Calling all Siberian Husky owners

[cyber-sibes]

LOL! my, my! Reading this makes siberians sound like the Dogs of Hell! Yup, they do come with their own challenges, but on the plus side, they're quiet & clean. Dirt falls off their fur because of an oil in it They have little odor (except when they catch skunks), and aside from when they blow coat, their coat is easy to care for. They are fun-loving, a little mischevious, and are good people dogs, they like to be with you. You just have to do your homework & prepare yourself and their enviornment properly. As mentioned, go to a good breeder who certifies hips & eyes. Juvenile cataracts, retinal detachment, and hip dysplasia can be inherited and show up in this breed. I didn't know anything about them when we got our first, but we learned quickly, and I just love these sibes. It does sound like you have several things to carefully consider.

[Glacier]

they're quiet & clean.

LOL, I'll give you clean without any arguement, but quiet! I think my neighbors would beg to differ, even back when we only had two! We had animal control called once while trying to give Muskwa a bath and once more when he was just howling for the heck of it. Our neighbors(we lived down south then) were convinced no dog made those sounds unless it was being beaten! Fortunately, the AC officer who responded knew a bit more about huskies than our neighbor!!

LOL! my, my! Reading this makes siberians sound like the Dogs of Hell! .

For the right person, they are remarkable, funny, lovable, loving, intelligent companions. Wonderful dogs. For another person, they may well be the dogs of hell!

[cyber-sibes]

LOL, I'll give you clean without any arguement, but quiet! I think my neighbors would beg to differ, even back when we only had two!

LOL! Another example of how different they all are! I can not get mine to bark or talk to me, no matter what I do!!! Even when there were three of them here. If I've been gone a very long time, Star will wooo to welcome me home. At the dogpark she tells off the other dogs because she, of course, is the Queen of all canines. The only sounds I hear are that lovely growling when they play that sounds like they're ripping each other's throats out, and Star's low rumbly sound she makes when she stretches. But Sherman's sister, Tori, talks non-stop! And I'll admit nothing sounds more alarming than a husky yelping!

Juxie, labs & retrievers have personality traits all their own. If you want a snuggle-buddy, a dog who really wants to please you & adores you no matter what, they might be a better choice than a sibe or mal.

The other thing is, think about adopting an adult sibe. They are most difficult as puppies & adolecents (which is when most people dump them), but they really mellow out after a few years. There are always sibes needing homes, because people fall in love with their looks, but can't deal with their behavior.

Good luck!

[Glacier]

And I'll admit nothing sounds more alarming than a husky yelping!

I was awoken at 4am this morning by the most god-awful yelp. I was up and out of bed in a flash! I have no idea what set Founder off. He let out one yelp, jumped up and seemed fine. He went right back to sleep. Took me a good hour to calm back down.

When Earle was a puppy, I accidently stepped on his paw. He yelped and carried on so much, I was absolutely sure I'd broken his leg. So I rushed him to the vet at 8pm on a Saturday night. Paid 200 bucks to learn my dog is a drama queen!

[juxie]

I think you have effectively convinced me that a Husky is not the best choice for a family with 5 cats. I adore my cats, and if anything happened to them I would be heartbroken to say the least.

I DO want a dog I can interact with and a 'snuggle buddy'.

The reason I switched from a Chesapeake was that I had been told by several people that they can have aggression issues. Thats all about proper temperament breeding I'm sure, but I didn't want to take any risks.

I am not trying to come across as an idiot here- I didn't realize a lot of these things about Huskies, and most of the websites I had visited were husky fan type sites which painted them in an angelic light. I'm positive if I had no other pets it would be something I would be willing to do, but again, my cats are a very big part of our family and I can't bring any risks to them.

I spoke to a man from my area yesterday who breeds Labs. He actually has calls from an organization that gives Labs to Autistic children to help them and their families, and donates several pups a year. We are considering perhaps getting a chocolate lab pup from him in the spring.

Thanks so much for all your advice, I appreciate you being so open and honest with me in helping make this decision.

[Ceph]

Weell, I dont have a whole lot of experience....our dog is only half husky, but he displays alot of these traits that you've been saying (prey drive, energy, talking, digging (he dug a hole in my mother's boyfriends rug during christmas....that went well.... )

When we got him he was only about 8 weeks old and pretty emaciated and didnt move around for a whole week or so....but after he started eating he starting chasing our kittens (who were the same age as him).

I was worried about the cats for a while but I found out that claws beat paws any day of the week, and now I find that Jay is unhappy when he is away from the cats...and the cats mope too. The female is tends to stay away when he is awake but snuggles with him at night and our male cat and Jay like to play together (I often times run to where they are cause the cat is yowling, and I find Jay on top of him...and they both give me this innocent 'we were doing nothing wrong' look.) So I dont know if thats a normal thing with huskies...but I think if they know cats and get used to them as puppies you are fine. When outside I have to wrap the leash over my shoulder cause when he sees something small and fast he wants to chase it...and he can pull.

And another thing that I think is prolly more husky like is that he hates to be left alone....haaaaaaates it. He loves other dogs (I worked very hard to make sure he was socialized), and he loves his people. when he wants attention he usually does this roooooooo thing and occasionally barks.

So from my experience with cats it may not be so bad. but I dont breed them...you might want to look online and see if you can find a mix on petfinder.com. I originally adopted Jay for my own, but when I left for school he became my Dad's companion (dad lives alone) and he has bonded very closely with my dad and has sort relieved some of the worry I had about my father. He has also helped to relieve my brothers fear of dogs....and size wise Jay is about 60ibs....he is small...but very muscular.

So, I dont really know about the purebreds really, but I know that my mix was great for our family. Those are kinda my goods and bads about our mix. I hope that helps.

-Cate

[pitc9]

You could contact a local breed rescue or shelter near you and find out if you could be a foster for them? This way you could learn more about certain breeds without getting one and then realizing the dog does not fit your lifestyle and having to rehome it.

I'm glad you've taken the advice given here and have taken the safety of your cats into mind when it comes to a Husky.

Keep us posted!