lpp06 wrote:

When i first approached the cage, she knew how to stand up so that i could be able to rub her belly and chest. She didn't bark much until i walked away. She even stepped outside to let out a big howl. When I took her out on the least, she definitely pulled, but when we were in the kennel and had run around a bit, I put the leash back on and walked with her on it a bit. She actually walked by my side for about 20 feet total and constantly looked back up at me, maybe she already had some leash training? Overall she was a spitball of energy, she came a few times when I called, didnt really understand sit, but would when i gave her a gentle push on the backside. She didn't pay a whole lot of attention to me, as she seemed more concerned with the dog in the adjacent kennel and the possible structual weaknesses in the corners of the kennels. Do you think she wasnt attentive because of the stimulation? Should I try to play with her in an indoor room with less stimulation? Anybody seeing any red or green flags in here that indicate the action I should take?

This is such typical husky behavior! The barking and howling when you leave is just her "talking" to you. Huskies tend to do that for attention, whereas other dogs may bark when first meeting someone using their bark as a warning signal. It actually occasionally freaks out our house guests. After the guest has been in our home for a length of time Sabaka will start "talking" to them (probably demanding attention). And ALWAYS, with both of our huskies, dogs > humans! If you were to move indoors with less stimulation, she would probably be more attentive, but most huskies have different degrees of ADHD. Given a quieter area and some yummy treats, I think she would pay more attention. Huskies and leashes take A LOT of work! Some days after 1.5 years of "leash training" I feel like we are back to square one! It usually depends on the number of outside stimuli that we encounter on the walk (note previous ADHD comment).

She's a cutie! I hope she can find your home with you!

As I sit here writting this post, my beautiful new friend is laying by my side. After about 4 hours of getting her out of the shelter, taking her to a boutique to buy her some food, a few toys, and her crate, then going for a walk, then going to Petsmart for some bowls, treats and a slicker comb, coming back home to [try to] eat, and going back out again, she's pooped.

Gonna put together her crate, introduce to some of my good friends, one of whom has a handsome black lab I hope she can find a friend in, sleep, and start over again.

I'm altogether happy and nervous, but not regretting a thing.

PS: Made my first owner mistake: I was teaching her sit in my house, and rewarded her with the treats I bought, she ate it and I thought nothing of it. Before we walked out the door, got her to sit again (with a little butt push help), but she didnt want the treat, I was kinda confused but thought nothing of it. We walked around a bit and she was doing a wonderful job of not pulling much, staying at my side, and keeping pace. Each time I tried to treat her, she just turned her nose away. So, I gave her some big chest rubs and praise instead. I began wondering why she didnt want any of the treat. When I got back, I looked at the package; "Intended for use in Puppies and Small Dogs"

I am glad to hear you got her..

looking forward to pictures of her..

Don't worry much about the intended use. I prefer to use small dog size treats because they're more practically sized.

Congrats!

Yay, she is going to be a nice save!

Congrats! It's so exciting to hear when another shelter dog gets a home. We all look forward to updates and pics!

Congrats! She's beautiful! What's her name btw? Sorry if I missed it...

Licking her chops cause she knows where the food will go. Note the lack of a proper water bowl. This was her first time home before our PetSmart trip.



"I know where my crate will be"



She may or may not become the most spoiled dog around if she keeps these looks up.

She doesn't have a name yet, shelter named her Icey. Don't think I'm gonna keep it. I like the name Ava, would feel weird using t because that's the name of the girl I originally tried to adopt. Ada, Sahsa, Myka and Nola where some names that have come to mind.

She didn't eat much when I put her bowl out. She's probably pretty stressed out right now, so I'll give her time.

Brushed her for the first time on my patio. One, there was a fair amount of hair that came out so I'm not sure if she's shedding or just hasn't been groomed much, if at all. Two, she didnt mind it at all. She hadn't licked me yet since I took her out but as I had one hand brushing her and one hand on her chest, she just turned her head over, and gently licked my hand.

I also feel really good about adopting her. I learned that she had been in the shelter a few times already. The first time was when she was picked up as a stray and later reclaimed. The second time, she escaped her owner's yard again and this time she they didn't want to keep her. She was then adopted about 5 months ago. The owner eventually brought her back, citing that she chewed everything and scratched at doors and walls, subsqequently destroying them. I immediately knew she probably got little to no good activity in that home, and was probably left unsupervised hours at a time with her original owners.

lpp06 wrote:

She didn't eat much when I put her bowl out. She's probably pretty stressed out right now, so I'll give her time.

It will take a few days for them to eat normally. Some take a few weeks. It's very normal.

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Brushed her for the first time on my patio. One, there was a fair amount of hair that came out so I'm not sure if she's shedding or just hasn't been groomed much, if at all.

