Hi! I am getting a husky pup the weekend before christmas, I decided to name him Vader. I was going to post a picture but not sure how!! Anyways I would love some advice from other husky owners since this is my first time having one. Like crate sizes, and other need to know info!!

THANKS

I bought my crate from petco, they're on sale.

This is what I got:

http://www.petco.com/product/100343/Petco-Classic-1-Door-Dog-Crates.aspx#description-tab

The size is.. 42" L X 28" W X 30" H Model 800 Series.

^_^

Check out a lot of the stickies under advice and forums, there have been a lot of new members lately so I personally am too tired to type out yet another paragraph of before your puppy info, but someone else will be sure to chime in soon ^.-

To tired? 5 Hour energy helps! *dundundun*

:3

Hi! I am getting a husky pup the weekend before christmas, I decided to name him Vader. I was going to post a picture but not sure how!! Anyways I would love some advice from other husky owners since this is my first time having one. Like crate sizes, and other need to know info!!

THANKS

Ahh I'm sorry I just had a long shift at the new store today, and all these extra hours make me sad that I can't spend all week with the pups but I know I'll like the paycheck.

Welcome to the forum megg123 You're in for a ride. By the way, my pup, Yuki, had a brother from her litter named Vader. It's quite an appropriate name for husky pups ^-^

-I'm not sure about crate sizes, I just have one a friend gave me when I got Cloud and its pretty big so it works.
-First things first - a vet. Find one you are comfortable with!! Don't just find the nearest one by you, go out and talk to some vets about huskies, see what they know, see what they DON'T know. Obviously if you come across a vet that says 'huskies are always blind in their blue eyes' you wanna steer away. Also, check into their rates. You want a good vet, but you also want to make sure you don't pick the most expensive one that charges $10 just for a phone call. (over exaggerating, but you get the point).
-Food. Most people will suggest raw, but if you don't want to do that (for whatever reason) then Taste of the Wild is my personal suggestion. I originally had Yuki on Blue Buffalo Wilderness, but she was constantly sick and I figured out she was allergic to chicken which is the only type of puppy food they offer, so I had to switch her to Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream. Now she does great on it - and she loves the taste, which she wasn't thrilled with Blue Buffalo. Obviously like with people, it depends on the pup, but huskies do have sensitive stomachs!
-Training. Be consistent. Look up on nothing in life is free training, works great with Yuki. Erm, get lots of socialization with people and different kinds of noises and sights while he is young, it will definitely make him more confident as he grows. Don't take him to the dog park or dog populated places until he is 4 months old, but puppy classes or private playdates with a friends dog who you know is up to date on shots is okay. Definitely check into some obedience trainings, it will help you in the long run (especially since this is your first husky). Again, find a trainer who uses positive reinforcement and somebody who is knowledgeable in the breed, you want somebody who you will be comfortable with helping you to train your pup.

Anyway thats all for tonight.. gotta work again tomorrow

What she said^

Aw.

I would also add: look into pet insurances.
Hope you never need to use it, but you never know.

Had/used it on my cat, will get it on my puppy.
<3

*personal opinion = its a winner*XD

Thanks so much for all the information. I really appreciate it!!!!

Welcome...he's a cutie for sure!

Do you have a photobucket account? You can use that to upload pictures here. Just copy the img code of the pic and paste it here. Simple and easy!

Puppies are a lot of work! I definitely recommend crate training. It helps a lot with potty training. Because you're getting a puppy, he's gonna need to go out every half hour or so to go potty and consistency is key. We've had Karli for over a month now and she only has occasional accidents at this point.

I feed blue buffalo but as mentioned above, some huskies have sensitive tummies so you have to see what works for your pup. What's recommended is to mix the food the breeder gives you with the food you're going to feed and slowly cut back on the breeder food and add more of your's. Good luck on the pup!!!

Hit up craigslist for some sweet deals on crates.

