Hello everyone!

In about two weeks my husband and I will be proud parents of two baby huskies. Well, they have about twelve percent of German Shepard in them but who's counting. We're not first time owners. We've thought about this for some time now. We both know and have researched Husky and German Shepards, just to be on the safe side. However, funny enough, you can research something like crazy and still find yourself stuck in a pit. Or cleaning up, or dealing with some behavioral issues... You get it, right?

Okay, so like I said not first-time woofer owners. We also have a giant drooly lump. His name is Balou and he's a two hundred pound Saint Bernard who thinks he's a lap dog and baby. He's three years old and we think he has finally stopped growing. Balou has lived with other dogs as well. We had a roommate with a puppy and adult Aussie. He still has a bit of excited energy around other dogs but it doesn't last long. He gave a puppy pass to the roomie's pup.

We had the pups at our place at eight weeks old for a visit, Balou was not a problem. Although, one of the pups didn't know what to make of the giant mass of breathing fur that wouldn't stop sniffing her. We're waiting until they are ten weeks old to pick up the pups so that they can have a little more time growing with their mother and litter.

So, we do have a cat... He was a kitten with Balou and they get along for the most part. Sometimes the cat is an... Jerk, let's just say jerk heh. He tags Balou and then runs away and Balou grooms him. It's a Saint thing... You know the whole Peter Pan thing? Yeah, there's a reason why. Anyhow, the cat didn't really seem to react much when we had the pups here for a few hours I'm hoping that continues. However, if they do prey drive for the cat there are options and training to utilize.

The puppies are female and will be spayed shortly after arriving. We are both really excited. So... Yeah... I'll probably be posting a lot of "...The cuteness is so real I'm going to die," or "so check out what the brats did this time..." Oh, and pictures I am going to take so many pictures! Thanks for having me here.

Yes, he is falling asleep. On the stairs. Yup, this is our dog.

Welcome... Is Balou part horse? . He's a big boy.

I've heard that whether or not a dog and cat get along is really up to the cat. Not in our case.

Our Aussie and Bella (the outside cat) and Mia (the inside cat) got along great. Bella was always an outside cat (the neighbors abandoned her and we started feeding her and let her sleep in the garage). Once the husky puppies (brother and sister) arrived, things were never the same. Bella left (we assume) and has not been seen in months. Hopefully she found a new home.

Our inside cat, Mia, snuck outside and was attacked by the dogs when they were puppies. It was only luck that we were home and heard the commotion. In the end, she was fine. The puppies had been losing their baby teeth, so we think they weren't able to do much real damage. We found one tooth on the ground and one in Mia's fur.

I believe training while they were puppies would have helped. I also believe had we only adopted one dog, it might not be as bad. The puppies seem to feed off each other. Look up Littermate Syndrome.

Other than the cat issues, the puppies have been great. We like that they can play with each other.

All the best.

Cats and Huskies - man is that a topic about which someone should write a book.

If you read around here you'll see where some cats and dogs get along fine (I'm lucky, my 3 dogs and 2 cats coexist nicely - the two cats on the other hand ... I even have one cat who goes on walks with us.)

You'll also find where some puppies brought into a household with cats soon learn to respect the cats claws and as they grow up they maintain that respect.

You'll find that, in some cases, there's an instant animosity that only has one solution - either the cat leaves or the dog does.

Finally - and this is the one that those of us who have animals who coexist fear - is that the dog who's gotten along with a cat, sometimes for years, suddenly turns on it and for no fathomable reason simply kills it.

There's one other scenario - the dog coexists nicely with a resident cat but in most cases a strange cat is prey. This is all too common.

How do you achieve serenity ...??? I have absolutely no idea.

You really do, please, have to get some video of Balou greeting the pups ... that's either going to be precious or rock-your-socks-off hilarious!!

Had the cat problem with squirt. We had 4 dogs a horse and 2 cats all lived peacefully rambo slept on top of squirt. Someone ditched a chihuahua with us and less then a week later squirt killed rambo. 2 weeks after that squirt killed patches. Squirt and the 2 cats had coexisted for 3 years with no problems until the chihuahua came along. Of course now squirt has escalated to killing anything she can get her teeth on. Spider on the other hand loves cats and my 2 boys will follow the lead of whoever is the dominant female. I miss my cats. Loki my old cat had to go live in new Hampshire because of squirt.

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!

No, we think Balou is part bear. Hehe. The puppies already met Balou. They came for a two-hour meeting. We started out slow and they really wanted to see each other. So, my husband kept a tight hold on Balou collar and I picked up each puppy one at a time and let him sniff them. He was very calm. A little while later we brought him back in reintroduced him again by containing him and the pups. After that? We let Balou roam a bit around them. He loves them! He is a dry mouth so he doesn't normally drool. Unless he's really happy or excited... He left puddles on the floor...

One puppy, the bigger one, kept moving backwards and was a little scared of him. The other puppy? Ran towards him hah! The cat maintained a position at the dining room window. He didn't hiss or freak out or do the cat on crack thing. The pups were a little curious about him but before they could get near he jumped up and backed off.

I know littler mates will feed off on another. I am a little nervous about our cat but not too nervous. Balou loves the cat, treats him like his sibling. He's bigger than both the pups and will always be bigger. The roommate we had, had an adult Aussie who didn't like our cat. Balou would stand in between both of them. If the Aussie moved towards the cat Balou would simply move with him and block him off. He was never aggressive just protective. Apparently, it's a Saint thing.

We will also be training the pups as soon as they arrive. I'm going to attempt to do everything in my ability to make sure the cat and the pups are safe. Cats R sharp...

Yes! On the videos! I am so taking videos! So, the roommate had a young puppy and we were helping her teach him how to sit. Balou wanted to join in. It was so funny. Balou was waiting patiently for his treat but the puppy wasn't quite getting it. Balou finally had enough and smacked his paw on the puppy's back side to get him to sit.

I'm hoping the same thing happens with our huskies. That they learn from Balou.