Hi everyone and thanks for taking a look at this post!

My name is Chelsi and my Fiance Roman and I are adopting our adorable Koda from Mikayla Kennels on the 29th! This post is my cumulative knowledge and ideas on the table so that you all may chew on it, spit it out and correct any information that need be corrected. There are also specific questions on every bit of training.

Here is my situation and why I am doing this: I have helped (when I was younger) raise a Yellow Lab and a Boxer / Pit mix. Both of them were really my parents dogs, and they were both horribly trained and just spoiled rotten. (IE: Jumping up on guests, barking ridiculously, overweight, etc.) I want to make sure I don't walk in the same footsteps and that I train our Koda very specifically. Because Koda is a Husky and I know they are very smart and singular animals, I want to be sure I'm ready for it as much as possible.

So, without further ado, here are the things I understand and what I'd like feedback on...

Crate Training

I am most certainly crate training Koda. To my understanding, I'll put him inside with a chewtoy every hour for a little bit of quiet time. The toy will be a Kong full of kibble / treats. Every time he's quiet for 7 seconds in the crate, I'll praise him and give him a treat. (I want to teach him he doesn't need to bark / be loud ALL of the time!)

Potty Training

I'll take him out of the crate and immediately place him on top of the turf that I want him to use the potty on. Again, when he does i'll praise / give him a treat.

Now, here is my concern / question: I've heard that making him go potty inside (be it on turf, potty pads, etc) make it harder for him to break going inside when we try to teach him to go outside. I would take him out from the beginning but to my knowledge, he still needs his last Parvo shots (which he gets at 12 weeks)? Especially with the new strain of Parvo I've heard of, and the amount of stray cats we have, I do not want him exposed to that! (But at the same token... we could be bringing it in the house, right? Is there any way to clean our house entirely of Parvo?) We live in an apartment complex. (We're planning on moving to a house in the next year, but while we have him as a baby we'll be here.)

With the concern of him getting sick if I would take him out, do I not have any other choice but to have him potty inside on some turf? As well, I want to use turf so that he gets used to the feeling of grass. Will that help him learn that it's OK to go potty outside too (and that he should)? What should I do after he is old enough to go out? Should I just completely take the turf away and take him out all the time?

Bite Training

I've heard a lot about "mouthing" and "soft mouth" and honestly, I still have absolutely no idea what those things mean. We want to teach him to learn how to "play bite"--not to bite hard or to hurt anyone. We plan to do this with chew toys.

The First Night

Is there any way we can minimize the trauma / stress from him being moved away from his original pack? I'm ready for him to be crying and sad the first night particularly (which just breaks my heart to think about) but is there anything we can do to make him less sad?

I asked the breeder if there was anything they could send with the smells on it from them and his litter, but they said no because they didn't want him to swallow it.

Socialization

Since we can't take him outside until his final shots and up until 4 months his socialization needs to be peaked, how should we socialize him? We don't have any friends here that own dogs. Should we worry too much, or just start taking him to parks / walks after 12 weeks?

Thanks for the help / replies in advanced! I may add more questions as I think of them.

(Just so you know, yes: I am reading as many topics on here as I can but I did want a few specific answers, so I started my own topic.)

For the socialization I've heard of people who take their young pups to puppy training classes.

I began walking Kavik as soon as he could go more than 3 feet without stopping to play with a stick or an interesting blade of grass. I wouldn't worry too much about taking him outside or around other dogs in regards to health if there isn't an escalated outbreak in your area of parvo or a similar bad bug. Exposing your pup to the outdoors will strengthen his immune system. The main thing is to make sure he doesn't eat anything, especially poop or road kill. A good tell if he's thinking about eating something and you need to move him is if he becomes enamored with sniffing a spot for more than a couple seconds.

For socialization you could walk him around parks or areas with medium traffic. Maybe an area where you see people walking their dogs. You could introduce yourself and see if they will let their dog meet your pup.

As for mouthing...redirecting him to chew toys is a good idea if he's trying to gnaw on you. The more he understands toys, and not people that are for chewing, the more likely he's going to go for it instead of you. If he gets too rough, get up and walk away or stop all interaction until he calms down, or yelp if he bites too hard. They gradually learn through trial and error what bite pressure is appropriate.

