Hello Hello.

Firstly I would like to take a tiny bit of this text wall and post a thank you to everyone on this forum. I've been looking into Getting a Mal or a Husky for a couple of Months and Trolling your little forum here has been amazing for me.

The wealth of information and beautiful pictures are a god send and I'm truly happy to have stumbled across your little spot in the internet and thank you all for all your great posts. Even when it's a rant about one of your pups eating socks or rocks I seem to get a little bit more info out of the posts. So thank you all!

Secondly I'd like to introduce myself a Tiny bit. I'm recently married, 27 years of age and, live pretty close to downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. My wife and I have always grown up with dogs around us and have always wanted a pup, or more, to shower in love. until recently it's pretty much just been a fantasy as Living in an apartment that actually allowed dogs, we didn't want to keep a dog cooped up in a small apartment with no yard they could run in.

Unfortunately we also have entirely different ideas of what dogs we want to own. She grew up with an Airedale terrier that she absolutely loved with all her heart. I grew up on a farm that bread Chow Chows for show. I've been pushing for a Chow for ages but she just doesn't want to deal with the fur that comes along with it (shhhhhh I don't think she knows about them blowing this coats yet > ).

We've finally both agreed that a Husky or Mal seem to fit our life style pretty well and we have LOADS of time to research and find the perfect one as we only plan on getting it after we move into our first house (sometime in the next year or so).

The Descriptions and research we've done on the Huskies and Mals we've done seems to fit our life style. We are both very active, Loving, Understanding, and very Patient. We also have experience with enough animal quirks that it just seems like a perfect fit (We've dealt with a Hedgehog with Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome and cancer, Have a 14 year old diabetic Cat that needs insulin(sp?) twice a day, and another cat that for whatever reason just needs to pee on absolutely everything!!!). We don't give up on animals and I don't see the challenge of a High energy and playful dog (And after reading all your post I understand I will never be ready for anything they will do) change that in anyway.

So That being said We are actively looking and continue to research Sibes and Mals. Being from Quebec it is extremely hard finding a dog not from a mill and when the time comes I will ensure the pup we select is from a proper breeder looking to better the breed. Coming from that background myself I know the difference between a real breeder and a BYB just looking to make a quick buck.

We have decided on getting a pup instead of rescue because of our 3 cats. I understand their high Prey drive and starting with a pup I believe I can get the message across that I'm alpha and the cats fall right below humans in the totem pole of our pack. I know some rescues are Ok with cats but I really don't want to take the chance especially when alot of the dogs in Quebec are from Mills.



Sorry for the long wall there I promise it's almost over!!!!

However I did have some concerns on our life style and I wanted to get some feedback from people who own Sibes.

Our plan would be to Crate Tika (I know We have a name ALREADY /gasp) when going out / night to train it. The problem I have is we both work roughly the same 8 hour shift. And I will not leave Tika in a crate for 8 hours, not fair to her, not fair to anyone. We would more than likely convert a room in the new house (with little to no destructive objects inside of it) purely for the pup. The crate would be inside, we really won't mind if accidents happened in Tika's room as long as she wasn't hurt in anyway. And when we get home the love / exersise / play begins. I would probably even run Tika in the morning before work as well.

In all honesty is this being unfair to Tika?
Should we steer away from a Sibe because of the 8 hours they would be alone?
Are any of you leaving you Sibe alone for a normal shift at work and if so how are you managing it?

I'm not opposed to truthful answers hurtful or not. This is why I'm asking a good 6 months before I commit to any dog, I want them to be happy. It's all well and good we want a Sibe, but if staying in a room alone for 8 hours is torture to Tika I will gladly look elsewhere.

Again I'm sorry for the wall of Text and I appreciate all the time and help you can provide us. You truly have a Great Community here and I would consider myself lucky to join should it be possible.

Thanks again and Please have a Great Day,
~Chris~

Welcome! We also decided with our first one to get a puppy cause of our cat, but our second, Karma is a 3 year old rescue who was breeding bitch and raised around cats since she was a puppy.

We work for 7/8 hours a day, and Embry's home alone most of the time. But we felt he was probably lonely while we're gone so he won't be bored. With a puppy you're going to want to go home on your breaks, or have someone go over to let her out. We also never crated Embry he was always restricted to one room, it was the bedroom when he was younger, now that he's older he has the living room and kitchen with all the other rooms blocked off.

Good luck with your decisions and new puppy

Welcome Chris! Thank you so much for your wonderful compliments You've made my day!

