forum at the breeder stickys before even considering to breed him.

You can also tie him to you while you're in the house making it hard for him to sneak off and urinate on something or tear something up.

Is there a possibility of getting another brisk walk in the morning before you leave? If he could get 2 good brisk walks in a day it would help immensely.

Please don't breed him. Please.

Quote :

He's not and I wouldn't like to do it either. I know one or two dog owners that have female huskies and we talked about putting them to reproduce in the future.
Also, I'm not very sympathetic of neutering... I don't know... even if I didn't intend for him to reproduce later.

If I may ask, why do you want to breed him? Reputable breeders are one thing, but the reason we have a lot of abused and neglected animals is because people don't get their dogs fixed and they produce many puppies, who are given or sold to subpar homes. Have you done research on breeding? I would not recommend it unless you are committed to being a quality breeder.

Why are you not sympathetic to neutering?

Once again, the breeding/neutering issue is a cultural difference. We have seen from many other international members in the past that neutering is not the norm.

That being said, Daniel, you really should consider neutering him. It will help with the hyperness. Honestly, he's a dog. He won't miss his balls. I know it's difficult to imagine, but we don't need to project human thoughts into his head.

Along with the breeding, don't do it. I know it may not seem like a big deal to you. Puppies are cute, etc...But you have already seen that huskies are not a fit for every home. And when people go around breeding for whatever reasons, that is usually what happens. The puppies end up in homes that don't understand the breed and it's needs and the dog is ignored, under stimulated, and simply left in a backyard to do whatever.

Understand that all of us are on this forum because we love the breed. We advocate responsible and informed ownership for the good of the dogs.

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents about neutering too. When we used to bring Gus to the park, I noticed that he had a hard time making friends, and I think that was largely due to the fact that other dogs did not like that he wasn't neutered. He was always friendly, but other dogs would growl at him to go away. One time, he was very unfriendly at daycare to his buddies because there was an unspayed female there. of course, they were separated, but i'm sure the scent drove him CRAZY! This all happened recently, and Gus is 8mths old. So that is around the same age as Lupo. We just had Gus neutered last weekend, and although he was groggy the first night. The next morning, it was like nothing happened at all! He is still as happy and bouncy as ever.

I can see cleary that there are some really big differences between our way of thinking about dogs in some aspects... maybe it's cultural, maybe it's because you all REALLY love dogs, I don't know.

I was going to keep my reasons for breeding to myself since I was sensing some "anger" generating because of it... but... what the hell...
My intentions for breeding is simple: Selling the puppies.

Everyone here that have dogs with pedrigree or from rare/exotic breeds, put their dogs to breed in order to sell the puppies. Usually the agreement is that the person who owns the male dog gets one of the puppies to sell and all the others belong to the person who owns the female.
This might seem something from another world the you, but many people actually called me crazy when I talked about neutering him in the past.

Now, I imagine some of you might be furious or incredulous right now, so let me make a little F.A.Q:

Q: Why would someone buy a puppy from you instead of a professional dog breeder?
A: That's common here for many reasons. Sometimes it's due to the price that dog breeders charge. Also some people don't like dog breeders or pet stores due to suspicion of bad caring (Lupo was one of those. When I got him he was malnourished, scared and I suspected he was beeing mistreated). Finally there's the rarity factor. Husky breeders are rare and there's none in my city or anywhere near.

Q: What if you can't sell the puppies? You won't be able to take care of two dogs!
A: A husky puppy can be easily sold long before he is even born due to the rarity of the breed. People will form lines for an oportunity to own a husky.

Q: What if the family that buys the dog can't take care of him or can't afford to own a dog?
A: That's the responsalibity of the seller, to check the family first and don't sell it to anyone. Usually the puppies are sold to family or friends, so we can keep an eye on the puppy or we know he well be taken care of.
Also, a husky puppy is worth a fortune in here, so usually only famillies that are able to take proper care of the dog will buy them.

Q: So, you wan't a dog only to be a puppy factory? That's disgusting!
A: No. I love my dog, he is my friend and I'm considering the possibility to breed him in the future on a few times maybe as a bonus, not as a reson for having him.
There are many things to be considered in the future too. My lifestyle might change. I might move in with my girlfriend, so I could maybe get a comppanion for Lupo, then a puppy of his would be perfect. Who knows? That's why I don't wanna do something as permanent as neutering him.

