new husky puppy advice

[mouses]

On fri (29th) i bought home my gorgeous 14wk old husky cross. he's dad is wolf mum a husky. he is 14wks old.

he was fed on tripe, which i have to put in the microwave ( from frozen) for 14mins mixed with mixer biscuits. Im weaning him over to barf / raw adding in a few natures menu nuggets and taking away some tripe. now he is eating the nuggets then tripe but leaving the mixer?

is it ok to change him over to nuggets or should it be mince, chicken wings / portions? also am i going right way about it? was thinking of the free flow tripe from natures menu too??
aswell, how much and often should he be eating? he weighs 13.6kg quite petite in size (was told he was runt)

when reading up on the breed i was bracing myself for a challenge as i read they need their energy burned off, but this little one is so laid back he sleeps so much? and after a short 10mins toy session he needs another rest?

he cant go out yet he hasnt had his jabs which the breeder told me he doesnt need until his 5mths due to his breed? although im calling vets on tues to check.

all help is appreciated thanks

Op - I had a thought. Do you have someone who can help with the dog if ever you are ill or have to go away?

It was difficult sorting puppy sitters for my Springer when I had to go away. Just something else to consider.

Please don't get upset with everyone offering advice, we are only trying to help both you and the pup.

Huskies and malamutes (can't speak for akitas personally) tend to do poorly on grain-based diets and you see a lot with skin issues as a result, as well as chronic diarrhoea. Thankfully huskies are a fairly well equipped breed, no extreme features, very low incidence of HD and even the hereditary eye conditions they can have are extremely rare.

But yes, the BYBs are doing their best to undo this... crossing them with GSDs, who have a much higher incidence of hereditary disease generally, and mals who are at a higher risk of HD, is madness. The temperament and health of the result is unpredictable. Only the worst examples are going to be available as breeding stock, no decent breeder would let their stud dogs contribute, and they have no suitability for the working purposes of any of the parent breeds.

Look at all the failed attempts to establish the inuit, utonagan etc. I attended a dog event once which held a Northern Inuit Society breed show where no two dogs in the ring shared a consistent type and their temperaments were hugely varied with some very reticent dogs.

They are the new staffie but unlike a staff they won't mostly adapt and toodle along with family life, they'll kill the cat, eat the sofa and leg it over the garden fence. We see huge numbers of 6-18 month olds coming in to the rescue - and these are the owners responsible enough to give them up. Many more try to recoup their losses by selling on freeads and the cycle continues. We were the third owners of our first sibe - she wasn't yet six months old. The first owners had paid £800 for her and sold her on within weeks.

They are not pets, they are a way of life. I am a loon and happy to go along with this

mouses - I don't think anyone has been hard on you but for the novice dog owner huskies will be incredibly difficult.

I was a novice until I got my Border Terrier. I did all the reading, research etc but nothing prepares you for having a destructive, noisy puppy on the house for months. Training takes months and months and months and even with my soppy boy the prey drive kicked until about 6 months ago and I've had to wrestle my chickens off him before. He digs under fences and can chew through galvanised wire.

There is so much work and hassle before you end up with a reliably well trained dog. And that is with a breed known for their "family friendliness" and they're not very big either, which means that he can be physically controlled reasonably easily.

Dog ownership is a great thing - but only if you have a dog which is suited to you and maybe a husky/wolf cross isn't.

OP, Please, please, please, get this dog back to the "breeder" - jump in the car today. And when you have given the dog back, say thank you to whatever god you believe in, as you, your children and your other pets will have dodged a very big bullet.

I don't think this is a situation where well meaning advice on insurance is going to be enough. Honestly, I think that a husky cross of very uncertain parentage in an inexperienced home, with other pets and young children is asking for serious trouble.

I am experienced with high prey drive dogs - your cat is now a dead cat walking. When this dog is an adolescent you will almost certainly end up rehoming it if you can find a rescue able to take it on.

I am really, truly sorry to be this blunt - it is not my intention to hurt your feelings. But for your family's safety, please rethink this dog (if it is a dog), urgently. I do not think this will end well for anyone if it stays with you.

Scuttle I agree but the OP seems v unlikely to take the dog back. I literally cannot think of a less suitable family dog but if the OP is giving it a go then she needs advice.

Whooo and I thought the Doghouse did not judge a dog by breed.

