So I adopted Bradbury over a year ago from my local shelter, and I couldn't be happier with him. He's happy, he's healthy, he loves treats and belly rubs and I'm really glad he's in my life. The only thing really is he's the calmest husky I have ever met.

Now I don't know what his home life was like before he came into mine, and I get kind of mad thinking about it as he came into my life thinner and timid. He's blossomed in health and personality since coming here. However, with all the research I did on huskies and having always wanted one since I was a kid, I'm really surprised at how chill he is. He rarely plays with toys, and after all this time working with him is only just now starting to show interest; he doesn't talk or make much noise. I'm not upset by this and I know every dog has a personality but I'm kind of wondering if anyone else on here was also expecting something wildly different when adopting and got calm cuddle bugs instead?

Is he just calm or is he lazy and the only thing he wants is chillin?

We adopted Ami almost a year ago. I remember my very talkative girl Sasha so I was a bit disappointed that Ami was not a talker. However, in the last few months, he has become more vocal but still, mostly on greeting us in the morning or when we come back from being away a few hours. He is also way up on the "calm" scale. Unless there is prey involved I really had to teach him to play - and then, he's only interested for maybe 10 minutes or so. BUT - get his pal Archer in the back yard and he is zoom zoom zoom! He does, however like to be in the same oh, maybe 200ft that I am in. Just not the same 2 ft

I feel the same as you. I have adopted two huskies in the past year and half and both seem much lower energy then I expected. It is not that they won't go for long walks or Loki go on bike rides when we take them, so they are not lazy. However, in my house they are typically just relaxing like sleeping or looking out the window or chewing on their bones. I had my lab and shepherd mix about 12 years ago and I swear these guys are much lower energy then those guys were as puppies and teens. My vet commented Loki is very calm when I got him and he said Ichigo is very calm and sweet, possibly sweetest husky puppy he has ever seen. Ichigo still has a problem talking to squirrels outside the window and they talk and bark when they play with each other, but otherwise they are almost silent. Loki does, however, like to talk back at times like when I'm taking too long to prepare his food or try to wake him up.

My girl is pretty low energy though I got her when she was already past the teen years of craziness. Not knowing what life was like for her before me I tend to lean toward her energy levels stemming from laziness on her previous owners parts having not exercised her enough to really get her in shape and now when I get her the amounts she actually needs, it wears her out quicker thus keeping her energy down more. I think being prepared for a husky helps be a step ahead of the nutty energy as well. I knew I was going to have to work her so as soon as I got her that's what I started doing so I never had to see the unmet needs side of her.

Thanks for all the stories! The gf and I wonder if perhaps he wasn't played with or exercised enough when Bradbury was a puppy and that contributes to his calm nature now. Just walking to the dog park, which is only about half a mile away, tires him out enough that he'll just watch the other dogs play instead of joining them (and I've been taking him 1-2 times a week for 1 1/2 years haha).

The most excited he gets is when I get home from work or I have a treat. When I get home, he's right at the door wagging his tail, and he tends to follow me everywhere. When I have a treat, he starts to wiggle and tries to sit and jump and do every trick he's learned before I tell him which one (we're working on that). Other than that, he walks around the house inspecting things, or just sits and cuddles with me.

I'm wondering if some rescues never had good socialization when they were pups, and maybe that's why Bradbury appears to be tired when at the dog park, he doesn't know how to play?????? My girl is not a rescue, but she'll be 2 in November and she's pretty mellow, she has her moments of crazies and she plays with other huskies really well, but really just a snuggler, follower like your guy.......

MiyasMomma wrote:

I'm wondering if some rescues never had good socialization when they were pups, and maybe that's why Bradbury appears to be tired when at the dog park, he doesn't know how to play?????? My girl is not a rescue, but she'll be 2 in November and she's pretty mellow, she has her moments of crazies and she plays with other huskies really well, but really just a snuggler, follower like your guy.......

He will play with other dogs at the dog park, but only if he's wandered around first. If we drive there, he's right in there playing with them, but if we walk, I guess he wants to calm down first before joining in. He usually gravitates towards other huskies, but when they get all bouncy and wiggly he steps back to just watch instead. A lot of times he likes to just walk around the park.

