Siberian Huskies

Many of you have emailed and asked many questions that to you seem complicated but really when we all use common sense and take a moment to understand the natural origin of every living thing and the environment it was created to exist in,all answers are pretty simple: ( if we just observe and think a bit) When you think you are having problems with your husky. Ask yourself is it the husky or is it my expectations and not fully understanding the animal that is causing the problems. You would not compare a camel to a horse tho both can do the same kind of chores. It is just that each is created for a specific location and hemisphere. So once you begin to understand the purpose and environment each animal was designed to live in it makes it much better to get along. If you want a lap dog then you buy a lap dog. You cannot make one animal do what it was not designed to do. That is trying to alter and control. That never works in life. For years man has been altering animals for their own ego's or personal gratification, such as racing and shows. That may be well for a while but sooner or later the species will rebel or begin to fall apart in the sense of genetic altering for a better looking animal that will take a ribbon or win the race. When ever man changes anything to what he thinks is better * or thinks he can improve upon the original creators design) A price will be paid in one way or another. Such as eye, hips,reproductive problems etc. This is true of all animal species including man. We may think we are in control and doing it better but are we really?? A question for everyone to ponder. The Siberian Husky is a Nordic Arctic Northern Breed of Canine species belonging to the working classification of dogs. What that means is that is was created to exist and work in the north. It can stand cold temperatures up to 50 to 75 below in the winter. In the summer months adapts like any other animal by resting and keeping quite and still, not using up a lot of body energy. (So if you are in a warm climate you will want to wet down the area and keep them in the shade part of the yard. Or provide some cover for them. A tarp or umbrella is good.) They were designed to pull sleds with heavy loads and work along side of humans. They are to the northern people like a horse is to people in lower hemisphere area of this planet. Food:If you feed your dog a high energy diet they will require more exercise to keep them fit and trim. From my experience only, please understand just my opinion. I had good luck with the types of dog food that where a minimum of 10% difference between fat and protein. This was the diet during the summer when working meant going for a short run in the cool of the evening. I would just suggest a good commercial dog food that is a maintenance diet for dogs. we found to that if we had a dog who was getting a dry coat I would add some drippings from the broiler pan. We would only give that for a couple of days, maybe 2 tablespoons per feeding because anymore could result in the trots. Of course in the winter when the dogs are outside fat can be and should be added to their diet, and the harder the work or the colder it gets the more fat is added to the diet. In the winter the working diet I would use rendered chicken fat. Commercial dog food fed with the feel scale is what I called it. A northern working dog should not be fat. You should be able to feel those ribs not a layer of fat that floats over the ribs. Something else you can try with this as part of a diet when meat and fish is being fed. I used to use feed oats, which if you don't know is rolled oats with the husks off. BTW makes great oat meal cookies :-). When We was feeding ground chicken and chicken fat We would add feed oats for a carbo blast also a fairly digestible base for dog food. Works really good when your home cooking for the dogs. You can also add tomatoes and left over pasta with tomato sauce. Vitamin C there and carbohydrates are great. WHY DOES MY DOG CHEW everything in site? We have an answer for that one, again just my opinion. The northern breeds were fed once a day and usually not enough. The traits our dogs have now I believe about chewing everything comes from the fact that if it's laying on the ground I should try to eat it because it could be food. And if it's not food well neither is gum and most of us chew it. Get that dog something that he can work on with his teeth, helps boredom and makes him think he owns something. A small soup bone is great as it's something that will keep the dogs interest longer then a chunk of rope. ALT: Chewies and crunchy treats. Carrots,celery,raw broccoli ends,RAW BONES. All vegetables are good for their teeth and vitamin. WHY DOES MY HUSKY BITE! It is a form of husky puppy play. Huskies again are a nordic arctic breed dog. Meant to live outside. Outside is their terrain. They chew trees,branches,rocks and any thing else. They are similar to wolves and other wild animals that play with their mouth open. Like babies teething and growing, all things go in their mouth. We have as humans taken an outside animal and domesticated it and try to kill all natural instincts which were meant for survival in the outside world. We bring it inside to our house where it is an environment that they do not know. Thus furniture is wood to them,they drag your stuff off to a hiding spot (DEN). They mis behave we think but they are really just like kids growing up. SOLUTION: Let them live and play outside most of the day.They have a lot of energy. DO NOT allow them to bit you! Be firm and discipline them. Just saying no is not always good. You MUST establish boundaries. What is acceptable and what is not. If you must keep them confined to house, make a blocked off safe area-NO CRATES That is cruel.Make sure all important things are out of reach as they will jump up. Keep a radio or CD player with soft music or classical on. Music soothes them and they will sleep. IF you watch documentaries on wolves you will understand a lot more of the social structure of a pack and family order. The adults discipline pups hard till they yelp and run off to sooth their wounds. When they behave they are allowed to come back. Cruel. No. There must be order in the pack. Perhaps we humans could learn a lot from them and how we could keep our family structure in good working order. Huskies love to be FREE. And so do we all. Do not chain them with a heavy chain, rather use a tie out line of cable or strong rope cord such as tying up boats etc. Cable line runs about a 100 ft long are very good. If he must be confined will be able to run back and forth yet feel he