Hello, I'm considering a husky as my next dog. I have a doberman and a boston terrier. As a groomer I never thought I would ever even play with the idea of a husky, but I am. I am a member of the local kennel club which has handling classes weekly which I attend. One of my fellow members is a husky breeder and right now I am helping her with her puppies and she may let me take her special in for her. Anyway, the whole idea came about when I first met her dogs. They all seem nice, outgoing, energetic, and not in any way like some I have seen in the salon. Well needless to say I have a copy of The New Complete Siberian Husky and have been skipping over to this site all too often to get my fix. Some of the things I've read worry me about owning a husky, and I may never be able to. I thought I would join to gain general info and continue flirting with the possibility. Anyway, I guess my first question would be how does their energy level compare to say a doberman? Everything says high energy but to me there are varying levels. I know these guys are very different then my current dogs and that is what worries me about owning one. Anyway thanks!

Welcome to the forum!

I dont know much/anything about Dobermans - but siberians were bred to pull sleds 50-75 + miles a day over long distances. Even though they don't do it much anymore they still maintain the high energy level. Of course, every dog is different within a breed so some might not be as high as others.

For many siberians an hour walk a day (which is what's recommended for many breeds) is not nearly enough. Siberians essentially need some kind of job to be doing that can keep them busy - they can be extremely destructive if bored and under-exercised.(just like any breed but these guys seem to have a nack for blowing things out of proportion)

I guess it would probably be more prevalent to tell us more about yourself, your dogs and your routines and tell/ask us other specific questions that youre concerned about. Some other people on this forum are extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the breed.

(sorry for all of the errors and poor sentences and if none of it makes sense - I haven't slept yet)

Well I wouldnt be getting another dog for a while. At least two years if not longer. I have a 3 yr old and a 10 month old human kids. My husband works in the oil field so he is gone eleven days and home three and Im a stay at home mom. My boston is the oldest shes five and my doberman just turned two. I have handled my doberman (dante) myself but he has recently injured himself (dobes tend to be accident prone) so will probably be retiring from the ring and on to rally. Pretty much I like huskies but heres really worries me:
1) escape artist
2)energy level
3)obedience-not sure if I would be okay with a dog that does what it wants not what I want
So basically theyre probably not a good fit but I can still learn and admire I guess. I can always just play with hers at class.

Our daily routine is as follows. Should give you a general Idea.

40 min Blade-Joring or a 40 min Jog in the morning (The wife and I alternate the morning one)
1 hour walk in the afternoon evening with 6 pounds of weight strapped to the pups.
Constant play and rough housing during the day while we are home.


Weekends its a bit diffrent.

Sat We spend 2 hours at the dog park followed by a one hour Hike.
Sun we recover and go for a small walk.


Tika was what I considered low energy until she hit one.... (Teenage years hit us full in the face in terms of energy level).

Ripley is considerably less energy right now. But the olders ones TEND (I use the term loosely) Melow out a bit.


It honestly has changed our lives. The amount of exercise we do this year compared to last... well I can't even begin to compare.

Hope it helps.
~Chris~

Escape artist comes with the territory :p! They have a high prey drive so I'd worry about the Boston - though most puppies when raised with smaller animals tend to not see them as prey - its still inherent and always something to watch for. Energy level would be case by case basically - you could always ask the breeder to keep a lower energy pup in mind when/if you look for one.

Obedience - well stubborn is in the breed because of how they were bred. They had to decide when to listen and when not to especially of it was the teams life on the line. If you want a Siberian for obedience - id find a breeder who excells in the obedience ring with their siberians - since they'd be breeding for bidability to an extent. But you'll still get the hit or miss "I really don't feel like doing this" attitude or the "selective" hearing.