Potty training...Goes a bit with my socialization/taking him outside belief. I would avoid any indoor puppy pads or turf. My previous husky thought it was ok to on rugs her whole life because of puppy pads and I regret using them. I started going straight to the grass with Kavik rain or shine and it's worked wonders on his potty training.

1st night/crate...putting a blanket over a crate if it's not an enclosed travel crate can help. It's good to put him in your room so you know when he's moving around. Try playing with him around the crate and throw his toys in it. Entice him to enter by throwing treats in or holding it through the bars so he has to enter to get it. You could teach him a word such as 'go lay down' or 'go to bed' while treat training.

When he cries at night make sounds or call his name to let him know you're there or put your fingers through the crate so he can touch them. It helped Kavik greatly during his first couple of nights. Just talking is a big comfort to a puppy.

The first week will be rough. I won't sugar coat it. He will cry and howl and sound like he is being murdered. I would start by putting him in the crate 20 min once a day and slowly building each day for how long he's alone in the crate if your schedule allows it. After his time is up and he's still crying, wait. When he gets quiet for even a second (after the waiting time) go in and praise him.

In the crate you could try a bed, but he might rip it up. I would suggest a more floppy bed, not a stiff or overly fluffy one. I use the floppy white one from petsmart because A) there isn't a lot of stuffing in it. and B) Kavik likes to flip it over to make it half the size so he can choose to sleep on it or the cool tray of the kennel. He likes to use as a pillow most of the time. He used to cry with the big fluffy bed because he couldn't get away from it and tore it up out of frustration.

Thank you Abby and Kavik!

There are puppy classes here at our local PetsMart! We were going to take him as soon as we got him but than I got worried about the Parvo.

That is definitely a different point of view! I haven't heard anyone whose told me to take him out before he was 12 weeks! I'd certainly love that more, though, because I DON'T want him to get used to going inside! I do think my parents used to take their puppies outside too, but they also had their own yard.

I'll see about getting that bed you were talking about! I plan on sleeping near the crate the first few nights. I can't imagine him crying... I feel so bad already

Thank you both for your helpful feedback! I wish I could give "treats"!

Chelsii wrote:

Thank you Abby and Kavik!
That is definitely a different point of view! I haven't heard anyone whose told me to take him out before he was 12 weeks! I'd certainly love that more, though, because I DON'T want him to get used to going inside! I do think my parents used to take their puppies outside too, but they also had their own yard.

(

I'm at an apartment so I didn't have the luxury of a backyard either. I just avoided the heavy traffic areas for potty breaks and went to areas most dogs don't poop in and was relatively clean of natural and artificial debris. I didn't really walk Kavik until he started exploring around on his own, not obsessing over random spots, and I never went far or stayed out for a long when he was super young. You're the judge of where he goes and when, but in my opinion I would let him outside right away and socialize him with people and dogs when possible.

I feel like there is a lot of misconceptions about waiting until a puppy has their last shot before any socialization begins. You should begin socialization the minute you bring your pup home. Carry him if you have to. Bring him to outdoor malls, school yards, coffee shops with the outside patio, anywhere really. Take the pup on errands with you, get him used to the sights and sounds of people bussling around, the sound of cars, the sound of construction..anything. The walking on the ground can come later. Keep these adventures short and sweet and positive. Every outing you have needs to be positive. If something negative happens, DON'T baby your pup! It will only make your dog think, "Mom is scared too!" and then you will have to work to undo what you accidentally did. Stay upbeat and tell your pup, "We don't care about that" and move on. No dog parks or dog beaches though. This blog post mirrors what I think about socialization. http://justdogswithsherri.blogspot.com/2013/03/socializing.html

As for potty training, go outside. Go to a low traffic area; rain, snow, thunderstorm..whenever. Not only will you be training your dog that going outside is the only acceptable place to go potty, you'll be training your dog that no matter what the weather, you still need to go outside. When there is a thunderstorm, I will take my two girls outside and we will sit there so they can become desentized to the sound of thunder and they won't be scared. Definitely skip the puppy pads.

The first night will more then likely be horrible. Don't give in to your pup..AT ALL! Let them cry it out. No matter how late it is, how loud they are being, how tired you are..IGNORE THEM! Eventually, it will sink in their little puppy minds that screaming won't get them anywhere. Sheba did this for a month. It sucked, but I stuck to my guns and now she howls to take naps inside her crate.

