Any husky owners about?

[WolfAndMud]

Our Husky is 19 weeks on Wednesday. He is the first dog I have ever owned from a pup. I love the bones of him. We've had our walk, we've been bullied by the cats and now we're going to have some scrambled egg.

The pic below is around is him around 15 weeks.

Lovely dogs, but no way am I the sort of person to have a Husky!

Maybe try on this forum. It's an offshoot of the dogsy forum which I found really helpful when I got my dog.

Do you think he'll grow into those ears?

They're growing with him!
Will have a look at the forum, thanks.
(Also, what sort of person owns a Husky? )

An energetic one?

Haha! The five hours of walks so far today testifies to that!

He's actually tired now. Won't last long.

That sounds like an awful lot of exercise for a puppy - try giving him some mental exercise instead - more tiring than simply going for a walk/run and kinder on his joints

Huskies need a lot of exercise. Something I learned on MN. I bet a good husky owner is very fit.

Mental excercise will tire out a dog far more then walking for hours - especially in a growing puppy who you hsave to be really careful of joints with.
You could work on teaching the puppy a recall, sit, down, give paw and other tricks which will crash him out a lot faster then a walk or run :)

He has that too sodding and pandora. We've cracked training him to sit at crossings today, he does sit, stay, high five (DH is very proud of that one), paw. (Little tinker also knows how to ding his leash off the wall for toilet and how to open doors and his crate - I was not thrilled with this last trick). I have never had a dog that learnt so quick.

We're looking into getting him a huge solid plastic tube for the garden, can you tell he's an infertility dog?

Will be more careful of long walks while he's small. He's just such a high energy wee thing and we don't want him unfit or bored or miserable.

General rule of thumb is 5 min on lead structured walk per month of life.

He's beautiful !

How often though Lil? We take him with us whether it's popping to the shop or he needs toilet. Today he's been to tesco (DH sat with him in the shade), vet, pet shop for harness fitting, school run twice, early morning walk for wees, and a game of throw over the field. Longer than 20 mins each one, granted. We take his water and bowl, we sit in the shade if we get a bit of sun. He seems happy, I've always had SBT and DH has had RWs, we're just used to involving the dog in everything.

Thanks Petite, I am rather taken with him.

2 structured on lead walks as per the five minute rule is fine. If he is doing his own thing and mooching about, sniffing and resting when he wants to that is fine.

He may be happy but you could be storing up joint problems for the future.

Try some metal stimulation like interactive feeding games and clicker train him some tricks. 10 minutes mental stimulation is worth 30 min of physical exercise.

Go on then, I will be the lone voice of doom and gloom by asking what you are hoping to achieve or are expecting from a pet Siberian husky? I am a husky nut, love my dogs to absolute bits and yet and would never recommend one to anyone. They have become victims of their own popularity of late and the numbers coming in to the rescue and the reasons they come in for are astonishing.

Party pooper piece said, he looks a cracker and I wish you the best with him. :)

Expecting? Early mornings, walks in all weather and for him to need constant companionship. DH is home 24/7 for him.

His mother and father were known to us. He was given by FIL from his Bitches second and final litter. He has 'papers', we haven't bothered getting them from FIL.

His Mother bodychecked a shed (albeit an old one) to the ground, dug up a garden that was the result of 2 years work from FIL and had the stubbornness of a toddler. I expect him to be the same, I'm also covered in hair and had to buy a under counter fridge so we can keep a raw diet for him ( we haven't started this yet as we're getting more advice before we switch )

I'm expecting 15 years of hard work (and hopefully longer) if I'm honest, but I'm in love. I'll take every bit of advice I can get and I'll take your good wishes and run with it.

Sorry Lil, missed your post. At the classes we were told never to just feed him, make him work for it. He's on James Well Beloved until we're confident with raw, we make meal times more of a game.

DH is disabled and home alone between 9-3 with him, hence all the new tricks

Puppy is in a strop with me now as a bathed him (in the makuna honey and mango gentle shampoo that cost more than mine!). I am getting stink eye.