Hello, first real post. Heres my pack so far....

5 month old female husky
6 month old maltipoo(wifes dog)
18 month old toddler boy


Navi the husky plays to rough with Jack the maltipoo, so I was looking into getting another husky for Navi to play with(plus I want another husky). Well i found a 3 1/2 year old silver and grey one online that I liked and we have a meeting this weekend to see if Navi and him get along.

The owner says the dog is paired with a german shepherd and they are best buds, but willing to break em up because I am a good home and know a fair amount about huskies. Well he told me his 2 dogs attacked his cat, I know that huskies hunt and are known for attacking cats and other small rodents, but he also says not good with other small animals because of this.

Navi has been good with my cat since she has been around, a lil rough with the Maltipoo, but the Maltipoo brings it on himself(so i think). Now since I dont have a lot of experience with older huskies, what problems will I face bringing this older dog into the pack? I know I cant have them unsupervised, but do you think I can teach the dog eventually to not mess with the cat like I did Navi? Or will it go after the maltipoo and cat instantly and nothing I can do to avoid it?

What challenges did you face when bringing an older dog into your home? The person has kept the dog outside for the most part, I plan on crating the guy, but dont have one yet. I was planning on having him inside but have him tied up at night to make sure he doesnt dig under the fence and make a break.

I have only been owned by a husky fir a short period of time, so I'm no expert, I do want to wish you good luck and hope everything works out for you!

I'm going to be totally honest here, so please forgive me for that, but I would call the owner back and say "No thanks." You have too much working against you. I personally would have said no the moment he told me the husky attacked his cat. A 3 1/2 year old dog is going to be TORTURE to train out of that prey drive and it will NEVER be perfect. Not to mention outdoors mostly, which usually equals unruly. Has the dog ever been near children either?

I applaud you for rescuing, truly do... but I would wait for the right dog. This one doesn't sound like it's a good match for you at all

But if you still want to try... check out this thread:
How I Introduce New Dogs

Good luck!

First welcome!

Second I say keep looking for husky, if u have a cat and a small dog and this new husky has killed and has a pray drive you might not be safe ever. The reason ur pup is doing ok with the cat is the fact its a puppy, your puppy may grow to learn the cat is part of the family with the right training or could have issues with the cat as it growas up. I would look at finding another puppy or a husky under a yr to pair up with you girl so the age is closer.

Pleas don't ever tie up any dog at any time of the day when u are not around or awake to keep any eye out. Chances are something could happen, huskies are very good at breaking free.

I agree with Tori and Jenn. It doesn't sound like it's even worth a meet and greet. It's already attacked a cat, so it sounds like it has a high prey drive which means the Maltipoo could also be prey. And it doesn't sound like he's very well trained which mean 18 month toddler could also be knocked around or nipped at...

Kudos to you for wanting to rescue, but this one doesn't sound like the right fit at all....just be patient and the right one will come along.

You'll want to make sure the one you add to your pack is good with small children and small dogs and cats.

An almost 4 year old Husky that's killed/tried to kill a cat already won't be a good and safe addition to the household.

Agreed. Koda is 3 years, 4 months, and has the worst prey drive with cats and you could never, ever train it out of him. Not worth risking your cat being killed.

First Id like to thank for the responses, they seem to be pretty one sided, but I appreciate the honesty from you guys about the dog.

Let me answer some of them...

The dog has been around a toddler, doesnt hurt the toddler, but when the german shepherd its paired up with are together they get a lil rough and arnt aware of their surroundings and the main reason they are giving them up is because of that, they are afraid they might accidently hurt the toddler when hes outside.

I know Navi has a chance of attacking the cat when she gets older, but I am 100 percent on watch about how she behaves, Navi listens to me well so I dont think I wont have much problem there, plus she is NEVER left alone in the house, she is always crated even if I step out for 2 minutes.

When I said tie up, I ment put a 35 foot chain on him till I can find a crate, so its not a abusive thing, its just I dont know him well and couldnt trust him alone. It wouldve only been at night for 7 hours.

Well I am glad I got the responses I did and probably avoided a bad incident, I will tell the guy no thanks, and try to give him advice on how to place the dog. The guy was a good dog owner, just didnt know much about huskies, for example, he trimmed his husky. Main thing that makes me want to get huskies in my area is because 60-70 percent of huskies owners in Kern County dont know how to take care of them, nor realize that super adorable puppy gets big and stays hyper.

Pertaining to the cat, I believe everyone was just in reference to the possible new addition, not Navi. (P.S. Have to ask, is it a Zelda reference or no?)

Yea its from Zelda, I am trying to get another one, Male is going to be Link, female is Zelda.....


PS I didnt understand your post to well?

Navi wrote:

The dog has been around a toddler, doesnt hurt the toddler, but when the german shepherd its paired up with are together they get a lil rough and arnt aware of their surroundings and the main reason they are giving them up is because of that, they are afraid they might accidently hurt the toddler when hes outside

To play devil's advocate on this, what makes you think that would be any different when he plays with Navi?

I think everyone was just responding to the "is this more trouble than it's worth" question you asked Please know if you did decide to go through with it, people would have offered whatever support they could

ETA: Good call, Heather. LOVE the Zelda reference

I know navi is going to play with the dog like dogs do, but I won't let them play like that around my son. If they do, they get separated. The reason they don't want to have them is because the dad is away on rigs from time to time and the wife is left alone and she is afraid of them. My wife isn't.