Also, kudos to you and your wife for doing your research! It's always refreshing to see

As for your questions... I think that if you really feel uncomfortable crating Tika for the 8 hours a day, that a room to herself isn't out of the question. I would remove or protect all outlets, not put anything that you value in it, and be prepared to potentially replace the floors, drywall, trim, etc. It wouldn't be a room that you'd ever be able to convert for guests for company... Also, make sure that the cats do not have access to this room at all. I would (for safety reasons) lock the cats in a separate room, so even if the puppy got out, you would still have one more protective barrier because even properly socialized you should NEVER leave them alone unattended.

Honestly though, once the pup is older, 8 hours in the crate is not totally out of the question. My two sleep all day, so as long as you're exercising the pup in the morning and at night, I would probably prefer the crate route.

What concerns me is that you want to get a puppy, yet it doesn't sound like you have any flexibility in your schedules. You said that your family raised and bred chows, so I would assume you understand that puppies cannot "hold it" any longer than they are months old. So a 2 month old puppy (which is what you would be taking home) can only hold it in for 2 hours. How are you planning to deal with that? Will someone be able to come home during the day to let the puppy out? You can use the training pads, but that makes house-breaking your dog that much harder. Just something to think about.

You'll know whether a husky/malamute is right for you, and good luck once the wife finds out about the shedding! You might to invest in a High Velocity dryer

Welcome to the forum! Glad to have you aboard

Welcome to the forum. I'm a newbie too - found lots of great advice and insight here so far.

We adopted our dog, Nikolai, from a rescue and we have a cat. Truly, I could not have asked for a better dog - he's sweet and gentle, tolerant of the cat (who still doesn't really like him)... if time isn't critical, keep an eye out for rescue dogs. They need homes and foster families can tell you all sorts of stuff about your dog prior to adoption (cat-friendlyness, etc.). Please don't give up the idea of a rescue animal.

Anyway, my husband and I both work full time during the day, so our pup stays in his crate most of the time. We run him around in the back yard before we leave in the morning and if I can get away, I stop in for him during lunch, but most of the time, he's in his crate about 8 hours per day. We break that up by taking him to Doggie Day Care and to a friend's house maybe once or twice a week and we also considered hiring a dog walker to come by and let him out for a walk and some play time so it's not quite as long. So far, all is good - Nikolai likes his crate (when I can't find him around the house, he's usually curled up in there sleeping or gnawing on his Kong with the crate door wide open). Just be sure to give your dog something to do while you're gone or they will find ways to keep themselves entertained. We usually leave a toy or two out and we have a timer set for the radio to come on for a little bit, and a light so it's not completely dark at sunset. He's got full run of the house when we're home (and at night) and we take him on ~2.5 mile hikes every night. On weekends, we try to go hiking in the mountains or head to the dog park to keep him exercised and entertained. So far, he seems very happy and well behaved.

Best of luck to you and your wife!!

I don't think leaving your pup in his/her create is bad either as long as you can make them understand it is a relaxing place for them, and you give them proper exercise. But it's a different when you have a pup vs. a teenage or adult Husky/Mal. When you crate train, don't use the crate as a 'time out' or for punishment or anything negative, otherwise, your pup will associate it as a bad place to be and will not want to go in it. If your pup is crate trained properly, they will go in on their own and hang out and/or sleep in their crate - after all, they are den animals.

I'm lucky as I work from home, so I get to hang out with Ginger all day. She just lays around the house while I'm working, but I take her out for walks 3-4 times a day. (It's also good for me to take breaks from my computer, so walking Ginger is good for both of us!).

The posters before me all have good points to consider, so keep those in mind. I also adopted Ginger from a rescue, and she is the best! We skipped all the puppy phase of chewing, digging, potty training, etc. But maybe you want to experience all of that....

...in any case, good luck! It sounds like you're doing things right to find the right pup!...and welcome to the forum! I love it here!

+1 on looking for a rescue that's good with cats, since puppies need to be let out very often.

+1 on crating for 8 hours is fine as long as you teach the dog crates are good places to be and exercise it when you are home. I leave my pup in her crate when my boyfriend and I are at work and sometimes, but not too often it's 8 hours and she does just fine.

If you want to find a good breeder, a really good place to check it at a dog show. You can talk to breeders first hand there. Also you can check Siberian Husky Club of America and you can probably find a number of people on there who could refer you to a good breeder in Canada.

I got a puppy too because I have cats. While she doesn't try to kill them, she is way too rough cause she wants to play with them. They hate her and won't let her get too close, but I know if they let their guard down she'd probably grab them. So it's not even a sure thing if you get them while they are puppies. I know I will never let mine with my cats when I'm not there. Another reason why crates are great!

Good luck with your search! And you should probably tell her about the shedding! That would be quite a surprise for her when she sees her first coat blow!