Pups are a lot of work for sure, but fun as well. I got Lucian when he was 8 weeks old, and it didn't take long for him to get used to a schedule. I think I got lucky, cause he never whined or cried at night. He got breakfast at 7am, lunch at 1pm, and dinner at 7pm. I took him out probably every half hour, and he caught on to potty training rather quick. Haven't had an accident in the house since he was about 3 months old. I didn't crate him either. He has a carrier in my kitchen, but the door isn't on it. He got free roam of the kitchen at night. I blocked him in with baby gates. I would suggest picking the water bowl up at night for the first few weeks. Otherwise you will have a mess in the morning. Unless you do crate him. Lucian is a little over four months old right now, and he hasn't had any accidents at night since he was about 2 1/2 months old.
Patience is the one thing I suggest you have a lot of. Your going to need it, lol. As Megan stated, no dog parks, or pet stores until the pup is all done with puppy vaccines. Including rabies. Usually around four months old.
If you plan on walking your pup, no more than 5 minutes of walking per month of age. It can do damage to their growing joints. No running them until they are a year old either.
I would suggest handling the puppy a lot, like touching feet, and tail, and what not. Get them used to human touch. Same thing with a brush. Get them used to that while they are young. Another thing to watch for is food aggression, or resource guarding. Lucian has a bit of food aggression. I'm still working on it, but it's getting better. See how the puppy is when you touch him while he's eating. There's quite a bit more information on that in the forum, and on the web. Do lots of research now, so you can be prepared for what your in for!

Keyda81 wrote:

Usually around four months old.
If you plan on walking your pup, no more than 5 minutes of walking per month of age. It can do damage to their growing joints. No running them until they are a year old either.
I would suggest handling the puppy a lot, like touching feet, and tail, and what not. Get them used to human touch. Same thing with a brush. Get them used to that while they are young. Another thing to watch for is food aggression, or resource guarding. Lucian has a bit of food aggression. I'm still working on it, but it's getting better. See how the puppy is when you touch him while he's eating. There's quite a bit more information on that in the forum, and on the web. Do lots of research now, so you can be prepared for what your in for!

Great advise!

All this is good advice for me too! Thanks y'all

How much do you know about the breed?

I'll list some general characteristics:

- They are a stubborn breed. This makes them, among other things, very independent.
- They have a high prey drive, and WILL chase down and kill small-medium animals. Even huskies raised with cats have killed them before...because its instinctual.
- Because of their high prey drive and their natural stubbornness, it is recommended to NEVER let them off lead. They may be fine while they are a puppy, but once they reach 6-8 months they'll enter their teenager stage. 99% of huskies who enter this stage can never be let off lead again, unless if its in a secure enclosed area. A lot of people think their husky is the 'exception', and they end up losing their husky forever.
- They shed...a LOT! And that's an understatement. Not as much as when they are puppies, but just get used to the fact you'll be seeing dog hairs on your clothes, in your food, and even in areas where the dog isn't allowed!
Usually huskies 'blow' their coat 2 times a year...this is basically around a few weeks of hairy hell during the fall and the spring. You'll understand what I mean when you get to it...
- They need a lot of exercise, if not given this exercise most of them are destructive.
- In my experience they are prone to separation anxiety, so make sure to crate train them as soon as you get them! The earlier the better!
- A lot of them are known to dig...but they can be trained out of this.
- They were bred to pull, so unless you have one of the rare calm huskies (like I do), expect to have your arm pulled off every day...it is recommended you get a harness (a front leading one), to protect their neck, but if Vader is anything like my Suka...a harness would make him pull more!

- For crate sizes...generally the rule is they should have enough room to lie down...but they shouldn't have too much room! Dogs don't like to lie where they poop/pee, so if you buy a big crate, they can just poop/pee in one corner and lie down in the other corner.
Try to get a crate with dividers, so as he grows you can make the crate bigger instead of having to buy a new one all the time.
- While he's young (< 16 months old), do NOT make him do rigorous structured exercise.
Generally, the rule for exercise for puppies is +5 minutes per WALK for every month of growth after their last set of shots. So, if you have a pup that's 4 months old...his walks can only be 20 minutes long...but if you don't want your house destroyed you should walk him 4-5 times a day.
Failure to follow this rule, and exercising him too much too early, damages his joints and WILL lead to early onset arthritis and HD. My boy got arthritis at only 4 years old, and has a high chance of HD, because he was exercised too much as a puppy. Very painful for him, heartbreaking and expensive for us!!