Dante when not injured usually gets 45 min to 1 hour of frisbee in the morning and about 2 mile bike. Which honestly hes about as active as I could go without stretching my limits. He had the puppy crazies too, no dog bed, pad or blanket survived. The obedience is more of I know I at least want good manners. Dont run me over for whats in my hand (which still sometimes happens here) rush me at the door because I'll just close it back anyway or counter surf (which also sometimes still happens here) Hers just seem so good. Their temperment is wonderful and a lot more mellow then the ones I have seen in the past. Is it also sad that I like how inventive huskies are? Ive been reading and wathing videos and I cant help but think how smart they are even when they get in trouble. Im not too worried about the boston. Shes a little bigger at about twenty pounds and doesnt put up with much from other dogs. She gets along great but he at least knows she runs things. Now if it came to them playing instinct kicking in with a husky to chase and me not being able to call it of or cause a distraction to stop then it would be a problem.

Quote :

The obedience is more of I know I at least want good manners

Rules are rules. If you enforce (Huskies tend to do a lot better with positive reinforcement) them right a Husky is like any dog and will respect them.

When eating, or cooking, or doing anything with food our dogs need to be AWAY from us. It's just one of our rules. Tika will lay down and just sleep while Ripley will lay down on the other side of the room and stare at us while we do what ever (We're working on her).

No Snatching is permitted, no counter surfing, no eating my cats, no jumping on guests. All RULES of the house with consequences for breaking them. Generally it's just a time out or a scolding.

My dogs don't break them (though in all fairness Ripley We had little to do with).


It's the commands that tend to be hit or miss...
"Sorry what?"
"BUT LOOK A FLOWER!!"
"Hmm what??"
"Oh sit???"
"Oh you meant now?"

If you get a food motivated one they will do anything for a treat. It's when the treats go away they tend to become hard of hearing at times. The stubbornness isn't really to spite you, where as some dogs will just NOT DO something, it's more of a game with them it seems.


They are very pack oriented and once a rule is set in stone they tend to be respectful of it and not break it in my experience. You just have to catch them in the act to enforce that rule.... thats half the battle .

Or maybe I just got a few good ones.

Quote :

Is it also sad that I like how inventive huskies are?

Pretty much the reason we settled on Husky in the end... We wanted a dog with as much character as we could... Though we enjoy and expect Tika to listen to us always. It's good for a laugh when she prances off in all her spazyness... She is nothing if not full of mischief, energy, and adventure. We wouldn't have it any other way.

Oh.... and the frisbee thing... I don't know about everyone else.... but if I throw one Tika just looks at it as it flies by and hits the ground.

"Well if you wanted to back, why did you throw it away stupid?" is generally the look I get after I ask her to fetch it.

You'll have more luck getting a husky to chase a dog that is chasing a frisbee, in my experience.

~Chris~
ETA - Now if you could somehow harness the powers of attraction squirrels have into a chase and fetch toy you might have something there.... Million dollar idea that (I want royalties).

As Chris said the Teenage years is where their energy level goes sky high. Luna was calm slept all day till age 1. Then the destructive behavior started which she ate 3 couches when we weren't home. After I caught her in the act finally she stopped. (Time out enforced in the bathroom) Now she has free roam of the house all day everyday and she hasn't destroyed a thing besides her toys (knock on wood). Recently I've been jogging with her about 20-30 min in the day or at night. With about 30 min walks as well every day. That is still not enough! So we play around in the house for another 30 min and that calms her down. Prey drive is insane. Since she killed 1 squirrel they never enter the yard, she also killed a bird the other day. She's not really had any escape artist issues.... yet. Off leash she is horrible and the stubborness kicks in all the time. After repeating my command saying "here" I take 2 steps forward with a stern voice and say "here" she comes. They are very smart they just don't like to listen sometimes haha.

Great dogs, companions and friends!

I adore Doberman's!! I actually thought I was going to get a Doberman before getting a Husky, but thing's changed. Every Doberman that I've come in contact with has been pretty high energy. Honestly, I don't think it's very different from the Husky. The difference I think is that the Doberman will tire and the Husky can keep going if allowed.