For bite inhibition, I found that the easiest way to teach them biting isn't okay is to just yell ouch!, and ignore them. If your pup is like Sheba was, he may jump up on you and howl to get your attention, but don't even look at them. No eye contact is a must. It may take awhile, but *usually* they always learn.

Oh and I personally don't suggest putting anything in the crate until they can hold their bladder overnight. I don't know how many beds and blankets we went through with Sheba. It's easier for you because you won't have to laundry like three times a day, and your pup won't have anything to pee/hide their poop on. When you get the crate, don't make it too big or they will go to the bathroom on one side and sleep on another. Not a good deal!

I also put a blanket over Sheba's crate when she was little, but once she got bigger and decided that pulling the blanket into her crate and shredding it was more fun, we stopped that.

I also leave the TV on for my pups when I leave. I always have and I swear it makes a difference. If you don't want to leave the tv on, a radio with a talk channel or something like that works just as well too.

Haha oh, and Sheba has started this thing were it is REALLY fun to tear up the carpet surrounding her kennel. She did this when she was a puppy and wasn't thrilled with her crate. She stopped for awhile, but she is back to doing it again. So I have broken down boxes surrounding her crate. Better her try to shred the boxes then my carpet..

I would recommend not using potty pads or turf. It will be TERRIBLE for you to housebreak him when you're ready. They start to think they can pee on anything that is laying on the floor. Embry was the only one that I used potty pads on, he wasn't not peeing in the house until he was a year old. It was disgusting.

Crate training....I think 7 seconds is way too short. Leave him in there for 10 minutes at a time, even if he's crying just ignore him and wait until he's quiet and then praise.

When I got Zoey her breeder gave me a fleece blanket with her moms smell on it, along with a rope toy that had her moms smell on it. There's no reasons why your breeder should be worried about something like that, I'd try talking to them about it again, they might just be lazy.

You don't want your puppy biting at all. Huskies are so mouthy as it is, and people who don't know the breed would label it as aggression. Toys, yes are fine, but whenever it involves hands, remove him from the situation and ignore him.

I take Scarlette to the dog park for socialization, she doesn't have her shots though so she is carried so it's usually only people socialization, but with puppies they're SO shy they need it. For dogs, a puppy class would be great, but I wouldn't do Petsmart, there are so many dogs coming in and out and I doubt they're all UTD on shots, so parvo would be risky. I'd look into your Vet or a smaller training clinic.

Sheba&Kennedy wrote:

Oh and I personally don't suggest putting anything in the crate until they can hold their bladder overnight. I don't know how many beds and blankets we went through with Sheba. It's easier for you because you won't have to laundry like three times a day, and your pup won't have anything to pee/hide their poop on. When you get the crate, don't make it too big or they will go to the bathroom on one side and sleep on another. Not a good deal!

That completely went over my head. Yes, wait until he can hold his bladder for more than a couple hours. If the mess can be absorbed away from them in any way, it will greatly subtract from any potty training progress in the crate.

You got tons of great advice already
I second, or third, or whatever, the no potty pads/turf, just take the little one outside. I live in an apartment, and we've had no problems. Just as long as it's not a high traffic dog potty area, it should be fine. We also always had her in the same spot, so she knew that spot=potty now, no goofing off. It's pretty handy.

With the crate and the potty training, I did actually have stuff inside from the start, but she's never had a single accident in there, ever. I guess it depends on the dog, as well as how often you're willing to get up at night to pee the little one. For example, mine would've slept through the night, but I feel like she could've soiled her crate if I left her too long and she couldn't give me enough warning to wake up (also, it's not good for them to hold it too long, they can get a puppy UTI). So, I had an alarm and every 2-3 hours (I mixed it up) I'd have to wake her up and pee her.

Korra was my first little puppy, so yeah, I know how you feel about Parvo and other stuff. Like others said, just carry him around with you, everywhere!

You can always bring a blanket with you if the breeder says they wont give you anything, and then ask to rub in on mom haha. For us, it was an 8 hour journey back home after picking her up, so I brought what I wanted her comfort blanket to be, and kept it in my lap while she slept the majority of the way home. I think it helped.

