Hello all,

We are new Husky owners and have a few questions. We got a mal puppy last week, and got a husky pup today (no more!) the mal (male) is much larger than the husky (female) and is acting rather dominant and I'm not sure when they are playing or when they are fighting, it gets very loud and looks awful but I know both breeds do play rough.

Has anyone got any tips for raising two pups at once?

hey,

I dont have any experience of 2 young pups but my puppy (4 months female) spends a lot of time with a 9 month old male (Both huskies).

at first I was nervous with their playing as it seemed to look rough a lot but from everyone i spoke to and everything I read if they are not drawing blood / physically hurting each other in any way, and are displaying no signs of fear (tail under them and nervous) they are usually just learning the pecking order and having fun.

Also the one time he male did get a bit rough, my female kicked up a real fuss (shes a drama queen) and cried for a while and walked off. He has never played that rough since and I think that providing one doesnt leave the other and stop playing its usually fine.

Hope this helps

How old are they? Ido know that even just weeks old pups will form hirachy over eachother with in their litter.

Only thing I can say is GOOD LUCK! My two pups are insane, but do a great job at tiring each other out, but if they don't get their exercise they drive me nuts! As long as you keep them worn out and give each one it's own separate training sessions you should be fine. They do play very rough and almost sound like they are killing one another, but in my house its always play. I would moderate the play of course just to make sure nothing happens.

There is another member on here that has a mal and husky pup too, so maybe she will post some advise as well.

I also don't know about two pups close in age but my mom's lab was about 8 or 9 months old when I brought home my two month old puppy. I was terrified with the two of them together because he's 80 lbs and Callie was barely 12 lbs. Callie, however, quickly put him in his place and showed dominance. She still does it. Despite being the youngest, she rules our pack.

I don't think you have to worry about the dominance thing. It's their nature. One way or the other, one of them has to rank higher than the other. The real trick is making sure you rank higher than both. Nothing In Life Is Free training will come in handy, especially with two pups. You say the mal seems more dominant? Watch over the next couple days and if it's clear that he's taking the spot of "alpha" you can start to make it so you are higher up than him. Feed him first, but make him sit or lie down first. When he does, you can give him his food. If he breaks his sit, pull up the bowl and start over. It'll take some time, and with young puppies you might have to hold them in their sit until you say it's okay but he'll learn that you control the food and if he wants to eat, he needs to obey. Then you can feed the husky right after following the same steps. I know that it might feel wrong to make the submissive one wait, but that's just how packs work. The only thing I can think of to compare it to is the scene in Eight Below when the dogs catch their seagulls. Maya was the alpha of the pack. She got to eat first. Only after she ate could the others do the same. Dogs need this kind of order and it's a lot easier on their minds than if you try to make them both equals.

As Kelly said, train separately, walk separately, and make sure everyone in the household plays with each pup separately. You can play with them together too, but it's important that they learn apart from each other as well.

I have a 5 month old Mal and a 17 month old husky. One year apart so I'm not too sure if this fits your situation. My Mal, Lycan is rather active compare to Titus. He bites Titus tail and ears all the time and Titus just let him. But sometimes if it hurts too much Titus will stop him, nipping Lycan's legs. I just leave it to them only stepping in when they gets too rough. Lycan bares his fangs sometimes but I'm sure they are just playing because they will lick each other after that.
You have to train and walk them separately sometimes because I'm suspecting Lycan have separation anxiety over Titus. It is impossible to separate them. He will howl for Titus. So if you don't want that, it's best to separate them sometimes.

I have a 10 month old and a 3 month old so it is not exactly like your situation, but when I brought the pup home Nikko would play rough with him, and I was afraid he was hurting him. I learned that it is just the way they play, and as long as they are not injured then they should be fine. The little one seems to squeal a lot and can act like he is getting hurt, but then a few seconds later he will run back up to Nikko and start stuff again!

I agree on separate training, this is what is the most difficult because I can’t train the little one when Nikko is around because all they want to do is play. Ditto on the walking. For awhile your going to have to train them separately until they start learning basic commands.

jschrader wrote:

The little one seems to squeal a lot and can act like he is getting hurt, but then a few seconds later he will run back up to Nikko and start stuff again!

This is Callie. She makes all these weird noises, I don't even know how to explain them, and acts like she's dying, but Herc somehow knows she's a baby and he plays gently with her. Like when he "bites" you can see he's really not applying any pressure at all. Callie, however, shows no mercy and grabs ears, tails, legs, anything the can. Then decides she's had enough of his bullying and walks away, only to pounce on him two minutes later.

Thanks all for your responses! They are 7weeks (Sibe) 9 weeks (mal). It's been a long and challenging day, they seem to be getting on better, certainly much better than last night, I think that was far more than just playing. We've had to start feeding them seperately, the Mal keeps running from his bowl to hers, and she just wasn't getting enough food. We will be definitely have to start training them seperately as well, Hunter (mal) already knows Sit, Lay and comes to his name. Milla is yet to learn anything. Has anyone got any tips with having them on the lead and how to get them used to it?