Hello,

I just came across your board while looking up info on crating. My husband and I live in British Columbia, Canada and adopted a husky from a shelter a week ago. We were thoroughly unprepared I now know. I've grown up around huskies in the arctic and naively thought I knew what we were in for. I knew plenty of exercise is a must, I I knew a bored husky is a chewy husky! And I fully expected a high energy animal. Since I'm home all day that's no big deal to us.

What I didn't bargain for was a disinterested eater (he's only 52lb... the vet says he should be about 70) who uses his teeth to bite down on our arms and hands when he gets frustrated. He doesn't just bite out of nowhere... rather it's an attempt to physically take control of us when he's frustrated with us holding his leash or overly excited when playing in the yard. We're really unsure how to deal with this type of behaviour. The books I've read are all contradictory. He's pretty stubborn. We're making him sit and stay (both new to him since he doesn't know basic commands). We're firm. But honestly he pretty much just ignores us. He's an independent type. Any advice on dealing with this behaviour is welcome. I'm really frustrated about this and worried... at the shelter we stressed we needed a dog who would be ok with kids since we're planning on starting a family within the year. We were told he was "great with children, no aggression issues whatsoever." Obviously this is false.

We're meeting a dog trainer tomorrow with him for some tips and an evaluation. So hopefully that will help. I really really hope we can deal with this... we're more than willing to put in lot of work to get him past this. Plenty of time and effort. But in the long run we can't have a biter. Not with children. I'm encouraged that it's not unprovoked outright aggression. It seems more like frustration and trying to establish dominance more than anything. I hope!

Also there's the issue of eating. He barely touches food. I know this is common after an adoption. He just seems to hate his food (same as whats in the shelter... wanting to transition once the diarrhea is stopped). We're getting pretty attached to this guy and want him healthy and happy.

So any advice is appreciated!

Hah and oddly he's taking to crating just fine! A positive to be sure.

Hello and welcome to the forum! Thank you for adopting. I wouldn't worry too much about the eating, as Jax is still settling in and he is probably still a bit stressed. Having said that, has he been checked at the vet since you got him? Most of the shelters in BC give a voucher for a free vet check with adoptions, so hopefully you've done that already. It could be worth starting to transition him to a better food already, as something new mixed in with the old might tempt him to eat. Also he might be tempted by some wet food. There's a recipe somewhere for satin balls which is good for getting weight on a dog.

Pumpkin added to the food can help sort out his stools.

I am not quite sure from your description if he is actually biting or mouthing, or a bit of both. Hopefully there's no blood?! Mouthing is not aggression - he is probably just getting over-excited and playful. Puppies will mouth in play or to demand attention and have to be trained out of it. Withdraw attention from him when he does it (ignore him completely).

It's good that you have arranged to see a trainer and hopefully they will give you some good tips. It can take a while for a rescue to settle in, and sometimes they need some help with training, but it will be hugely rewarding in the end. The main principle of training is to reward good behaviours, with food, attention or a game. You might like to look at some of the threads on here on NILIF (nothing in life is free), also known as 'learn to earn'.

Welcome! I am sure you will get lots of good advice here. I am a newbie myself and my boy is only 6 months so I don't have a lot of advice to give. As far as switching food, if he has diarrhea already, you should probably just switch now. I thought I should wait too, when we got ours from the shelter( he was only 11 weeks). If you wait for the poop to firm up and then switch you will just be dealing with the runs again with the switch. I imagine the food he was getting at the shelter was not a great quality. There are several threads on quality foods on here. Good luck and hang in, I am sure he will come around.

Welcome! I'm new here too. It's been almost a month since I adopted my Nanook. He's around 1-2 years old, and it sounds like a similar personality to yours. Our first week was quite an adjustment for all of us. He was very disinterested and not eating well. He grabbed me with his mouth a few times - not growling or otherwise acting aggressive, but with that look that says "yeah? what are you going to do about it" Luckily he responded to a verbal reprimand (I do the annoying aah-aah sound that most dogs seem to understand means business.) He was also very very quiet (except a few growls at my hubby when he clearly just wanted to be left alone)
Anyway, just over the past week or so he's really come out of his shell - no more mouthiness, much more social, eats like a pig, follows me everywhere around the house begging for a good petting, etc. He's even started "talking" a little bit (still have yet to hear a bark) My suggestion is to give it more time and stay consistent with your daily routine as much as possible as he adjusts to his new life. Oh - and did you say he has diarrhea? I find that a little worrisome. Is he drinking well? Have you had him to the vet? How long was he at the shelter eating their food? (maybe the initial, presumably sudden transition to shelter food has been bothering him?) oh - and one more thing... please post pictures!!

