Hi everyone,

I have a 13week old female Husky named Mischa, who we have had for 5 weeks.
I have been reading through some posts and have a few questions.

1. How old would you recommend Mischa should be before I introduce her to swimming?

2. Some of you talk about time outs for your puppies. How do you do this? What does it involve?

3. When do they start teething? She can be very mouthy when excited and becomes more excited when we react so we have decided to ignore the behaviour and walk away


I think that's it for now. We are pretty lucky, so far she has been doing very well with her toilet training (although as I write this she has just missed her pee pad!), she has been walking well on the lead and she is generally only left alone one day a week, 3 days a week she goes to work with my boyfriend and plays with the puppy there and one day she is at home or out and about with me. Thanks in advance for the advice.

Rachel

Congrats! She's adorable.

1. I don't think there's a thing as too early to introduce to swimming as long as you do it gradually and make it a positive experience. Be aware though that many huskies don't like water, no matter how much you try. Our boy will be 2 in May and he just now will wade in water shallower than his belly. Doesn't like it any higher and hates being around it. We tried taking him out in a canoe last summer and he was NOT happy. He almost tipped us!

2. Time out involves distancing the puppy from whatever behavior you are trying to avoid. You want to make the time out spot somewhere where she will not be forced into in any other circumstances. For example, if you crate, you do not want to make the crate a time out spot because you want it to be a wholly positive experience. Some people like to use a bathroom, but I prefer not to because we already have a hard enough time getting him in the bathroom to take a bath! In our case, Bode kind of picked his own time out spot. He has a self delegated spot where he likes to go to get away, so when he would go there we would tell him to get in Time Out.

3. I don't remember when Bode started teething. Sounds like you're doing the right thing to train the mouthiness. Huskies are an extremely mouthy breed, so being consistent is important.

Generally, using puppy pads for potty training is discouraged unless absolutely necessary. It can make the process more difficult by allowing the puppy to go in the house first and thinking that's OK. Crate training is a much better tool for potty training.

Welcome to the forum! Oh, and just a hint, the forum tends to be more active during weekdays and more dead on the weekends, so don't be offended if you don't get a ton of replies.

Well Sara beat me to it but she basically said what I would have verbatim.

With swimming, here's what I suggest. My boy is a swimmer. I was hellbent on my dog being a swimmer and I succeeded with him.

The first time I took him to the lake I was was with my friend and her adult Vizsla, a big time water dog. Link followed him like a shadow--he was maybe 5 months then--and when the Vizsla went into the lake so went my husky puppy. He did great and he loved it. My plan worked: just give him a positive experience with a role model.

After that, have the yummiest treats imaginable and be ready and willing to go in waist deep yourself. Pay no attention to your dog whatsoever and just go in. Surely, he will follow. You're using two built in features he has here, prey drive and work drive. If you make yourself interesting and show good leadership he should just naturally want to be near you. When he goes in up to his body, treat him. You should have his attention by now. Calmly coax him toward you. If and when he goes in all the way and has to paddle, treat him while paddling and praise him like he just saved the world. Again, positive experiences and leadership.

Another trick is from shore you can throw treats into the water for him to get. You'll need to make sure they float though. Snap peas work great.

It helps to have a harness with a handle as well so you can guide him in and steer him while keeping him up enough for treats. If you keep repeating this process and have patience while celebrating each time he goes out further and further you'll likely have a swimmer.

Whatever you do don't pay attention at all if any fear or nervousness is shown. Just keep leading by example and being supportive.

I would say it took us 3-4 times at the lake over 2 months.

Oh, and it's probably best to wait until the first three rounds of vaccines are over. Water will pretty inevitably give giardia to your puppy.

Sorry about the masculine pronouns....if that matters to you

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the advice! I would really like her to be a water baby and she is certainly showing interest, she tries to get in the bath/shower with us and splashes in puddles in the garden. I will leave it a little longer and follow that advice though, thank you Jeff. I am certainly not worried about going in myself, but hadnt thought of that!

Thanks for the tips on the pee pads Sara, I will gradually make the area smaller then remove them altogether, didn't realise they could have negative effects, but if you think about it it makes perfect sense!

Jeff- don't worry about the 'him's', my parents have a male dog and I find myself doing the same thing. Doesn't bother me whatsoever!

Thanks again for all your advice.