This is an account set up by me, Shelby's Dad Jim. I have a feeling she will be here often.

After reading posts here, it seems I made a big, expensive mistake.

Since we have not yet received our puppy, I am hoping to get some help.

We live in Texas. Do I need to worry about exercising the dog in the heat?

If so, what do I do?

Also, is the a post for new puppy owners?

I have not sent the check to the breeder. I have heard some bad stories. I want to be a good owner. Can a husky live in Texas with 4 little kids and 3 cats?

Thanks
Jim

I live in Arizona, so I think I am a pretty good person to give insight on this.

During the summer when it's over 100 degrees, your dog is not going to want to go on walks or to the park during the day, and it is dangerous to have them out when it's that hot out. It is definitely a pain in the butt, but most owners here wait until 6 or 7 to go to the park when it drops under 100 or go early in the AM (you can do walks at this time too). Doggy daycares are really popular here since most of them are inside with AC. It's more of a challenge having such a high energy dog in a hot climate, but 100% doable. You just need to have the commitment to do so.

Asfor 4 little kids and 3 cats? Puppies are harder with kids as huskies often mouth when they are younger and it takes time for them to adjust to knowing how to act around a kid. Generally, adult huskies are very good with kids especially when they are raised with them, but the puppy stage will require a lot of hard work from the kids and you. My dog is a cat killer so I have no input on a husky with cats.. some can coexist with cats just fine, others have too high of a prey drive. It's an unpredictable behavior honestly (though I hear that things are easier when raised as a pup with cats, but they should never be left unattended).

Well, the answer is that it's really up to you, the owner Can a husky do it? Absolutely, but not on his own. You're going to most certainly have your work cut out for you, but if you and your family are willing to do it, then by all means, welcome to the husky owning family

Heather is right. Many huskies do just fine in the warmer climates, but it takes a certain amount of dedication for their owners to exercise them properly. Because it's going to be cool inside your house, your husky will still have its same amount of energy, just no room to expend it all. Once he gets outside it'll be a different story. You'll need to make sure he gets daily walks in the early morning or evenings, or utilize a daycare like Heather said.

Huskies are usually great with children, but that will take some getting used to as well. Like Heather said, they are very mouthy as puppies so you'll want to make sure your pup is with his littermates until at LEAST 8 weeks old if not a little longer so that he gets all of his proper bite inhibition socialization with his littermates and not your kids Then it's a matter of patient and consistent training. You'll also want to train your CHILDREN just as much as the puppy though. It's so important to teach young kids proper behavior around a dog, because dogs will be dogs and there's only so much the best trained dog in the world will put up with.

USUALLY, the best way to go with cats is to get a puppy and socialize them together right away. However, huskies have a very high prey drive and nothing is a guarantee. You'll never, ever want to leave the cats alone with the dog unsupervised, EVER. I've heard horror stories about huskies that were "great with cats" for 12 years and one day the owner walked in to a scene from a horror film and a dead cat.

The only one who can tell you if you made a mistake is you Can you commit to 1-2 hours of exercise a day when the weather is cool enough to do so, or take your dog to a daycare a few times a week? Can you commit to teaching the puppy and your children proper behavior around each other? Can you commit to only allowing your animals together under supervision and never alone? If you answered yes, then I think you have your answer

As for threads, check out the crate training thread. This is really a MUST for huskies:
Crate Training Thread
Also look at the potty training thread:
Potty Training Thread
And lastly, the puppy thread:
Bringing Home Your Puppy!

Those are a good place to start!

I can't help with the temperature thing, but we have cats and younger kids who come over.

We have a cat and Embry and our cat, Ash get along fine, always have. Generally speaking as long as their are introduced at a young age, 8 weeks is normal, they will grow to accept the cat into the pack rather then accept it as dinner. But be careful with bringing in new cats that you're husky doesn't know when it's older.

Embry is perfect with our cat, but we have fostered two kittens since we've had him and the only cat he has ever accepted is our cat, any other cat is fair game dinner. We brought the first kitten home, it was about 7 weeks, Embry was around 4 months and man did that prey drive kick in! He just wanted to eat it! It was terrible.

Thanks for the replies!

I live in Southeast Texas and have two Huskies. They are inside dogs and so do fine in air conditioning. The difference about the walking and exercise in the summer is the time of day. I walk very early in the morning around 6 am. We are always finished by 7:30. Also I bring a bottle of water and midway through the walk I give a drink. In the afternoon late they play in the fenced yard and I have a doggie swimming pool set up which they love. They will play and then go lay in the pool. In the winter time of day for walks is much more flexible which is nice. I also have a Pit/Lab mix with really short hair so the walk schedules are reversed since he can't tolerate the cold weather. Hope this helps if you decided to go through with your dog purchase.