We are getting Snow on Saturday and while I've read some things already about what to expect, I don't know if we should keep her inside or outside until she gets a little older. I have to ask the exact birth date but she'll be 8 weeks old by Saturday. So my question is... should we leave her inside until she gets a little larger? Or would she be ok outside? (Just know I'm hoping I get "Inside" answers so i can back up my wanting her inside to the hubby )

Why would she need to be outside? Huskies are very social dogs and enjoy being with their human families. They are somewhat easily crate trained (easily is relative lol) and do just fine in the house. I would not put an 8 week old puppy outside in a kennel to live. From predators to temperatures there are a hundred reasons why I wouldn't do that nor would I advise it.

The first few weeks will be rough- with getting a sleeping and potting schedule somewhat organized but they come out of it fine and things settle quickly. Personally I would think removing her from her new family at night and placing her alone outside (when prior she has been used to the company of litter mates) would very much be counter productive.

*Bookmarks this answer* Yea, I thought it was ridiculous to leave her outside. Though she may become an outside dog in the future, I vow to keep her in as long as I can. DH and I seem to disagree about this, but we'll see. Thank you for your answer.

Just remember at 8 weeks Snow flake will need outside to pee every 2 hours or so. Huskies telegraph there actions and needs quite well. Example if Snowflake stands there looking at you usually it isn't admiration its "I gotta go PEE!"

What? Why would an 8 week old puppy need to be outside? Just get a crate and crate her when you can't keep both eyes on her.

Honestly whats the point of having a dog if you keep it outside?

Leaving her outside exposes her to all kinds of potential dangers, too. Random bacteria, harmful wildlife, thieving humans...

I don't even let my dogs out to pee without being right there with them. Lol I would NEVER recommend putting any dog as an "outside" dog. Especially a baby that is only 8 weeks old. To me that's kind of cruel. When they are that young that's the best time to shape them into model puppy citizens and break bad habits early. It also helps you watch when they use the bathroom to detect and problems with bowels, etc esp with her just coming home. Crate training is best and although a lot of people will agree that big dogs belong outside, I don't think I could ever do that to any member of my pack.

I would never make either of my dogs outside dogs ever, period, no question about it. We have a LOT of people with their huskies as outside dogs on Fort Carson, and EVERY day I go to work and drive past those housing areas, I usually see at least one of them going on an adventure.

We have a dog door to where they can freely go in and out as they please. The only reason they go outside is to do business or enjoy the sun/breeze/whatever for a while. Otherwise, they're under our feet somewhere sleeping.

I don't think there is an issue with a puppy enjoying snow, but to shut her outside? Yes.

Disclaimer: I should probably mention with my doggie door that my dogs are not escape artists what so ever and I would not advice this if you dogs have any sort of desire to flee. Haha.

Even though our huskies have grown to love being outside for small amounts of time, they really are social creatures. I think it is sad to have them outside when you are inside and they could be "hanging" with their pack. If you don't use this time when he is young to train him not to potty in the house, he will rarely be able to come inside as an adult.

My sad pup is staring at me through the back door with pitiful eyes even as I type because he is gated onto the deck by himself while my newly mopped floors are drying! He is only let outside with supervision (because of the fence jumping, the frantic digging, the chasing/catching birds and small rodents...)

I have to agree with everyone on this one. I, like Heather, have a doggie door, but I had to really train Rio not to escape before she went out. Kya prefers to be outside, but she comes in and out as she pleases. I would never leave any of my dogs outside without supervision. The little dogs aren't allowed in and out of the doggie door, only the big ones are, BTW.

I agree with everyone else. Puppies like to be around people and she will be lonely outside, as well as at risk from predators (e.g. coyotes). And how can you toilet train her if she's outside?

