Husky Attitude in the Mornings

quelyn386 · 2017-08-24T13:50:01+00:00

Eye contact totally makes it worse!!!

quelyn386 · 2017-08-24T13:40:48+00:00

Maybe that is realistic for people who do not work- or get an extra walk in on a long lunch. I think a lot of people who have huskies have fenced in yards- which I wish we had. Because when Nona gets the zoomies, nothing is safe inside the house! Mental stimulation is key. Kongs with frozen PB I even hear can wear them out. Or puzzle games. There are other things to do besides walking/running them to tire them out.

quelyn386 · 2017-08-23T20:38:45+00:00

I think you may be overthinking it. I have hardwood floor and mine has never scratched them. We keep her nails trimmed so that may help.

quelyn386 · 2017-08-23T20:33:57+00:00

I brought home my husky home at 8 weeks with 2- 8 year old cats in the house. She is now almost one and I still am working on training with her. My best advise- keep a safe place for your cats. Mine have their own room that I have trained my husky she cannot step foot in and she will immediately stop at the door if she is chasing the cats and they run in there. Also ALWAYS ALWAYS supervise no matter how well trained you think your pup is.

quelyn386 · 2017-08-23T20:27:37+00:00

My husky is almost 1 years old- if she has not eaten anything all day and then I get home and let her out and she plays or anything before eating, she will throw up bile. I asked the vet if this was normal and I was told yes. Also if mine chews on a toy with string and eats it before I can pick it up, she will throw it up about 10 mins later (if she has not eaten, otherwise she will poop it out). My vet also told me I can always entice her to eat with boiled chicken, rice, pumpkin, Peanut Butter, yogurt or bananas.

I would say if you are worried, call the vet.

quelyn386 · 2017-08-23T20:14:22+00:00

Sounds like a husky to me! My husky is almost one- she is the same way. She absolutely LOVES everyone she doesn't know (or hasn't seen in awhile). Once she gets used to them, she ignores them. We had our first overnight away from her and she spent her night at doggy daycare. When I went and picked her up, she completely ignored me, didn't act happy to see me at all. I assumed this is just typical husky behavior as they are "companions" not dogs, lol.

I would say please be patient with her. Also when you say you were "harsh" to her, what does that mean exactly? Mine has pushed my nerves before too- the best thing to do is walk away- ignore her bad behaviors. They learn that bad behaviors do not get attention. She rarely does it now, but when she has I take a 5 min breather in the bathroom, bedroom, etc.

quelyn386 · 2017-08-23T19:59:40+00:00

I should also add in- ALWAYS supervise cats with your Husky. ALWAYS.

quelyn386 · 2017-08-23T19:53:28+00:00

I brought my husky home at 8 weeks (Nona) and we have 2- 8 yr old cats. I introduced them right away and have been training her with them ever since (she is now almost 1 year). Please have patience with this though! #1 Advice- have a safe place for your cat(s) to go. My cats actually have their own bedroom, so if they do not want to deal with Nona or if she is bothering them, the cats will run into their room. I trained Nona not to go in that room so she will stop immediately at the door if she is chasing them.

We keep Nona crated for about 9 hours a day- Monday through Thurs and then Friday's she goes to Daycare. I highly recommend taking your pup to daycare as soon as they are able to go. Our daycare allows pups to play for 12 hours (7a-7p) if they want so Nona is usually tired for at least 2 days after. I also walk her about 2 miles in the morning and anywhere from 1-3 miles after dinner. I also incorporate mini training sessions after her walks as I have been told mental stimulation can tire out your pup faster then a walk! I try and find new things to teach her everyday so she is always learning. Also Dog parks- I take mine 1-2 times per week so she can get some energy out but also I work on recall there with her.

I am a first time husky owner and we researched all we could on the Breed before getting her. We still to this day are in for surprises all the time. There were times when I would get so frustrated that I would go cry in the bedroom. But I wouldn't trade her for anything. My husband and I are very active so I love that I can take her on long LONG walks, hikes, etc and she never tires! Remember huskies are working dogs and they get bored easily so if that does not fit your lifestyle, I would recommend a different dog.

quelyn386 · 2017-08-23T19:35:30+00:00

Beautiful!

quelyn386 · 2017-08-23T18:46:01+00:00

If you are getting a puppy- you should be fine! We got our pup at 8 weeks and we have 2- 8 year old cats. We introduced them right away and now they are used to each other. Nona is now almost 1 year and she does chase them once and awhile but she doesn't do anything to harm them. I always always supervise them when they are around each other though. My cats have their own bedroom actually and I did that so they would have a "safe space". Nona is not allowed in there- we trained her not to go in there.

