Hi all. New to the forum and hoping for advice.

I seem to have inadvertently ended up the owner of a 1 year old male husky. He was born when friends decided to backyard breed their puppy mill husky which is, I know, already a bad start to the story. The dog was sold unaltered and without shots to a family who apparently lived in an apartment complex that didn’t allow huskies. Low and behold less than a year later he ended up back with the friends. I agreed to take the dog for a week when their two unaltered females went into heat. I felt sorry for the dog and didn’t want more puppies to result in an even worse situation.

One week became two, then three, then four of excuses as to why they couldn’t take the dog back. I’ve now had him for a month. I have a dog (complete mutt. seriously I have no idea what she is mixed with) of about the same age and size who was rescued from a shelter and the two get along well.

I have no idea how to take care of a husky and was hoping someone could point me towards some info or give me some pointers. I won’t get rid of the dog. I like him and the situation isn’t the dogs fault. He doesn’t deserve to continue getting bounced from house to house whenever it’s convenient. Or really, to go back to a house with no backyard that's already got two dogs. I’m also tempted to get the dog neutered and get his shots but I’ve been reluctant since technically he’s not my dog. What do people here think? I’m just not really sure how to proceed at the moment.

Kudos to you for taking a dog out of a bad situation!

If you are going to keep him, I would see if they "owners" will sign something saying you are going to keep him. Clearly they are not fit to care for him, but you never know, they may decide they want to use him for breeding somewhere down the road and ask for him back. If they agree to let you have him, shots and a vet visit, for sure! Is there anyway you could take him and get him checked out in the meantime anyway? Just for your and his piece of mind? Who knows if there is something going on since he hasn't had vaccinations or vetrinary care.

As far as taking care of a husky, you've come to the right place! There is a search function at the top left hand corner where you can type in ANYTHING and find discussions on it. Training, feeding, exercise, grooming...you name it, it's probably there.

Siberian Husky for Dummies is a good book to start. There are also tons of threads on here... https://www.itsahuskything.com/t9830-huskies-101.

Good luck to you and keep us posted!

Good thing is they didn't try to breed their females again. I would have a talk with them about keeping the dog and see what they say. Have you gotten the feeling they want you to keep the dog permanently?

Taking care of a husky mix puppy for me has not been that much different then my other dogs at this point (lab and shepherd mix). Assuming you are familiar with dogs with higher energy/prey drive or working dogs, you should be fine. Crates are helpful. Exercise is a must. The quirks to watch out for are their propensity to escape (even from fenced yards) and poor recall. Also, it seems to be more of a partnership in that you have to work to give them a reason to listen.

There are some quirky behaviors of the breed, but this site has lots of help so you can search or post a new thread if you can't find anything. Are you dealing with any particular problems now?

Welcome to the husky world. Do they have anything in writing that the dog belongs to them? Is he registered in their name with the akc, or anything like that? Have they given you any money for his care during the month he's been with you? If not, I'd just take him to the vet and do the shots and neuter. Also get him microchipped in your name. Possession is 9/10's of the law anyway. When was the last time they contacted you about him? Maybe just don't bring him up and see how long hey wait, or what they say. I'm guessing if they are byb's they might make a big stink about it if you ask them before you neuter, just in case . I would just chalk him up as abandoned, and get it done. Unless there is paperwork, or anything in writing, its basically their word against yours, and they worst they could do is sue you, and its your word against theirs. Plus, I would think that if they do sue you, they would be required to reimburse you for his care, and you could also request a boarding fee if they start going that direction. Are they the types that would do that?

Thanks for the advice. I've been reading a lot of great/informative threads on the forum.

And yeah, I know they want me to keep the dog permanently. I forgot to add that starting the first week they have offered me the dog multiple times. I kept declining since I didn't think I had the time to give a second dog the attention/care it deserved.

They're going on a trip in a few days and offered to pick him up just to leave him with someone else but it seems cruel at this point to pick him up and move him again when he's settled in and comfortable. I told them just to leave him here. I'm at the point where I think I'm going to cave-in (despite feeling completely manipulated and used by the whole situation) and tell them to just leave him here for good.

There's nothing in writing. The mother isn't registered as far as I know. They might have a vet bill since I think there were complications with the delivery. Finally no, I haven't been paid to care for the dog. However, this is someone I've known since childhood and would like to avoid alienating completely despite how poorly I think the situations been handled. I'm also afraid that the reason they're so determined that I should keep him is so they'll get future access to him without having to take care of him. I really don't want to get messed up in their backyard breeding schemes or want the dog messed up in the whole backyard breeding thing either since he's really not a dog that should be breeding anyway.

Ah. I see. I only said the fee thing because it could be your response in case it gets ugly and they fight you for him. It sounds like he's already yours lol. Congrats! I definitely think you should get him fixed though. Just tell them you'll keep him, and get him fixed without talking to them about it. Once he's yours, its your decision, may as well just put the kibosh on the breeding thing before it becomes an issue.

I'm glad the dog seems to be in good hands now! As everyone has mentioned, this is one of the best places to come for information. The two pieces of advice I've given to people (which really goes for any dog breed) is to train them from an early age and to not be afraid to use a crate (just don't use it for discipline). If it wasn't for these two things, I know my Danzig wouldn't be the wonderful dog he is today.

I had a similar situation with Link. I was his third owner, and fostering for his first original owners. They kept making excuses to not come pick him up. She had also wanted to breed him, but as time went on I picked up on behaviors and told her if he was going to be with me he absolutely had to be fixed, and after describing all the behaviors he was displaying, she didn't feel comfortable taking him back in fear he would be in danger to her kid (again, as she got rid of him the first time for being too rough with her child). I got permission from the original owner to keep him, and also got his AKC papers from the second owner and had her and I sign a paper that simply states that the second owner gives ownership of the dog to me and we dated it. I also gave a description of Link at the top. I think getting the friend to sign a paper that gives rights of ownership to you would be a good idea in case he turns around and fights it down the road for either keeping him or neutering him. Once that's signed, you can go off and neuter him, microchip him, and you should be good to go. Congrats on your new addition and keep us updated on what happens!