Hello.. I am brand new to this forum and after reading a couple posts I hope someone can also give me some helpful information.

I have had a dog before and had huskies as well so yes, I fully understand what I was getting myself into. I just want to get the best info possible so I can give this dog the best life she deserves.

She is a spayed 6 month old pure bred Siberian Husky puppy (CKC registered). I got her only 2 weeks ago from a older multi-cultural family who had kept her in the garage since they got her, she was 8 weeks old. They lived on an acreage about an hour from the city so she was exposed to NO dogs whatsoever and no puppy classes or even basic obedience. We are starting alpha leader training with a behaviourist next Thursday.

I had her doing sit and stay right when I first met her and now at my home she listens to basic commands (sit, stay, down, come). I also make sure I eat before she does, she sits before we enter and exit through doors and she's very very good indoors. But when it's when we leave for the outside things get bad fast.

I have tried the no-slip collar, slip chain, martingale collar, the Easy Walk Harness, no-pull harness, the Gentle Leader, nothing. She continues to pull as if the hounds of hell were nipping at her heels. We work on the walking exercise every single day, with her at my side and when she starts to try and go ahead or pulls I instantly change direction and start going the other way. That was working.. Until the snow fell.

Now she freaks out because there is snow everywhere and trying to get her attention on our training is next to impossible. Then; seeing other dogs, everything gets 100x worse. She doesn't bark and get aggressive, but she pulls so hard and freaks out trying to get to the other dogs. I try switching directions and show treats to try and get her attention but doesn't seem to care, especially when I praise her excessively. She just gives me a deep sign and turns away and does not care at all.
I feel like she doesn't trust me or really enjoy my company and I honestly dont know how to help her. please, Id love to hear some thoughts and I would love to possibly explain more on our situation if there are questions.

So you are obviously into the alpha idea behind dog behavior.  

Based on that, how would you explain her pulling and lack of concern for your wishes?  

As for her not enjoying your company or trusting you, why would you expect her to after only being with her for 2 weeks, especially after removing her from her previous life ( thank you for doing so because that situation sounded horrible)?

What are your specific expectations with her right now??

In the mean time, alpha issues aside, she's brand new to you and you need time.

There'll be no quick fix for anything. You are working against her foundation right now and trying to establish your own, which takes patience and working in very small steps at a time.

Once she is no longer super stimulated by the outside world and learns to engage you, or rather you learn to engage her, the pulling will get better.

Welcome to the forum.

First thing to remember - she is only 6 mos. old. That is still a baby so while she is certainly trainable, she is still in wonder of the world and will want to go helter skelter in search of anything and everthing interesting.

And pulling is in her blood. I swear by a properly fitted prong collar (search "prong collar" - there are posts about it here.) Do not jerk or yank on the prong, let the collar and the dog do the correction.

I am not keen on the whole alpha thing - I want a partner, not a slave and a dog that trusts me.

She also needs to play with other dogs - any possibility of a dog park near you? Or a friend with a dog up to husky play in a fenced area or in a barn or garage?

Try a tennis ball, a squeeky toy, a kong and something to tug on (I use sweat pant legs cut up and tied into 2-3 knots for a length of about 20 inches.) You may have to teach her to play - in an enclosed space, just bounce the ball or kong, waggle the squeeky toy at her, toss it. Run around a bit, dangle the tuggie a few inches from her face. BUT, wear old, heavy, thick clothes. She will think you are another husky and use her mouth (she's not biting you as in aggressive, it's just how they play). She will find you fun and interesting in this play. Also, my biggest help in getting a rescue was to always have kibble on me - give her a piece, scratch/rub her ears, under her chin, gently.

If you can show her consistently that you are her companion and she yours, and that you are gentle, fun and nourishing, she will come around.

To the op, Rome wasn't built in a day, and a loving, strong relationship between you and your husky will not happen in 2 weeks. The leash pulling is a matter of a few things, 1) she's a puppy still.....2) she's a husky....3) the best way to describe what you tell us is as if she were a child who couldn't walk had surgery and now can. Meaning she is so happy and excited to see a new world she's going to run and pull. It will take time.

You did not elaborate on what else you do with her i.e. how do you two play? perhaps a fun play session prior to your leash training will help. Also if she is up to date on shots a puppy play date or dog park may help in her socialization with other dogs, since in your description she is more curious of other dogs and not aggressive or fearful.

Jeff and Amy, I think said the same things as myself, it takes time and patience to build this relationship and trust. I am with Amy also, I'm not into the whole alpha training thing.

I wish you luck and there's a ton of help here. Welcome to the forum and we love pics!!

Nicely put Amy.

The best way to bond with a young Husky besides walking together is inviting her to wrestle and play and mouth you. Not on her terms or her initiation, but yours.

You will become the most interesting thing in her world and she'll learn to respect you for it.

I adopted my Lab mix when she was 7 months old. She didn't come from quite as bad conditions, but she was not as socialized as she could have been. The couple we adopted her from had a 6 month old baby so... that should tell you.

