I'm new to the board and new to being a husky owner. A relative of a coworker had husky puppies and, for whatever reason, needed to give them away fairly quickly. Since I have always wanted a husky and have two children at 4 and 6 years old, I thought the time was right to take on the responsibility of a new boy Husky of 5 weeks old.

My question is this. What next?

I have a house with a decent sized yard and a pool. I have a cat. I bought a metal "fence" that I have placed in my house to keep "Duke" when my wife and I are gone at work during the day. Typically both of us are gone for no more than 4 hours during the day. Where should I keep him during the day? Ultimately he'll be outside most of the time, but for now, he's inside. What about potty training, what's the best way to do that? I have a desire to be the best Husky owner I can be and am committed to doing what it takes. I just don't have any idea what "it" is.

Help?

Why did they let him leave his momma and litter mates at 5 weeks?!?

Potty training and where to keep him while you are out should be in a crate, keep him safe as well as your home. Unfortunately he'll only be able to be in the crate for a few hours at a time, he'll need out frequently as a puppy. Start him on a feeding schedule as well as monitor his water intake. He'll have to go out very soon after eating or drinking. Positive reinforcement works best for this breed. Invest in some husky books and start some catch up reading on the breed. There are plenty of people here with years of knowledge and willingness to help and give advise.

Welcome! You've come to the right place

For starters, I will tell you that Duke has been taken away from his mom and littermates far too early, and you will have some issues to overcome as a result. I would highly suggest searching for and reading our threads on puppy biting and bite inhibitions, since that is a huge issue with pups that leave their litter too young. When he has had his shots, you are really going to have to work on socialization. We can help you with that when the time comes as well.

The big thing right now is that he can really only hold his bladder for around an hour, so if you have to leave him get ready to clean up some messes. Instead of the metal fence, I would highly suggest getting a crate and doing crate training. It will keep him safe and your belongings intact, especially as he gets older. It's fine to get a larger crate now, just make sure it has a divider. Also check out our threads on crate training and potty training. You can either browse through the categories or use the search function at the top of the page.

Huskies are very energetic and intelligent dogs, so be prepared to provide lots of exercise and mental stimulation. It would be a very good idea for you to go on Amazon or head out to your local Barnes and Noble tomorrow and snag yourself a copy of Huskies for Dummies. That book is a godsend to new Husky owners, and has a lot of great information.

Most of all, get ready for a wild ride. Husky ownership has its ups and downs. Some days, especially early on, you'll be pulling your hair out and wonder why you ever thought this was a good idea. Stick with it, and with proper training and socialization, Duke will become the best dog you've ever had.

Again, welcome, and when you get a chance post some pics of Duke

HuskyMom09 wrote:

Why did they let him leave his momma and litter mates at 5 weeks?!?

Potty training and where to keep him while you are out should be in a crate, keep him safe as well as your home. Unfortunately he'll only be able to be in the crate for a few hours at a time, he'll need out frequently as a puppy. Start him on a feeding schedule as well as monitor his water intake. He'll have to go out very soon after eating or drinking. Positive reinforcement works best for this breed. Invest in some husky books and start some catch up reading on the breed. There are plenty of people here with years of knowledge and willingness to help and give advise.

Yeah, it wasn't my idea to have him this early. I'm still not happy about it, but I really had no choice.

My concern about the crate is that there is times during the day that I'm just not here for extended periods and putting him in the crate for longer than he can hold it seems rough. Would I just leave the crate open when I'm gone and hope for the best?

blueeyedghost wrote:

Welcome! You've come to the right place

For starters, I will tell you that Duke has been taken away from his mom and littermates far too early, and you will have some issues to overcome as a result. I would highly suggest searching for and reading our threads on puppy biting and bite inhibitions, since that is a huge issue with pups that leave their litter too young. When he has had his shots, you are really going to have to work on socialization. We can help you with that when the time comes as well.

The big thing right now is that he can really only hold his bladder for around an hour, so if you have to leave him get ready to clean up some messes. Instead of the metal fence, I would highly suggest getting a crate and doing crate training. It will keep him safe and your belongings intact, especially as he gets older. It's fine to get a larger crate now, just make sure it has a divider. Also check out our threads on crate training and potty training. You can either browse through the categories or use the search function at the top of the page.

Huskies are very energetic and intelligent dogs, so be prepared to provide lots of exercise and mental stimulation. It would be a very good idea for you to go on Amazon or head out to your local Barnes and Noble tomorrow and snag yourself a copy of Huskies for Dummies. That book is a godsend to new Husky owners, and has a lot of great information.

Most of all, get ready for a wild ride. Husky ownership has its ups and downs. Some days, especially early on, you'll be pulling your hair out and wonder why you ever thought this was a good idea. Stick with it, and with proper training and socialization, Duke will become the best dog you've ever had.

Again, welcome, and when you get a chance post some pics of Duke

How would I do a crate at night when he can only hold his bladder for such a short period of time?

I will DEFINITELY be checking out the bite inhibitors.

At night, you can expect to wake up every hour and take him out unless you want a dog soaked in pee, pee all over your place, or a crying puppy who has to go out and go pee. They say they can only hold their bladder one hour per a month of age. You do not expect the dog to hold it through the night. The crate is for their safety and the safety of your house, as well as helping them learn to control their bladder since dogs do not generally eliminate where they sleep/eat etc.

Same thing about when you are gone. You'd leave it closed- otherwise pee and poop will be all over, and the dog could potentially get into something you don't want them to. Honestly, if you have a friendly neighbor, I'd ask them to let the pup out after 2 hours to go pee and then put it back in. Until they are 4 months, you will probably have some issues with a dog having pee on it and having to wash them a lot. I'd rather clean up the puppy than have pee and poop all over the carpet daily when I have little ones, though.