That beeing said. If I see that his behavior is becoming too much too handle, even with all the proper care that I'm willing to give him, then I might consider neutering. It's not out of the table.

I think you need to take a step back (as does the rest of this forum before this becomes out of control) and try to understand where we're coming from and why that reasoning isn't going to benefit many in the long run.

Daniel- I know things are very different in Brazil as well as many other countries compared to the US, Canada, and most of the UK. But you yourself are a prime example of what can happen when someone gets a "rare" breed like a Husky without fully knowing what they're getting into. They need companionship and stimulation. They need it. This isn't a breed which is fit for what seems to be the "norm" in that area. Cataracts, hip dysplasia, seizures.. theses are all conditions that you could be passing on to future puppies. You don't know where he is truly from- you said yourself they were very poor conditions. You don't know what he is carrying. Especially since he is so young and a lot of these issues aren't rearing their head until later adulthood. Many of us have Huskies out of less than reputable sources who are constantly dealing with the health issues that lurk within poorly bred or irresponsibly bred dogs.

Something else to consider, on top of everything Kristina said, is think of the problems you're facing with him now. You've taken the time to try and research how to improve his life and your relationship with him, but who's to say the people that buy puppies from you would do the same.

As everyone has said, huskies can be a very difficult to deal with. I, personally, wouldn't want the pressure of finding homes that I knew could adequately take care of the puppies.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t weigh in. Again, as reiterated in past posts, I don’t want this to come off as an attack, but rather a discussion. It’s always difficult to judge tone online, so I wanted to emphasize that.

Look, I completely understand and respect cultural differences. But there are certain facts about certain things, like human well being and dog well being, that are (or I guess, should be) universal. As more research, science and data come out, we learn more every year, so I don’t completely accept that the way dogs always have been treated means that’s the way they always have to be treated.

The facts are that there are thousands of neglected and abused dogs every year, mostly due to irresponsible breeders or puppy mill pet stores.

Breed popularity ebbs and flows, many times depending on what’s “in” in popular culture unfortunately. This is especially true for huskies right now, with the popularity of the Twilight movies and the Game of Thrones series. People don’t do research and want the dog just because he/she looks like what they saw on the screen or because it is an exotic breed. This is NOT a reason to get a dog in general, let alone a husky.

Each breed is unique and has different needs. Huskies are a beautiful breed. But they’re also very intelligent, stubborn, independent and are pack oriented. They can’t help or change the qualities that are inherent to them. They are what they are, and like all dogs, are trusting and reliant on whomever owns them to make sure they are well taken care of.

In my view, breeding huskies and selling them because they are “exotic” is irresponsible. They aren’t inadament objects so people can fawn over them, but rather living beings that require care and attention.

Irresponsible breeding is still rampant in the US. I feel that we have come a long way, but it’s still rampant. Just because it’s always been that way doesn’t mean it always has to be that way.

Wrote this very fast, more to come. I am very sensitive to other cultures and cultural norms, but I feel that there are some principles that should be at least considered, such as responsible breeding, education about specific breeds when choosing one for a pet, not abusing or neglecting animals, etc...

arooroomom wrote:

But you yourself are a prime example of what can happen when someone gets a "rare" breed like a Husky...

I have to respectfully disagree.
I am NOT a prime example of what can happen and I don't know in what exactly are you based to say that. The only reason I wrote this post is because I wanted some tips on my dog's behavior, which according to most people, was beeing caused by the lack of time I was spending with him.
I promptly said I was going to try to improve that and that's it. I didn't say anything about my dog beeing unhappy, or anxious, or bored. I take care of him very well in every aspect.
If beeing busy at the moment and not beeing able to spend as much time with him as he needs automatically makes me a irresponsable or bad owner in your view, then by all means, critisize me.

arooroomom wrote:

...without fully knowing what they're getting into.

I never said I didn't know what I was getting into too.
I researched for months before getting a husky and my family always owned dogs.
I always knew huskies (or any dog) requires company, time, attention... I knew about their issues with heat, their diseases... and I knew that sometimes I would fail on somethings. As I said he is the first dog that is actually mine, I need to learn many things about taking care of a dog yet, but I don't think that disqualifiies me to own one.

katiesham wrote:

You've taken the time to try and research how to improve his life and your relationship with him, but who's to say the people that buy puppies from you would do the same.

