Hello,  
I'm new to this site and hoped that you guys who have experienced what I have been going through recently with my new boy can help answer some questions and concerns I have about my boy Zeus.  

1) He is a little over three months old, and I've been debating about whether or not to neuter him.
2) He is almost house broke, but recently he has had fewer accidents than usual.( usually at night) He lets me know though during the day when he needs to go outside to do his business.  
3) He is starting to wake me up in the middle of the night, between 2-6am. Usually, he needs to use the restroom or he ends up wanting to play in the backyard at 3am. I'm trying to figure out how to break these habits.
4)I've been taking him on walks early in the mornings before work or before the sun comes up. Walks are usually between 15-25 minutes long. When he is tired, I let him sit for a few minutes to cool off, I don't push him since he's still young and I don't want to injury him. Trying to leash train him, after halfway through our walks he tends to stop tugging at the leash and walks calmly right next to me.
5) He knows how to sit, and I'm still working on making him "stay" and he knows how to say " I love you."


But, other then that... He's lovable, sweet, charming, a good cuddler, very social with other dogs, people etc.


I would really really appreciate any advice! I'm completely new to all of this.

Thanks again!

Personally I would wait until his growth plates have closed before neutering, that would be around a year old. The waking and playing in the middle of the night, I highly recommend taking him out on leash and tell him to potty and come right back in. Once back in tell him bed time shh and go to bed. My younger girl was and still isn't a big sleeper, but she learned our routine. Many people do not leash up to take pups out to potty and that is a mistake, because it encourages play time. So every time he has to potty even during the day take him out on leash, if you want to play go back inside first wait 5 minutes then go back out to play. Give clear commands, so potty is potty and say good boy. Use some form of command that it's time for a nap, some who use crates will say kennel up, I personally use it's bedtime, and to be quiet I use shhh and reinforce it's bedtime. Hope that helps. And welcome to the forum!

Well, hello and welcome to the forum - the best place you'll find for talking about Huskies!!

I'll agree with Renee, but my answer will take a lightly different approach.

1. Whether to neuter or not, in this world, shouldn't be up for consideration - please neuter him.  There are already way too many Huskies in rescue (or just waiting for 'their day') to have any more 'accidents' that produce even more pups.  As Renee said, waiting till he's developed is best but that's really a discussion to have with your vet.
   
2. Relatively house broken at three month, good.  Expect him to have some loss of control as his body changes but those will appear and disappear quickly.  As will his desire to chew or not depending on tooth loss, etc.
   
3. One of the 'mistakes', in my opinion, that people make is to take their dog out to play and go potty.  As you're finding, if he thinks he can get some play time in when it's potty time then he will.  Renee's advice is good -- potty time and play time should be separate.
   
4. Before the sun comes up - well where most of us are those would be frigid temperatures, I'm thinking you might not be in the US - like Australia or South Africa, maybe?  It's fine to not tell us where you are, people do respect your privacy ... but sometimes it helps to at least have some idea of what continent you're on.
   
5. It sounds to me like you've got a typical Husky there, smart and gonna push your buttons when he gets the chance.
   

Most suggestions I've seen for walking pups is about 5 minutes per month. At 3 months, you'd be looking at 15 minute walks. 25 might be pushing him a little too hard, especially if you are on pavement or asphalt.
You may want to reduce the distance and increase the frequency of the walks.

Hello and welcome!! I can't add much to the excellent advice already given, good luck!

MiyasMomma wrote:

Personally I would wait until his growth plates have closed before neutering, that would be around a year old. The waking and playing in the middle of the night, I highly recommend taking him out on leash and tell him to potty and come right back in. Once back in tell him bed time shh and go to bed. My younger girl was and still isn't a big sleeper, but she learned our routine. Many people do not leash up to take pups out to potty and that is a mistake, because it encourages play time. So every time he has to potty even during the day take him out on leash, if you want to play go back inside first wait 5 minutes then go back out to play. Give clear commands, so potty is potty and say good boy. Use some form of command that it's time for a nap, some who use crates will say kennel up, I personally use it's bedtime, and to be quiet I use shhh and reinforce it's bedtime. Hope that helps. And welcome to the forum!

Thank you for your help! and yes I have tried leashing him out to the backyard to go potty and that has helped out so much!

aljones wrote:

Well, hello and welcome to the forum - the best place you'll find for talking about Huskies!!

I'll agree with Renee, but my answer will take a lightly different approach.

1. Whether to neuter or not, in this world, shouldn't be up for consideration - please neuter him.  There are already way too many Huskies in rescue (or just waiting for 'their day') to have any more 'accidents' that produce even more pups.  As Renee said, waiting till he's developed is best but that's really a discussion to have with your vet.
   
2. Relatively house broken at three month, good.  Expect him to have some loss of control as his body changes but those will appear and disappear quickly.  As will his desire to chew or not depending on tooth loss, etc.
   
3. One of the 'mistakes', in my opinion, that people make is to take their dog out to play and go potty.  As you're finding, if he thinks he can get some play time in when it's potty time then he will.  Renee's advice is good -- potty time and play time should be separate.
   
4. Before the sun comes up - well where most of us are those would be frigid temperatures, I'm thinking you might not be in the US - like Australia or South Africa, maybe?  It's fine to not tell us where you are, people do respect your privacy ... but sometimes it helps to at least have some idea of what continent you're on.
   
5. It sounds to me like you've got a typical Husky there, smart and gonna push your buttons when he gets the chance.
   

yes, I'm planning on his next visit to the vet to discuss with her about neutering him. Yes, I am from the US but I do live in the South, TX. it's been super nasty and raining out recently and haven't been able to take him out on walks. Unless I beat the rain before it starts all over again. Thank you for your help and advice! It really has helped me have a better picture, on what I can do to help him out while I'm training him.

Oh, look out we got ourselves another TEXAN!!!  Considering your description of the weather that would mean somewhere between Houston and Brownsville - like maybe Corpus?  
I'm the resident curmudgeon / desert rat living over in the Big Bend Region of Texas.

(( and before someone else beats me to it, I'm the resident OLD curmudgeon! ))

Yes, I do live in between both of those cities. Luckily the rain has stopped and I've been taking Zeus on more walks lately and he's enjoying it. Still working on the potty training and what not but he's still got a lot to go and time from where he is now and I have hope in my little guy.