Hello all, I've read a few topics on here before and finally decided to register. My Husky is a 14 week old female named Aurora.
I got her from a local breeder at 8 weeks old and we've been best friends since. Some of you can probably tell that I'm a Hendrix fan, however she is decidedly not.


Before I decided to get a Husky puppy, I googled and found this site. I found out a lot about temperament, and what to expect as far as personality and energy levels. I have a couple of questions that I'm hoping to get answered. The first one is stick chewing. I'm sure this is not good for her, and she has plenty of chew toys of her own, but every time she gets in the back yard she finds a stick and chews on it. What is the best way to break this?

My second question is the one I'm most concerned about. When she runs, sometimes she "hops" where her back legs stay together. It doesn't happen all the time, but I know that this is usually a bad sign in other breeds and can sometimes mean hip dysplasia. Is the "hopping" normal for this breed, or should I be concerned?

First off, welcome she's very cute.

Yuki loves to carry either sticks or a leaf when he goes outside. He'll always have one in his mouth. If you don't like it then I'd suggest teaching *drop it* command. But I haven't had a problem with it personally.

As for hopping, Yuki is a bunny. He bounces all over the place, I haven't seen the back leg thing? So perhaps someone else will have better advice, but mine hops and jumps all over.

Welcome! Shaqua hops occasionally too, but it's obvious she is doing it on purpose to be playful. As long as she seems to be happy while doing it and not some sort of pain I'm sure there is nothing to worry about.

Bode loves chewing sticks too. I don't worry about it. Just a little extra fiber in his diet

Thanks for the replies! I may just be overprotective with the sticks. I'm relieved to hear the hopping is fairly common as well.

I was just saying today that my girl looked like a bunny running around the yard . As far as the sticks go, I don't allow her to have skinny/short ones because when she was younger she choked on quite a few and I actually had to stick my fingers down her throat to get them out so I guess you can call me a worry wart lol. I have taught her "leave it", "drop it" as far as ones I don't want her to have. Since I know she loves to play with them (what dog doesn't) she now runs around playing fetch with big ones (even brings them in the house lol) but she knows I don't allow her to eat them

D'awww, I love her. She is super fluffy like my Malfoy, same size too almost.

Love your husky...

Same here with the sticks, at first I worries a lot but now I allow Meeka to play with them. She has a tendency to play "keep away" with my other small non husky pup.

Hopping is normal lol.. don't worry about that.

As for the stick thing, I don't let me girls eat them. One time Kennedy was happily chomping down on a stick and all the sudden her eyes bulged out and she looked so scared. I ran over to her and I had to stick my hand down her throat to pull a piece that had gotten stuck out of her throat. One of the scariest experiences ever. After using the "leave it" command for quiet awhile, she has come to the conclusion she isn't allowed to have them and stays away from them. Sheba hasn't been allowed from the start, so I don't have a problem with her.

I'm not trying to scare you, but be aware that a lodged stick can and does happen. Lots of dogs (like those above) chew on sticks and nothing happens. I just pick and choose my battles with my girls.

yeah, I worry about wood splinters, and choking. I'd much prefer she chew on her toys, or at least my socks (her other favorite) but I suppose that the occasional stick is ok so long as she's being supervised.

Here's another pic from the first week I brought her home. She was investigating my mom's jeep to see if she might like to ride in it.


housebreaking is going really well (mostly because she wants to go outside any chance she gets) and we're working on basic commands. She's good at 'sit', 'come', and 'leave it'. Not so much with 'stay', or 'drop it' ...but I'm thinking about enrolling her in the obedience training at the PetSmart up the road.

Congrats on your fluffy baby! Sticks are normal~but I try to stop Mishka from eating them....she likes to puke them up on the middle of the night! Yikes!

I think it's great you are working on obedience from the get go. All we have done with ours is just 5 minutes here and there, and she knows a lot for her age. I would, personally, however, stay away from Petsmart for training. ( I am generalizing my opinion here, I admit!) It's my humble opinion that they are just not well qualified for the job, and I have heard some horrible things! Try a local kennel club or obedience club for a professional trainer, or husky club for a referral. You would be happy to know the cost will be comparable and you will get much better training.

Just my two cents~~

Mishka'sMom wrote:

Congrats on your fluffy baby! Sticks are normal~but I try to stop Mishka from eating them....she likes to puke them up on the middle of the night! Yikes!

I think it's great you are working on obedience from the get go. All we have done with ours is just 5 minutes here and there, and she knows a lot for her age. I would, personally, however, stay away from Petsmart for training. ( I am generalizing my opinion here, I admit!) It's my humble opinion that they are just not well qualified for the job, and I have heard some horrible things! Try a local kennel club or obedience club for a professional trainer, or husky club for a referral. You would be happy to know the cost will be comparable and you will get much better training.

Just my two cents~~

Yeah, I was wondering if anyone had heard about the quality level of their training. I'll definitely shop around, I can tell that she would benefit from the training. She can now play fetch too, almost. She is good at going to get her ball, and sometimes she will bring it back. Other times a stick, or a squirrel in a tree, or any number of things distract her and she forgets about the ball and decides to do her own thing. So long as she's enjoying herself I suppose I can't complain

I have big issues with people generalizing training like that, honestly. It really is specific to each store for the quality of their training, and I wouldn't immediately discount them. Yes, there are crappy trainers out there at Petco and Petsmart, but there are also excellent trainers and to generalize that "all trainers with x chain are bad" is doing a disservice. You're going to see the same quality spread with private trainers as well, you just need to get out and do your homework.

We had an excellent trainer at our local Petsmart in absolute podunk FL, and it wound up being a very positive experience for us. Now that we've moved, we have had better luck with a non chain based training company, but again, I did my homework before we started anything.

Good luck, and Aurora is beautiful

Absolutely agree with you and I admitted I was generalizing. I should have gone on to say that each place is different. That is what I was thinking. And I agree that you have that same level of quality with pro trainers, too. I an glad you had a good experience.

I love your little fur ball!!!! So cute!!!