I guess I will start at the beginning. I was at work cleaning up after a Christmas party and a husky showed up and was napping on the front steps. Long story made short he ended up at my house as I did not want to leave him on the highway.... I posted him on the local yard sale / town sites called the only vet and dog groomer in town, that he was found etc.... and got nothing back.

At first he was happy in the back yard with a warm bed and food. now I guess he is just comfortable, And oh my everything I have read here he is it. Reminds me of working at the daycare again.
After a few times on the leash in the yard I figured out he has zero training. He knows how to slip his lead so I bought a harness.....oh my what a 2 year old he became...I have taken him out of the yard now and he seems to like his walks but wants to do what he wants and if I try to pull him to walk next to me it I see the 2yr old again, complete with laying down and refusing to get up.

I have 2other dogs but they are not suitable to be a yard mate....one is old and has a back injury and the other is just a brat so my friend had a dog that loves to play so they are now together. Play well etc. but now digging has started...not just a hole but a hole to get under the house. And we have redone the fence so he can have back yard and part of the front. So he has a lot of space . So I guess I am asking what else do you do to keep them entertained. I live in south texas and don’t do well in the heat so walking him might be an issue real soon so I was hoping a friend was going to be enough.

Please be nice to me, I was not the one saying oh what a cute puppy and then learning he was to much.....he found me and I wanted him safe.

Thanks in advance

Well, first off What part of South Texas?? I'm in southwest Texas over by the Big Bend area ... and you are??

These dogs do great in the desert heat, just have to make sure they have plenty of water and limit the exercise to early morning (not gonna happen!) or the late evening when t starts to cool off.

As you're finding, Husky's have a mind of their own - and they're as intelligent as a lot of people I know - not sure what that has to say about my choice of friends, but then, most of my friends have four feet.

Welcome to the forum Kodiboy and we'll see what other have to say - and where you are since that play a large roll in what we suggest - before I get into the fun of being raised by a Husky!

We are in the eagle ford oil fields.....waiting to move on.....and yes I rather do stuff in the dark then in the early morning.

He has a pool and as I said we built a new fence so he could have half the front yard.... it seems cooler on that side of the house and that Is where we are too.

I have wondered if there is a critter under the house is why he is so determined. The cats have learned not to go in his yard as there is no calling him off the chase.

He just has a lot to learn and I don’t know where to start.

Welcome fellow Texan Is there any dog trainers in your area? Being overwhelmed can make any task seem beyond help. That at least will help in the training aspect, and help you work and form a bond with your new pup. If your home is yours and permanent, you may want to invest in cement, gravel, something to keep him from digging around the fence, first tho check for critters

If there is no trainer available.................since it sounds like you will be his person, you need to form a bond, trust, boundaries. Hand feeding and working together on obedience, lol I know but it is doable, is where you start. Hand feed a portion of his meals, talk in a gentle manner and build that trust, it is important to hand feed for many different areas of owning a dog, you haven't mentioned aggression, so hand feeding for you is just a benefit of getting to know eachother, him knowing good things come from you. Next on walks, while it is semi cool still, practice close by. Keep him on his toes, walk a bit and then practice a command such as sit, laydown, just basic stuff. Invest in a long line, if funds are tight you can make your own, this way you can practice stay and recall and his name if he doesn't know it. I can certainly help in bonding, training, feeding, but I have never had a rescue, those that do will be online tomorrow and can also help give you some ideas.

Now to my pep talk Huskies are a very rewarding dog breed, they make you laugh, they give unconditional love, they make you do stuff. They are an extremely intelligent breed that requires mind exercise along with physical. You can succeed in the mind exercise thru training, right now, later thru fun stuff, like hiking, or swimming. Don't give up there are a lot of us here who will love to see you and your boy succeed.

Dogs who have been on the run and free for a while can be hard to get to settle. At first they are comfortable and happy to get food and be safe but having not answered to anyone in who knows how long retraining them there are benefits to listening can be a real pain and take time. Positive reinforcement training, hand feeding and walking help this. A buddy in the back yard will not fulfill his needs for long and the pits to China will get deeper or he will start to look to escape. If he seems to be good with other dogs going through a basic obedience course together could really kickstart his training so you can get to walking off that excess energy. Most of us do a few miles a day with our dogs to keep them sane. Thank you for getting him safe. There's a lot of information here on being owned by a husky. There are valuable tips and what to expect in the stickies of each section. Being owned by a husky will get you into shape because you have to exercise them a ton, it will wise not you because they constantly challenge your mental fortitude, and make you laugh because they have very unique personalities.

