Hello Everybody
I have been doing quite a bit of research and reading on the Siberian Husky, and was told to get some input from owners that have Huskies. So far I love this breed and would love to have one. I actually found a year and a half year old male. All white with blue eyes.
My questions are this. I live in Wisconsin, close to Green Bay. (yes the winners of the super bowl) I know they blow thier coat two times a year, but how is the shedding the other times. I have talked to the gentlemen that owns this dog and he stated has a pretty mild temperment and can leave him in the house while he is gone. But what is an everyday life style of a Husky. We currently have a french Mastiff and and English bulldog. They have the stick straight hair that I find all over our cloths and floor. We vacuum everyday (Dyson) and also a cleaning lady every week. So we try to keep the house pretty clean but the stick straight hair is awful. They are pretty lazy and just lay around all day. I know the Husky will be a little differnt, and I just want some opinions. We do not have a fenced in back yard, and looking to move with a house with 3 achers (sp) Also no fenced in yard.
Any advise and or help would be greatly appreciated on what to expect I want to obviously do the right thing. By the way all of your dogs are very pretty.

Welcome,

Having had 2 huskies, I think they are all very different... even when it comes to shedding. My first husky shed ALL THE TIME! We hardly knew when she was blowing her coat and when she was not. If you brushed up against her, you had hair everywhere. If she got on your bed, she left a pile of fur behind. When we ate dinner, we almost always injested a hair I am positive! We currently have an 8 month old who maybe hasn't really started the shedding yet or maybe he's just different. This spring he lost alot of hair. It was the way we remembered from our previous husky, but he only did that for a few weeks or a month and now he hardly sheds at all. My cousin said that her dalmation shedding was worse than her two huskies. However, there is a thread here that shows pics of some pretty crazy coat blowing!!

We have lived in an apartment, in a house with 1/4 acre yard and in the country on 5.5 acres. It really doesn't matter. They do NOT need room to run! As a matter of fact, they CANNOT "run" or they will run away... very far away! A fence is also nice, but not a necessity. I would not trust very many fences to contain a bored husky for any length of time. Having a fence is nice to contain them during playtime or when they just want a larger place to do "zoomies" (look that one up on another thread!)

Our first girl was still very mischevious at age 1 or 2. I really don't think we trusted her out of her crate while we were gone for 4 or 5 years. They get bored easily and have lots of energy. Our girl was fine loose in the house at night after a few years but not alone in the house. A chewed up ink pen cost us an entire newly laid carpet (still hadn't received the bill for it yet!) when she was about 2 years old!

On a positive note, huskies have a wonderful temperment and personality that you will not find in many other breeds.

Huskies blow their coats twice/year which is basically dog hair hell. Vacuuming multiple times/day, finding undercoat in your dinner (even if you're not even eating at home), couch seems like it'll never be the same, spending 30 min/day brushing ... but the rest of the year it's quite mild. A guard hair from time to time, but nothing bad at all. And it's pretty soft, not super coarse and stick straight, so it's not pokey or anything.

On the rest ... oh boy. Okay. You said the dogs you have now are pretty lazy and the husky will be a "little different." BZZZZZT The husky is going to be night and day different. I have only met one couch potato husky. One. Every other is full of super fun, mischievous, enduring ENERGY. Lots of it. And if you don't expel it through mental and physical challenges, they expel it by eating your couch, dry wall, bleach bottles. You may think I'm joking, but I assure you -- I sh*t you not.

Regarding the yard - unless it's fenced, over 6 feet tall, and reinforced with concrete underground... Mr Sibe will be living full time inside and only allowed outside when he's on a leash attached to you. No matter how well trained you may think you have him, recalling a Siberian who has decided it's time to run may as well be Congress balancing the budget -- it ain't gonna happen. They mean you no offense, they just don't realize how far they run how quickly and next thing they know, they're miles from home and their person is nowhere to be found. This is how huskies so easily get lost, put in pounds, killed ... it's very sad

