I don't know if this is normal behavior or something I should be concerned about.

I knew going into this that huskies are vocal, but is it normal for them to whine/howl all the time? I know he hasn't been here long and its a big adjustment to go from living outside in a kennel on a farm to living in the house, but man does he whine/cry a lot! First he howled almost the entire 1.5 hour drive home, he whines when you pet him, when he wants to play, when the neighbors dog barks, if you touch him and he is not expecting it, and of course when he is playing with the dogs or my son. Of course last night was horrible, I think I got maybe 3 hours sleep.

Oh, Lordy! My heart is going out to you and your husband. I am hoping that it is just the new environment and stress that is doing this.

Maybe the move was a lot on his little soul. Also, is it possible that he is over stimulated? I am just reaching now, since I have no real idea what your place is like and what his first day was like. I do know that for Zhukov's first weeks, you couldn't put him in the car without him acting like you were driving him to a puppy-kill-shelter. You couldn't put him in the crate without him howling and carrying on like a Wookie was pulling his legs off.

I can only imagine all the new smells and noises are freaking him out. Maybe he is allergic to ducks?

Let us know! Maybe posting pics of him would make him feel better!

I posted pics in another section (52 weeks of Loki)

I am hoping I am not being paranoid, I have raised lots of puppies, he is the first husky so I didn't know if that was typical behavior. He has stopped whining so much, but now he is displaying something much much worse... aggression towards the lab pup. If there is one thing I can not an d will not tolerate in my house its aggression. Rosie (lab) was playing with her flat skunk squeaky toy when Loki decided he wanted it. He growled , and this was not a play growl, and bit her in the ear. He also did the same thing to her when she walked by him while he was sleeping, there was another incident later on involving a toy, but this time my 16 month old son was near them and almost got bit. He has so far not had any problems with us taking away toys, but I am concerned about this.

The contract says we have a week to return him for medical reasons, I don't know if they will take him back for behavior problems. But I am thinking about it.

Jessica, okay, *my* read on what you've posted so far ... the vocalization is all too typically normal.  Some Husky's are extremely vocal and some never make a sound ... sounds like you've gotten a vocal one

While you don't say how old Rosie is (you may have elsewhere but, as I said, my memory sucks) what I see is a pup who's trying to find his place in an established pecking order.  Now, I'll deny ever saying this but a swat is sometimes the best correction you can give.  I know we all suggest time outs and separation for most things and I agree with that, but in his "home pack" (momma and siblings) if he gets to far out of line, someone is going to correct him and it's not going to be a subtle correction more in the line of "Well, see how you like this!"

You have enough people / pets that someone is going to have to show him where he fits in.  If the animals won't then you're going to need to.  Okay, he may go off and sulk for a bit but I'm betting that he'll come out in a better mood.  Puppies, just like all dogs, want to know where they fit in the pecking order and letting them get away with murder is no help.

I'd be a lot less concerned about the snap when he was sleeping, he has gone from a "known" environment to one where, if my read of your family is even close, to one where there's a lot going on and an occasional "leave me alone" is to be expected - and he doesn't know yet what she was doing when she went past him and woke him up.

Now, my question for you regarding this is "What did you do when he nipped the other pup?" and I'm now betting that most of your fosters were not little puppies when you go them ....

The vocalizing I can deal with, after all I do have shelties, they bark just because the wind blows

When she bit, not nipped it was full growl snarl and grabbed the ear, she also went for the neck at another incident, Rosie, almost 6 months old, tried to correct him that just resulted in more growling from Loki. I growled no in a deep stern voice and grabbed him by the scruff, not hard just enough to lift the front legs off the ground, which resulted in a scream from him.

And all the foster pups we have gotten were between the ages of 6-8 weeks old, with most of them being 6 weeks. I have never had to deal with an aggressive puppy, even the Dobermans were total sweethearts.

It really sounds like he is trying to assert his place in the pack. Especially with another young pup in the mix. This is what they all do. I had a similar problem with Colby (my Mini-Schnauzer who thinks he is a Pitbull) and Zhukov with the toys. Colby (who is 5 years old) is convinced that everything in the house is HIS. I tried buying them each the same toy, to no avail. Colby wanted them both and Zhukov really had to be on his toes with his toys.