is still free. A chained dog is an unhappy aggressive dog. And they know they are chained. They can feel it and hear it. ( you would not be chained either) Reverse the thinking and put yourselves in their shoes.) So one way or another you are going to pay by having a dog that is trying to dig out, break loose Never cage a husky (or any animal for that matter) they do not need it and it is cruel. If you use crates for sleeping leave the door open for them to go in and out. They love to sleep in small dark places where they can curl up. DOG houses should be small no more than 2X3ft with a flat roof. Huskies like wolves are observing animals. They love to watch. The flat roof provides a way for them to sit up and watch what is going on and also be alert to the world around it. LINK Fencing is good 4-6 ft should be fine. As a rule huskies are not good jumpers. They are not thoroughbred jumping horses. They will only try to escape if they are bored or unhappy. They do like to dig. They are denning animals,this is natural to ALL dogs.They are usually looking for field mice,small earth creatures or they are burying a treasure they have found. Take some chicken wire or hardware mesh and line around the fence line about 2- 3ft on the ground and fence line. That way they can not tunnel out. If they do they are usually just visiting around the area. Keep a collar and tag with your name and phone no on it. So you can be contacted. COLLARS and HARNESS: If this is a pet we are talking about here We would suggest leash training the dog first. As you more then likely have had many Siberians on a harness, but believe me most people have no idea of the power of their dog or dogs.I always keep the leash on at all times. When training up to a year or till the dog can be trusted and has bonded to you. The reason for this is if the dog runs you can always step on the leash fast. After about a year or so this will not be necessary. And for goodness sake take them everywhere. They will bond better, wait for you and not want to run away for fear of missing the outing with you. As a pet having obedience training first could help a lot in harness training. CONTROLLING: a dog who insists he/she is going to have it their way is, take hold of the collar and lift the front legs off the ground. Stretch the dog upward so he is pawing air now you have control. Pet his side behind the front leg on the rib cage, and talk to him/her to settle them a bit. It has been my experience that as soon as you put a harness on a husky that puppy wants to pull. Huskies should have a collar for tags and wear harness. As to pull a husky by the neck or any animal to them is a PRIMAL threat. IT is a signal of danger as most animals in the wild attack their prey at the throat jugular vein area. With a harness you hook husky on the back and there is no danger signal to him to balk like a horse. Huskies can be strong on pulling as that is what they were meant to do. With a harness they will be much easier to handle for you.They are very strong. You can then have them pull you on your bike or roller blading. Maybe hook them up to the lawn mower and have them mow the lawn *S* LOVE and Attention: We all need love and attention. Huskies most of all are Pack animals and require a lot of love and re assurance. They are shy like wolves and trust needs to be reinforced. They do not like to live alone. They get very lonely. They get along well with all other breeds of dogs and little ones too if raised together. So get them a friend. You want friends of your own peer group. So do they. They love to play,run frolic and in general are big babies who never grow up. Loyal, will always love to be with you on hiking and outdoor sports and will gladly work along side of you. They always wish to please. If you watch documentaries on wolves and canis lupus and most animals, they learn from play and keep their mouths open to grab at each other. They may do this with you. You can gently let them know that this hurts you and you do not like it. Or be firm if they do not listen. DIGGING: All animals DIG. Bears dig in trees for honey and scrounge the earth for food. The original food source of all animals is in the earth. Not in our refrigerators. Humans store their treasures in houses and closets. Animals use what nature gave them. The earth. So are they doing anything bad. No. Just what is natural. They will dig to bury bones or treats for later. Solution. Do not give them more than they need. They are like chipmunks. They will store it somewhere. If you have a special garden you do not want dug up then get a bale of hay or straw from the feed store and put it in a part of the yard that you do not use. That will be the huskies closet. They love it. They will play and store their precious things in there. Alternative also. make a small sand box 3ft x 3ft like you would for a child. Fill it with soft sand or dirt. Huskies will also use that. They will know it is there's and not use your lawn or garden. SPRAYING or marking territories: Man builds fences around his property and home. Huskies and all animals use what is natural for them to set up their boundaries to tell others this is my home. Urine. They do not go to the home building supply. RUNNING AWAY: First check your yard. Make sure it is secure. Does husky have enough to do. Have you exercised him or her? They have a lot of energy and need to be exercised. They are not couch potatoes. They do not have TV sets. When your husky runs away where does he go? Is he going to visit friends down the road? Other furry animals?Has he spotted a critter that he wants to play with? Is he bored to tears from being left alone with no company? Has he got a place from where he can sit and watch, such as a porch or the top of a dog house?Contented animals do not run away. That goes for humans too.THERE is always a reason! If they are running then the most likely problem is within the huskies living area and conditions. Tho they may occasionally test the waters while in the growing stage at about 5-9 months. That is what we call the teenage ugliness. You all remember those days? Also it may be the time of hormones change in the stage of development. When the primal call of nature kicks in and it is time to look for a mate. Even tho spayed or neuter,this may help BUT the instinct is there. Surgery does not take away instincts, it only modifies them. At this time it would be wise to keep a good eye on your furry one and understand it is just the call of the wild. We will be adding more. If any of you has any helpful hints.Please feel free to email us.

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