Siberian Husky

Lenni

Hi All,

I just got a Siberian Husky. He is now 10 weeks old. Just wondering has anyone any advise or tips on the little guy. One thing I wanted to check was bout his feeds. A number of people have told us not to give him the left overs of say chicken and that. But we were at the vets last nite, he was getting one of his needles and the vet said do give him left overs, like chicken and burgers and that. Anyone any thoughts on this???

Thanks
Lenni

whitser

pups need protein, protein=meat. at tens weeks he should be getting fed about 4 times a day. chicken,beef,lamb cuts are best, i dont bother with pork cos not sure about salt content. scraps from the dinner especially veg is good for them also. any pups i've ever had got as much meat/veg as possible but if that wasnt available a good dry puppy food is best.

Lenni

Thats gr8, at least I no now. Thanks for the advise. Also, our fence in the back garden is bout 6 ft, do you think we sould hire this up. Sorry for all the questions, this is our 1st pup.

Discostuy

My two are fed Hills SP puppy food, its high protein stuff according to the pack. They are nearly a year now so im going to start phasing them onto normal adult food this week.

I had them on 3 feeds a day until they go to about 5 months i think. Now they are on two.

I also give them scraps mixed in with their feed, but only stuff that was beneficial. Bits of chicken and beef the odd time, and plenty of veg and fruit.

They will eat absolutley anything they get there paws on. I use carrots, apples, tuna and meat scraps as treats they have to earn or mixed in with their feed, i wouldnt give them scraps from the dinner table or you'll have a begging dog before you know it, which can be very annoying.

Be warned...meat scraps can lead to horrendous farts...in my two anyways

Discostuy

Lenni wrote: »

Thats gr8, at least I no now. Thanks for the advise. Also, our fence in the back garden is bout 6 ft, do you think we sould hire this up. Sorry for all the questions, this is our 1st pup.

I'd say 6' is grand for the time being, but im not to up on huskies...i did see a 6 month old one a while ago who looked huge, and had massive strong legs but i'd be suprised if he got over a 6 foot fence.

peasant

You have to be very, very careful with pork as it can carry the virus for Aujezky's disease. This virus is completely harmless to humans (and therefore not really specifically checked for in food processing)

As with any virus, it is killed when the meat is cooked, but raw pork could be lethal to your dog.

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/pseudorabies-aujeszky-s-disease-in-dogs/page1.aspx


Generally, feeding leftovers is a subject of some debate. Personally, as long as you avoid salt or spices as well as onions, I can see no harm in occasionally feeding leftovers to the dog rather than chucking it down the bin.
Just try not to overfeed and keep a nutritional balance.

the easiest way to achive good nutritional balance is to feed a high quality fry food ...but there are other feeding methods, they do require some more reading and effort though.


As for your fence ...keep an eye on the dog if it is trying to get over it. Most dogs will just accept a fence and six foot should really be high enough ..but there is always the odd escape artist.

Lenni

I didnt realise there was so much to learn with a new pup. So basically i should just b mixing it into his food. Good to no bout the fruit, wouldnt have thought of giving him fruit.

Lenni

In a few weeks he is going to be on his own at home from 7.30 - 5.30. Is this too long or should I be getting someone to pop into him.

peasant

ohh ..and a note on protein

Protein is sheer energy ...energy that has to be burned off. Unless you have a working dog or run marathons with your Husky, a protein content of 20-25% (in dry food) is absolutely sufficient for your normal pet kind of dog once it is out of the first growing spurt. Too much protein can result in very hyper dogs (like kids on a sugar rush )

Another thing with large breeds (well, a Husky is borderline large) is not to feed them food that is too rich. Otherwise they will grow too fast, with the result that the bones grow rapidly but the slow growing cartriledge has insufficient time to fill in all the gaps in the joints which can lead to joint problems later.

Here the protein is a factor again. If you have a young pup that because of its "sugar rush" is waaay to active, that will also place undue stress on growing bones and joints, leading to trouble later in life.

Best consult your vet to see what they recommend.