I'll presume you've read up on the fact that sibes can be VERY stubborn and willful, headstrong, obstinate, get bored easily, etc? These are all true things. BUT if you can work with/around those factors and approach things almost in a manner that makes them think THEY are the ones who came up with whatever it is you want from them because the reward they'll get rules, you're on easy street. You probably think I hate huskies lol but I don't. they are hands down my favorite breed. The traits I just mentioned make up part of their spirit that is SO cool and beautiful. But as a husky-lover, please -- if you aren't prepared to understand that owning a husky is different from owning virtually any other breed (except maybe malamutes, akitas, or samoyeds), so training them is different from other breeds, what you can expect is different, how they'll react is different ... you need to understand that what works for your low energy dogs will not work for or fulfill the husky. Your low energy dogs won't stray far. Your husky will be in Montana before you even realize he's gone. Your low energy dogs are fine with a 15 minute walk. 15 minutes is a warm up for a husky; after that he's ready to GO. Etc ... If you understand these things, by all means -- adopt the husky, and enjoy what will likely be the court jester of your dogs and the new comedian in the family

i like the idea you are looking to adopt an adult husky or at least over a yr old. but with that comes training and extra training to undo what ever he might have learned. with luck you will not have to worry about potty training but you might, a crate will become yours and your huskies best friend for a few years maybe the whole life. your 2 dogs might not dig the "husky" play and he or she might seem a bit rough with your 2 now but thats all husky, there is a reason a husky owner has more then one husky and not usually another breed of dog as the 2nd or 3ed pet. a no fenced yard is a deal breaker for most rescues and shelters for a husky so your bet might be to find a owner surrender. you CAN NOT open your back door and let the husky do its biz and come back in with out a good fence they will be gone before you close the door, that means in the heat of summer to the cold of winter rain or shine you need to hook on a leash and take the husky out to do its thing. we spent a weekend in a town home in the mountains over winter with no fence and that is what i had to do, putting on snow boots at 3am to let my girl go pee sucked! and that was just a weekend, no way can i do that yr round. every husky is different with the fur, they will shed yr round or just a few times a yr but it is the soft under coat that just sticks to everything, you will never get rid of it and you will never have clean black clothes again. do you enjoy outdoor actives you can take your husky on like running or biking or hiking? why are you looking at a husky?
just because the husky is fine with the man he is with now does not mean he will be the same with your family, in fact it will take about a month for him to settle into his new environment, and routine, a routine is the best thing with a husky, ours knows when we get up when they are walked and feed and when its a weekend, they are smart and if you try to skip something you will hear about it from them. i love our huskies and would not trade them for the world but i think they trained me more then i have had to train them! please read around and you will have wide open eyes to all the things husky, we have stories of good and bad.

jbealer wrote:

a routine is the best thing with a husky, ours knows when we get up when they are walked and feed and when its a weekend, they are smart and if you try to skip something you will hear about it from them. i love our huskies and would not trade them for the world but i think they trained me more then i have had to train them!

TOTALLY AGREED!!! They know their routine and will NOT let you relax if you try to skip something! For example, I stayed home sick today and they didn't start harassing me for their walk until exactly 515pm when I normally get home from work.

They do know when it's the weekend...it's the funniest thing!

Thanks for your replies. It looks like the husky I was looking at may be gone. We live in Wisconsin. If any body knows a good breeder and or an older dog. Please help with any info.
Thanks for your help.

i don't really have a lot of input other than my husky is a huge couch potato---so they are out there. if she doesnt get walked my house doesn't get turned upside down and i can leave her roaming loose all day. she also doesnt try to escape. the only husky traits she really has is that she plays rough like one and she WILL run away if off leash. but she is one in a thousand, haha. good luck with your search!

Addy28 wrote:

Thanks for your replies. It looks like the husky I was looking at may be gone. We live in Wisconsin. If any body knows a good breeder and or an older dog. Please help with any info.
Thanks for your help.

Check out www.petfinder.com type in your city & state. they offer quite a few depending on your driving distance.


Here is a 8 yr old Mal/Husky: http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/16372994

wow that "malberian" is a nice looking dog!

Aevyn's a couch potato too. He actually gets grumpy with ME when I try to take him out on his routine walks. So, the statement that they are all very different can't be made more clear. All the research I did before I got Aevyn, it might as well have meant near nothing because his personality is so different from the 'norm' with Huskies.

However, if you can be prepared for everything, and can be ready for when your husky will randomly decide they're going to change your routine for no reason, then by all means, go for it. It's been a wonderful experience for my boyfriend and I so far, and I think everyone on this thread can say that even when their huskies are driving them insane, we still wouldn't have it any other way.

Good luck on your hunt, and can't wait to see pictures and hear stories once the baby gets brought home. :3

Again thanks everybody. Still on the search. I have looked at petfinder.org and looking for something about 4 years or younger.

Be patient, l think the majority that land in shelters should be in the younger range since they often get dumped or lost during their mischievous teenage years when owners either cannot or don't know how to handle them.

KareBear wrote:

I think everyone on this thread can say that even when their huskies are driving them insane, we still wouldn't have it any other way.

