Hello, just figured I should introduce myself officially. I just got a Siberian Husky a little under a year ago. He's currently a year old now. He's technically a rescue, considering if I hadn't taken him from the family he was with, the police would have brought him to a shelter, so he's definitely a work in progress.

The thing is, huskies were actually the last breed I would have ever picked for myself, so I'm a bit new to it. I've always enjoyed studying dog breeds, which is why I knew enough to stay away from their energy levels. Though I must say, they're easier to work with than I expected. I'm still having quite a bit of issues with him that might possibly force me to re-home him at this point, so I'm hoping that this forum will either help me to make it work, or at least point me in the right direction for finding him a forever home.

Meet Kael:

Welcome to the forum, Kael is beautiful! What kind of issues are you having with him?

Welcome! Hopefully we can help no matter what you decide is best.

Thanks guys!

To be specific, I got him when he was around 6 months old, so he was way past the point of me raising him with my cats. We have two of them. He has a prey drive of epic proportions that prevents me from keeping him in the house. When I do bring him in, it usually results in him trying to climb around behind the couches and jumping on every surface of the house. He just never quits. He's never hurt the cat(though he has been clawed pretty bad before), but he just keeps pouncing around and harassing him. My cat is pretty mellow with dogs, but he won't tolerate him and I don't blame him.

Another issue is our Brittany(technically my father's dog) who is an extremely imbalanced dog and very over-possessive. She's a lot like a Jack Russell Terrier in a Spaniel's body. My parents spoil her and when my guy comes in at all, she's always going after him. She isn't starting full blown fights, but she is acting out aggressively to him when he goes anywhere in her space or takes a toy or something. If I get after her and make her lay down and ignore him, she just sits there whining and trembling while she fixates on him. He doesn't actually pay any attention to her at all. If she goes after him, he just spins circles to get her off and then tries to instigate play.

He's technically an outside dog at this point because of all of this, plus he's been outdoor for so long I'm pretty sure he'd destroy our house first chance he gets. He's on a 40 foot line in the front yard(I'm just beginning to let him loose here and there and I'm using a flirt pole to nab his attention should he take off) with a little lean-to and igloo dog house. He sleeps in a 42 in. crate in my room at night. I take him on walks here and there, and as long as it's not raining, I run him every day using an atv with a leash, something I invented for our brittany. He's not too fond of the atv still and I hate making him run in circles, but it's the most I can do to get that intense energy out, since it allows him run himself out. I really wanted to get him biking so that he could run and see new things at the same time, but I really despise biking. I'm more of a power-walker. xD

Lastly, he's getting extremely expensive for me. I only work 28 hrs. a week, with a cat, dog, and horse to provide for. He wasn't fixed, had no vaccinations, and had terrible roundworm when I got him. I've put a lot into him just getting him to where he is now and I still can't seem to get him up to weight. I've currently got him on Wellness Core dog food. It's the only food he's really done well on and it's the most I can afford at this point. At least I have a job where I get a small discount on pet supplies.

Kael is gorgeous! He looks like a very nicely bred Husky IMO.

Hopefully we can help you either find a way to deal with his issues, or help find him a forever home.

He actually came from a breeder down in Arkansas. I'm happy to hear you say that, because I wasn't sure what to think of her. I've had a lot of people say that he has good conformation though, so I guess she's got some good dogs. I was originally going to try to send him back to her, but after the way she talked to my mother, there's no way I'm dealing with her again.

Basically, she sent him to her brother down here as a gift, but he was supposed to go back to her if anything happened. I wasn't made aware of this, so after half a year of trying to nurture him back to health and getting him up to date on everything, she had the backbone to flip out on my mom about us even having him when we contacted her about getting some papers on him.

Him looking so good is partly why I'm scared of re-homing him. I have yet to go on a walk without someone stopping me to tell me what a beautiful dog I have(literally, people have been driving by and made a point of stopping to get out and talk) or how much they love huskies. This concerns me, because it means that there's a huge chance of someone wanting him simply for looks. I want a home where his personality will thrive. It'll be complicated weeding out the bad ones.

Honestly it sounds like returning him to the breeder might be the best solution. Most reputable breeders will require that if a pet owner can no longer care for a dog, the dog be returned to them, and then they will rehome him or her. The breeder will also require him to be neutered before adopted, and will screen potential adopters, so that he can't be used for breeding. Can you tell us a little more about the breeder? Does she show or work her dogs? Do you know the kennel name? We can help you discern if she is indeed a reputable breeder (which it sounds like she probably is).