Walking her was horrible! She pulled, was more interested in what was going on around her. It was particularly bad when we walked past people or other dogs. She LOVES people and other dogs so much, I think the lack of exposure as a puppy made her feel that when she saw someone or another dog, that she HAD to go see them, because who knows when she'd get to again?

So, while she is not a husky, this is what I did.

I focused on socializing her with people and dogs over the walking. I started out slow, having a few people come over one at a time. I set up play dates with other dogs (sometimes dog parks can be a little hectic and you never know what kind of dogs could be there), so play dates with another dog or two are best at first. As she was exposed more to meeting new people and dogs, it become less of a big deal when she saw them. Then I started taking her for more walks. She still pulled a bit, but I didn't worry about it too much, as she was still excited about seeing new stuff, but now seeing dogs and people didn't make it almost impossible to walk her. Once she got used to daily walks, the pulling decreased. She'd pull the leash taunt, but wasn't dragging me around on our walks. I didn't do the switch direction thing. I tried it, but didn't work with me. What I did was anytime the leash became taunt, I'd stop. Pulling = end of fun walking time. I'd then call her over and have her stand next to me, and reward her. Once she was back at my side, we'd start walking, and I'd reward her as long as she stayed at my side.

I also used this treat called Leanlix. I only used it with training her to walk loose on a leash. It looks like a giant tube of Chapstick, and the treat itself kind of has a similar consistency. She LOVED it and you just hold on to it and they lick the treat as their reward. MUCH easier then trying to walk and dealing with treats in your pocket and dropping them all over the place... and possibly running out of treats while you're on your walk!

This is what worked for us. And this is a dog who has jumped over a rabbit in our backyard to run to the back of the fence to greet our neighbor, so, VERY people motivated.

And like everyone above said, this is going to take time. We got her at 7 months, and she got good at walking around.... 1 1/2 years.

I'm really sorry, I can see I offended some people and that wasn't what I was trying to do, it's just the information I've found/been told about. I was just introduced to the alpha thing recently through the behaviourist I work with and the owners I know, they said it would help her feel more comfortable knowing there was a leader to follow instead of having to take it upon themselves. But if there's some of those things I shouldn't be doing or none of them at all (making her sit before eating/waiting for
me to eat, sitting before going outside/through doors/me going through first), please just let me know because there's a lot of conflicting information I've been getting lately and I just want her to have the best consistent training she should be getting.

I didn't have any expectatitions for her until I brought her out to the dog park and just on walks in general, people telling me she's too crazy and hyper and I'm not doing the right things with her and that I chose the wrong dog and how to "fix" everything  when I just wanted to have a companion and friend  to run and go sledding with one day and just have fun just like any normal dog but now I really have no idea what I should be doing so..

I've only really heard bad things about the prong collar but I'm definitely willing to give it and anything a shot. How do I go about getting a proper fit though ? I've tried bringing her into pet stores to try things on but she gets really excited about all the smells and such of course and then she gets very upset when you try and put things on. It's kind of a struggle to get her to just sit when putting on her collars and such, but then again I'm not sure if I should be making her sit every time or not because that's the whole alpha idea.

Unfortunately the only dog park nearby is not fenced in and even in those ones I don't want to let her off because I know she won't come back. And when we go to the off leash/fenced in park, I attach a 100ft lead to her harness so she can run, but the instant she sees the other dogs, she goes crazy and pulls all the way there so when we're walking down the street she thinks she can do the exact same thing.

Oh I'm sorry I didn't elaborate ! We actually play in my friends fenced in backyard with her everyday before we go walking for a good 30 minutes to hour. We throw a ball around, snow balls and a frisbee and just chase her all over the yard. She's made a tiny race track back there and it's really awesome.

I'll try all the tips you guys gave me, I really hope this will help us improve !

Here's a picture her old owners took ! I haven't been able to get a really good shot of her yet so (:

Ooh...looks like you might have a wooly Grooming will be an ongoing thing.

Absolutely NOT offended - there are many approaches and mine is certainly not God.

The things you talk about - sitting before eating or going outside, I believe are just common sense (when we first got Ami - as I approached with food, he would leap, food would go flying...out the door, if he didn't sit and wait, I would be trampled)

Search for my prong collar thing - there is a link to a site that puts a side release buckle on a herm sprenger prong - makes it much easier with a squirrelly dog. And a 6 mo pup is a squirrelly dog, no matter how you cut it. Sort of like trying to diaper a 2 yr old

Ignore people who say she is hyper and crazy...that is just husky puppy enjoying new esperiences, especially one that had a restricted beginning.

The alpha thing I was picturing was more alpha roll dominance kind of thing. What you are describing so far seems fine - especially the playing in fenced back yard. That is wonderful

Enjoy your puppy for her exuberance and wonder of the world, it will be a rewarding, wild ride

And, get her used to grooming ASAP - with that coat it will be a disaster if not kept up. I know. I have one. And he does NOT tolerate grooming one bit