TRUE TRUE!

snrose wrote:

wow that "malberian" is a nice looking dog!

He is very handsome!!!

That IS a good looking malberian! And Karen's definitely right -- even when Volya or any other husky (Danika's a flippin' angel lol she would rather die than ever try my patience) is driving me looney to the point that I leave the room to take a deep breath -- I LOVE IT. It's that crazy husky spirit

Here4thePics wrote:

Addy28 wrote:

Thanks for your replies. It looks like the husky I was looking at may be gone. We live in Wisconsin. If any body knows a good breeder and or an older dog. Please help with any info.
Thanks for your help.

Check out www.petfinder.com type in your city & state. they offer quite a few depending on your driving distance.


Here is a 8 yr old Mal/Husky: http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/16372994

I've had my eye on Harley ever since they put him up on petfinder. I would love to get him but timing is not good. I'm surprised he is still available. He has been on there for awhile.

From my experience, Indigo is my very own first dog, I was very sure I wanted to get a puppy so I could train him from the beginning and hopefully ingrain only polite manners into him (On that note, knowing what I know now I would definitely make sure your breeder, if you go that route, has left your husky with their litter until the 8 week or + mark...I have quite the nipper and it sounded like she took him away too soon). Huskys are SO intelligent. Unbelievably smart and he was potty trained in ONE day, I kid you not and learned to sit the very same day as well. We worked really hard with him the first few weeks for basic behaviors (sit, down, wait, come) and crate training. We only crate him when we leave during the day and at first he, as any puppy, had separation anxiety but we started putting a blanket over his crate and it worked like a charm. He LOVES LOVES LOVES his crate even now at 2.5 years old. He sleeps in it even when we are home and has free roam. He is able to be off leash at unfenched dog parks and occasionally during walks, but will definitely take off after rabbits and cats But we worked hard and still do training him with "leave it" so I think that helps. STUBBORN STUBBORN though and as most people have already said, loves his routine and knows when its dinner time! I run him almost everyday about 3-4 miles and thats all he really needs! They are great dogs but boy do they try your patience Good training for kids I can imagine!

hillarycole wrote:

That IS a good looking malberian! And Karen's definitely right -- even when Volya or any other husky (Danika's a flippin' angel lol she would rather die than ever try my patience) is driving me looney to the point that I leave the room to take a deep breath -- I LOVE IT. It's that crazy husky spirit

Haha, there are times when Aevyn will have zoomies to the point of crashing into things and almost breaking stuff, and all I can do is cover my face with my hand and go "You silly boy, you."

http://appleton.craigslist.org/
I found her what do you think.

Oh click on pets and it is the husky listing. She is 8 months old about 80 percent house trained. Let me know
thanks

She's cute, and seems like she'd be a great partner for running around

Addy28 wrote:

http://appleton.craigslist.org/
I found her what do you think.

I hope you got her as the post didn't seem to be there when I looked at 10:02PM (ET)

If she's gone, there is another posting for a 2year old female...

If you don't have a fenced in yard, don't plan on running with your husky, and don't want it to tear up your house and annoy the heck out of your other dogs, look for a calm, lazy husky. They do exist. lol. I have two and they are totally different from one another. Siku would love to run all day long while Elara would rather sit in the house waiting for snacks. But it makes sense since Siku is built more like a racing husky, while Elara comes from a show line. So don't just pick the cutest/prettiest one. Visit with it and see if it will fit your life style.

Oh and watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIno9hDe0OA

And this:
https://youtu.be/kd3D7JEDqmo

Well we picked her up on Saturday evening, she was born on 12-5-2010 so will be 8 months soon. She seems to be doing really well. She had an accident and when I talked to the original owner she had a potty problem. about 80% potty trained. any recommendations on this and how to get 100%. I take her out and will stay out side and say the potty word until she goes. Then this morning she went right away, and I tried offering a treat and priased her like crazy. She was not interest in the treat, but I was happy she went out side. The were feeding her Purina Puppy chow!! (YUCK). So hopefully her stools will get better with the food we feed. Also she pulls sooooo hard when walking. Any suggesions on this. She did some with a gentle lead (the one that goes over the nose) but have no idea how to use. . I will try to post pictures but I'm not very technical. She is beautiful and her eyes are so light blue they look white. She seem pretty mellow as well. We took her to a B-Day part on Saturday and one of our relatives had Huskies and she even said she seems more mellow. but I guess right in my back yard ( well almost) there is a lady that does dog sled racing and I will be interested in taling to her.