As a few of you know, I'm hoping to adopt a husky after my move to Florida in January.
Ta-da! Post christmas season.
I'm not oblivious to the fact that many dogs are going to be dropped off at shelters after the holiday season is over and people get bored of the puppy stage. I wish this wasn't the case and I'm making an effort to educate people on the cost of a new puppy. I've got all Cal's vet receipts. I'm going to do my best to show people that a puppy isn't just a Christmas commitment, it's a 10+ years commitment.
A little off topic but I had to mini-rant.
Anyway, my question is, what are your opinions on "Christmas puppies?" Has anyone adopted a younger dog after the holiday season? And if so, how'd it go? I know it's a little early to think about this but I'm pretty OCD. Once a thought enters my head, it never leaves. I'd like to believe these pups have had great treatment in their short time of being home so there should hopefully be very few cases where the dog is abused and neglected. But I'm also assuming most of them are coming from backyard breeders. My main concern with adopting is how the new addition will get along with Callie, since she tends to be a bit bossy and huskies also like to be dominant. Assuming these pups have NOT been abused or had any bad treatment and were just too much of a handful for the owners, would this be a potentially better idea for me than an older husky from a shelter where I don't know their history of treatment? I'm speaking very hypothetically. I know that it could completely be the other way around where the pup has had bad treatment and an older dog has had a great life and just needs a new home. I'm just looking for some varying opinions so please share anything even semi-related to all this nonsense I just spewed.

Sorry it's so long. I ramble about things that bug me.

Personally Embry and Zoey were both "Christmas Puppies" My boyfriend got them for me as Christmas presents. Obviously he had my consent when purchasing them. I picked them out, and I went with him to pick them up. He just paid for them. Also given, they're from BYB since I didn't know any better.

If Callie is already dominant. I would look towards getting a younger puppy, probably a male. I know personally, my girl Zoey is very dominant, she is alpha over both my boys and I know for a fact she would not be happy if we brought another girl into the mix. My boys are very submissive and let her do whatever.

It's not a bad idea to adopt an older husky. It could help Callie learn too if the older dog is well behaved. I would definitely talk to a nearby rescue about the situation and feel their opinion. Depending on where you are moving in Florida, I would contact the Siberian Husky Rescue of Florida or Husky Haven. I've heard both to be very helpful, but also picky when it comes to adopters.

Good luck!

Thank you! That info is very helpful. Yeah, Callie is the youngest in the current "pack" and she bosses the other two around. She pushes them right away from their bowls to eat THEIR food when she has her own. The best part is, they let her. I'll try contacting those rescues, but due to my age, I won't be able to adopt from them. Mainly, I've been keeping an eye on rescueme.org, pet finder, and even craigslist. Once I'm down there, I'm going to check out shelters as well. I just wanted to get a feel for everyone else's experiences with dogs either purchased around this time or born during this time. I know Christmas season is like black friday for bybs so I wasn't sure how that tended to affect the quality of pups or if anyone had particularly bad experiences with christmas pups.

Hayden was a Christmas puppy as well. We got him I believe on December 23rd. His breeder wanted us to have him a few days before Christmas, because adding a new puppy Christmas day would be too much excitement for him she thought.

calliegirl08 wrote:

My main concern with adopting is how the new addition will get along with Callie, since she tends to be a bit bossy and huskies also like to be dominant.

I think this might be a misconception. I am in the midst of year 19 as a husky owner and out of all of those years of ownership, I have never had either of my dogs growl at another dog in an aggressive way. That said, I have never had two dogs at the same time. However, we have had many doggie friends come visit our house and yard, likewise, we have gone to other dogs' houses and met dogs in the park and the street.

I think dominance is more of a personality trait (like it is in humans!) and less of a husky breed trait.

I'm mostly looking for a male because I have heard that it'll be an easier transition. I know most places make the dogs meet each other first so hopefully that'll give me a better idea of whether or not they can live peacefully in the same household.

Thank you, Kelly. It sounds like you had a good choice in breeder since they seemed concerned about bringing a pup in directly on Christmas.

Tika was a Christmas puppy, albeit 8 months late. Chris told me he wanted a husky for Christmas. We were waiting to get a house first. 5 weeks after moving in we brought her home. So not really a christmas pup, but it was his gift.
To be honest Shae, the male or female thing, to me didnt matter. Ripley and Tika get along like a house on fire and they are both female. Ripley is SO dominant, and Tika is really submissive. Like an 8 pound Maltese/yorky mix has rolled her. what a pushover. But its more the personality of the dog that will matter. If they are a good match and get a long, then thats what matters. I was nervous about Ripley coming in, but now I cant picture it any other way, she sees Tika as her baby/little sister and if anyone at the dog park gets agressive in the least bit, Ripley jumps to her defense.
Try and find a rescue that will allow you to bring your dog in to meet the one you are interested in, the last thing you want is to bring him/her home and they dont like each other at all.

Good luck
~Kelly

We had to get young dogs because of Mya. She's DEFINITELY the alpha around here and pushes them both around like there's no tomorrow. Kody is male and is completely submissive to her. Asia is female and while she's submissive and completely respects her she'll stand her a ground a bit. Now, if Mya really gets upset she'll run away crying...lol. They know she's boss. Period.

We got Kody at 12 weeks and Asia was 6months when we adopted her from the shelter.

Edit: I don't know if Mya would try to eat their food since they eat in their crates, but she won't take their bones. A toy...yes. Bones, no. I wouldn't let Callie do that to the others though. She needs to learn that's their food. Whether she's alpha or not.

