Hey guys!

The name's Theo (or Noph, whichever you'd rather use), I've been a bit nervous about saying hi "too soon" because I registered an account shortly after my boy Grif was born haha. As the title says, I'm going to be new to husky ownership, Grif will be the first dog in this household that is mine specifically, and though my family has had a few different dogs throughout my lifespan, we've never had a husky, but I'm glad they're willing to support me here, and we've got experience through fostering and owning dogs of quite a few breeds, from Scottish Terriers to German Shepherds.

I decided to get a husky early this year, around April, this was when my parents (yeah I know, 23 and still with the parents, terrible aren't I?) finally agreed with me that getting a dog would help me with some issues I've had, anxiety, depression etc, some social issues, I wanted a dog that would be a solid companion and something I could put a lot of my focus into (so I don't really have time to dwell on things that get me down, or something I'd have to pick myself up to look after even if I do hit a low, external motivation is easier than internal), and through loving the breed's temperament and of course their look, and my desire for a more active lifestyle I decided that a husky was the dog for me. Honestly those are just the perks though, I've wanted a dog of my own for a long time, but if that dog's going to have the potential to help me whilst I raise and love it, bonus points.

I found a breeder back then and have been working with her and researching on my own to fully prepare myself for a husky in my life, and late last month it finally happened, the dog I'd been waiting for was born at near midnight on the 25th. I was awake and online when it happened because I'd been told his mum was in labour and was too excited to sleep, so I was one of the first people to see pictures, I got this picture first and something basically just pulled me to the second one in with the white neck, I was in love in seconds and desperately hoping it was a boy. The litter is actually a litter of 8 (4 boys, 4 girls), though this photo was taken during one of mum's rests.


Lucky for me it turned out to be one of the boys, though I'm sure if it had turned out to be a female I would have thrown my original naming plans aside and taken them regardless, and thus I laid my claim on Grif. He's currently 3 weeks old and so far away from me, but I get photo updates every day and he's growing so fast! He started off really quiet, which the breeder told me "may be a warning he's going to be loud" and she was right, he's already a backchatter to his littermates, and I've been told today he's gone from being joint 2nd heaviest with 2 of his brothers, to the heaviest haha.

I actually got to go meet Grif last week, and the breeder gave him a little nudge to wake him up and he ended up crawling a beeline straight for me, so even when he could only sort of see and hear he came to me, which I think is great. And then I got to hold him for a while (I met mum before I met him, she seemed to like me, gave me kisses and everything, really sweet dog, so soft), and he fell asleep and grumbled to himself the whole time, it was awesome.

This is him now at 3 weeks 3 days:


He's a really striking pup and I've honestly never seen a husky that looks quite like him, a cool "surprise" really cause I'd fallen in love with him before I'd even seen his face. I'm really excited to bring him home, and coincidentally enough I'm bringing him home just before Christmas, when he's just over 8 weeks old. Not been this excited about Christmas for a while!

I've got my crate(s, I originally got a quite large one that I found at a car boot sale in really good condition, but have since gotten a smaller one for the actual puppy crate training), I've got bowls, toys (a fillable kong and a triskele type kong with little pouches for treats in the three points, among other toys), a soft bristle brush to get him used to brushing, I'm getting actual grooming tools like an undercoat rake and slicker etc a bit later, early January time, I'm getting the puppy food I need in a few weeks when I've been paid again though he's coming with a puppy pack and stuff as per the puppy contract. I'll be getting a few things like collar, lead, and harness (in a set), tags and stuff soon too, though I know he won't be able to go for walks until a bit after he's had his second jab.

I'm not sure if there's other stuff I'm missing or if you've got toy recommendations etc that you think I should know about but yeah.

I'm going to try and get involved with the forum some, I've read some stuff already, like the introductory stuff and people's threads about crate training and other things, at the very least I'll try to share a few photos where I can, maybe the 52 weeks for Dogs thing~

Anyway, super excited, I've rambled a bit, sorry about that!

It's like he has some sci-fi eye piece. That is an interesting marking. It will be neat to see how that changes as he gets older. I definitely recommend keeping up on the 52 week pictures. It's always interesting to see how they warp and mature. Welcome to the forum!

Haha it does look a bit like a sci-fi thing, maybe like a scouter thing from Dragon Ball Z, it's got a little hint of grey fur in it too as well as some around his shoulders so it's going to be interesting to see how much that's going to come through. I got sent a video of him today, hopefully that link works, he's super cute and still has a bit of a wobble on bless him.

I think I'll definitely try posting the 52 weeks of pictures thing, I just need to pick my favourites out of what I've got so far, then I can start!

If you ever have too many pictures to decide on just one a week you can always start a scrapbook too. We do love pictures here. He does have a little wobble still but some could be he's not used to the tile they had him on. He is an adorable chubby little thing that just melts person when he wags his little tail. He will definitely keep depression at bay. No one could not smile with him around.

I didn't even notice the scrapbook section, but now I have and am back to finish this post an hour later because I got distracted by dogs haha. I definitely have enough photos of him to start, but I'll be selective still.

I think he might still be wobbly because he was a little slower to get active than the others (unless of course food was involved, in which case he was the first to get there), since the tile and some thick blankets were their normal terrain, though since he's just under 4 weeks old it seems normal that he's still got a little wobble to him. I'm overcautious though so I'm looking into it haha.

Just knowing I'm going to be bringing him home in a month is keeping me upbeat, my family have already noticed a difference in me

I got this picture yesterday as well, it's amazing how different he looks when the flash is off



I'll definitely look at making a scrapbook thread for him, I love the photo updates I'm getting of the little moo.

Welcome, Theo! I am so happy to have you join us! Grif is absolutely adorable. How exciting to be bringing him home right around Christmas. I love his markings. You have picked an amazing breed and I know he will bring you lots of happiness and keep you incredibly busy.

I think it's smart you have gotten two different crates, as the smaller one will definitely make potty training easier. Some things I would say to add to your puppy stockpile would be a slow feed bowl, and a toy that our puppy really likes, which is called a Busy Buddy. Some puppy puzzle toys would also be good, and any kind of sturdy toys he can gnaw, as well as something soft, yet durable, that he can shake around like a wild man. However, always supervise closely with the latter.

It sounds like you have done a lot of research on the breed. Nothing can really prepare you for how much hard work they are, but I'll tell you, they are truly worth every moment of it! Enjoy!

Thank you for the advice! I've looked into soft toys and found a type that doesn't have stuffing but even so I'll be keeping an eye on him with it, I'm even planning on getting him a pridebites toy (which I'll have to import but that's fine) because I've heard they're relatively "husky proof" compared to other soft toys. I've also found a puzzle toy I like the look of, I see a lot of those, where they move parts to get to treats and stuff, plus the kongs I have are both interactive like that. I want to get him more toys because I don't want him to get bored before he can go for walks, though our garden is quite long so he should be able to get some energy out of his system safely with me there.

I didn't think to get a slow feed bowl straight away as I don't know how he is with food yet, though he does seem kind of eager so that might be something I should get sooner rather than later. Either way I plan on being hands on with his initial meals in order to get him okay with paw touching, preventing food aggression, and throwing in a bit of bonding as I've read that's a good time to do that, so if he is a wolfer and I've not managed to get a slow feed bowl I'll hopefully be able to manually slow him down until the slow feed bowl arrives/I can go out and get one.

I'm gonna go dig through the forums for recommended feeding because I want to see if I can eventually move him onto something that is considered better for huskies in particular once he's settled in.