Hello everyone!

I just adopted this 2.5 - 3 yr old male husky (they said full, I'm definitely not sure) from a local shelter. They claim he was brought up from Puerto Rico as an older puppy, moved around to several shelters before spending 1.5 yrs with a family who surrendered him (and 2 cats) 2 weeks ago because their new infant has severe allergies.

I have had him for a week this Thursday night. I adopted him with a wound just behind his shoulder, they said he was surrendered that way and the previous owner didnt know how it happened. He knows zero commands. This is not my first dog by any means, and I'm aware of the stubborn nature of the husky, but even the trainer I met with to set up classes was like wth how does he not know the basics? He's also not fully house broken. Previous owner put down 1-2 accidents per day and their solution to try and resolve the matter was "longer times outside" but that that did not correct the issue. We have had 4 peeings in the past week. Not terrible, but I'd prefer none of course :-)

My personal opinion is that they liked the idea of having one, but were not able/willing to put in the time and energy to properly care for one.

A checkup with my vet over the weekend showed that his left back knee cap slips out of place while he walks, and a cursorary inspection leads my vet to believe he has hip dysplasia in both hips. The shelter vet apparently noticed nothing, even tho he obviously walks funny and has since the night I adopted him. We thought it was just his reaction to the noise and confines of the crowded shelter at the time. Oh and xrays are pending as he needs to be sedated for them and they only do them Tues/Thurs so I have to rearrange my work schedule to make that fit.

Let's see... he is crated while I'm at work, and when I'm asleep. He has full access to the 1st floor (kitchen, livingroom, dining room) the rest of the time. He has the option of going to the basement and upstairs but I believe bc of his legs he's choosing not too right now.

Because of his leg issues our walks are currently short. We do about 3 miles a day, dispersed over 2-4 walks, plus a minimum of 2 hours in the back yard together. He loves to run, jump, spin in circles, etc. He hesitates with the steps to the doors and I have to lift him into the car but he will jump out on his own. He tries hard not to put weight on his left leg but he wants to play so much.

We are also working on intro's with my cats. He is too energetic for most of them, but 1 believes she owns the house (calico) and she walked right up to him and yelled at him for being an interloper lol. She also swatted at him when he licked her tail, tho I know he didn't feel it, I still laughed at her brazen-ness.

I know I threw a lot into this post, but I was trying to provide as much info as possible before heading to bed for an early shift. Thanks for reading all of this! :-)

So my questions:
- any recommendations on things I can do for his energy that won't destroy his hips/knee?
- any advice on how to reduce his knawing on hands? I know part of it is the stress he's been under the last few weeks, but he bites pretty hard and my hand is pretty bruised up. You can't pet him (or do anything else right now) without your hand getting chewed on. He's not going after inanimate objects to chew, just hands
- any tips or tricks on starting the training process with a husky this old? My classes don't start til April 26th but I'd like to start the basics now. Thanks!

I don't have any great advice but WOW he is beautiful!!!

Aw, thanks! Your's is really cute too

I believe slipping knees can be dealt with using special braces for a time bUT eventually yout may hAve tone hAve surgery. You may look into braces for the type of slippage you are dealing with. As for the HD, get him on glucosamine and condriotin. It will take some time to get into his system but once it is you will see a difference. You can also feed fish oil every day and add vitamin e every other day. All of this combined with a good quality diet and you will be able to do most normal husky exercising without issue depending on his level of displasia. You will still need to adjust for the knee but HD can be managed to maintain a fairly normal life. I have two with HD and they can do 8 miles hiking without issue. If you do a search n the forum for hip dysplasia you will find a thread where I have posted the x-rays of my two so you can see both types of HD that's out there. One has no hip sockets and my other is a square ball in a round socket. The latter is the hardest on a dog and most apt to require pain meds down the road. Start short and often and work up to what you want once you have a plan for the knee.

Start him as you would a puppy. He goes out every hour or two to potty, if he plays too hard yelp and end play or constantly shove a rope or toy in his face until he starts to pick up on it's play with the toy or nothing at all. He may take longer to learn than a puppy but the same principals should prevail. You can also rub bitter apple stray or fingernail polish removeron your hands in hopes of making them taste bad

Mostly, welcome to the forum.

You have a wooly husky!!! just like my boy!




How sure are you he was brought up from Puerto Rico? He looks a lot like some of the oversized, woolies being bred by the Amish in Pennsylvania.

Thanks Jenn! I work at PetSmart so I can pick up some g&c pills tomorrow. I will def make a note about braces and see what my vet recommends after the xrays. I appreciate the advice and the welcome

Hi Amy! They provided me with a sheet from a vet in PR that is supposedly his, so I took it on good faith that it was accuratr. He is 52 lbs but looks bigger thanks to all the fluffiness. The pic was taken about 30 min after a professional grooming. He was matted and filthy when I picked him up, and I felt having a pro do it the first time was best for everyone. Oi, I hope he's not from the Lancaster area. I know how they operate, I would hate to think he started out his life like that x.x

hi, welcome to the forums.
wow, he looks amazing and very handsome.

Aw, why thank you! Your pups are cute too, I love the bandanas

Welcome
where in PA are you from?

i got these braces for my girl when she had to have both knees redone, might help you.
http://www.woundwear.com/

look into Nutramax Dasuquin with MSM Soft Chews and get the larger size dose for him, i think its better then what you will find at petsmart.

Can't help you at all with advice, but I just want to welcome you to the forum! He's very pretty. He does look a lot like Amy's, Ami! My boy Kohdi is about 50lbs but can look bigger too, depending on his fluff status at the time, haha.

Hi Jennifer! I'm right outside Philadelphia. Lancaster, and the Amish puppy mills are 45-60 min from me. Thanks for the link to the braces, thats super helpful I picked up a small bottle of gnc brand suppliments to start him on already, but I will look into what you reccomended also, thank you!

Hi Jimmy! Your pups are so cute! Thanks for the welcome