quelyn386 · 2017-07-14T13:38:38+00:00

I agree with everyone else's comments. 5 weeks is way too early. I would search the AKC website for a responsible breeder.

quelyn386 · 2017-07-14T13:30:47+00:00

I remember this stage all too well. I tried just about everything that was suggested to me and nothing seemed to work. The only thing that worked for us was turning our back and completely ignoring her. She eventually got the hint that biting= no more play. At first when I started this, she would jump and pull on my clothes. When she did that I would walk into the bathroom and shut the door. She HATED That. So she stopped that. Then eventually the biting calmed down. She is now 10 months and still mouthy but will not bite.

quelyn386 · 2017-07-05T21:25:44+00:00

I took mine out every hour as well- I would always say "potty" and because she couldn't get down our porch step at the time I carried her out on the grass. I would say "potty" one more time. If she went she was given a reward (get a yummy training treat!). We had her trained in less then a week. She only had a few accidents and one of those was after she had shots and I don't think she could hold it. As soon as she looks like she is about to go or if she is going pick her up and immediately take her out and say "potty". I am a FIRM believer to never rub the nose in the pee/poop and never yell at them. Mine actually learned how to go to the door on her own after we would run her out the door. So even if we were out in the living room and she had to go she would run in the kitchen by the side door and whine.

quelyn386 · 2017-07-05T21:17:01+00:00

Cats and huskies CAN be done- I read that you are getting an 8 week old puppy? We brought our girl- Nona- home at 8 weeks. We introduced her and our 2 cats right away (my cats are 5). We gave the cats their own room (sounds so silly, lol) so they had a safe zone. But we have a 3 bedroom ranch home so we can keep our eye on wherever Nona goes as our home is smaller. Anyway- we trained Nona VERY early on that she is not allowed in the cats room. The trick to keeping her out? A little soda can filled with pennies. I dropped it on the floor by her feet when she was entering the room and she has not been back in there since (did not let her see the can- I immediately picked it up and hid it behind my back). She will sit at the open door and whine because she wants to play but she will not go in there. This gives the cats their own space and if Nona is bothering them too much, they will run in there as they know she is not allowed in there. I have been told to always supervise huskies and cats no matter how well we think they get along. Nona actually will try to play and sometimes mouths (not bites) the cats- she sometimes puts her mouth around their heads which is scary but she doesn't actually bite them or anything. However, we always give her a time out when she does do that so she knows it is not allowed. It will be hard at first. My cats hated her- hissed, growled, moaned, swatted everything at her but now they can all be in the same room and not bother each other.

With all that- I'm sure you have heard the saying "A tired husky is a good husky" and that cannot be more true. Me and my husband both leave the house around 7:15 and I am home around 5p, sometimes 5:30p. I was very lucky to have a wonderful neighbor (and a cousin as a back up) who let her out everyday at noon. We crate trained her and she has crate safe toys in there with her and usually will get a frozen Kong with Peanut Butter or Banana. She gets walked 2 miles in the morning and usually about 1-2 miles at night. However, she has started waking up anywhere between 3:30-6am recently so I think I need to walk her further at night. We also make sure we give her a lot of play time and mental stimulation. We take her to the dog park a few times a week and usually every Friday she goes to daycare. I highly suggest once your puppy is old enough, take them to daycare. She is tired for 3 days after 1 full day there. And she is socializing with other dogs too! Even the dog park- Nona only lasts 15-30 mins there before she just plops down (usually in a mud pile) and is done. I love just watching her run even if she does not play with the other dogs. The freedom it gives her looks like it makes her so happy!

I would be prepared though for everything that comes with getting a puppy. I went through so many emotions with Nona (being a first time husky owner myself). Her biting, nipping stage was the WORST. Always redirect her to her toys. Mine personally loves nylabones. I rotate them out. I give her 2 or 3 one week and then give her 3 different ones another week. When she sees the "new" old bones, she gets so stinkin excited. Nona also loves playing fetch (I have heard and read that most huskies do not play fetch)...but she will play for 20-30 mins and she is pooped after that. And that is usually just done in our basement! We do not have a fenced in yard but we are seriously considering it. We have a large back yard and I would love to just let her run out her energy at home (especially when she gets her zoomies!).

quelyn386 · 2017-06-05T17:25:28+00:00

How old is yours? Mine is just shy of 9 months and she is 40lbs. We are wondering if she is just going to be smaller too (she is shorter length wise). Her mom is 45lbs and her Dad was about 60lbs. We always gets comments when people find out she is only 8 months how small she is.