If you are going to try to make him work, he does need to be in the house more--these are very social dogs who need to be around people. And by keeping him outside, you're only letting the problem get worse.

So how to bring him into the house? First, get a crate. There are many tutorials and tips on the forum for crate training. It will give him a save place to be when you aren't around or need a break.

Secondly, when you bring him inside, keep him on a leash. That will prevent him from chasing the cat, and will keep him beside you so you can make corrections on bad behaviors. Positive reinforce his good behaviour. Patience and keep calm--it will take him a while to learn.

Lots of walks. A tired husky is a good husky.

There are a lot of great advice on the forum, so read around.

I always worry when rehoming a Husky someone will take them just because they're pretty also. With my last foster, she was a little 8 week old Husky puppy. I made sure she went to a home with already another Husky, so I would defnitely only let him go to someone who already has a Husky and knows what a handful they are.

Is he from Mikayla Kennels by chance? I remembered that there in AR and have a couple nice dogs. There's a few people on here with puppies from there that might be able to help you..

Kael is beautiful.

I got my pup from Mikayla Kennels. I never spoke with the woman / wife of the couple that runs the kennel though, just the husband. I don't know of anyone else in Arkansas that breeds huskies, but I'm from Louisiana anyway. Heh.

He's actually from Maskansas-Siberians. She seems like an excellent breeder to me. I did just email her about possibly sending him over to her, so we'll see how it goes. Maybe she'll be nicer this time.

She seems better than my breeder, at least they show CERF and OFA testing.

I would try contacting her and see, the worst that can happen is her tell you no.

Okay, so she was actually very appreciative about it, but politely turned down the option to take him back. After all he's been through with me, she feels that it'd do more harm than good. She said that she trusts me to find the right home for him and even recommended that I charge a fee to gain back some of what I put into him. Not sure I'd do that, but it's a thought.

Knowing this definitely makes me want to try harder to make this work. Hopefully she'll be alright with answering all of my questions about how she cares for her dogs so that I can try to learn a few things. She seems really experienced with the breed.

If you do decide to find a new home, there is NOTHING wrong with charging a rehoming fee. It's actually better to ask for a small rehoming fee (like $100) to weed out people who like to take free dogs and use them for terrible things like bait dogs and the like.

I hope you can work with him and make it work with your family. I'm sure he's happy to have a place where he's at least being cared for.

I would recommend walking him with your parents dog and bringing him inside more. If you walk them together they will bond together- and walking is something you said you like to do Having said that- if they're both really high energy you may have to run them (on the ATV or whatever) first, and then try walking them together Set him up for success. Don't expect to bring him in the house 1-2 x a week and have everything be perfect. There will be set backs and bumps in the road- but its not impossible. As for the cat, I would begin by teaching him the leave it command. Once he has it down solid, bring him inside so he's in the same room and tell him to leave it- if he does have a huge party with lots of tasty awesome treats that he loves. If he doesn't remove him from the room, let him calm down, and try again. It won't happen overnight, but you can make it work As for using the flirt pole- I would again use the leave it command here, and then give him "ok to chase" or some word to let him know that now he can chase it.. I only say this because using the flirt pole is encouraging his prey drive... we don't want your cat looking like a flirt pole! If he can wait to chase the flirt pole and "leave it" when you ask, then when you ask him to "leave it" when it comes to the cat he will have already mastered the skill with the flirt pole... Of course, we'll never give him the "ok" to chase the cat! LOL. don't forget, we're all here to help you! I'm sure most of us have been in your position at one point or another Good luck!

That's one thing that I did think about, so he knows not to chase the flirt pole unless I tell him to. He has to sit and look at me first, and then I say "Ok". After he catches it, he gets a couple seconds to chew it and then he has to pass it back to me. Usually, I'll go step on it and he immediately backs up and sits to look at me.

I'd love to walk them together sometime soon, but I won't be able to do it alone. The issue is getting someone to help. Our Brittany is terrible with the leash, last time I got blisters that tore open from trying to hold her back on a hike. Plus, Kael would probably attempt to pounce on her if they were that close. I'll have to see if my sister will have the time to go for some walks. That is a good idea though.

He is beautiful!! Where in New York, are you from?