Are her hackles up when she meets another dog? Does she go physically tense?
She becomes very tense. Her whole body is on alert, her hackles will rise slightly and her tail is still usually curved over her back. When we were taking her to the Ice Cream Social's last August she would lie down by our feet but if another dog came close she would jump up and snap and snarl at them.

She has never really had the chance to be off leash anywhere. The one time she accidently got away from me she took off running down through the woods. At some point after I couldn't see her (I was running frantically after her) she circled back and came across a neighbor's rooster. Lets just say that rooster doesn't crow anymore.

We have 11 acres of woods but it isn't fenced in. She has a kennel with an elaborate dog house and chair that she spends the day in. When we get home from work we take her for a walk/run in the woods then she comes in the house in the evenings. She sleeps in our "laundry" room at night. But it is now her bedroom that she happens to also have a washer and dryer along with her bed and toys and food bowls etc.

We are in the mountains of central PA. It gets relatively warm here but it isn't like down south. Today it is 42 and raining with some snow tomorrow. But that should be the end of the snow. You can feel spring is coming. In the summers it gets in the 80/90's with some humidity. So we will have to be careful then. But then I get way over heated in the summer too. We would like to be able to fence in a much larger area for her at some point. We have a zip line for her on the porch and planning on putting up a 75 foot one behind the house in the woods. But we just can't take a chance with her off leash yet with having so many neighbors with small dogs, loose dogs and livestock. I really don't want her listed as a dangerous dog. So after all of that I am saying right now we don't have a way of her meeting another dog off leash.

We were told by the neighbor of the person we rescued her from that one of the many times she was tied up for a week without food or water a apparently too brave or stupid cat came within her reach and it was a meal. I certainly would never blame her for that but I also won't ever trust her alone with my cats or right now even off leash around the cats. When she is in the living room off leash they are safely in the bedroom sleeping. You just have to work with and learn to cope with their instincts.

We have been told by a couple of people that she is very laid back for a Husky. When we take to the vet she just lies down and presents her belly. Lee (our vet) says that most huskies she meets including her own husky cross just bounce off the walls. But Sequoia doesn't. She talks alot....but she will just sit or lie down. When we take her places and stop to talk to people after her initial wooing and greeting she will just lie down at our feet. In the evenings she will play with a ball or a stuffed toy in the living room. And for about 10 minutes she does what I call "silly running dog". She tucks her body up real tight and small and races pell mell around the kitchen and living room while either my husband and I or both of us play "tag/catch" with her. My husband will actually catch her in mid air as she is running/jumping past him. But then after that she loves to just lie down and chew a bone or sleep on a chair or the linoleum.

The first book we read and still keep close is Siberian Huskies for Dummies! I felt it fit us perfect. I love it but it doesnt' really give as much information at times as I would like. I will have to pick up the other two you mentioned the next time I am at Barnes and Noble. That should be in a day or two! *L*

I just want to do the best we can by her. I don't want her life to be boring and I hate not being able to allow her off leash however I feel I would be being irresponsible to her and our neighbors if I did so. But I enjoy her huskiness. The things that make her so unique from other breeds. I would love an opportunity for her to play with other dogs so I don't want to misinterpret her body language. It does seem like she is calmer around other huskies than other dogs.

There are some people that are considering turning this one park we take her to into a dog park. I would love to be able to let her go in the fenced area and trust that she wasn't going to attack anyone. I saw the pics of the pack of huskies at the Ohio meeting and I would love for her to have that experience someday.

Thanks for your advice Glacier. I read all your posts and am envious of your situation with your dogs and being able to see them run like that.

Denyce