Lenni wrote: »

In a few weeks he is going to be on his own at home from 7.30 - 5.30. Is this too long or should I be getting someone to pop into him.

That's 10 hours! ...that's very long ...too long in my opinion.
Yes, it would be good if you could get someone to break up that long day and also give the dog a chance for some excercise during the day (and check and see that he's alright and all that)

randombar

Out of interest where did ya get the pup and how much?

Noopti

Lenni wrote: »

In a few weeks he is going to be on his own at home from 7.30 - 5.30. Is this too long or should I be getting someone to pop into him.

I would definitely have someone pop in & walk him at some point during the day. It is a long time for such a young puppy to be left alone.

whitser

any protein your pups gets now will be absorbed as he is still growing. when he's fully grown it might be necessary to reduce the protein levels,depending on how much exercise he gets.

Lenni

Ill have to sort something out. My neighbour wil b calling in a 3.30 to let him out the back, do you think this is ok.

I got him through the buy and sell, a breader in Galway, he was 700. He is beautiful, Gray and Silver with Blue eyes.

whitser

i dont think the huskie will be affectd by the rich food growing to fast etc..thats more to do with mastiff types. sure huskies in the wilds are fed entirely on seal meat and blubber, and thats rich.
obviously yours wont need all that protein as he wont be pulling a sled but he'll be fine dealing with it as a growing pup.

Glowing

From what I understand about Huskies is that they're more of an outdoor dog. When he's older, I'm not sure how happy he'd be cooped up inside from 7.30 to 3.30. They're boistrous and need lots and lots of exercise.

If you could leave him out, and get your neighbour to walk him for 30 mins in the afternoon, he'd probably be a lot happier.

Lenni

Give it a few weeks and he wil be outside for the day. I have a good size back garden and will get him a big kennel. For now to be honest I would be affraid that someone would take him and also, he is not finished getting his needles. He loves the back garden so i dont tink it will b a prob when he is out. plus everynite he will get a long walk.

Nothingcompares

10 hours on his own is terrible for a puppy especially as you're leaving it inside. the 3.30 break will be absolutely essential you're very lucky to have a neighbour who will do this for you. I expect to see the effects of a bored lonely puppy very soon - chewed up chairs, pulled up lino/carpet etc.

Just my unprofessional opinion.

Lenni

Well sure I asked for opinions, so all is welcom. As I said, it is only till he is a bit bigger and can put up a fite if someone trys to take him.

Nothingcompares

well maybe you should try human proofing your back garden rather than dog proofing. 700 is a lot of money to spend on a dog you haven't researched.

Lenni

I did research him, and I am doing all I can to make him happy, but before I got him I got professional advise and was told that huskys are fine to b left on their own for that duration but now I am being told different.....

Discostuy

Leaving him on his own out the back wont really solve any issues either i wouldnt say. It wont really cure boredom or anything. And if he starts howling your neighbours will go mad.

You should try get someone to walk him at lunch. I'd imagine he is going to have bundles of energy, even more so as he starts growing.

Do wait until he has all his injections before allowing him out or near other dogs.

Also, when you do start walking him, i would advise from as early as possible to get him trained on a lead so he doesnt pull or try to chase other dogs.
When he is 6 months and strong as a horse, you'll have a nightmare if he starts dragging you on a lead.

Lenni

Thanks Discostuy, Ill do that. He is very obidient and taking well to training so far. I no alot of people with dogs and they would leave them out the back for a good few hours, mayb not for as long as my pup though.

Discostuy

Well my two are alone for a few hours a day but i leave them indoors.
If i put them out the back they just sit at the back door waiting to come back in. I think being indoors they feel safer and relaxed.

Get yourself some kongs and fill them with fruit and whatever...that'll keep him working and busy.

If you had time in the mornings give him a good walk, and then if you had an extra 20 mins or so, you could work on some training. I find this tires dogs out a lot. Just start with basics of sit, down and stay. It'll pay off great in the long run.

Lenni

I have some of them kongs already, he loves them and has lots of toys that he does be messing with. We have been off for the past 2 weeks with him and he is still at the stage where he sleeps a lot.