Being an escape artist can be an issue if you're yard is not properly secured. As long as you keep you're house "husky proof" escaping shouldn't be too much of an issue. Plus, if he is properly exercised, he/she should be good and tired and have no reason to escape. I find the only time Hayden tries to escape is when he's full of energy.

As far as obedience I find them to be extremely easy to train. I've had German Shepherds, Beagle, Dalmatians, Yorkshire Terrier's, Cockapoo, Pit Bull, and the Husky by far has been the easiest/fastest to train. The only difficult part is getting them to actually do it (it's usually on their terms). So, I try to make sure I have treat's on hand or something they really want to make sure they listen.

Since owning a Husky I've come to realize how different the Siberian Husky is. They are like no other breed I've ever been in contact with, which makes me absolutely love them! They are incredibly smart, athletic, vocal, thinkers, observers, clowns, strong, fierce looking, incredibly friendly, and so many other thing's that would take me all day to list. They are for sure not for everyone, which is why it is so important to do as much research as you possibly can before jumping into something, which it's awesome that you're doing!

If you do decide to add a Husky into you're life I wish you luck!

Tika wrote:

Oh.... and the frisbee thing... I don't know about everyone else.... but if I throw one Tika just looks at it as it flies by and hits the ground.

"Well if you wanted to back, why did you throw it away stupid?" is generally the look I get after I ask her to fetch it.

You'll have more luck getting a husky to chase a dog that is chasing a frisbee, in my experience.

HAHA! Koda does the SAME THING. It's hysterical. My favorite is when he brings it to me, and I fall for it every time. I think he wants me to throw it... and then he looks at me like "You bitch... WHY did you do that?! I was bringing it to you!"

Hailey on the other hand is lacking a few brain cells sometimes and she LOVES fetch. But she's without a doubt a very weird husky to begin with.

Thank you! You have really helped! Ecspecially hayden_69 thats what I neededwas a good discription of energy level in comparison. Im on a doberman forum as well and a member has a husky as well but she says she loves her dog but will never own another and kind of just gives all the bad points.
One of the other breeds I was considering was a chin and all I could see in my head was dante squishing it trying to play and trixie correcting it once and it having a mental breakdown. I know that the way my house is as far as my dogs I could not have a soft dog. My dogs would pick on it relentlessly and whatever good that could have been brought out would be squashed in the process.

Fortunately the 2 I have now don't try to escape, and they listen fairlhy well (although my male definitely has selective hearing), The husky I had when I was younger would escape given a chance....regardless of how well exercised / tired he was. It was a game to him....I get out and run like crazy...see if you can catch me...maybe I'll let you get close (just to make it fun), but then I'll run some more. To catch him you had several options:

1) hope he stopped to go to the bathroom
2) be in car and ask if he wanted to go for a ride (only thing more fun to him than a game of chase)
3) have a hot dog or other form of meat
4) execute a well timed open field tackle as he ran by

They definitely are a unique breed and not for everyone. Glad to see that people are on this forum asking questions / researching the breed before adding a husky to their family.

Hayden_69 wrote:

I adore Doberman's!! I actually thought I was going to get a Doberman before getting a Husky, but thing's changed. Every Doberman that I've come in contact with has been pretty high energy. Honestly, I don't think it's very different from the Husky. The difference I think is that the Doberman will tire and the Husky can keep going if allowed.

Being an escape artist can be an issue if you're yard is not properly secured. As long as you keep you're house "husky proof" escaping shouldn't be too much of an issue. Plus, if he is properly exercised, he/she should be good and tired and have no reason to escape. I find the only time Hayden tries to escape is when he's full of energy.

As far as obedience I find them to be extremely easy to train. I've had German Shepherds, Beagle, Dalmatians, Yorkshire Terrier's, Cockapoo, Pit Bull, and the Husky by far has been the easiest/fastest to train. The only difficult part is getting them to actually do it (it's usually on their terms). So, I try to make sure I have treat's on hand or something they really want to make sure they listen.