Another reason to keep her inside is that puppies have an important socialization window, during which she needs to get used to all the things she might experience later. Puppies need to be around people and get used to being handled and learn how to behave in the house. They also need to get used to all the sounds like the dishwasher, vacuum, washing machine, and so on. If they don't learn this during the crucial puppy stages, it's really hard for them later on. You can read about developmental priorities for puppy train here if you're interested (there's lots of information there about training puppies too). But basically, she can't learn household etiquette if she's not in the house, and I'm sure you'd rather have a well-behaved dog when she's older than one who doesn't have a clue what to do in a house!

Even if you plan on having her as an outside dog in the long run, you might one day want to take her to a friend or relative's house where she can't be safely left outside. It's better that she learns about houses (and she'll be much happier too).

I totally understand where you're coming from with wanting to keep her in and your boyfriend wanting to keep her out, i live with my dad and his girlfriend and she is nothing short of a bipolar B. she complains about EVERYTHING especially me & rocky - he's been shedding his puppy coat lately so that's her latest excuse for convincing my dad on keeping him outside 24/7 but unfortunately for her i'm here so that's not happening as long as i can help it!!

rocky spends a ton of time outside and it's mainly his choice - we put him outside when we're cooking/baking or cleaning since rocky LOVES to attack the broom, but here's what we've done with him since he's either begging to come in or begging to go out (it's literally like he wants to come in for 15 minutes to see what we're doing and then he wants to go back outside for hours);
as a puppy we kept him inside took him out for walks and what not, we crate trained him for the most part but i ended up sleeping with him in the living room so he got used to not sleeping in his crate and even now when he sleeps in the house he sleeps on the kitchen tile by the back door. there were only 2 times where rocky would not come inside when he was 5/6 months old so it was in january/february and he slept outside but i slept in the living room in case he wanted to come in during the night.

now that he's a little older and lot bigger (50 lbs) he ALWAYS wants to go oustide, luckily for us he's not an escape artist (knock on wood) but he's either connected to a zip line (to keep him out of the garden but he still has the ability to run back & forth in the backyard) or we are with him at ALL TIMES when he is not connected to the zip line. Especially at night, when it's dark out I go outside with rocky to use the bathroom or run around a little - he's already had two instances with possums and 1 with a skunk so there is no way my pup is going to get attacked/bothered by stupid night lurkers again. he sleeps with me at night, because of his shedding lately though i've brought his crate in my room so he sleeps in there with a fan facing him to keep him cool cause it's the only thing that keeps him quiet.

the biggest negative when it comes to people making their dogs outdoor is that they tend to be forgotten and it's super sad & that's when it becomes cruel, i think when it comes to any dog socialization is incredibly important and there's really no point in having one if it's going to be outside all the time by itself. i guess the most important thing to understand is that you'll have to spend A LOT of time outside with her if she becomes an outdoor dog & if you think about it -- if you don't like spending time outside why would she want to spend all that time outside, especially by herself? dogs truly want to be with you always & frankly it's a lot easier for them to be around you all time (indoors) than you having to be with them all the time (outdoors).

I have to ask, why did you choose to get a Husky if you were going to put the poor thing outdoors? I don't think ANY dog should be left outside to his/her own devices. Perhaps I am partial, as I am a huge animal lover, but I think it is quite irresponsible to leave any dog outside. If your husband can't handle a husky in the house, you shouldn't have a dog.

I'm sorry if I offend you with my comment, but this and many other reasons are why rescues are overcrowded and how accidents happen that cause euthanasia.

mheath0429 wrote:

I have to ask, why did you choose to get a Husky if you were going to put the poor thing outdoors? I don't think ANY dog should be left outside to his/her own devices. Perhaps I am partial, as I am a huge animal lover, but I think it is quite irresponsible to leave any dog outside. If your husband can't handle a husky in the house, you shouldn't have a dog.

I'm sorry if I offend you with my comment, but this and many other reasons are why rescues are overcrowded and how accidents happen that cause euthanasia.

I concur with this wholeheartedly.

