Hello, everyone! I’ve been haunting this forum for a couple of weeks and feel like I should officially join and introduce my new Husky, Misty.  Sorry, long story:  Misty was found wandering the woods of a state park early August and taken to the local shelter (no kill).  The poor thing was starved when she was found (ribs sticking out) but otherwise in good health.  Approx. two years old, no collar, no microchip, but had been spayed and was entirely bug-free, though the shelter vaccinated and vermifuged her to be on the safe side.  For whatever reason, the two most common “lost dog” breeds in this area are Beagles and Siberian Huskies.  Usually, when a lost dog shows up at this particular shelter they’re claimed by their owners within two days.  Not the case for this Husky girl, despite her distinctive head markings.  A month later, no owners, and no matches with people searching for lost Huskies. Sadly, the state park is also a popular place for people to dump unwanted dogs. A few people visiting the shelter showed interest in Misty due to her looks but quickly changed their minds when they experienced how strong and energetic (and typically Husky) she is.

A month before, our family had lost Kiki, our Shiba Inu, to organ failure/old age.  She was a really great dog – we STILL miss her – but it’s hard not having a dog around when you’re used to it, y’know? Our 9-year-old daughter insisted that she wanted our next dog to be a Siberian Husky.  I think she was mostly just attracted to the looks of the breed, though my husband also stated he wanted an athletic breed – and what’s more athletic than a Husky? I’d grown up with an Alaskan Malamute (STORM, a family legend), so I had a pretty good idea of what having a Husky in the family would entail.  Over the years, in addition to the Shiba Inu, we’ve also had an American Eskimo Dog and a Lapphund.  So, at least our family was already used to hairy, shedding, stubborn, independent Spitz/Nordic dogs.  We still missed Kiki, though, so we weren’t in a huge hurry to look for a new dog.

Labor Day weekend, we decided to hit the state park for a picnic, flea marketing, etc. -- a common weekend pastime here.  We saw the animal shelter and decided to visit the dogs.  THERE in the kennels was Misty. GORGEOUS Husky – young, female, thin but healthy, already spayed, had passed the shelter’s aggression tests, etc.  Such a friendly, energetic girl!  No manners, though – Had obviously never been housetrained, had never been leash trained, no crate/kennel training, and liked to jump on and/or tackle people and other dogs for fun. Yep, she was going to be a lot of work, but she was friendly and affectionate.  No biting or aggression at all, despite her tackling habit.

We hadn’t planned on having a big hairy dog in the car on the hour+1/2 back home, but we filled out the paperwork, paid the shelter fee, and packed Misty in the car for the drive home.  She rode shotgun the whole way and was MARVELOUS in the car.  Best car dog I’ve ever had.  Really, Misty sat in her seat like a normal passenger the whole way, just looking around mildly at all of the scenery going by.  She wasn’t even interested in trying to stick her head out the window.

So, Misty came home.  Yep, we’ve gone from having a “fox” to having a “wolf.”  Amazingly enough, she hasn’t destroyed a THING in the house, at least not yet.  I was expecting at least a little destruction, based on my previous dogs and based on the fact that Misty’s in a strange environment; but she is SO GOOD so far.  (By comparison -- When we first got our Shiba Inu, she tried to climb up the chimney.  Soot everywhere.  The worst thing Misty’s done so far is pee in the house.)  She’s eating well, too, and getting some meat on those bones.  What’s really interesting is, it seems Misty HAS had some training and learned some vocal commands.  She sits, begs, shakes hands, and lays down on command. Also, she has engaged in a bit of thievery, but whenever she’s been caught and told to “drop It,” she immediately stops and obeys!  The shelter says it didn’t teach her those things.  So, who taught her THOSE things but didn’t house- or leash-train her?

It hasn’t all been dog biscuits and roses, though.  I was prepared for the lack of house training, for having to walk a leash-pulling 50-pound dog, for the digging in the back yard, for having to make sure the dog has a LOT of exercise and mental stimulation, for loud canine grumbling and back-talk, for a strong small-animal prey drive, for general escape-artist behavior, etc.  What I WASN’T prepared for was a dog that can clear the top of our six-foot privacy fence.  I mean – WOW.  Having now watched several YouTube videos of Huskies jumping fences, it doesn’t surprise me NOW – but, man, it really surprised (and scared) me when I saw Misty do it.  Amazing.  The girl is Olympic class!  I’d be annoyed if I weren’t so impressed.  Thank goodness the shelter microchipped her in case she runs away.  She didn’t even leave our yard, though, and we were able to grab her without any trouble.  Still, I was expecting escape attempts UNDER the fence, not OVER the fence.