Since owning a Husky I've come to realize how different the Siberian Husky is. They are like no other breed I've ever been in contact with, which makes me absolutely love them! They are incredibly smart, athletic, vocal, thinkers, observers, clowns, strong, fierce looking, incredibly friendly, and so many other thing's that would take me all day to list. They are for sure not for everyone, which is why it is so important to do as much research as you possibly can before jumping into something, which it's awesome that you're doing!

If you do decide to add a Husky into you're life I wish you luck!

HarlosHealthyPets wrote:

1) hope he stopped to go to the bathroom
2) be in car and ask if he wanted to go for a ride (only thing more fun to him than a game of chase)
3) have a hot dog or other form of meat
4) execute a well timed open field tackle as he ran by

This made me laugh cause I tried all these tactics with my first husky. It brought back memories!

Yeah, I am sure I am not the only husky owner with those experiences...LOL
Unfortunately if options 1 - 3 were not viable.....4 was often the only option

26nikita wrote:

HarlosHealthyPets wrote:

1) hope he stopped to go to the bathroom
2) be in car and ask if he wanted to go for a ride (only thing more fun to him than a game of chase)
3) have a hot dog or other form of meat
4) execute a well timed open field tackle as he ran by

This made me laugh cause I tried all these tactics with my first husky. It brought back memories!

#4 is what worked the best for us. Dakota learned real quick that the meat was a trap!! Lol! They are too smart!

Quote :

1) hope he stopped to go to the bathroom
2) be in car and ask if he wanted to go for a ride (only thing more fun to him than a game of chase)
3) have a hot dog or other form of meat
4) execute a well timed open field tackle as he ran by

This made me laugh so hard. Our dobie was always a runner and the only things that worked were #1 and 4, running away from her sometimes worked because then she wanted to play chase lol We had an old lady down the road that was terrified of her because of this though...

I think the "once free, I'm headed to Canada" mentality is the worst! I've had two huskies over the span of the last 20 years or so and the fear of them being free with little to no recall is horrible. The dog I have now is not a jumper and has never even tried to jump a fence or gate. We have tiny, baby gates less than 3 feet tall in the house to block off areas and he still has not figured out that he could easily jump them! He does know how to open the front storm door so it must remain locked at all times. He stays in his crate when we are not home. At 19 months old, I have finally declared him a tolerably behaved member of our household!

Like Chris said, they will behave and learn decent manners if you consistently enforce them. We have the worst behavior issues at dinner when we all sit at the table and he comes sniffing around and begging. We are teaching a "Go to the rug" command which means that he goes into the den and sits on the rug. Our house has a very open floor plan, so this is not really sending him far away from us (about 5 feet) but he looks all sad and pitiful. Haha!

We also struggle with his excitement leading to jumping on small children. We have kids, so he is around kids alot but he still has trouble containing his "enthusiasm".

His last and perhaps most annoying fault is his talking back to us. I'm sure this is more common with a husky than a doberman. Given a command that he is not happy with, he will lay in the floor and look at us out of the side of his eyes while "awhooing" his displeasure. I'm not sure I've ever seen another breed of dog do this but I understand many huskies will try it. In our house it most always leads to a time out!

We do not exercise Sabaka extremely much. He gets one walk, a few wrestles and some soccer in the back yard each day. I would assume that's about normal for any breed of dog. Even though he loves to go and do fun things, he's also happy just being with his people whatever we are doing. A visit to a kids soccer game, even though it does not involve much physical exertion, is very tiring for him due to the mental stimulation (and him trying to remember to have good manners when around all those kids!)