>>Dogs who have been on the run and free for a while can be hard to get to settle.<<

You aren't kidding! While we didn't find Misty on our doorstep, we've gone through similar things with her. It took a lot of patience and consistency with her training, not to mention finding ways to keep her from getting loose and running off -- This forum has helped a lot in that regard with tips, etc.

Misty finally settled down after about four months, but she still has her moments. The taste of freedom still rears its ugly head on occasion, not to mention the general "I-don't-have-to-listen-to-YOU" brattiness. Still, she is SO much better than she was the first month we got her. After we had her for about four months, it was almost like it finally dawned on her that she'd thrown her worst at us and we weren't hauling her off to the pound. It was like she had an epiphany: "Hey, these people aren't getting rid of me! I think I'm actually here to stay!" After that, she became MUCH more calm and less eager to make messes in the house or be a complete jerk while on walks or generally outdoors with us. She DOES still have moments of brattiness or HBB (Husky Behaving Badly), but being consistent with her training and letting her know what's acceptable and what's not have definitely paid off. It should pay off for you and your Husky, too.

With regard to the digging -- Yeah, that's still an issue for us. Misty digs a hole; We cover it with a paving stone to stop Misty; Misty finds another place to dig a hole. If we continue at this rate, our entire back yard will be completely paved. We do have a huge sandbox for her to dig in, and she did like it for a while, but apparently she'd much rather dig in dirt. I think we may just have to accept the fact that we're going to have a crater-filled, grassless back yard.

Thanks so much for the ideas, I will be sitting out there hand feeding him in the morning....today was kind of crazy...trip to the big city!

We live down on the Mexico border and I will say I have never seen so many animals roam the streets and they keep breeding and selling puppies. As for trainers, I am thinking it is me and the internet. When my daughter moved for work and I got to keep her bearded dragon ( that I refused to touch) I joined a forum to learn about them and I loved it....so here I am on another one. I was warned by the only groomer in town that with his age he was a cute little puppy last Christmas and has probably been replaced this Christmas....

Anyway, he is not shy and loves the attention. He rather be loved on then eat, be he does little things that make me wonder if it is part of the “pack life”. He loves to bump your face with his nose and lick you if you bend over To pet him. And lick your hands. I tell my inside dog “ no lick” so I push his nose away and say the same......but is this a husky thing? Also when he does not want you to leave him he will get in front of you and turn cross ways......I know that it a toddler thing....lol....and I just tell him I got to go....pet him and say love you or good boy.....and move on....and I know by doing that I am letting him be the boss of me that one last time.....so like the kids at daycare.....love them and move on....

I read that a husky will not do something do something to please his person that it has to be worth it to him.....have you found that telling yours good job and loves is good enough or do some of them need more and what do you do? So far he is very happy with loves and a happy voice.

Oh and good news on the holes to China....he did not work on them today so maybe there was something under the house. We do have opossums that show up and I have way to many cats....that we are also working on not chasing.....and so far if you don’t catch him while he is thinking about it it is a win for him. Anyway I hope I do t sound like a person who knows nothing, I just what to give him what he needs so he can have a forever home. And tomorrow we will have breakfast one bite at a time and maybe a pocket of kibble on our walk.....and who ever said I will get into shape over this must know I need to ....

Thanks again!!!

I don't know if the licking is a husky thing, or a personality trait. Both of mine "gives kisses" but it wasn't something I saw a lot in my past huskies.

With praise vs. treats...my boy, Kohdi, has always been more praise motivated, even as a pup, while my girl, Mishka, had been mostly treat motivated when she was younger, but now is just as much praise motivated.I do feel, however, most dogs will be treat motivated when young, and become more praise motivated when they are a bit older. I think when they're older, (and I don't mean like way old) they understand the meaning of the praise more, and they've bonded more with you by then so praise is like a treat to them. (I hope I made sense, lol, I always have trouble putting what my brain is thinking, into text. )

And don't stress on asking questions. I've had huskies my entire life and STILL ask questions ...people here are very helpful, and are happy to help.