As I said. It's the seller's responsability to check on the person he/she is selling to (even tough most people/pet shoes or breeders don't do that). But of course, I can never be a 100% sure that the person will take good care of the dog. No one can for that matter.
So either every dog seller hires a private investigator to check on every buyer, or people stop selling dogs forever.

seanbrunett wrote:

In my view, breeding huskies and selling them because they are “exotic” is irresponsible.

I'm not a dog breeder. My dog is not a puppy factory to make money for me. I wrote much more about this subject, I didn't say just that I was going to sell them because they are exotic and worth a lot of money.

Daniel you came here because you couldn't understand why your Husky who had always lived outside with limited interaction/exercise hates being out there and will play games to get in the house, run around, pee and destroy things.

No matter where you read it is always emphasized how big escape artists they are and how much time attention and exercise they need.. Or they will chew, destroy ect ect all issues you are facing. So from the outside looking in- yes it looks like there was poor information given to you or that you read. It appears as though you were unprepared.

I do feel that leaving a dog with such a drive and energy outside all day left to his own devices to be quite sad and I think you know that too. It's not a life for this breed. I hope you will indeed spend more time with him and give him the exercise and stimulation he needs.

As for it's the breeders responsibility- your dog is half that equation. And I'll just leave it at that.

well daniel i hope you dont take what im about to say as an attack or me being offensive towards you. it's just my view and thoughts/suggestions towards your situation.

I personally dont know your whole living situation (and dont need to) as that could be partly why your leaveing your dog outside all the time. however leaving him outside like that is the match that lit all the other problems your having.

your dog needs attention and time to build a bond and a friendship/relationship with you in order for him to respect and trust you, and you cant do this without spending time with him so that he gets to know you better.

Since you are so busy this is my suggestion, buy a dog create this will help you in potty training him (you say you grew up around dogs all the time so im going to assume you know how to create and potty train a pup, if not we have wonderful threads here to help you with that), if he's potty trained he wont pee/poo in the house... and you cant potty train without him being... you know, in the house. problem 1 solved.

chewing, this is very simple when you catch him chewing on anything he shouldn't with a very firm voice yell his name followed by a no, then misdirect him with a toy or something you'd like him to chew on and give him praise saying "yes! good boy" or whatever... make sure to pet him aswell. he'll learn that it is much more fun to chew on his toys and what not than the house. Huskies love games, as long as you can turn something into a game you can teach them to do anything.

However to do this you need to build up that trust... he wont do anything you want him to do without that, and what do we need for that...? yep thats correct, time! which brings me to my next point.

You need to jumble around your schedual so that you can give him more than 40 minuets to an hour a day, maybe get up an hour earlier, stay up an hour later.... i hate to sound like im trying to belittle you here because im not, but if this schedual of yours is strapped temporarily than you need to make certain sacrifices here and there to help him along the way to a happy and healthy life. think of it like raising a child... does it suck getting up every hour to change diapers? yep sure does but thats all apart of parent hood (or fur-parenthood in this case).

If you cant accomodate or atleast attempt to try any of these thing's... well i fear for the dogs future, i really do because it will be all down hill.

I'm only going to comment on the neutering since I've already made other suggestions. Just looking at your profile pic of him, he is not within breed standard. Do you know what the goal of breeding is? Its not to make cute puppies, no matter how much we say we love them. The goal of breeding to better the breed. From your profile pic, he looks like a woolie. Do you know the standard of a husky? Woolies are out of standard. This isn't to say that they aren't beautiful, wonderful dogs. It means that their coats do no perform the way they need to and that their coat is inappropriate for the breed. So you would be passing this inappropriate coat on to any babies he creates.

Next is testing. If you want to do the breeding correctly, you would need to get his hips and eyes tested. This can't be done til he's two years old. Also, dogs shouldn't be bred til they're over two, something to keep in mind when looking for a female. It would also benefit any puppies if the mom was tested as well. If they don't pass the testing then they shouldn't be bred because they could pass their bad hips/eyes on to their puppies. Breeding properly should never make you money, all that money should go back into the dogs for food and shots and vet checks, etc.

Just some things to think about if you are going to go that route. I realize neutering may not be popular, but there is also this to consider. He's not neutered and spends a lot of time out in your yard. Let's say that a neighbor of your's has an unaltered female who is outside and goes into heat. Guess which dog is going to get out and get to her? That would be your's, huskies are master escape artists. Then you have a neighbor who has to pay for puppies. And their dog didn't get pregnant responsibly or planned. That's mostly why I advocate spaying/neutering. For all the unwanted pups.