This forum is so full of people dedicated to this wonderful breed of dog! I can not even imagine owning any other breed. Along with the escaping and trying to get out of obeying and having ADHD, comes a dog with a wonderful personality and an intellect that (in my opinion) exceeds all others! It is rare to see Sabaka look at me with confusion in his eyes when I speak to him...rebellion, maybe, but rarely confusion! Your life will change forever....

Dante doesnt talk back but we get the evil kind of sidsways stare and refusal to do whatever command I asked. I usually just get firmer sounding and it works. Dobes try to outsmart you to get what they want. Like giving a sit instead of a down because oh noo the floors cold Having a vocal breed would be different for me too. My boston barks at the door and dante only barks if he thinks it's really necessary. He does kind of grunt and moan when hes tired but no howling whines yips or any talking. That would be new.

None of my huskies have been vocal. It's actually pretty rare to hear a peep out of mine.

Edited to add....Aspen is vocal in play, she does this old man moan when her and Willow are playing. But I still don't consider her a very vocal dog. She is quiet in every other situation.

I think it depends on the dog. The litter she has now even as small puppies were not bad but their mom is from what I hear. We have a malamute breeder in our club as well and his dogs are very vocal.

I have an extremely vocal Siberian - thankfully I have neighbors that don't care. Most every Siberian I've ever met has been decently vocal - that's why it's a breed trait. Some just aren't as vocal as others.

My girl is EXTREMELY mouthy - she talks about EVERYTHING. Just now she ran to the top of the steps to Woowooo at my father who asked me to catch something - she wanted to catch it instead.

To give you an idea of what she howls at (and this is not an exaggeration):
When it's time to go potty, when it's time to play, when it's time to be fed or she needs more water, when she stretches, when she has the zoomies, when you tell her "no" or "go" (gets her wound up pretty quickly), when we come home from going out, when you say "bye bye", when she wants to go for a walk/bike ride, when you ask her where "daddy" is, when she's pissed that she can't get a toy, when she didn't get her toy after potty break, when new people come over, when she wants your attention for something etc.

We all encourage her talking, though. You can also train a "quiet" cue if you don't end up with a more quiet Siberian or if you don't think you or more importantly if you have neighbors, can't take the noise.

Our first girl would not say anything even if you were torturing her!! Actually, one howlish bark when someone rang the doorbell and that's the only thing that made her say anything. She never even learned the "speak" command. Sabaka, on the other hand, talks a little too much! We are trying to teach him the "quiet" command but right now saying "quiet" just makes him "woof" a tiny little woof while cutting his eyes, of course!

Little brat...

Have you thought about a malamute? I know they are bigger but they tend to be more mellow then huskies (usually). I love rescuing sibes and being around them but mals are more my personality. Maggie and other mals I have met will be active on walks etc but will be more than happy to lay with you or at your feet.

the only thing that I would consider to get a husky is how much more friendly they are to everyone. Most of the time maggie is very very very sweet to people. She loves people but she is a little picky at first.

Mals woo too, and dig, and have a big prey drive. Just they aren't as high energy as say a husky. Yes they are bigger. I love sibes too, I have pet sit and trained a lot. I just think mals are more my type.

They are still just as stubborn. You would get that with most northern breeds. Maggie was the easiest dog to train. She is still very much a mal with her stubborness. My border collies took more time with commands than she did. Everyone here knows way more about sibes than I do. I know them mallies!

Welcome and Woo Woo from the pups!

Mine are talkers. For an example see my recent post labeled TALKERS haha, you will get a perfect example of husky puppy antics

They are a lot of work, but its worth every minute of frustration. Every last minute.

FWIW, Delilah will talk back about everything. She learned commands quickly and can do them all, she just lets you know that she disagrees.

Huskies are trainable and they are smart, do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

What worries me about a mal is not being outgoing and dog aggression. Dobes are already bad about same sex aggression and from what Ive read so are mals. My boston is a girl who wouldnt back off even from a mal and dantes all boy. He has never shown any aggression towards another dog but I want my house to be sane and everybody to cohabitate well.