Thank you, Kelly. I'll take that into consideration. Meeting them will definitely give me a clearer idea.

Melissa, I don't let Callie. As soon as we notice she's in the bowl, she is told no and taken away. The chi eats in his crate so she can only get to his food when someone leaves it open. We've learned to put her food down before the lab's so that she's distracted with her bowl and never bothers Herc. Toys are fend for yourself around here. I don't even bother getting in the way of that. They don't get defensive over them though so that's probably why. How old was Mya when you added the others?

We got Elara the day before Christmas, but we didn't get her just because of Christmas. Just happened to be she was 8 weeks old then and it fit in with our schedules. The breeder did question me a lot and said she really hates letting puppies go around Christmas.

But I think getting a puppy for someone as a surprise gift for any holiday is stupid. I saw one guy wanting to get his wife a husky puppy for her birthday (she didn't know about it) and his wife was 8 months pregnant! I'm hoping my message to him made him reconsider.

As for getting the puppy others "throw out," I think it will just depend like any rescue. There'll be good ones and bad ones, but all in their rowdy teens!

Okay then trial and error it is! Hopefully I'll find a good match. I don't mind the teenage dog years. My mother's lab is going through that stage and while sometimes he drives me insane he's still the cutest thing ever. I think it's just one of those things you've gotta have the patience for.

Thanks for all the opinions, guys. I like hearing as many different sides as possible and you guys have brought up things I hadn't thought about.

I wouldn't worry about the puppies being abused - very few rescue dogs are actually abused. People are just lazy, don't do their homework and can't handle the work a husky entails. If you don't take your husky for a walk, they'll take themselves on a walk. If you don't keep them busy, they'll be come "self employed" and destroy your home.

I do feel that getting an adult dog is easier since you don't have all the work of a puppy, you already know their personalities and you can have the dogs meet and see how they get along. Many rescues will let you do an "overnight" to see how it goes. WIth a puppy, even if the dogs get along now you could have some fights when the puppy reaches teen years. I have seen very few dogs not work it out eventually (even after drawing blood), so it's just being patient and not letting them be brats about it.

I got Mylo 3 days after Christmas but was one of those rowdy teens at 9 months of age. The best dog move I ever made.

I'm hoping that's the case, Sam. I cant stand the thought of anyone intentionally hurting a dog. I am trying to avoid the puppy stage. By the time I'll be able to adopt, I'll probably be looking for a pup that's about a year or so. Callie will be a year in April so I'd rather not get out of the puppy stage just to get back into it. Plus the older ones usually have their shots so itll be easier to convince my mom I'm not insane if I'm not handing over $500+ for vaccines on another puppy.

Len, I'm glad to hear that you don't regret that move. Gives me some hope!

calliegirl08 wrote:

How old was Mya when you added the others?

She was 4 years old when we got Kody and 6 years old when we got Asia. We waited too long for a 2nd in my opinion. It took me 2years to convince hubby! I wouldn't have it any other way though. If we would have gotten a 2nd sooner we wouldn't have Kody or Asia. Love my babies.

Oh! That's reassuring to hear. If she was four and did fine then I shouldnt to rush in fear that Callie wont accept a new addition. Obviously, every dog is different but I think it'll work out.

I'm sure that Callie will accept a new addition. Trust me when I tell you that Mya is the ultimate diva!!! Some people can chime in and agree on her diva-ness

She is a HUGE diva! lol. She was pretty good at camp though!

hollywoodhuskies wrote:

I wouldn't worry about the puppies being abused - very few rescue dogs are actually abused. People are just lazy, don't do their homework and can't handle the work a husky entails. If you don't take your husky for a walk, they'll take themselves on a walk. If you don't keep them busy, they'll be come "self employed" and destroy your home.

They'll become "self employed".... Best quote of the day!! Love it!!

SaraB wrote:

She is a HUGE diva! lol. She was pretty good at camp though!

Gotta give it to her. She did good at camp

Willow is dominate but in no way aggressive. She loves everything and everyone she meets. She just knows what she wants and will try every which way to get what she wants. Headstrong may be a better term for her. I really think if I paired her with another one just like her, they would still get along just fine. I also have an older, abused rescue and this girl is incredibly sweet and well behaved. She wasnt a horrible case, so getting her to trust me was pretty easy. I just had to be slow and gentle with her. We're still working on loud voices. She tends to want to hide if you raise your voice. My two had a couple very short spats when I brought the rescue home but they have been inseparable since. It really is a matter of meeting the dog and seeing how Callie and said dog reacts with each other and with you. Just remember its normal to have small spats in the beginning. That can be scary for some who have not experienced it before (me included) Studying dog body language will help you out tremendously.

We got Loki for my birthday this year (February 10) and he was born the day after Christmas.

SabakaMom wrote:

hollywoodhuskies wrote:

I wouldn't worry about the puppies being abused - very few rescue dogs are actually abused. People are just lazy, don't do their homework and can't handle the work a husky entails. If you don't take your husky for a walk, they'll take themselves on a walk. If you don't keep them busy, they'll be come "self employed" and destroy your home.

They'll become "self employed".... Best quote of the day!! Love it!!

I read it somewhere, haha! Very true of huskies!

Mindy, that is very true about spats. Super stressful until you know what's going on and know that they won't kill each other. The studying body language is the most important think, as you said! It's interesting to take my dogs to a reputable doggie daycare that does proper introductions, because you see how they respond to other dogs (without that dog's crazy owner being there like at the dog park). Gives you a good idea of how your own dog would react to certain doggie personalities.