What do you think will happen to this dog if it is given back to the breeder (If he will take it........)sold off to another innocent party and the story will just continue except the breeder will have pocketed another load of money.

Mouses you may have bitten off a load more than you bargained for. However if you are truly able to give your dog 3 hours a day every day, for training and grooming. Are willing to go to a positive based training class or 1-1 is required and have the money for this. Prepared to give a lot of your time to learning about these breeds. Maybe get involved with the Husky Club UK and join in with seminars, training and racing you may be able to cope.

Be honest with yourself and speak to the Husky Club ask them for advice and the reality of living with this breed of dog. Speak to those who know your situation and your new dogs. There is a lot of panicky mongery on this thread from people who do not know the full situation.

familys safety have you meet the dog its parents the house it lives in or just stating this because it is a husky unknown wolf cross?

Mouses, reading this with worry for you and some sympathy but also quite that although you say you read a lot you don't appear to have realised quite what a challenge you have taken on.

I have two Dalmatians and they are blimmin hard work esp with young children, I cannot imagine having that type of dog in my house with all the associated time and energy involved in dealing with him.

That said you must be very attached already and I really feel for you as you have clearly bitten off more than you can chew with this chap. Please take the advice of the wonderful doghouse people on here as they will help and advise as long as you are prepared to take it on board.

Hand on heart I really think that you should take him to someone (if there is such a someone) who will care for him with all the benefit of previous experience. It is NOT a dog for an inexperienced person and I think you are letting yourself in for a whole lot of heartache if you continue down this avenue.

Best of luck and try not to be too upset, you've made a mistake - we have all done that for sure. Rectifying that mistake for all parties concerned is the crucial thing now.

I would bet that this pup, whose parents were 25 miles away, is actually a GSD/Husky X and has not an ounce of wolf or Czech Wolfdog in him.

That's not to say he will be any easier to deal with. Both the husky and the GSD are powerful, intelligent dogs, not recommended for first time owners.

Even a pure husky or GSD would be wrong in this house, especially given the age he is and the lack of socialisation he has had.

I still think the OP needs advise on diet, insurance, training etc. We cannot force her to rehome or return the pup, but we can give her half a clue about what she is getting herself into and how best to handle a very bad situation.

I've been reading this with sympathy for you OP, but am also very shocked that you've happily rattled off all the research you've done that paints a picture of a very tricky and difficult breed to handle...and yet at no point in your research did you think it might be a bit much?

Still, I'm glad to read that you are listening to the good advice here and that you will hopefully make the right choice as directed by these people here who really know their stuff.

You know nothing about this house. So people with children should not have GSD this is now just getting hysterical.

The OP needs and she thought she had come somewhere that would give her that advice, all she has got are people making mega assumptions based on very little knowledge.

OP contact the people below they KNOW about on detail about Husy and husky crosses and will help you make the correct decision and support you if you are going to keep your dog
Husky help
husky club uk

I don't think anyone has made assumptions . The OP has bought a puppy of unknown origin but whose breed type is unsuitable to be kept as family pets . All people have said is get insurance ,good fencing ,socialise him and don't leave him alone with the cat . I can't find the bit where anyone said GSD should not be kept with children . I may well be wrong but I'm sure I read a thread on here a while ago where someone was trying to rehome a X husky and the breed rescues were not helpful at all because it was a Xbreed .

Who said people with children should not have a GSD? I adore the breed. I had a GSD growing up. I also had an Akita and know a husky cross owner and regularly meet a husky owner who works and competes with his dogs on walks. I adore huskies and plan to own one myself once my children are older and I have more time.

It is not so much the breed that is worrying me, but the fact that the dog is 14 weeks old, has had no socialisation that we know of and is living with a very inexperienced owner. OP has her work out over the next two weeks if this pup is to stand half a chance of not growing up with behavioral or fear aggression problems. He's going to need a lot of work.

A husky needs specialist care, they're not really pets, as has been said up thread, they are a way of life not a family pet.

Yes there is a small chance OP will get it right and will contact the right people, work her dog and dedicate her life and all of her spare time to making sure this pup is raised properly, but there is a bigger chance that she gets it wrong and this would be devastating for all involved.

You did Even a pure husky or GSD would be wrong in this house unless there is something about the structure of the house you know about.

There is plenty of time for socialisation, you do not know what socialisation the dog has had before the 14 weeks do you?