I've never had to do a crate but mine always had a dog door to freely use and during the first several weeks of getting each our dogs, we've had someone home 90% of the time with them.

DerekD wrote:

How would I do a crate at night when he can only hold his bladder for such a short period of time?

I will DEFINITELY be checking out the bite inhibitors.

He will need to go outside every couple of hours during the night. The best thing to do is start restricting his water intake at night before bed. But you will still need to set an alarm clock to get up and let him out every couple of hours. Typical rule of thumb is 1 hour per month of life: i.e. since he is only 1 month old, he can only reasonably hold it for 1 hour at a time. You can stretch it a little beyond this, but don't set him up for failure -- or you will both be disappointed.

Here are a couple of sticky threads in the Training sub-section of this forum. Definitely take time to read through them... You will get an idea of what works for others, but a lot of life with this new puppy will be through trial and error in your scenario.

Potty Training
Crate Training
Puppy Biting (Bite Inhibition)

Good luck!

Crate him at night and be prepared to hear him scream bloody murder, bare with it for a few weeks, it will get better. Dont let him out of the crate while he is crying,or he will associate crying with getting what he wants, wait until he is quiet, even for just a few seconds to let him out to pee.

Biting and nipping is one thing you will more than likely face in hte early weeks/months as he has been taken from his litter mates way too early. My Freya was taken from her litter mates at 6 weeks and we had quite a bit of difficulty with it. She's now 7 months old adn with alot of persistance and discipline she has turned into an amazing young lady. I really suggest you do you research and read the threads posted above.

If you're planning on having him as a mostly outside dog you have to realise that Huskies are notorious escape artists and will go to great lengths to go adventuring outside the perimiter of your fence line.
Ever heard the saying ' A tired husky is a good husky' ? Exersize and stimulation are so incredibly important.

Start basic training ASAP like the day you get him home. 3-5 5 minute sessions a day should be enough to begin with.

Huskies are known for their sensative tummies so get a high quality food.

Teach your kids from day dot how to behave around the pup.

#1 tell the pups owners to get their dog spayed.

#2 get the males nutz cut off.

ksutton wrote:

Here are a couple of sticky threads in the Training sub-section of this forum. Definitely take time to read through them... You will get an idea of what works for others, but a lot of life with this new puppy will be through trial and error in your scenario.

Potty Training
Crate Training
Puppy Biting (Bite Inhibition)

Good luck!

Everyone has given some really great advice I got Yuki when she was 6 weeks old but honestly never had any accidents with her at night except for when I put her in the bed. She is 19 weeks and just now I've allowed her on the bed again.. Crate training is highly suggested, Yuki had no issues with it and goes right in her crate when I say 'in'. If you do end up getting a crate, make it his 'safe place'. Put toys in there, treats in there, make it somewhere he wants to go and feels safe at. And definitely check out these threads that were posted for ya

Roxy was hell to house break I'd bring her out every hour then it turned into every 30 minutes. It would not matter she would have at least 1 or 2 accidents a week and that was with improvement. Apartment living was the other down side of her training. Now we are in a house and she has not had an accident, not 1 mess up since October(THANK YOU LORD!!!) one place she would not go was in her crate... After she went pee and poop multiple times and learned mommy can't clean it up because she's at work.... She stopped messing her her, what we call, room. She is the most stubborn dog I know but we are finally getting where we need to be. Consistency and patients.

Thanks so much everyone for your responses. It's really appreciated.

This sounds like it will be a lot of work with a lot of sleepless nights. I'm up for it as, like I said, I want to be the best owner possible.

I suggested they fix their dogs. Totally irresponsible on their part.

Here4thePics wrote:

#1 tell the pups owners to get their dog spayed.

#2 get the males nutz cut off.

+1 for what Len said.

It's obvious you want to do what is best for your pup. Good luck and although you can't undo the irresponsibility of others you can learn from it. You have along road ahead, but you have people to help you. If you ever have a question feel free to ask.

Good luck!!

P.S. PICTURESS

There are a few of us (myself included) that got 5 week old pups from irresponsible "breeders", so if you have ANY questions or concerns, never hesitate to ask any of us for insight. With LOTS of consistency, positive training methods, and a LOT of socialization, your pup should be an awesome, loving, behaved (as much as a husky can be lol) dog that will be a priceless addition to your household

In terms of socialization. When should I introduce him to other dogs? I have a cat and they seem to still be feeling eachother out. My cat is very social and chill and I don't anticipate any problems. Is that socialization helpful? I have concerns about illness and disease since he doesn't have all his shots yet (first set was just a couple days ago and I go back in 3 weeks).

You can start with friends who you know have gotten their dog's shots. That's what I did with Karli. Just take her over to a friend's place and let her play with their dogs. It will get him used to being around bigger and older dogs too.

I wouldn't worry quite yet about socializing with other dogs. That can wait till he has all of his puppy shots. If you have friends that have dogs that are current on vaccines (including Bordetella Bronchiseptica) and are in an environment that has not had any dogs that have had parvo/distemper, then scheduled play-dates are always fun (but I would wait till he has had at least 2-3 rounds of shots). Just make sure the environment is controlled. Right now, socializing with lots of different kinds of people is essential (kids, babies, large people, small people, people with hats, ect) as well as different noises. You don't want a reactive dog later on in his life, so the more he experiences in the first 6 months of life the more well-adjusted he will be.