What you are describing, this early in the relationship, does not sound like raw, unbridled aggression, but more like a puppy asserting his place in the pack. I truly believe that you have to "help" them find their place in the pack, sometimes. Show him that these acts are not allowed. Obviously, none of us want to see a child hurt, and I don't think, based on what you wrote, that your child was the object of the dog's actions. Just wrong-place wrong-time scenario.

Don't give up on him so easy. You really sound like someone who loves your critters, and I know this must be hard. Give the little stinker a chance.

You're only at 24-36 hours in so I'd be expecting almost anything.  His scream when you grabbed his scruff, to me, is his acknowledgement that he was corrected.

While I'm not strong into dominance theory, especially when it involves a human, there is a strong pecking order within the pack (of all animals).  Whether it's your chickens where one old biddy is the boss, to the dogs where one will willingly let another have a toy they're playing with.  

I'm almost willing to bet that what you saw was "husky play" with Rosie.  If you ever see two huskies at play, you'll swear they're going to kill each other - it is really that rough.  They vocalize, seemingly, like it's murder and mayhem until they go over and drink from the same bowl or lay down together.  If he came from a normal rough and tumble husky pack, he's going to have to learn to tone it down. Two Huskies know this, but Rosie probably doesn't.  

I really wish this weren't the weekend because I'd like to have someone else chime in.  Personally, I don't think you're seeing anything outside the norm with a new Husky pup in your pack ... he's learning where he fits and what he can get away with ....

Thanks Mark ....

I am trying.

I am just a bit frustrated right now, not only lack of sleep from him crying all night, but also now my son has come down with an upper respiratory infection on top of teething. I just got to keep reminding myself it will get better.

Ouch, a sick child and a new husky puppy - I'm not sure we can all relate but I'm sure we all can understand. Hang in there, it will get better.

I have a quick minute.....I am going to say an 8 week old pup has no way of understanding nor any reason to show aggression. Aggressive pups is far from the norm. Being an outside pup to being inside does make a difference they tend to be a little more wild than a hand raised pup that is inside. My two girls are great examples of this. Also huskies sound the meanest most vicious animal out there. They play as if the are going to kill. Rosie the 6 month old may not be the leader, and she may be too young to really enforce enough to Loki. This is better handled from older more experienced dogs. Give it time, and give Loki a lot of structure and boundaries. Huskies need a lot of that in order to become a respected member of the house hold. I agree with Al and Mark. Keep asking questions it will get better.

Ear plugs? Nothing really helpful to add, everyone else seems right on point IMO. I am learning a lot about huskies with our pup, I have never had a dog that is this vocal, however he does sleep through the night. Just make sure you are ignoring the howling at night time, any attention, positive or negative, reinforces the behavior.

ETA: When we started using a Kong stuffed with Peanut butter or pumpkin it helped a ton with how vocal Alpha is in his crate. He also really enjoys the crate now because its the only place he gets his Kong treat! But the flip side of this is I once had a pit who had no time for Kongs... lol. Just depends on the dog I suppose.

When Zhukov and Colby first started "playing" together, I got a little worried!

 


Zhukov started out about the same size as Colby, so they were evenly matched.  However, after going from 25lbs to 35lbs in a couple of weeks and growing about a foot taller (it seems), Zhukov really started to get the upper hand.  He really started to bowl Colby over by running straight at him and knocking into him.  However, Colby has started to dodge underneath Zhukov.  

The growls though.  Zhukov sounds like he is going to maul Colby.  It is like hearing a wolf out in the wild.  But, then he nips Colby's little nub of a tail...  Hard to be scary when you nip a little nubby...

My girl sounds like a grizzly bear when she plays and it gets louder and louder until you can't hear yourself think. It's her normal. They learn what each other can handle. As long as no one screams I let mine carry on. If they seem too wound up or too obsessive over another dog just redirect with a toy or bone.