Any other questions?

Also just to add on to a few things Elyse said (very well said btw).

-Huskies often have very sensitive tummies so make sure that when doing food transitions you do it slowly, over the span of two weeks gradually increasing the new food. There are many great foods out there but the preferred way to feed is raw. Some people can not feed raw for various reasons though and that's where kibbles come in handy.
-Be prepared to be tested and have your patience tested.
-Spend lots of time with training and mental stimulation so that your husky doesn't become destructive.
-Start the NILIF (nothing in life is free) method of training while your pup is young to help establish who is boss and to avoid future problems.

Remember, we are all here to help and are happy to answer questions at any time!

Topics merged. Please try and only post one thread on a particular topic

Also, welcome to the forum!

I have a question: Can I pleaseeee have Suka??

In all seriousness, how did you find your pup?

There's plenty of info all over the site for things like crate size & crate training. If you go to the sidebar, you'll see the search bar. Just type in 'crate' and see what comes up. You're not going to want to give a puppy too much room, but as crates can be pricey, I suggest getting a full size grate (most of us here have a crate between 42" - 48") but make sure it has a divider.

The most need to know I can think of is that puppies chew EVERYTHING. Yes, maybe they have their Kong one moment, but the minute you turn around to take off your shoes, they've got your phone charger shredded to pieces and are working diligently on ripping your sheets. The first rule of puppies is that they defy the laws of time and space. "How on earth did you get that?!" is not a feasible question because the answer is simply "I am a puppy, that's how." You may think you have puppy proofed the house but I promise you'll learn quickly that you need to go back through and do it over. And over. And over. My pup's 7 months old and I'm still puppy proofing.

Remember with pups, they have no attention span. Maybe they "always" leave your shoes alone, but there's going to be that one day they decide to chew on them. For me, I'm always saying that Callie never swallows things she shouldn't have, she just shreds things and leaves the pieces. But I also know there's always the chance that one day, the things she used to ignore after successfully "killing" them will become the best treat ever.

Oh yeah...I forgot about the NILF method. Very good idea; I use it on my boy and it does wonders (especially because he's more dominant than other dogs).

calliegirl08 wrote:

I have a question: Can I pleaseeee have Suka??

In all seriousness, how did you find your pup?

There's plenty of info all over the site for things like crate size & crate training. If you go to the sidebar, you'll see the search bar. Just type in 'crate' and see what comes up. You're not going to want to give a puppy too much room, but as crates can be pricey, I suggest getting a full size grate (most of us here have a crate between 42" - 48") but make sure it has a divider.

The most need to know I can think of is that puppies chew EVERYTHING. Yes, maybe they have their Kong one moment, but the minute you turn around to take off your shoes, they've got your phone charger shredded to pieces and are working diligently on ripping your sheets. The first rule of puppies is that they defy the laws of time and space. "How on earth did you get that?!" is not a feasible question because the answer is simply "I am a puppy, that's how." You may think you have puppy proofed the house but I promise you'll learn quickly that you need to go back through and do it over. And over. And over. My pup's 7 months old and I'm still puppy proofing.

Remember with pups, they have no attention span. Maybe they "always" leave your shoes alone, but there's going to be that one day they decide to chew on them. For me, I'm always saying that Callie never swallows things she shouldn't have, she just shreds things and leaves the pieces. But I also know there's always the chance that one day, the things she used to ignore after successfully "killing" them will become the best treat ever.

Nope - he's MINE! LOL
I actually lucked out...I adopted him from the shelter. I doubt, if I get another husky, I'll never end up with a calm one again!