For the socialization comment, I'm pretty much leaning towards that, especially with some of what others have said on this thread. Obviously dogs have their own personalities and they're never going to fit the mold completely.

I'd just like to update a bit here. My gf and I adopted another dog, a Labrador/Whippet mix, and since she's been in the house, he's been talking, getting more involved with other dogs and us in regards to play, and has been playing with toys more (albeit a little jealously; he only grabs the ones she tries to play with and after playing with them, he hoards them, which is something he never did before).

So it seems some of his personality was unlocked due to having a more constant companion?

Maybe in his old home he had a playmate and missed that interaction, so he was generally mellow by himself at home. Now that he has a "roommate" maybe he's more back to his old self?

My girl's pretty mellow. I work from home so I'm with her all day and she generally lazes around the house, sleeping next to the sliding glass door and looking out into the back yard at squirrels, birds, whatever's out there. From time to time she'll get up and play with her toys or gnaw on her antler but nothing crazy. We go for a walk or a bike ride or to the dog park every day and she loves that and is always super excited when we go out, but when we get back home she's back to her mellow self. I'm so thankful for this, because I don't know what I'd do if she was bouncing off the walls and destroying our stuff all day while I'm trying to work! She does seem bored at times but mostly she just naps or watches the goings-on out the window and seems content.

She does get pretty rowdy when my husband gets home, though. It's as if we didn't just go for a three-mile walk or bike ride! She'll get really wiggly, do zoomies around the house and bring us all her toys to play with, one by one. At least the only things she destroys are her toys.

Be thankful your guy is mellow and not off the wall at all hours. Sounds like he's doing great since you rescued him, and now that he has a new playmate he might be getting the pep back in his step.

intergalacticju wrote:

I'm kind of wondering if anyone else on here was also expecting something wildly different when adopting and got calm cuddle bugs instead?

We have only had our pup for a few days now, but she is definitely more mellow than we expected. We did tons of research to decide if we really wanted a husky (we did lol!) and prepared ourselves for a very high energy dog. Gaia has actually been pretty chill so far though. We take her for long walks in the evening, and play tug of war and stuff with her, as well as working on training in small chunks. Either it's all tiring her out, or she just isn't very active. When we're not playing with her, she will go quietly off to the corner and lie on her bed and chew on her bone.

Every once in awhile she will come over and jump up on the couch with us, lick us like crazy, and then go back to her bone.

When we took her to the vet to get checked out, my husband and I and the vet staff were all super impressed with how calm she was. She just sat on the floor and waited, and only complained when they took poop smears lol! When something has her attention she can be highly energetic (when meeting new people or dogs etc), but if nothing is going on, she seems to be content to just gnaw on her bone.

intergalacticju wrote:

So I adopted Bradbury over a year ago from my local shelter, and I couldn't be happier with him. He's happy, he's healthy, he loves treats and belly rubs and I'm really glad he's in my life. The only thing really is he's the calmest husky I have ever met.

Now I don't know what his home life was like before he came into mine, and I get kind of mad thinking about it as he came into my life thinner and timid. He's blossomed in health and personality since coming here.  However, with all the research I did on huskies and having always wanted one since I was a kid, I'm really surprised at how chill he is. He rarely plays with toys, and after all this time working with him is only just now starting to show interest; he doesn't talk or make much noise. I'm not upset by this and I know every dog has a personality but I'm kind of wondering if anyone else on here was also expecting something wildly different when adopting and got calm cuddle bugs instead?

my Khuno is the same way. the only time he is ever really "a husky" is when he's with other dogs.

intergalacticju wrote:

I'd just like to update a bit here. My gf and I adopted another dog, a Labrador/Whippet mix, and since she's been in the house, he's been talking, getting more involved with other dogs and us in regards to play, and has been playing with toys more (albeit a little jealously; he only grabs the ones she tries to play with and after playing with them, he hoards them, which is something he never did before).

So it seems some of his personality was unlocked due to having a more constant companion?

Mine is super lazy and couch potatoish in the apartment, but playful outside. He used to be a nut/jerk every time he saw another dog. He still has those moments, but is slowly learning that not every dog likes their face chewed on. In terms of toys, he only cares about them if another dog wants them. See below: