Hi all

Well as mentione on another topic I really would love to bring a husky into the family. We currently have 3 cats but I have always wante a Husky and now i'm allowed one! However I have some basic questions, they are very basic indeed but will help me understand the changes we need to make should we take on a husky.

1) If you want to visit the local shop im assuming you need to leave the husky crated at home as they are too precious to leave tied up? This could be a problem as our 4 year old is now starting school so if we wanted to take the dog to pick him up we would need to tie him somewhere.

2) If a puppy is left for 1 or 2 days a week on its own how many time should I arrange a visitor to come and let him/her out for a toilet break?? Or will puppy pads surfice?

Thanks guys, please don't shoot me down for basic questions. I am a first time dog owner but am only interested in Husky's and will do out best to ensure we suceed at ownership.

Thanks

Mark

Mark, good on you for doing your research! No one will shoot you down for asking questions, we were all new at this once too

I think most of us will agree, it's generally a bad idea to leave a Husky tied up. We do have a member whose puppy was stolen out of his truck, but thankfully he got the puppy back. More than that though, there are a lot of dangers associated with doing that, and Huskies generally don't do well tied up and separated from their pack. Crud, there are a lot that don't do well crated during the day either.

That leads into your second question. Crate training will help a lot, but with a super young puppy you are going to have to have someone come by to let the puppy out every couple of hours. A puppy can generally hold their bladders for about an hour per month of age. I'm really not a big fan of puppy pads either, they really sort of hinder the potty training process because it gives them the idea that it is ok to potty in the house.

Instead of getting a puppy, you may want to look into adopting since an older dog is generally going to be potty trained and will likely be a little more mellow (if it's older than about 2). If you do decide to go the puppy route, we will help you find a good breeder. There are a lot of really lousy breeders out there, and it's hard to tell right away sometimes if they're bad.

Good luck!

I love my adult dogs I got. I haven't had the puppy thing but like Meredith said, they usually are already trained.

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your choice.

There are always more adult dogs out there that get over looked because they aren't a puppy. When you find one you like, I recommend going to see the dog several times for extended time periods. The dogs true personality won't show in minutes. Spend an hour with the dog if possible, if it doesn't work out, the dog will have a new friend to remember after you leave.

When my father has to leave his husky alone(which is rare) he puts him and his poodle(For company) in the yard, my dad has a shaded area with a fan blowing and leaves a bowl of water out for them. The only time thunder does good is if the poodle is outside with him, other wise he howls like a banshee.

Well said, Meredith.

Can you clarify the tie-out question a little more? I think you are wanting to tie the dog up outside the school so that you can go inside and collect your 4-yr old? I am a big proponent of taking your dog to any school or sports activity that is held outside. I know that it would depend on the school, but if a tiny poodle is allowed in the building, properly restrained of course, so is my boy. I take Sabaka to school all the time and if I had to go inside with him, I would just ask.

Teaching manners and proper behavior around kids should start as soon as you get your pup. Also certifying him with the CGS (Canine Good Citizen) would go along way to insure that he will...well...be a "good citizen" if allowed into the school.

SabakaMom

I totally agree I would love the dog to be part of the school run in both directions, I just assumed in this health and safety gone mad kind of world we live in that dogs may not be allowed in the school property. However I will check with the school!

I'm sure there is some amount of liability for the school is dogs are allowed inside the building. There really should be signs on all doors where dogs are not allowed.

At age 4, my kids were still at a small privately owned pre-school. Rules are different for government buildings, I'm sure. My kids still attend a private school where the art teacher was allowed to bring her puppy to class for an entire year as she worked on his behavior so that he could become a therapy/companion dog.

It never hurts to ask...

Depending where you are, it might be against the by-laws to leave a dog tied up. In Vancouver it's not allowed - if you tie a dog up outside a shop while you go in, you might come out to find animal control taking the dog away. But also as Meredith mentioned, it's not a good idea for many other reasons, namely the possibilities of escape and theft.