Hi everyone! I'm new here so I'm hoping to get some answers to questions I have about my furbaby`s new behaviors. Mikayla is my 6 year old female red and white. I got her when she was 6 weeks old. When she was 2 she was stolen from us and we thought we would never see her again. Last October we received a call from our local vet that someone had brought her to their office and they tracked her back to us by her microchip. We were totally ecstatic that she would be returning to our family! She was very thin and appeared to have been mistreated. She welcomed our attempts to pet on her and show her affection but was very scared of loud noises and liked being alone in a quiet room most of the time. We have 3 children and 2 other small dogs which she seemed to adjust to very well. She has been back with us for a year now and up until about 2 weeks ago she seemed to be doing well. She started acting very clingy towards myself and my husband. She follows us everywhere and has to be touching us in some way, sitting on our feet or laying partially in our laps. If we aren't home or she can't get to a point where she can touch one of us she lays either in the floor by my husband`s side of the bed or in a very small, close area between the wall and my husband's desk.

Don't get me wrong, I love all the attention we are getting from her but it is so out of character for her I'm afraid something is wrong. She is eating and drinking fine and still loves to go for walks and car rides. Am I worrying over nothing or is this change in behavior something I should be concerned with?

Thanks for any info or support you all may have!

Oh wow. I'm so sorry you were without her for so long but it's amazing that she found her way back to you.
I am one of those people who believe a dog will never forget the people who showed it love and attention. If Mikayla really was mistreated in her years away, I think her behavioral change now is because she knows you are her family and will take care of her. She's probably terrified that she'll be separated from you again if she doesn't stay close. As long as she's eating and drinking fine, I don't think you've got much to worry about. I know huskies pretty much never grow out of puppyhood, but she's bound to be a little less outgoing than when she was 2. If she'd spent a lot of time on her own, she would have been forced to "grow up" to survive so that could be another reason why she's more pack oriented and less independent.

I adopted a an abused 3 year old back on February and it sounds like you are describing my girl. Her previous owner locked her in a storage shed so I just assumed she is starved for love. Maybe your girl realizes how much love she gets from you and is soaking it all up!

first off im so happy you got your girl back! what you might be seeing is the girl you used to have, some times it can take a yr for adopted and abused dogs to come around. i know she was not adopted and was your girl to start with but she was abused and now she is maybe feeling more at home in her true home. one member here said something about her girl being clingy all of a sudden when she usually is not. it could be a faze. if she is acting normal in all her other ways just embrace it and she might get past it to the point she is independent again. i take it you have had her back to the vet for check ups and such?

Thanks so much for the replies! It makes sense that Mikayla may be finally coming out of her shell. I'm so thankful that we got her back and I'm glad she is finally feeling at ease with us again. We did have her checked out when we got her back and also got her "fixed". Other than being malnourished the vet said she had signs of trauma in her reproductive organs. He said she looked like she had a litter of puppies not too long before and things may have gone bad with that. He said the trauma was so severe that she may not have been able to have puppies again. Having more huskies would be nice but I would rather have her fixed than risk her health. Other than those issues she is great health wise. At her check up last month her weight was great and the vet said she is in picture perfect health. I guess now all I have to worry about is getting used to all the kisses and snuggles she is giving us!! Thanks again for the support!