First off, hello and thank you for rescuing what sounds like a great guy. While I have never rescued a husky, I have owned 3 so far. My first guy lived just 3 months shy of 16. My girl is currently almost 13 (in April) and is just starting to slow down this year and our newest addition to the pack is just over a year and a boy. All 3 have entirely different personalities and the fun part is they display their husky traits in different ways.

As everyone has said, these dogs are incredibly smart. Our friends always laugh that we get brilliant dogs...and they are.

Our first guy was a Master Escape Artist. He knew how to weaken the tensile strength of both chains and plastic coated metal lead tie outs. Eventually he would knot them and they would break and he would be gone. Every time he got out, he would go at least 60 miles. These dogs are bred for Distance. He could also remove any collar AND harness until he was 14. By that time, his arthritis got too bad to Houdini his way out of the harness. He always had the call of the wild and his last escape was at age 12. He dug dog size holes to lay in during the summer months but never dug to get out.

Our second dog, a girl is an outdoor princess. She has only gotten her collar off and run off one time (she's almost 13). She always wants to be near us, but not too close and go wherever we go. She will huff at you when she is irritated and poke you with her nose when she wants something. If you continue to ignore, she will set her head on your leg and stare intently at you until you give in. She will also not hesitate to tell you what she thinks. We used cheese sticks to train her with and she loves it but would never respond to dog treats. It took us about two weeks to find a food we could train her with because it had to be something good or she wanted nothing to do with it. We tried kibble, she took the piece and spit it out on the floor then huffed at us. You have to make everything worth her time and when she's done with it, you just have to accept it and training is done for the day.

The only holes she has ever dug are when she is excavating for moles and rooting out vermin who have taken residence under a structure (picture an acre of 3" deep, excavated mole trails through yard) or stashing her prizes. We lovingly refer to them as 'ankle breakers'. She actually caches things she wants to save and brings them out to share with her friends. She can open any gate closure she has found and some door handles as well. She can also open many kennels doors and almost cleared our 6' privacy fence going after a squirrel. She can climb ladders and trees so we have to watch what we put near our fence. Honestly, she doesn't try to leave the yard without us because she apparently enjoys our company. She has never tried to dig out.

Last summer she dug a 3' hole at the corner of our sunroom and was incessant about it. Turns out there were some red squirrels living under there. Two years ago she dug out the entire back of our shed, there was a skunk living under there (that was fun).

Our newest addition is a food addict. Every piece of kibble is amazing and interesting and he just wants to make us happy. We always joke he acts more like a lab than a husky. He started hunting in our yard and got his first squirrel 4 months old. He is fascinated by everything and digs to see what's on the other side of the fence. He also digs because it's fun. There are holes absolutely everywhere now with no rhyme or reason to them. He is a crazy 1 year old little boy who revels in being dirty. He has yet to escape but his braveness is coming on so we will be starting his course work in March. He pokes you with his nose quite forcefully whenever he wants something.

As for pools, we have a in-ground pool and our dogs and all their friends love it. Take extra time to teach them where the exits are. Both of my dogs know how to use the ladder in the deep end and where the stairs are as there is no way to prevent them from falling in the pool. We also have a safety ledge around the entire edge and have shown them that as well. Remember, these dogs are amazingly smart. Our dogs will stand on the edge of the pool if they fall in unexpectedly to get their balance and then swim to the stairs. They enjoy shoving their friends into the pool "by accident" so we show all our regular visitors the exits.

Always remember, they will figure you out before you figure them out. If it takes you two times to enforce something, they will always wait until the second command. The dog you found could be from 50-70 miles away because something caught his attention on the wind and he followed it. Make sure you have him checked for a microchip. Thank you so much for rescuing him. People like you are why we always got our first dog back.

Well I should sleep tonight!!!

I got up and we went for a walk...wish I lived where there was places to walk ....lol...we took him and his yard mate....I put him on the horses lunge line so he could go way out and go further then me....letting out the lead and pulling it short again...then put fresh hay in dog houses and in his favorit places to lay....I am thinking the holes going under the house we’re due to a critter, he has seemed to stop. I filled them in today and will see see if he digs them out again.

I knew they were runners but 60 miles! When he was at my work he was spotless clean. So I did not think he traveled that far. The vet here does not have a chip reader, but if he could of traveled that far I better make the trip to one and if he is not chipped he will be ....lol

Anyway, thanks again.....