hey everyone,
I've posted in here once or twice before but have been busy with school so i can't really keep up. but i have a few questions concerning my two huskies
I have had Akino, my rescue of about 5 years of age, since May and have had no problems with him, he is an all around great dog, then i have my roommates puppy Ovie, that we got in June, much much more active than Akino. but thats fine with me and they have been together since we brought Ovie home.
there are a few concerns with them, the main one is when they are eating. Ovie will always stand extremely close to Akino watching him eat and sometimes try to take his food from him. then when Akino is finished Ovie will either go lick his bowl or eat what is left. is there anyway to keep Ovie from doing this? i constantly push him away and scold him saying no, but he just goes right back where he was when i walk away.
Ovie is still on puppy food and has not been fixed yet.

Another thing i have had a concern with is Akinos coat. When i first got him he was thick coated and strawberry blonde, color, then he blew his undercoat and completely changed colors. he is now a dark brown with a hint of red if in the right light. and he is constantly shedding. seemingly like he is constantly blowing his undercoat. i brush him every other day and get mounds of hair. has anyone else experienced this situation?

thanks for reading and any comments and suggestions will be greatly appreciated
i will post pictures of them later today, so you can see the transformation of Akinos coat and how Ovie has grown

Coat color changes in huskies are very common. How long has he been continually blowing his coat?

I feed my two at the same time so they don't get in each other's faces. When they are done they switch bowls and lick the other one's clean.
I wouldn't really see it as an issue. Should Ovie cross the line, I'm sure Akino will put him back in his place.

If you are concerned, don't walk away. Which I would stay close by anyway when there are 2 dogs and food involved. If they are not going to eat at the same time, then I would try to distract the one not eating and maybe do a little training session with Ovie.

When I got neo, he was bright red, now hes Brown with a hint of red, so I would not be concerned. He blew his coat for a good 2 months it seemed like, with another month of heavy shedding. Now hes not hardly shedding at all. It just takes some longer than others. No dog is the same!

well they get fed at the same time but Ovie doesn't eat until Akino is done, if at all.

Akino start blowing his coat around late june early july and through august and september started to change colors and has been heavily shedding the whole time. a lot of the hair isn't in clumps, its almost like his top coat, the red hair, is still being shed. so is it possible that since he blew his coat, i feel, late that he will be late in gaining his winter coat and shedding? we've also had a pretty warm winter so far. its currently 50 outside and we had a brief hour of light snow, i don't know if that could also play a factor.

here are some pictures of the lovable two
this is in the first couple weeks of having Akino (the lab, Libby is my parents)


this is on the way back from alabama with Ovie


and this is both of them together, surprisingly being civil with each other (Ovie on the left and Akino on the right)


also i was curious as to whether Akino could be a mix? i was thinking either a wolf hybrid, or mix with a some type of shepherd, if anyone has any insight let me know!

thanks again

I don´t see a big problem in the food thing, if Akino doesn´t like it he will let Avie know . But if you don´t want him to do this you shouldn´t walk away so that he can do it again. Make clear to him I don´t wnat you to do this, so you don´t do this. If he gets the chance to walk over there he gets what he wants, so if you want to get what you want don´t le thim do it.

The color thing is quiet normal I guess, but constantly shedding over that amount of time with even shedding alot of his top hair does not sound normal, I had such problems with Anubis too. Is his coat ok besides of the shedding? Because bad coat quality menas that something isn´t right. Could be the food he gets or something else.

its still a soft coat, and I'm not completely sure its his top coat, it just isn't like when he blew his undercoat in June. I feed him eukanuba?

When the coat is nice and soft you don´t have to worry. It is normal that they blew their coats around that time, but it shouldn´t last for three months or longer.
To me Eukanuba is not good dog nutrition but if he likes it and the coat and everything else is finde it is ok.

I would not allow Ovie to sit there and stare down Akino while Akino's eating, it's just asking for a confrontation. I would either feed them in separate rooms or far enough apart that Ovie is nowhere near Akino when eating. I also would not leave them alone knowing that this is an issue and I wouldn't give Ovie an opportunity to even check or lick Akino's bowl when he's done. When Akino finishes his food, I'd pick up his bowl empty or not so that Ovie has nothing to expectantly wait for.

The coat color changes are totally normal and you may find that the coat color changes seasonally and with age. As long as he's healthy and his coat is in good condition I wouldn't worry too much about the excessive shedding, each individual is different and that will apply even to how much and how often they will shed.

Out of curiosity, why do you ask if Akino could be a wolf hybrid or shephard mix? Both dogs look 100% husky to me.

Ditto for above on all points.
They both look like sibes to me too.

Check out some of the threads here on dog food.
There are much better choices than Eukanba.
My vet told me that because of huskies historic fish diet, they need fish.
My first husky had a zinc deficiency that cleared up with diet change.