I would read up on NIFIL (nothing is free in life) training for dogs.

Here is a link with some information.

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/training_nothing_in_life_is_free.html

I am sure others will have some other advice.

Also I would not worry about him not eating my skip meals all the time. and my male dog only weights 52 lbs and he is at a good weight. But he is not a real tall husky.

Also he will eat when he gets hungry he will not starve himself.

Hi and welcome. How old is this husky? The mouthing sounds more like puppy play mouthing to me. If he was never trained even an older puppy can do this if not taught not to. A trainer is a great idea, and then really be firm with everything, nothing for free is great training for any dog, no matter the age. I adopted a very alpha female greyhound who thought she could snap at my kids when they walked by her bed lol. So we went back to the basics with her, feeding her one piece of food at a time, making her sit, lay, or even not walking around her but making her move for us. It did not take long and I had a good girl! She never forgot those lessons in the 10 years I had her!

Good luck!!!

The mouthiness is a breed trait and usually stems from a dog who hasn't been properly taught or given appropriate boundaries.

When he becomes obnoxious and mouthy just stop whatever you're doing. If you're playing with him- stop. Petting him- stop. Walking- stop. Usually the behavior will become worse or more intense (extinction burst) and then usually they will stop and try a different method or lose interest. At that moment they stop, praise and continue on. Don't say anything other than a simple monotone Uh-oh or oh no. Adding something like a hey! ah-ah! or whatever is just giving them more stimuli and going to make it worse.

Vets usually don't understand that Huskies are a slim athletic breed and feel they need to be fat. This is untrue. Most Huskies are about 40-60lbs (males and females) Mine are all about 50lbs. If he is taller than the average Husky, his weight would be more obviously. You should be able to easily palpate his ribs with pressure, but not feel them with regular petting.

As for not listening... This also comes hand in hand with Huskies who haven' been given any sort of direction. There is a difference between how they "usually" don't listen and how they completely flat out ignore you all the time because they haven't been taught that yes you DO mean something. Sometimes anyway. lol Being consistent and showing them what you want them to do is the best way to handle that. If you need him to sit and wait for food have him sit and if he gets up, put him back into a sit. Just keep doing that until he gets that you mean SIT not put your butt on the floor and bounce back up. Baby steps at first- don't expect him to be able to handle to sit and wait while you place the bowl on the floor and walk away. In the beginning (especially if they don't even really know sit) I just require them to sit in front of me (while holding the bowl) i'll release them, and then put it on the floor.

Thanks for the advice! And I'm happy that it matches the advice from the trainer. We're going to be setting up obedience sessions with her. She also said a walk doesn't even count as exercise (which I knew). So on her advice I'm buying a bike and a Springer bike attachment. Hopefully that will make a big difference in him- she thinks 95% of his current problem is lack of exercise. Obviously training will help as well as the boundaries. So I'm hopeful!

Also.... it was a little embarrassing to take him out of the crate there and find he had chewed his harness in HALF. Haha oops.

As for the weight yeah I agree. I was raised in the arctic where they kept dog teams (for actual hunting and traditional reasons). They were always slim. But this guys ribs are very very obvious. A few pounds would definitely help.

Glad to know the mouthiness isn't just him hating my guts. Lol. We'll get there with Jax with a lot of work I think.

Oh I have to say... I find his "talking" to us very very adorable. I just wish I *knew* what he was trying to get across!

And as to the sitting thing... I actually have managed to get him to sit and "wait" for food and before he goes out the door. He HATES it (not as much as sitting at curbs during walks... there he lets out a very put upon groan and usually requires prodding). But I guess that isn't awful for the first week. He didn't know the meaning of sit.

And the ignoring me like I don't matter is exactly what I've seen. He's starting to come to me in the evenings for a petting though. That's very sweet I admit. Love this guy so much already.

As for the age they said he's about 1 1/2 -2yrs old.