Exactly- but at 3.5 years old and barely any inside manners... I think you're making the right call. It's just a lot to take on.... if it was just one thing... big difference... all of those things are red flags to me.

PERSONALLY- and not saying anyone else would make this call... if I had a cat (which I would like someday but not with these two because they're older and have a very high prey drive) I wouldn't be rescuing anything that wasn't a puppy or already proven with cats. It's not worth the risk to me.

You'll find the right dog Hailey is amazing with kids, small dogs and very calm... and she was a rescue. Sometimes it just takes time.

sorry if we all put a damper on your mood with this husky and all of us want and have saved huskies either adopting them helping with rescues or even at local shelters, i think it would be great if you could help that family place their husky with a new family, we just all feel this just does not sound like the right fit for your family, but you are the one to make the last call on that, you asked what we though and like everyone on here we are very honest and tell you the truth even if its not what you want to hear and that goes for everyone here asking questions, we all have different experiences and share what we know.
we would love to see pictures of navi and what is your area as everyone here is always looking at petfinder.com local craigslist and shelters we could help you find a good match

Im not upset at all by the responses, I appreciate them so I don't make a big mistake. I heard huskies and cats can live together if worked hard enough? Or should the cat go? It's a big ol ragdoll Siamese.

Hi Navi, seeing as you're in So Cal and have all these variables in looking for the perfect dog - I HIGHLY recommend that you go through a reputable local rescue with experienced people that test the dogs in these situations. They will be able to help you find a dog that's perfect for your lifestyle. Check out www.huskycamp.com . The volunteers are very knowledgeable and very honest about the dogs they are placing. They have your best interest and the dog's best interest in mind. As well, most of the dogs in their care are in foster homes, which allows the volunteers to better match new owners to their foster dogs. I don't see any cat friendly males on their site now, but they get new dogs all the time. It's worth waiting for the perfect new family member. Email them for help.

You may want an older husky that's more calm. Our older husky has an amazing calming effect on our 1 1/2 year old at home. They still play alot, but she adjusts her play style to his. FYI - we also don't let them play inside the house. You can see the difference when she plays with dogs at her own energy level at day care, it definitely gets way more rough and tumble!

Another advantage to getting an older husky is that they will train your 5 month old to have good dog, people and house manners (if your older dog is well trained, of course!). Chili growled and reprimanded Frosti for things that we don't allow in the house, e.g. paws on counters, sitting on sofa, begging at the dinner table, jumping on people when greeting, etc. She learned the new rules in a matter of days!

Regarding getting another husky pup that will grow up to be cat friendly, I think it would just create more chaos in your household to add another pup to the mix. Wait until Navi is over 1 1/2 and through her teen years, is well trained and can help you transition a new pup into your household.

I feel another Husky puppy is your best bet. Both of my Huskies have been raised with cats. They love the cats and want to play with them. The cats tolerate them and that's it. That said I never leave them alone with the cats or with my two daughters' small dogs either. Not worth the risk. Be aware that Huskies play very roughly. Watching is not for the fainthearted LOL.

My dogs are fine with my cats. They've been raised with them. Odin is the exception but he is older, slower, and wasn't bad with the cats initially. But an adult who already has issues with cats cannot be introduced and expected to live with a cat. There's no reason the cat should go... Just don't get a Husky who has issues with cats.

mine are both fine with my cat, and my cat only, we've brought other cats into the house and embry has tried to kill every single one of them, zoey not so much, she just ignores them. we got embry at 10 weeks and introduced him with out kitten right away, they play all the time and are totally fine together. we got zoey at 4 months old and brought her home on a trial since she had never been around a cat before, and she was fine with him, she does tend to pounce on him and try to play. but he's used to her now.

i would never bring in an adult husky that had never been around cats into my home, i doubt that it will end well.

Navi wrote:

Yea its from Zelda, I am trying to get another one, Male is going to be Link, female is Zelda.....

I tried to get Rogue named Midna or Malon but my husband didn't like the way they sounded! Was pretty bummed! I am huge on Zelda.. obsessed with be an understatement.

Straying from the post.. sorry, you know I have to ask about my games and video game reference names!

To reply to something else on here though, you should never want to get rid of one pet to get another.. :\

when i was at the dog park the other day, there were two sibes there, identical to embry and zoey, so creepy, one of them was named zelda

Huskies and cats can certainly get along, but the husky needs to have the right temperament (ie- non-reactive AT ALL) or it needs to be raised with cats. It will almost NEVER work when the husky is introduced later in life. No amount of training can train that out of most huskies, so unless you are a professional trainer and have hours, days, months to dedicate to desensitivity training, it's just not worth it.

And I'm not sure if your comment was serious or not, but I would never advise getting rid of an older pet to get a new one

We're here to help, so questions are no problem

I'm going 100% off topic here. Video game references?! I'm in! I love Zelda, in fact, I have a poster series with Link featured in it. check it out!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rileyflorence/video-game-poster-series

Sorry, I have no experience with introducing new animals, or cats. Appa is my first pet...

Heatherlee wrote:

I tried to get Rogue named Midna or Malon but my husband didn't like the way they sounded! Was pretty bummed! I am huge on Zelda.. obsessed with be an understatement.

You would love my text message notification lol

Oh and my ringtone. And my background?!!

<--- Zelda nerd here.

If it's the chest opening sound then I have the same one!