That's another thing! When we made the drive, I did most of the driving there, so my mom did most of the driving back. That meant that I got to comfort her and let her sleep on my lap all the way home. She knew from the start who her mommy was, that's for sure! She rode with my mom for maybe a couple hours, but she didn't get nearly as attached. So that's something to consider when you go get him, who's gonna have the joy of snuggling him on the way back

We tried the pads with our puppy and he didn't ever seem to use them. We are in an apartment too and we only had them for quick emergencies, as in we catch him about to pee and pick him up and it's dripping........otherwise he never went to the pads and always to the front door.

Another thing to consider with the going outside issue is exercise and draining energy, something your puppy will need lots of a week of so after you get him once he settles down and loosens up a bit. We kept Link away from high traffic areas and mostly on the sidewalks. But especially in an apartment your puppy is going to go crazy without going outside and draining some of his energy. Of course you won't be jogging or anything but even a good walk will tire him out and put them in nap time and you'll need to savor those quiet moments for yourself.

Link is now 11 weeks and he has finally understood the "easy" command for nipping. He now licks when he hear it. I recommend starting that on day 1.

Good luck and enjoy your new friend

Your puppy is named LINK!!!! I got a huge kick out of that, thank you!

And thank you EVERYONE for all of the awesome an amazing feedback, I wish I could give you all treats! (How many posts do I need to have before I can do that!? I think it's a bit too many!)

I'm so glad to hear I can at least carry him! I was SO worried because I had no idea how to socialize him! Thank you all for helping me figure that out!

To be honest around my apartments I haven't even seen that many dogs--although we did see one other Husky a little while ago, who is probably almost a year old at this point. We have a lake here too--do you think he could walk around the lake with me? Or should I carry him the whole time until after the 3rd shot?

I'll look up those classes too, thanks!

I definitely will not be using pads now than. Thanks for the info everyone!

One note, too: I am a web designer and I work from home, so, I'll be able to be with him 24/7. So time spent with him isn't an issue. (IE: He shouldn't be making any mistakes in the house, or it'll be his owner's fault! ;P)

Oh, but Rhia--we are not picking him up from the breeder, he is being shipped here. So that could be why.

I'm still not getting mouthing, even looking it up on Google. What is that, exactly? Is that when they bite / nip, or is that when they kind of open their mouth and just kind of hold it there? XD

Thanks for all of the helpful and awesome information everyone!

People use nipping and mouthing interchangably, but around Husky folks mouthing or being mouthy usually refers to being vocal and talkative....which Huskies are known for. They speak quite often and very loudly.

Nipping usually means using the mouth and/or teeth to communicate, socialize, and play. Puppies in general of course do this with each other. They literally pull each others coats and skin and bite on each other constantly. So when a puppy does it on a human, that's what is normally called nipping. Hence, with nipping it is a tough lesson to teach a puppy whose natural inclination is to use her/his mouth on everything that your teeth on human skin is inappropriate, or at least needs to be checked and gentle. This was a difficult lesson for Link but he got it, especially after his second mental development growth spurt and his increased comfort and relaxation around us, our home, and our lives. We use "easy" for nipping and times of excitement and he gets that it just means "calm down and focus."

And yep, his name is Link, ala Legend of Zelda

As for Parvo, there are a few threads all about it on here, check em out. The only thing that kills it is bleach. It is very hardy and can live on surfaces for months on end. The absolute most pressing precaution is to keep your pup's nose and mouth out of other dog's poop. That is the majority of the battle won if you do.

Technically speaking, it is possible to track it inside on paws, feet...etc. But in general if you avoid dog poop you are mostly gonna be fine. Check out the Parvo threads, they're informative and you can read all the caveats, precautions, "yeah, but......."s and get some good info on the virus itself.

Cheers.

Your walk should be fine (keep it to 5 mins per month, I believe the rule is). The thing is, while the world is scary and no one wants a sick pup, a bubble puppy will not develop the immunity it needs either. Like Jeff said, avoid poop, that's a biggie. Also don't let the little guy drink from puddles and still water on the ground. He'll be okay

Oh, and you are so not gonna be able to carry a Husky puppy everywhere you go until the 3rd shots! Link is on 2nd shots and he weighs ~20 pounds already.

