Hey all! My name is Christina, and I own Ember (fearful border collie) and Anya (black shorthair cat). My brother is a Marine and owns Kairo (husky).

He is being deployed and asked that I take Kairo for 2 months. I have worked super hard to learn how to work with Ember and have taken dog training in general to heart.

However, I have never owned a husky, and the tendencies I see in Kairo is nothing like Ember. I have no clue what I have gotten myself into and I will need a lot of help and support. So please forgive me if I come across as panicky and needy... I will try hard not to be.

Meet Kairo


And Ember (and Anya in the background)

Welcome aboard. Give your brother a big "Semper Fi" from an old Jarhead! Good on you for helping out your brother and Kairo. I hope it goes smoothly for you and feel free to freak out here! There are lots of people here with TONS of knowledge. Weekends are kind of slow here, with everyone out with their dogs, but don't hesitate to ask questions or post pics!

Kairo might be just the thing to bring out Ember's playfulness. Just a warning - don't get freaked out by the rough play - Siberians play really rough and wild. However, a border collie is certainly up to that play.

You are a good sister

Huskies and border collies have similar exercise needs but training will be a little different. Huskies are stubborn and often need a good reason to do things so patience is a must and be persistent. Has the husky been around cats before? That would be my biggest concern if I were you and it hasn't. The husky prey drive is high and if they aren't brought up around cats it could be a hard habit to break.

hi, welcome to the forums, you are an amazing sister for helping out your brother . beautiful fur babies. huskies are very different, they are like a 2 year old kid.
i agree with Amy. Kairo might bring Ember out of her shell more, and play up a storm together.

Ember does not play, so I'm hoping Kairo will teach her about toys. They are polar opposites - Ember will sit on the couch all day if I let her, but will also work with complete interest if I ask. Kairo does nothing but pace, and does not even respond to her name unless I have food in my hand (quite literally - she checks my hand before she looks at my face).

I will try to be slow and deliberate with my posts. I'm already overwhelmed just trying to walk this human tow truck (and I have her on a Sensational No Pull harness).

They wrestle a little in the house, and Ember actually taught Kairo how to calm-play. Kairo picked up all these dominance moves from a male dog and has tried them all on Ember, and Ember has very quickly corrected her on them. As long as Kairo doesn't pull them out and allows Ember to be on top of the dog pile at least half the time, Ember will play with her. It's been amusing to see Kairo role like Ember is winning a "fight" when it's very clear that she had the upper hand - like a big sister letting a little sister win once in a while.

As for cats - this is a concern. Ember is a cat chaser as well, and it took me months to break her of chasing outside cats. However, it has been done with a very good leave-it command. As for Anya, a month before I got Ember we did scent-swapping, so they knew each other before they ever met, and we've never had a single problem.

I don't have the luxury of time with Kairo, and she is definitely prey driven. So I have babygates up to give Anya escapes. As of right now, she won't even leave my room - though I think she has finally quit hiding at the sight of Kairo's face in the doorway.

As I sit here now, Kairo is trying to tease Ember with a toy, with no success.

Hi Christina, first thanks for helping your brother out with his Husky, you must be one great sister!!

A note from me to your brother:

As long as you at least read the responses, don't be too concerned about flooding us; as a group, I guarantee we outnumber you!

I, too, have one who doesn't know how to play, but just added a third to my pack who'll play till she gets tired of being beaten up on by my monster (I have 1 Alaskan Husky - permanent puppy & 2 Sibes; also have two kittens) It's almost funny, but now that the newness of the addition has pretty much settled down, none of them have any problem telling the other to "buzz off, I've had enough"

As for the cats, you have the right set up.  It's similar to what I have here.  A baby gate between the main part of my trailer and the back part - and the cats live in the back part.  Two of my dogs (the Sibes) aren't concerned by the kittens unless they run; one of them will happily run after the kittens and then set with them when they stop running, I'm not sure about the other.  The Alaskan has been real good natured with a previous cat, but gets too excited when he see the kittens and scares them off, I figure in time they'll come out and he'll settle down.  The fact that I and others have had good experiences with our Huskies and cats shouldn't lull you into complacency.  Some dogs are good with them and others aren't - and finding out the hard way is rough on cats, so your caution is well placed.

Thank you so much for your encouragement! I will remain carefully cautious. I am hoping we can work something out - Kairo has been raised around cats and lives with one as it is. However, an experiment tonight to see where she stands (in spite of Marine bro swearing she sniffs her sister cat and keeps going), I will not be allowing my cat out of the back end of the house for any reason. Meanless to say Kairo saw a fuzzy toy and nothing else. I have since moved the gate up to give Anya more room and Kairo less, so that Anya has at least two bedrooms to chose from for two months.

Thankfully, Kairo does not understand the concept of jumping over the gate and if she does, Anya has out of reach places to head. And should that day arrive, Kairo is crate trained.