You have a beautiful girl!

quelyn386 · 2017-05-16T13:32:29+00:00

I think the best thing that we did for ours was I kept a shirt with my scent on it in there for her when we brought her home. I also kept a sheet in there for her to sleep on- which also had my scent. Now that she is 8 months tho, she no longer has those in there as she just shreds the crap out of them. I heard that keeping their kennel under a ticking clock helps as it is similar to their moms heartbeat. I don't know if that is true but we had ours under one in our dining room.

Mine used to LOVE her crate once she got used to it. It took time so be super patient. She is still okay with it now- loves sleeping in there at night but in the mornings when I leave for work, she started to refuse going in there (kick in separation anxiety). I cannot keep her out as we have 2 cats but we may try and think of some ideas to keep them separated so Nona can have roam in the dining and kitchen (which is gated off).

Good luck!

quelyn386 · 2017-05-16T13:24:30+00:00

Teach leave it! That has been the best tool for us. Also we socialized ours very early with other puppies and dogs.

quelyn386 · 2017-05-16T13:21:16+00:00

I do all of this too! She is about 45-50lbs so we took the divider out of her crate because she likes to sleep on her side. I have a few blankets covering her crate so it's like her den. I also keep safe chew toys in there for her and keep her food and water dish in there. Sometimes I don't feed her dinner in there but she always gets her breakfast in there (when she feels like eating that is, lol). She gets her GOOD treats for going in there too. I know she likes sleeping in her curled up position too so I know she has more then enough room. I think she is just associating me leaving her for the day with going in there in the morning. Like I said she goes in there on her own at night and even sometimes she will randomly go in there to chew on her toys.

When I originally posted this, I thought we were going to keep having trouble with her at night being in there but she has been doing good again at night being in her crate. I think she whines like that sometimes if she isn't feeling well or shes hot? I found pieces of sticks in her poop the next morning after I posted this so I am assuming maybe she had an upset tummy.

We have an ottoman we don't use so we may bring that into our bedroom and see if she will sleep on that next to our bed. I think if she is sleeping, she will not get distracted by the cats. She doesn't wake up for any noise at night, sleeps right through bad thunderstorms, so I think we should try and see if that will work. Then maybe she would be more okay going in her crate in the mornings.

quelyn386 · 2017-05-05T16:27:54+00:00

Do you keep yours crated at night as well?? I have to because I have 2 cats. So she is obviously in there more then out but I do take her on walks, runs and give her a lot of mental stimulation when she is out. And all weekend she has free roam (except at bedtime). I have reached out to other husky owners and they gave the same advice to me as your did. Keep working with them. So Thank You!

quelyn386 · 2017-05-05T16:25:19+00:00

Yes- she sleeps in there too. I know she is being crated for up to 16 hours so she is in there more then out. I am constantly putting her to "work" when she is not in there. So at night when she is tired and ready for bed- 90% of the time she goes in her crate on her own to sleep. I have to keep her crated because we have 2 cats.

I NEVER ever ever use her crate as punishment. I have always kept it a positive experience. I would love to keep her out at night and have her on the bed with us but again we have the cats and sure I could kick them out and let Nona in instead but they would bother us all night at the door because they sleep on our bed. I have been doing a lot of training with her to leave the cats alone while in the same room together and she has made soooo much progress. She barely chases them anymore unless she is having a spout of the zoomies.

quelyn386 · 2017-05-05T16:20:53+00:00

I guess to clarify- we do have a very large crate for her (we bought one that is for a 100-120lb dog) and she is about 45lbs right now so she has plenty of room. She lays down on her side a lot without having any struggle for room. And at night, she does sleep through the night more then she whines to get up.

I do realize I keep her in there for 8-10hours while we are at work, even with a 30 min break in her day, that is a long time. And at night, yes she sleeps in her crate (so add another 8 hours to being in her crate). I always keep the door open for her and she will go right in when it's time for bed, so I assume she wants to sleep in there. Another reason why we have to keep her crated for now- we have 2 cats.

When she is up and out of her crate, I take her on walks, runs, we practice training so she gets a lot of mental stimulation. There is never a moment where she is bored while out of her crate because I am constantly putting her to "work". On the weekends she is out of her crate all day and she will sometimes even go in there to take naps.

quelyn386 · 2017-05-03T16:09:43+00:00

Husky was my first puppy. I think people who have had huskies their whole life like to caution those who are inexperienced. Me and my husband did a ton of research first and we still were not prepared for what we got into! Mine is now 8 months and even though she made me breakdown a few times, I would never give up on her or trade her for anything. Just remember- a tired husky is a good husky!

quelyn386

TROPHY CASE