Hi,  

My name is Yeniffer. I live in New Hampshire and am introducing a new puppy into our family this Sunday! My boyfriend and I are super excited. We will both definitely benefit from any advice from husky experts!

I used to have a husky when I was a little girl but I was too young to help with training or taking care of him so it's almost like I'm starting from scratch. All that stuck with me was my love for huskies! When my boyfriend (John) and I decided to get a dog it was clear what breed we would choose! We found a local breeder that we liked and fell in love with one of her puppies from a previous litter. His name is Mr. Igloo Washington (Iggy for short). I'll post a picture of Iggy at the bottom.

With all that being said, we would love any advice you guys are willing to give! There are a couple things I'm worried about. The biggest piece being that Iggy is very attached to his sister. When we visited they did not leave each others side. I really worried that Iggy will have a hard time leaving his home and his sister. Another concern of mine is the crying in his kennel. The noise itself doesn't bother me as much as knowing that he's in distress. Are there are tips you may have to ease him without letting him out? I am a really big softy but really want to stick to our rules. I've read and heard a lot of people rave about crate training and its benefits. I want to crate train to assist with potty training. Eventually, I'd like to let him have complete freedom in the house but still leave the kennel open in case he'd like to be in there with the door open.

Thanks in advance!

Here he is at 12 weeks.

When we started crate training our second dog we crated him in the room with us at night so he at least had our presence to help out. To help settle him we would cover the crate with a sheet so to den it in more and keep out light that might make him think it was time to be up. Being positive with the kennel from the start is key. Feeding him in there and having special treats for in the kennel such as frozen kongs will help him like it better. Putting him in with a kong in the middle of the day to give yourself a break and him some quiet time should help. You don't have to cover crate during day. I only ever did it at night to reiterate that he should sleep or at least be quiet. Stay strong. It might stress him a little but not nearly as much as getting into something that could hurt him by not being crated when alone. Welcome to the forum!

Who dat who dat? I-G-G-Y

Sorry I could not stop myself. He is adorable! Lucky you!

Loki was kept in a pen with his brother when I got him. I was a bit worried he would be overly attached but I never heard a whine out of him.

Good luck! I'm sure y'all will settle in together nicely!

Wanted to say welcome & congrats on the new cutie!

Welcome to the forum Iggy is gorgeous, can't wait to see more pics!! I think leaving their old pack takes a few days of getting used to, give Iggy lots of love and playtime, it won't take long for him to acclimate and see you and your boyfriend as his new pack. also at his age, he should adjust much quicker than a younger pup, I brought my lil girl home at 12 weeks, and the first day or two she was a mommas girl always had to be right next to me, lol, still is at 16 weeks, but she got used to our routine quickly and is much more independent than our first girl, we brought her home at too young of an age, 5.5 weeks, and with her we had a teddy bear for her, which helped her a lot as far as missing her siblings. I hope that helps.

Thanks everyone! I'll be sure to post pictures soon.

Hello from a fellow New Englander! We live in the Merrimack Valley in Massachusetts, right near the New Hampshire border. May I ask what breeder you got little Iggy from? I'm friends with and know quite a few mushers/breeders/show handlers up there. It's a pretty close-knit group.

As for crate training, take it slow and gradually. Yes, there will be times he will cry, and that's OK; just make it as comfortable a place as possible for him. Try feeding him in the crate the first few weeks. Leave treats in there for him to find throughout the day. Cover the crate with a blanket to make it more "den-like." When you start training, start easy by keeping him in there for just a few minutes at a time with you in the room. Then as he becomes comfortable, graduate to leaving him in there longer and leaving the room. At night, you may want to keep him in the crate in your room for a little while, just at first.

Also, with the bond he has with his sister, he will probably eventually get over it when they are separated and he is in his new home. Just think about the bond he shares with his mother that changes when he goes away from her and into a new environment. It will be rough on him at first, but with patience and lots of love, he will warm up to your family. Good luck!

Also, if you are interested in eventually doing jogging, biking, skiing and/or sledding with Iggy, I highly recommend you check out Boston Snow Dogs. It's an awesome group of really friendly people who love their dogs (mostly Siberians) and love to mush with them! We've been a member for more than two years now and love biking with our BSD friends. We frequent a lot of trails in northeastern Mass. and southern New Hampshire, even sometimes up as far as the White Mountains.

Here's the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BostonSnowDogs/?fref=ts
... and Meetup.com page where you can join and all the events are posted: http://www.meetup.com/BOSTONSNOWDOGS/

Hi Layla! Thanks for all the advice. I'm sure it'll come in handy.

We got Iggy from Midnight White Siberians in Nottingham, Nh.

I am definitely interested in doing all those things with Iggy! Especially biking. We love to go mountain biking and have seen lots of people biking with their dogs. We've noticed that most of those dogs ride leash free! As much as I would love to do that with Iggy, I'd be too scared that he would run away and wouldn't stay on the trail. I see in your profile picture that you have some kind of harness attached to your bike! How has your experience been with biking and Liz? Have you tried or considered leash-free biking? At what age did you start training her to bike with you?
I'm definitely going to check those sites. I definitely want Iggy to have husky friends so that might be a good start!

Thanks so much!

hi and welcome to the forums. i also crated Leo when he was tired and sleep along with doing what Liz and  Jenn said.

Yeniffer Bruno wrote:

Hi Layla! Thanks for all the advice. I'm sure it'll come in handy.

We got Iggy from Midnight White Siberians in Nottingham, Nh.