Why is there only a small chance the OP will get it right? Do you know her, do you know the dog.

I hate the fact that people on forums seem to know ALL the facts despite not being on the ground, meeting the OP the dog etc. She is asking for advice she has got very little just told what hard work they are etc but no concrete advice on how she can make this work.

I never mentioned children did I? My father has an elderly GSD I am happy for my children to interact with him.

This house would be wrong for that breed of dog because this is OP's first dog and while she states that she has done her research, it clearly was not comprehensive enough since she is unsure in diet, does not realise that the dog needs socialising now and does not realise that in time, despite living happily with the cat atm, this could take a very deadly turn for the worse.

A first time dog owner needs a much more laid back, easy going and forgiving breed of dog.

Some very good advice here, OP seems to be taking some of it on board.

I never understand people who say they have 'read up' on the breed but never actually go to the trouble of meeting the breed first! If for instance I loved the look of a Lhasa Apso first thing I would do is go along to a dog show and see a huge variety of the breed and speak to people asking them what the breed is like to live with. I would go to discover dogs and again meet the breed but this time they are more than likely be clipped short, look and live as pets and then I'd go to some training clubs not to look at the breed but to see how difficult it is to train a dog! I have over the years with various dogs been to training classes were typical owners have problems walking round in the presence of other dogs let alone out in parks with strange dogs and a less than helpful owners. At a show some breeders may invite you to come to there home and see the dogs as they live at home, and you may be in for a shock at how much energy, hair, grooming etc is required and off course there is the smell, not every dog smells sweet some breeds stink!

Researching a breed is much more than reading about it, you have to see, feel, smell and almost taste the breed to know if it is the right one for you.

Good luck..

So what is wrong with the house then.................Sorry but you are wrong. You assume all of these things. The OP knows about raw feeding way more than half the dogs owners out there.

Lets recommend her a greyhound then 16 years on she can progress to a spaniel and 16 years after that she may have earned her stripes to get a GSD by the time she is 78 she will be knowledgeable to get a husky- ridiculous.

She may be up to running miles each week, she may be interested in sled racing, she may be ready to fully embrace the life with a husky............. loads of stuff you know nothing about.

Good Luck Op I hope you get the advice you need from people who know the situation fully. If you have made the wrong decision make sure that it is YOUR decision to rehome and go through the husky rescue

APDT trainers will also help with socialisation and will give you a one to one session to help you get it right from the beginning. APDT

She may well be ready to fully embrace life with a husky but since all the research seems to have been on the internet, she bought a dodgy cross breed from a dodgy breeder, didnt view the puppy with its parents and hasnt arranged training classes id say she probably isnt prepared for everything a husky entails and probably wont be racing it

Well said !

Owning a dog for it's entire life span is not the only way to gain breed experience is it?

If the OP had been keen and ready to embrace life with a husky, she'd have bought a husky. Not some crossbreed of questionable parentage.

I am so glad that you know ALL about the OP from her post and that you have got her life sorted for her. Shame you could not have offered any practical advice but I am sure you judgey pants will make you all sleep well tonight.

I'm not usually a Doghouse poster. I disagree with lots of what is said in general.
However, I read the OP with a
If you had thoroughly researched wolf hybrids, then you would know that you need a license. You would also know the EXACT breed of the puppy.
You would have learned that huskies, husky x and Jesus Christ wolf hybrids are not a dog for a first time owner, a family and homes with smaller animals.
You would know that the very least, but also most important thing you need when keeping a semi wild animal is third party insurance and you would have contacted a breed society, or made contact with other owners of wolf hybrids and discussed their care and suitability and asked for hints and tips.
You would know that 14 weeks is far to old to take a puppy with any hope of socialisation and you would know at what age it needed to be vaccinated.
It would have been good sense to contact your local vet and make sure that they will treat a hybrid wild animal. And it is ESSENTIAL to see at least the mother of the puppies.
All of the above IMO show that although I am sure that you are lovely, and well meaning, and will probably make a very good do owner for the right breed, you are in no way equipped to deal with at the least a very demanding dog and at the worst a hybrid wild animal. Yes, you have been misguided by this breeder, but really you have been naive and taken for a ride.
I hardly ever say this, but seriously, you need to be doing serious damage limitation here, and very probably writing off the cost of this puppy to bitter experience.