Hey guys, let's reel it in... While the majority of us do keep our dogs inside it doesn't mean that those who don't aren't good pet owners.

While I agree that a puppy shouldn't be left out in a kennel... there are many dogs who do live in kennels and aren't starved for attention/exercise.

I just wanted to add that if you're looking for excuses to keep your dog inside, have you spoken to your breeder? I don't know any reputable breeder that would release a puppy to a couple knowing that they intended on keeping it outside alone.

Kristina,

I don't disagree at all, and I am not trying to call be a jerk, but I have seen to many dogs put down for reasons that could have been avoided.

For example, a good friend of mine had a German Shepard that was an outdoor dog. She was a sweetie, but she didn't appreciate people coming in her yard that were intruders (fair enough). One day a group of kids hopped the fence, taunted the dog (I'm not going to go into detail but they were cruel to the dog) and in defense and fear the dog bit one of them. Instead of the stupid kids getting in trouble, my friend was forced to put her dog down via the court system. She beats herself up all the time because if the dog had lived inside it could have been avoided.

I'm not trying to make anyone out to be a bad owner, but I don't think its a smart choice for your everyday suburban family.

P.S. Cato came from an outdoor kennel, Karnovanda Kennels, where the huskies were VERY well taken care of, but not a single one of them was in a kennel alone either.

mheath0429 wrote:

Kristina,

I don't disagree at all, and I am not trying to call be a jerk, but I have seen to many dogs put down for reasons that could have been avoided.

...

I'm not trying to make anyone out to be a bad owner, but I don't think its a smart choice for your everyday suburban family.

Right- but we don't know anything about the OP other than what they have posted. We can't jump down their throat and assume the worst just because we know of dogs who have been neglected in outdoor kennels. I am the first to say that I think pets should be kept inside with the family, don't mistake that. But just because I think that, and the majority of us think that, doesn't mean that the alternative is wrong.

Wow so many responses! No worries. I talked to my husband. I told him that she is way too little to be outside. She needs to be around her new pack especially at her young age. I also told him what is the point of having her if she's going to be outside where we can't socialize with her? Needless to say it's wife - 1, husband - 0

We have all kinds of predators in the area I live from hawks and eagles to coyotes. When our pups were small, they were never allowed outside without supervision. I had never had puppies before (except for when I was about 5 - that doesn't count) and I was paranoid about some of the bigger birds mistaking them for food.

Now that they are full grown, I don't worry about problems from the sky so much as I do night-time intruders like skunks, raccoons and other animals like that. We also have a doggie door and have had a couple of escape instances due to faulty fencing, not so much their need to escape. Until we can completly replace our fence, they are locked inside when no one is home. Once we're home, until nightfall, they're free to come and go as they please. Chances are really good that they'll be wherever we are.

There are many reasons for keeping the puppy inside until it's older not the least of which is your own peace of mind and their safety.

Good luck!

Awe, I'm so glad your husband came around!

I hope you didn't feel like we were ganging up on you, we just don't want to see anything happen to that precious little pup that you'd regret!

Thank you for those of you who answered with good reasons to not keep her outside. I ask these questions, not to have people accuse us of being horrible and cruel pet owners, but to get as much information on this breed as we can. My husband didn't think of all these reasons to not have her outside, but I assumed a few of them which is why I asked this question so that I could have him read them to see for himself the answers. I never intended on having her outside but again, asked the question so that my husband could see the answers and be more comfortable with having her inside.

Again, thank you to those who took the time to think about your post and answer in a way that would be helpful to us.

Im hoping I didn't offend anyone and I am glad you could talk him into letting the puppy br indoors. Congrats.

I'm not offended I am now busily nesting and puppy proofing the house

I have had dogs all my life and I totally agree, Snow should definitely be kept inside. 8 weeks is way too young, plus you want to foster her bond with you guys! She needs to know that it is you that makes sure all her needs are met.