Looks all Siberian to me. I don't see any mix at all. For the reds, drastic color changes are actually common. Mick (Raindog) has a male, Ute, who's colors changed just as drastically.

I wouldn't allow the staring behavior to continue. If Ovie is finished, remove him from the room. I always take my dogs outside as soon as they're done- leaving the others to continue to eat in peace.

If you're up for a food change, I would suggest feeding something different other than Eukanuba. There are quite a few threads on what to feed and what we're all feeding.

I agree with what's been said above. They both look like sibes to me. They are cute.

You could teach Ovie a 'leave it' command. It's quite fun to teach because as the dog starts to get the hang of it, they realize they will get an endless supply of treats so long as they keep obeying the command.

You need two types of treats. One is the thing you will ask Ovie to leave, let's say it's a cookie, and the other is a reward - something small is best to use. You show the cookie, say 'leave it', and then say 'good boy' and reward him with one of the other treats. To begin with, you have to keep the cookie in your hand and take it away before he gets chance to get it, but as he starts to understand you'll be able to put it on the floor (with your hand close), then on the floor a bit further from you, and some people build up to putting the cookie on the dog's paw and saying 'leave it' but this takes time!

The important thing is that the dog doesn't get a chance to get the cookie (or whatever it is that it is supposed to leave). You make it easy for him to start with, and that's why you keep it in your hand - it sets him up to be able to succeed because there's no way he can get it off you to begin with anyway. He will learn that he is not going to get that cookie but will look expectantly for something else. Then you gradually make it harder as he starts to get the hang of it.

In future you will be able to say 'leave it' and Ovie will leave Akino's bowl alone. It may take a while to build up to this, and what everyone says above about staying near and not allowing the staring etc is all good.

When my two were puppies, we had some major fights over food...it finally got to the point where we separated them during feeding time...not necessarily different rooms, but definite distance between them. Now they do just fine and like Dee said will switch bowls and lick the other's clean. If they were on different foods, that might be an issue but my two eat the same things.

I may have to try that leave it training myself...it might come in handy.

Well Akino is rather small, when i rescued him he was only 40 pounds and now is staying at 50, and Ovie is 55 pounds right now, and still growing. so i figured with him being small and him shedding a lot my roommate said something about being shepherd. but i just said this is how huskies shed. I've been researching for a couple years, so that i knew what i was getting into and i feel like i have a little better idea about them than he does. it was mainly just out of curiosity.

we've been trying to teach Ovie to leave things and he does sometimes, but he is a very persistent puppy. such as just now he started to stare at Akino again and i kept telling him no, leave it. i would take two steps back and he would go right back where he was. this happened about 30 times until Akino was done eating. i will try to keep them more distant next time i feed them. i hadn't read these until just now.

i will definitely read more on food and supplements for Akino. and get him on a different diet. the vet said he is perfectly healthy, but that was right when he was blowing his coat in september. i will take him again in the next week for another check up just in case.

thanks for all of the help!

He needs to learn that everything is yours, the ground he is wlaking on, the food, everything, He is testing how fr he can go.

Akino is a perfectly normal sized Husky. It's Ovie that is the likely culprit of improper breeding, although he is still full husky. A male husky should be between 50-60 lbs (some say 55-65, but never over 65 lbs).

Do you bodyblock Ovie when he goes for Akino's food or stares him down? If it were me, I would stand right in front of Ovie and stare at him when he does this. If he goes to move around you, move with him. Be tough and firm. Don't use your hands, but just use your body to convey that his actions are not acceptable.

I don't think Akino needs a check up. A vet might still say he is healthy, but the coat problems could definitely be food related. I would look into changing his food and seeing if that helps.

i usually just say his name and say no, leave it. but i will definitely do the body technique next time.

and i will definitely be looking into different food.

"Do they look like they might be part wolf?" ........................ Welcome to the classic symptoms of Walt Disney Syndrome.

Here4thePics wrote:

"Do they look like they might be part wolf?" ........................ Welcome to the classic symptoms of Walt Disney Syndrome.

haha i know, but with some people saying he could be a mix, i just had to ask!

the past couple feedings i started doing the body technique and its working great! its actually forcing Ovie to eat along with Akino. where as before Akino was on scheduled feeding and Ovie wouldn't eat at the same time, so we would just leave his food out. Akino wouldn't bother the food at all. but now Ovie eats with Akino and is staying away from Akinos bowl while he eats! its great! i also found the Body technique working in other situations, like when Ovie tries to steal a toy from Akino, i just simply stand up now and Ovie will leave him alone.... until i sit back down, but he is getting better!
thanks for all the help everyone!

hurley9 wrote:

i also found the Body technique working in other situations, like when Ovie tries to steal a toy from Akino, i just simply stand up now and Ovie will leave him alone.... until i sit back down, but he is getting better!

I use this also and love the results! Willow was holy terror as a puppy and this has curbed alot of her bad behavior.