tell me about owning a husky

[AnotherLoad]

not planing on getting one right now, maybe next year when i have more idea about them. have awlays wanted one and have recently been thinking of getting a dog.

please tell me your experiences so i can get get a better idea of thed breed and what im letting myself in for - or that it may put me off completely!

misery your dalmatians sound a challenge

I think any dog, for me, spitz or not will a challenge (good one i hope) i need a complete turn around on life.

sadly the reality is that maybe my dream dogs list will remain just that :(

It needs to be a breed i like so i know i would put the work in, I worry if its not a breed i like i wouldnt put as much effort in?! sorry i sound a selfish brat

thanks for all the advice, suggestions - its done me some good, bought me back to reality :) x

Oh, and I should add that I own a crossbreed that is half spitz...and he proves that I probably couldn't have a full spitz. He's utterly delightful to live with but outside of home...well, to say he's a challenge is a gross understatement! He's razor sharp, learns really quickly, is independent, free thinking and can problem solve. Frighteningly intelligent. He is trained insofar as he understands commands and knows what you want him to do but will only obey a command if he choses too. Which is never rarely. We therefore always have to be thinking several steps ahead of him. It's mentally exhausting.

AnotherLoad - You're right my dogs are a handful, well Ddog2 is anyway.

But, she is also sweet natured, lovable, intelligent and just beautiful.

She's going through that puppy phase and it is trying but I know friends that have gone through worse with a Lab so, I guess she isn't that bad.

To be honest, she has proven to me that I simply couldn't handle a dog that wasn't easily trainable.

I wouldn't recommend a Dalmatian for a first time owner either

so tell me more first hand experiences of poms? have looked into them and says not recommended for younger children :(

quite like the idea of smaller dog (if cant have my dream husky )

do they bark/yap if left (not for long) just to do food shopping say? just dont want hate letters from neighbours lol i know any dog may bark when left just just to understand more about it all? !!!

Any dog will have to be 'taught' to be alone for short periods. As long as you start with the training from as soon as you bring them home, the vast majority will happily accept some alone time.

Some breeds are more vocal than others but all dogs are individuals and some will be naturally more barky than others...unfortunately you can't tell which you're going to get in advance. Hopefully someone else with a better knowledge of Poms will be able to advise you about how vocal they are generally as a breed.

And if you like the Pom, have a look at the German Spitzes as well. They come in 2 sizes...the smaller Klein and slightly larger Mittel.

ive had some great suggestions on here :)

poms, elkhound, eurasiers, keeshond... looking into all of them

plus will take a look at greman spitz :)

I rather like pomeranians. If I were to get a small dog, a pomeranian would do nicely.

oooooo.........

some poms need re-homing! tempting lol

????? wasnt planing on any thing til next yr???

if i were to get a spitzy dog it would have to be a german spitz mittel, gorgeous little dogs! cant have any more at the moment though

they are all great ideas! reading up on them and a few you tube videos later im slowly getting there....

poms are so cute, lively - im just worried my 22mth would pick it up and drop it or one of my very lively boys would trip over it, step on it or even fall on it when they play fight!

samoyeds - beautiful, bigger sized, good with kids but it says they need something to do or can destroy the house? more for experienced owners

huskies, shiba, malamutes just a no :(

Eurasier, elkhound, keeshond, german/japanese spitz, are looking like good candidates. :)

Keeshonds always for me.

They are barkers though and very naughty.

I don't find the coat onerous, mine is an ex show girl though so has been trained to make it as quick and easy as possible.

To be honest, if you fancy one but don't know anything about them it is probably not the breed for you. The Huskies biggest downfall is that it looks cute and in very experienced hands can be cute but sadly the majority I come across are absolutely out of control. Huskies like any other dog are as good or as bad as their owner, it's just that the owner has to know what they are doing.
That's the reason why most rescue Huskies are not for families with small children.

Doesn't anyone on MN own a cross breed? I don't think I know anyone with a posh dog, all of ours are street mutts.

Both of my huskies are rescues. Unless it's a really, really rare breed, chances are you can find any kind of pedigree dog in a rescue if you look hard enough. Because of their propensity for buggering off when let off the lead you get a fair number of huskies in council pounds these days, so they can be street mutts too.

About a bazillion people on MN have something-poo crossbreeds. The other bazillion (with some overlap too) recommend that lovely breed 'whateverdogtherescuecentrematchesyouwithregardlessofbreed'.

Mine is a husky-malamute cross, which makes him a sled dog mutt. He was a stray, so probably had been let off lead and just buggered off. Other dog is a pedigree (not a husky) but also a rescue. Too many huskies end up as strays in pounds.

I think a lot of people are bound to recommend the dog breed they have at home, because it's the one they know most about.

I have a crossbreed (as I've already mentioned on this thread - working breed x spit breed). Product of an accidental mating and rescued by us at 6 months of age from an unsuitable home.

I am not being rude to any individual, it's just more common for people to choose a breed and buy from a breeder these days. None of my business really but one thing, I don't really count doodley poodley poo dogs as cross breeds in the context I mean. They are still designer dogs bred to be sold.

In Qatar 53c heat, Huskies are probably the second highest stray this year. Our strays are seasonal, they change every year according to the latest fashion.

I grew up with a rescue husky. She was very clever, could climb a chain link fence, open cupboards, drawers and the fridge. Aside from the scavenging, she was just perfect! Loving, obedient, trainable and so gorgeous that we were constantly stopped by people wanting to know what she was (very fluffy, red and white coat and yellow eyes). Her recall was actually very good. What we learned early on was to use her pack instinct. She always obeyed because we were higher in the order. They may share some characteristics- Chewbacca yodelling etc.- but every dog is an individual. If you want a really accurate understanding of husky mentality, watch a film called 'Eight Below' about a pack of sled dogs that are stranded in Antarctica- requires kleenex but shows you what makes them tick. No idea how they filmed it.

I have 2 Japanese Akitas and much as I love the breed they are not a first dog Mine are both rescues and we were lucky that they both have great temperaments. Wolf boy is so laid back he is virtually horizontal, but he's nearly 5. Foxy girl is 8months and being a pain teen. Shed like mad, stubborn as hell and way too smart for their own good, crap recall so can't be let off unless enclosed..... But they are so loving and protective of the pack us and I would never have another (except maybe GSD, would love an easy trained dog)