I am in a bit of a situation with a Husky currently under my care and am looking for advice.

Over the past few weeks, I have been looking after an 8 month old female Husky for a friend of mine who just adopted her. This Husky was recently let go by someone who was deployed, and she was in a foster situation who wanted to get rid of the dog as soon as possible. She has had no previous training and is your typical Husky puppy--she needs lots of exercise or she is a bouncing ball of energy. My friend wanted me to look after her until he was able to find appropriate living arrangements and take her over. I have just been informed that he has now decided to move out of state and cannot take the dog with him.

Of course, I have now fallen in love with the dog, but realize that I may not be the right home for her. Right now the poor girl is being kept in a crate for 4-6 hours a day while I work. However, I am a horse trainer and could potentially take the dog with me to work if she were to have some obedience training, and I could trust her to not go wild at the barn. So far she seems to be fairly well-behaved around the horses. Then again, there is no guarantee that my lifestyle might not change in the upcoming years such that I might not be able to have her with me so often.

I have been looking into adopting a dog for years, but have never found the right time to make the leap. However, I never imagined I would end up with a Husky as I know how high energy they are and am not sure they are right for my lifestyle. I had always imagined I would get a hound-type or a herding dog that would be good around the horses. I am generally very active, currently training for a half marathon, and I love hiking and camping. I have loved taking this girl hiking every chance I get, which lately has been almost every other day. I am lucky to live on a property with a huge yard near lots of trails. I would let her outside in the yard during the day except there is a mechanized gate that other people use, and I know that Huskies are escape artists. I am not sure enough about the fencing to trust that she would not get out.

Thanks for reading my novel, and I would appreciate any advice from other Husky owners. I am trying to determine what is best for me and, more importantly, the dog.

First off, we love pictures!

Second, I think that most people here leave their dogs/crate them for the majority of the work day. My guy gets left at home 7-9 hours out of the day and seems to be just fine. He sleeps most of it anyways! As long as you are able to get stimulation, training, socialization and exercise in when you are home, I don't see why that situation alone should prevent you from keeping the dog.

I agree with Sara! 8-9 hours is closer to a maximum in the crate while at work. 4-6 hours is perfectly fine. You are a great match for this pup. I don't think your fencing as much of an issue... I don't even have a fenced in yard. I just go to off leash dog parks as much as I can. Also I bike and walk with mine a lot As long as you get a husky tired, they will be happy.

I totally agree with Sara and Lucy, I think she would be a great match for you, since you obviously love and are in the outdoors a lot. Huskies are working dogs, you can train them to do just about anything, they love a challenge. My girl in essence is a bird dog. We trained her, took awhile, she nolonger tries to eat them, she just goes and get's them and brings them back,lol. She also loves animals, because we introduced her young to as many as we could. If she was trained, Miya would be a great herding dog, they love to chase after all. Like Lucy, we do not have a fence, training is the key, however we never leave her out by herself. We also live in the country where there are predator animals as well as ranches. There are 2 horses down the road from us that she loves to visit with, and they don't mind her. Acclimate her with the horses and whatever else you do, the younger the better.

4 to 6 hours are absolutely no problem when the dog got used to it. That a Husky needs company 24/7 is just a myth.
If the dog gets enough attention and exercise in your free time everything should be fine after a while.

Oh and you said you always waited for the perfect time to get a dog. To me there is no such thing as a perfect time for that. Every time is the right time because life is so much better when you share it with a dog

Yeah, I think you sound like a pretty perfect home for a husky! I work a normal full time job and live in a studio apartment in NYC, and my boy lives the good life and is very satisfied. If I can do it, you can! Hiking every other day? Half marathon training? Huge yard with a fence? Sounds like a great life for a husky. Not to mention (and MOST importantly) a human that loves and cares for her. If you don't like leaving her in the crate and have a decent sized, safe area to do it, you could also build her a dog run. Just make sure it is covered, as huskies have been known to climb out of them. Make sure she can't dig out and make sure to include a dog house, shade and of course leave water out. Honestly though, she probably just sleeps, and rests up for all that half marathon training while you're at work.

Here is what I mean by a dog run:

I agree with the advice received thus far. Your lifestyle sounds perfect for a husky if you really want to keep her. I am a stay at home mom so I am home with my sibe pretty much 24/7 and he just sleeps the majority of the day. You may not need to crate forever if that concerns you. When my boy was younger he was destructive when left alone but by the time he turned 5 I could leave him loose in the house without any problems while no one was home.

Many people leave their sibes home alone for 8+ hours, crated and uncrated, and they are fine.

If I could I would give everyone a treat for their great advice! I work a full time job and go to school part time so I'm usually gone at least 12 hours a day but my fiance works 8-6 and comes home for an hour for lunch Nala is perfectly fine, she honestly loves being home alone she sleeps and mopes around most of the day anyways and when I get home I take her for a walk and on weekends I take her to an off leash dog park for socialization. From what it sounds like you have the perfect home and lifestyle for a dog especially a husky, as long as they have things to keep them entertained while your gone for the day they will be just fine! and as Dennis has said life is so much better when you get to share it with a dog! a Husky especially Nala is only just two and I've been leaving her out of the crate since shes been at least 6 months old it all comes with time and training.

I agree as long as you can get your pup some exercise before or after work (some dogs need both) there is no issue with crating while you are at work. And Although huskies can take more training than some other breeds I think with some effort You could take her to work with you it just depends on what you want her to do.

Also just a thought and there are pros and cons to this but I know you mentioned you have a bit of land if you don't want to leave her in a crate all day you could build an outside kennel run so she could move around and stretch her legs while your gone. If you do go that rout I suggest concrete floor and a top of some kind to make in inescapable.

All of your opinions have been incredibly encouraging. Thank you! I actually originally built a covered dog run for her because I felt so bad about her being in the crate for so long (Even though I only thought she would be with me temporarily...). However, the chain link was not secure enough and she started to bend the wires up from the bottom. After about four hours she had almost created a large enough hole to escape through. I felt terrible the first time I left her in the crate for a period of time, but almost every time I come home to her, she is asleep. I have been leaving a Kong with a dental chew stuck in it for her while I am away and she LOVES the Kong. Whenever I pick up the Kong now she pretty much runs straight into the crate. She is usually curled up with it like it is a stuffed animal when I come home.

I believe I can give her all the exercise and stimulation she needs after reading some of your responses. I'm also more hopeful that she will be able to eventually go with me to the barn. I'm going to test her out with the horses over these next couple weeks on a very small scale, and we will see how it goes!

Here is a picture of miss Zoey:


Life is better with dogs.

I think you sound like a good fit for the pup. 4-6 hours is perfectly acceptable, especially if you're taking her out with you on hikes, runs, etc., so often. Huskies don't mind being crated. Mine hang out in them a fair amount, even when they aren't told to. It's home for them. They just can't be in there ALL the time.
One of mine tries to play with horses like another dog, the other ignores them. Training and familiarity will help. I'd recommend a leash or tie out if she does to work with you, just for everyone's safety, but the amount of time you're gone, she'd probably be better off crated at home.
If I didn't trust the fence, I wouldn't leave them out unsupervised. If I did trust the fence, I wouldn't leave them out unsupervised. They're curious, like to explore and can run really fast.

Miss Zoey is gorgeous, and indeed life is better with dogs.

   I think you will have such a great friend, I know I do. Huskies are curious, fun, smart and yes fast, they really want to make you happy and with good training they can , imho, be by your side for just about anything. Pic of my girl enjoying my neighbors horse, the other horse is shy, and tries to say hi. Miya and this horse now rub noses.



Enjoy your girl, and more pics please   
Renee