This is very normal, and almost daily shedding. Especially here in Florida. They shed all the time, and it gets super bad twice a year. A good bath and brush out will usually alleviate the shedding for about 2-3 days but it is neverending lol

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I also feel really good about adopting her. I learned that she had been in the shelter a few times already. The first time was when she was picked up as a stray and later reclaimed. The second time, she escaped her owner's yard again and this time she they didn't want to keep her. She was then adopted about 5 months ago. The owner eventually brought her back, citing that she chewed everything and scratched at doors and walls, subsqequently destroying them. I immediately knew she probably got little to no good activity in that home, and was probably left unsupervised hours at a time with her original owners.

Just use caution when you leave her or take her out. If she's an escape artist- even with sufficient exercise they will at times resort to their old ways. Take time and crate train her and expect a bumpy road. Poor girl has been through a bit of a rough patch and needs someone with patience and understanding of the breed.

In a kinda weird way, I liked all the balls of fluff after brushing. Almost like it snowed out back. Definitely ready for a long road the next few weeks, months, years.

A few questions, as I plan on crate training her, do you guys leave your huskies in a closed crate overnight? Do you have an open door policy? Were there any special or unique things any of you did to alleviate some of the seperation anxiety the first handful of times you left your husky alone?

I don't crate mine at night. They sleep in my bed.

It's up to you. Try a night without the crate, if she does well and you are comfortable let her sleep in your room. I'm sure she will appreciate the bonding.

Ours have always been trained to sleep in their crate both at night and while we are away from puppyhood. After a few years, they are given freedom to choose their crate if they want at night. Because they are used to the crate and see it as their "den", they often still sleep there with the door open.

When we leave to go out and put Sabaka in his crate, we will stuff his Kong with all kinds of yummy things! Sometimes we even freeze it for a longer lasting treat. We have stuffed it with mixtures of peanut butter, yogurt, canned pumpkin, apple sauce, blueberries or just plain canned dog food. If we have a stuffed Kong in our hand and say, "Go to bed", you had better get out of the way because Sabaka goes FLYING to his crate!!

Your new girl is beautiful! Congrats!

She is really good looking so glad you have her.

Our pups don't sleep in the crates at night . Blaze never did when we got him at 9 months. Kerian did when we first got her I think she had been crate train by past owners she was about 2 years when we got her. She loves to hang out in the crate sometimes.

Did I miss it how old is she ??

Congrats on the adoption! She's definitely a cutie!

She's about 3. I'm afraid that coming from the shelter, she has some fleas. I'm scheduled to see a vet on Wednesday and would like to get her on Comfortis as I have heard good things. Is there anything, outside of a flea-medicated bath (which I just gave her), that I can do to make sure things dont proliferate?

There are a few topics on essential oils and flea/tick control which may interest you. You could also pop down to a pet supermarket or petsmart and get some flea/tick topicals. Although if you did just bathe her you will have to wait at least 48 hours before applying those. If it were me I would just wait until Wednesday to get Comfortis.

Congrats and thank you for rescuing her! She's gorgeous! And you sound like you've done your research and understand the challenges of a husky - even welcome it! Yay!

Kristina, do you guys have heartwork in FL? If so, go with the Trifexis - which is just Comfortis plus a heartwork med. Very convenient. My guys have been on it for almost a year now. Bring all your paperwork from the shelter, they'll want to make sure she's been tested for heartworm before giving it to you. The fleas will start dropping off with in 1/2 hr if she has any. I volunteer with a rescue and I haven't picked up a shelter dog with fleas yet, but we're in CA (actually picking up another in 1 1/2 hrs!). Kristina and Sara would now more about FL.

The looking up at you while walking on leash is a very good sign. Her being distracted is typical Husky ADHD, as others have said. It'll take some time to settle in. Pick up some canned pureed pumpkin (no spices) in case she has runny poop (it'll firm it up, plus it's yummy! Also good in kongs, frozen) - they usually feed crap at the shelters and all the dogs I pick up have it for a few days to a week. Sounds like you're doing good! This forum is a great resource so you're already set!

Sam, we do have heartworm issues here in FL. We also use Trifexis, and I've only ever seen 2 fleas in the house. That was this spring and happened after Ghost didn't get all of her pill, and we used a combination of essential oils and haven't had a problem since. You may also want to ask your vet about Capstar, that will kill whatever fleas may be left after the bath, and works for 24 hours.

Check out this thread on Essential Oils, but if you have cats be very careful with the oils around them

I like the idea behind the Essential Oils, thats a good thread. I may still stick with Comfortis, but will definitely get my vets opinion. May look into Oils for axiety relief while I'm away.


I'm stuck between a few names: Sky, Avery, Sasha and Nola. Leaning towards Sky; short, sweet, her coat looks and feels like a cloud, and her one blue eye kinda has some sky blue tones in it. Sasha is #2 right now. What do you guys think?

I like Sky

Whatever you wind up doing for flea prevention, make sure you have a heartworm preventative. And I forgot to say it earlier, but congratulations on adopting and I'm so glad things worked out for you!

Such a wonderful thing adopting!!! Huskies are the number one most returned breed here in Canada. Everyone loves the idea and look of having a Husky but is not ready for what they are all about!

And we have crate trained when we leave but not a night! He sleeps on the floor of our bedroom as he gets too hot in bed!

Lots of love and luck!