Yeah, those are good points too! I've personally never owned a puppy (all the things I spouted off above is knowledge gained throughout the years...), so I usually forget about all of the other 'puppy things' they do.

Thanks everyone for the advice and info. I am almost overwhelmed by all of it!! I really appreciate it. I didn't take time to check out this site fully to see what forums were where, I just wanted to get some info from some actual owners of the breed. I have been doing alot of research and new some of the stuff you all listed above, but I didn't know about crate training. I plan of getting a big crate to where he can grow into it, and just divide it into a smaller space while he was a puppy. Also what does it mean to feed them RAW food? Is that a certain type of dog food? Big thanks for letting me know not to walk them for a long period of time or anything while they are young. One last question how can they be trained out of digging.

Again THANKS so much!!

To Callie - we lucked out with Chili too - the un-huskiest husky alive! LOL You can definitely find a calmer dog - keep in touch with all the local rescues and ask for a dog with a calm temperament. Sometimes they call them "great first time huskies" - there's one at the local rescue right now!

Ok my first intial thought bout raw food was the same as you lol.. But they mean actually raw meat... Its actually healthier for the dog.. I dont have dog yet, but i dont plan on doing it cause it is expensive, and my GF would kill me cause she would think it is gross lol.. She is giving me a hard enough time when i tell her i am giving sardines for treats sometimes lol!!!! And you brought up a good question on how to train them out of digging. Ill be listening in for that answwer as well..

Yep, we mean actually feeding raw meat. It's not everyone's cup of tea, though, so that's fine. If you're not 100% committed to feeding raw, I'd say to stay away. There are options that are almost as good, so you'll want to make sure you feed a top name food. If you take a look at the Feeding & Nutrition section, there's several stickies on what you should look for, or you can head over to dogfoodadvisor.com and see which foods are rated 4 or 5 stars, which are going to be the ones that have the least amount of nonsense ingredients and the most balanced meals. They're pricier, but keep in mind that you're going to feed less of the $50 bag than you'd feed of the $25 bag. Just as an example, my lab was on Purina eating 6 cups a day at 10 months. When I switched him to Wellness, which costs twice as much, he was eating 3-4 cups a day, so really it equals out.

You can't really train them out of digging. It's in their nature. Callie's not a husky, but she is a diehard digger. Trying to train them never to dig would be like training a Rottweiler to love strangers or a Greyhound to be a lap dog. It's just not going to work and will cause more stress on you and the pup than is necessary. What I'd suggest is providing an alternative. Designate a certain area where they're allowed to dig and only let them dig in that spot. If you don't want even a little of your lawn used for gold digging, another option would be to put up a sandbox or something similar where they can dig their heart out.

Who is it on here that has the awesome sandbox built off their porch...

Edit: Found them!
Here's one.
And here's another.

You can limit digging by placing a piece of their poop in the hole they dug - they won't dig there again. LOL

I honestly don't know how you can train them out of it...but I know you can. My Suka doesn't dig (except to bury treats, but then its just a little hole), but another husky forum I belong to has a lot of success stories where they trained their pups not to dig. I can er...dig up the advice if you want! (sorry for the pun...)

And yes...when we refer to 'raw', we mean raw food. It's apparently supposed to be better for them, but only if you do it right (by feeding them bones and organs, and switching up the kind of raw meat every few days...like chicken for a few days, fish for a few days, etc). It's also really expensive, and some dogs don't tolerate it well.

For food, I feed my boy Taste of the Wild (the pacific stream one). Quite pricey ($75 CAD) but its worth it. Another great food is Acana, Canadian made and a dollar or so cheaper than TOTW.

Basically, when picking out a food, you want the first 5 ingredients to be some sort of meat. Preferably not " ___ meal", as that is very poor quality 'meat'.
You want the first 5 or so ingredients to have very little grain/non-meat products in it.
Husky tummies usually don't tolerate grain very well.

Taste of the Wild is a grain-free food...I think they use eggs and potatoes instead?