Hi guys,
Right then....am trying to convince the mrs on allowing me to get a puppy and want any pointers or advice from any owners out there....
I've never owned a dog before...so I need to know a lot about them so I can put the best case forward lol....
There's a couple of owners on here, myself included, and from this thread, there's a lot of old wives tales, and some facts..
You might get a cuddler, you might get a power chewer, you might get an active dog, you might get a lazy dog..it's luck of the draw, just as if you may get a vicious/active/lazy/power chewing lab or other breed.
A good place to start for info, and asking questions is
http://www.husky-owners.com/forum/index.php
I've had them for most of my life, my parent's have had them, and now I've had my second pure breed, my last pure breed died a couple of years ago, and my other mix had to be put down in January, aged 18, so they do tend to live for at least 12 - 15 years on average.
They do like exercise, they also like to sleep.....a lot.
The can destroy a room in minutes, or they may just sleep in it.
Very intelligent, demanding, yes, but so are a lot of dogs.
The owner needs to be the boss, but you don't have to be a drill sergeant to do so.
They can make a lot of noise, they might not, ours just whines and howls like she's singing to herself, which isn't too loud, and you can't hear it from outside the house.
A set of chew toys, like a Kong is a must, a decent harness, and as is a long walking lead, and a 100ft lead or so, for running/beach use, etc.
Easy to train, paw/sit being the first thing to learn, in minutes, potty training on all mine was done within weeks.
My latest is 10 months old now, and no more demanding than any other dog of that age, in fact, she will sleep from about 9.30am, right through till at least 2pm, or later, till the school run, sometimes she will want to go out earlier but it's rare, and she sleeps all night, without fail.
Crate training is something to look into for a dog like this, as you can control it's habit's when you are out, and also it gives the dog somewhere to hide, like a den, which they love.
As I say above, try the husky site, for info, and maybe go see some or speak to other owners, better than people who know a friend of a friend sort of thing(no offense to anyone!!)
EDIT: Forgot to add, they will steal your bed, as they like the "pack" thing, and what's your's is theirs..
Very sensitive stomachs, no crap food for them, ours is fed on James Wellbeloved, one of the dearest on the market..loves marshmallows, Abernethy biscuits, and goes crazy for wine gums.
But in the end, how you bring the dog up, in your enviroment, is the thing that will lead to what it grows up to be.