It’s been about two weeks now.  Misty is doing MUCH better about walking on the leash, not jumping on people, getting used to a crate (we haven’t shut her in it for more than 15 minutes at a time – we want her to think of it as her dog bed first), not being pushy when we’re eating, etc.  The housetraining is coming along -- Accidents every three days or so rather than every single day. The biggest issue is that we can’t trust her to stay in the back yard without one of us actually standing in the yard with her.  Digging under the fence hasn’t been a problem yet, and that’s one we can easily deal with.  But, how to keep her from jumping out without turning the fence into a prison fence?  I’m not convinced making the fence taller would do any good – We don’t know how high she can really jump, or climb, for one thing.  Has anyone here tried “coyote roller” fence tops for a Husky?

Thanks!

-- Faye

Like an athlete, I'd bet that making the fence taller would just prove to be the challenge she needed! (to prove she could clear it! )

You'll find a lot of disagreement about "shock" collars, but we have members who have used them very successfully. With a proper education in how to use and train with one, that might be the solution to your problem.

Rollers have also been discussed - with some videos - here, try using the "Google Search" part of our search link and I'm sure you can find several comments about both means.

Thanks for rescuing and Misty was the name of my first Husky - who took a walk on me one day and never came back.

An electric fence attached to the privacy fence so that she gets the beep and correction before she goes over the fence is how I used to keep my girl in our rental property that wasn't very secure. Using a stand alone ecollar I wouldn't suggest for this if you are hoping to not have to watch her outside someday. For some the rollers work. For others the dog finds where the rollers attach and use those spots for leverage. As most dogs can't climb upside down I tend to lean toward "cat-proof" fencing. Looks like this. Yes, it's a little prison fence like.



It's your more sure fire fencing method. That said, she hasn't been there that long and she was cooped up at the shelter for quite a while. She has a lot of excitement and pent up energy to get out still even if you are walking her 5-10 miles a day. Even if she wasn't a fence jumper I wouldn't trust her outside alone for at least a couple months. It usually takes that long to really get a sense of what the dog's true personality is. While she doesn't dig or chew right now, once she gets comfortable with the place she might and you don't want to leave her out in the yard and have her destroy your patio furniture or de-bark all your trees and not be there to correct her when she first starts it. it was a month before I got my first magazine shredded in my house after getting my girl.

Training is odd with shelter dogs. My girl is great with kids but didn't know any tricks beyond sit. I have a male that literally knew no tricks but walks on a leash beautifully. Someone obviously walked him and that is all. More than likely someone got Misty thinking she would be fine lounging around the house and running in the backyard and they never took the time to walk her enough that leash training came into play, but they may have sat around the living room teaching her tricks all day long because that was easy. A lot of huskies get abandoned because they are too much physical work for people too lazy or too busy to keep up with and because of that you just don't know what you will get.

Thank you for your feedback! I have a bit of experience with invisible fencing. We got one for our old Malamute, Storm, back in the day and it had ... mixed results. For one thing, Storm figured out just where to sit so that the collar was activated but didn't shock him -- so he would just stay there and wait for the battery to die out. Yeah, he was pretty smart. Misty, on the other hand -- We don't yet know just how smart she is, but she's definitely stubborn. The other problem with electronic fences and collars is that our area gets quite a few blackouts, which of course shuts off the fences unless they have their own generators. Dogs in our neighborhood seem pretty quick to figure out when their collars aren't working.

It looks like the cat-proof fenced tops are the way to go for us. My husband isn't crazy about the idea (he doesn't like the way they look), but they do seem like the most practical and less expensive option. In the meantime, Misty has been getting PLENTY of walks. She's getting better about healing and not pulling on the leash, thank goodness.

Thanks again for your help!

-- Faye

That is a beautiful dog. Welcome.

hi, welcome to the forums. beautiful dog, i have seen DIY videos of some one make them on youtube form PVC and skate baring.