I am definitely interested in doing all those things with Iggy! Especially biking. We love to go mountain biking and have seen lots of people biking with their dogs. We've noticed that most of those dogs ride leash free! As much as I would love to do that with Iggy, I'd be too scared that he would run away and wouldn't stay on the trail. I see in your profile picture that you have some kind of harness attached to your bike! How has your experience been with biking and Liz? Have you tried or considered leash-free biking? At what age did you start training her to bike with you?
I'm definitely going to check those sites. I definitely want Iggy to have husky friends so that might be a good start!

Thanks so much!

Just to clarify, my name is Liz and my dog's name is Layla. It's kind of a joking thing that a lot of us do, putting our names as "owned by" our dogs. Sorry for the confusion!

Layla wears an X-back harness when we bikejor, sled, etc. It distributes a dog's weight across the entire body instead of just on the chest, neck, etc., to reduce the risk of injury or stress, since the dogs are pulling. She's attached to my bike pretty securely, so I'm not afraid of her breaking free. Once the dogs get running, they're usually pretty well-behaved, since they are getting to do what they love to do! If you get a harness that fits well, it should be fine. I got a belly band on mine for added security, so Layla can't back out of the harness. You just have to make sure when you're stopped that you keep a handle on your bike. I'm not too worried about Layla because she's relatively well-behaved and sticks by me most of the time, but more thrill-seeking dogs, especially those hooked up in a team, can pull a bike away.

I think I've heard of Midnight White Siberians, but I don't know anyone there personally. From their Web site, they look like they do a lot of showing. Nice!

Yes, definitely check out Boston Snow Dogs. In addition to mushing meet-ups there are other events we have where we just get our dogs together, and we do lots of public awareness events and mushing demos, too, so before Iggy is ready to pull he'd have plenty of opportunity to meet other dogs, and you can learn more about the basics of mushing.

To add, I would never consider leash-free biking. Layla is just not an off-leash dog, and I would be concerned about the safety issues that off-leash biking may pose. Layla has a high prey drive, and she stops listening to anyone and anything if she spies a woodland critter. Plus, there are also the risks of running into larger animals or other dogs that could really harm her if she wasn't under my control. Some of the trails we run on are in woods that hunters frequent, so there's that concern, too.

Also, I started letting Layla pull and run longer distances after her first birthday, when I was relatively sure her growth plates had closed. Some mushers run their dogs a little before that, but these are very easy runs for short distances. Many of the runs we do with Boston Snow Dogs are 4-5 miles with lots of different trail conditions (hills, rocks, mud, etc.).

Haha! Ok, Hi Liz!

You made some really good points about the leash-free biking that never crossed my mind (hunters, larger animals). I really don't think I would feel comfortable letting him off the leash.

Would you recommend a harness for everyday activities or just for pulling/mushing?

For everyday stuff and hiking I recommend the Alpine Outfitters Urban Trail harness: http://www.alpineoutfitters.net/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=155 They also make an adjustable one, but we have the custom-sized one since Layla's done growing. You may want to get Iggy his first X-back and trail harness around 1, keeping in mind that you will probably have to get another one around age 2, when he's about finished growing. Alpine has pretty good customer service, and if the fit on a custom item isn't good, you can send it to them and they will adjust it for free. They also have instructions on the Web site for how to measure your dog for custom harnesses.

We also have an Alpine X-back for Layla, but the fit isn't good anymore since we got it for her when she turned 1. There's a musher/breeder in Bow, New Hampshire, named Maureen Marcoux. She used to show her dogs, too, but I don't think she does so much anymore. She makes some really great custom X-back harnesses, as well as collars and mushing gear like ganglines, necklines and bikejoring tire guards (I have one from her and love it). She will even hand-sew the dog's name and your phone number onto the harness or collar. Her prices are pretty reasonable. If you're close, you can pick it up, or she'll ship to you. You can contact her through her Facebook page, where you can see some of her work: https://www.facebook.com/KryskaSiberians/

Before Iggy turns 1, I recommend the Freedom No-Pull Harness. We used this with Layla before we got the Urban Trail harness and loved it. http://www.amazon.com/Freedom-No-Pull-Harness-Medium-Black/dp/B0085XOHDU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449189440&sr=8-1&keywords=freedom+harness It comes in different sizes and is adjustable, so you can choose one that you think will fit him for most of the time up until age 1.

Hope this helps!

Definitely helpful. W got him a standard leash at one of the local chain pet stores. I figured it would be ok for the beginning just to get him home. But I want to get him something that will suit his breed a little better. He might be ok for now since we won't be doing anything too strenuous.

I've been going through multiple threads on this forum and saw that you really shouldn't exercise puppies too much. 5 minutes per month is what I read. Is that accurate? I always thought they are huskies and need any much exercise as they are willing to handle since they are a working breed. Also, doesn't hurt to get them tired so when they're home they are more calm! So at this point he's roughly 3 months which would mean 15 minutes walks. Does that seems ok? It seems a little low from what I thought.

Thanks. I truly appreciate your feedback.

The 5 min/month of age rule is for the first year while they are still growing. Until their growth plates are closed, sustained leash walking/running/biking, especially on hard surfaces, has the potential to damage their joints leading to future arthritic problems.

Play, however, at his own place, loose in a backyard kind of thing can go on as long as he likes...he can stop and go at his own pace.

Thanks!

This is a great time to exercise his mind. While teaching him how to walk on a leash and playing in the backyard will clam him so will training! When they are young it makes them very sleep when you are teaching them all the basics! I set little weekly goals of new things Cora would learn! Like the first few days were her name then sit then lay down ect! Good luck with Iggy he is very cute!

Zoe's absolutely right; training will tire a puppy out sometimes just as much as exercise. You will need to take Iggy around to meet as many different types of people and dogs (in an age-appropriate, safe, always positive environment) as possible to properly socialize him. This may also help with some of the anxiety he may feel about being away from his sister.