Parvo is scarey and you need to take precautions, but don't give it a "boogey man" status. Your pup needs to be outside and physically active.

Remember that socialization is just exposure, right? Sounds, surfaces, textures, types of people with age, gender, race, physical ability, specific obstacles they'll encounter, routine things in your life where your pup will be.

Link grew up on a rural farm type setting so things like stairs, traffic, busses, wheelchairs, strollers, women with long dresses, helicopters......were all city stuff he needed to learn and be socialized to. They are sponges and adapt very quickly.

My biggest piece of advice for socialization is don't give into your pup's fear. For example, day 1 with Link we had to go down the stairs to the outside yard. He got to the top of the stairs and froze; he was scared. The temptation is to stoop down and pet him and say "it's okay......" What we did instead was went down the stairs ourselves and called him to us and encouraged him to do it on his own, which he did, and when he got down to us after one step at a time he was so excited and proud and he learned that stairs are not to be afraid of. Not to mention that was his first life lesson towards trusting us and respecting our leadership with him.

This is huge for you and your pup

Yes, puddles, icky. Hi Rhia!

Lol, hi Jeff! I'm studying..really

Also, awesome that you get to be home for the little guy a lot! Still work on leaving him for short periods of time. I made the mistake of always being home for the first 3 weeks I had mine (winter break). She did not enjoy the transition to school schedule. Even if you have to say, "ok, I will leave for 10 minutes today and walk around the block." Now Korra is great (well, she still tells me off when I get home lol), but it was tough because I was always, always around at first. If you want to go to dinner or a movie with the comfort of knowing your baby isn't miserable and alone, start early and make it positive! Practice crating when you're home and when you're out. Say you have a deadline or need some peace or are cooking, you don't want puppy fussies if he wants out cause he knows you're home!
Of course there are going to be puppy fits, but that's something I wish I'd done to make my life easier at the start.

You all are SO HELPFUL! Thank you all so much!

Thanks so much for the helpful explanation on mouthing! It's so funny because I thought they were the exact opposite things (IE: Nipping was mouthing and vice versa.) Thanks for helping me out with that one! Hehe.

OK, so no puddles... and because he is 8 weeks, about 10 minute walks?

Yes he'll definitely have quiet time in the crate. Cooking actually is an excellent time to do that--thanks for the idea!

He gets home SO LATE on the 29th! He gets to us at 8:45 PM Poor guy, I bet he'll be so tired and scared!

Something that helped me with crating Karli was putting her food in her kennel. Not for every meal, because I also made her eat out of my hand, but I did put it in there occasionally so that she knew it wasn't a scary place. She still whines sometimes if I have to put her in the crate to dry off (being muddy after playing outside) but she does pretty well in there and knows what "go to bed" means. Being consistent will help. And take him out as soon as you let him out of the crate every time. This will teach him that outside is potty. You can bleach a spot for him to potty on just to be on the safe side for parvo. I took Karli everywhere with me when I first got her, it got her used to the car and to other people. Now she thinks everyone is there to play with her. It is gonna be harder for dog socialization because you don't have friends with dogs that he can play with. I would definitely check out puppy training classes.

And yes it'll be ten minute walks for 8 weeks old. We are up to half an hour right now! When Karli was a puppy those ten minute walks knocked her out, it was awesome. You can also start with the mental stimulation right now, working on tricks is a good way to do this.

I agree that potty pads should not be used throughout the house, as it reinforces that the pup can go inside. BUT. I did use the pads to line Keeonah's crate when she was a pup. Made mess cleanup really easy! I think that if you intend to crate the pup at all in its life (and you should!), it's best to start and be consistent as early as possible. If the pup comes home, and the only thing it knows from the start is sleep in the crate at night, It will be a lot simpler for the pup to understand. Babies cry at night and wet the bed. That's just part of being a parent There will be a time when you think your pup has good enough manners, and a strong enough bladder to sleep outside the crate. Be prepared!!

Don't be fooled or discouraged ever though! Crate training can be a long long process, and consistence is key. Eventually though, furpup will accept the crate and be okay with it:).

P.s. I'm pretty jealous of all the time you will get to spend with kiddo. Should make training a breeze.