"Huskies are really closely related to Wolves!"
It's a common misconception that dogs are descended from Wolves, and Huskies even more so due to their resemblance, when in actual fact dogs and wolves evolved from a common ancestor thousands of years ago, which means that, yes they are related, but dogs aren't directly descended from wolves, according to recent research at least.
It's not actually clear about the origin of dogs, but even if dogs did evolve straight from wolves, it would be thousands of years since so a lot of the wolfy genetics have been bred out of them when they became domesticated.
"Huskies are vicious"
When I took my Husky out when she was around 14 weeks old or so I, obviously, got lots of people stopping to ask if they could pet her etc. Of course, I'd be more than happy to show her off, like a mother with a newborn baby, and I would always get this question: "Does she bite? Aren't Huskies vicious?"
These questions make me want to slap myself.
This is how I know straight away if a person is knowledgeable about the breed or not, because anyone who knows about the breed of a Siberian Husky, you know that their temperaments are amazing. They are notoriously friendly to everyone, and I mean absolutely everyone. In fact, my girl is so friendly, she would sometimes walk off with other people without a second glance if they showed her the slightest bit of attention at the park.
I'd have to chase her up, or the people would have to bring her back to me. She's scary friendly, but I'd rather her be that than aggressive. Besides that, she was tiny! Like, the size of two coke cans stacked up. A bite from her wouldn't even make a mark, and they are asking me if she's vicious.
"Huskies are great guard dogs!"
You probably know why this is a misconception now after reading my first point. I have three dogs including my Husky, a Lab and a Staffy pup. Out of the three, the Lab is the most aggressive one. And when I say 'aggressive' I mean she barks loudly if she see's anyone in front of our house. The Staffy barks occasionally with her, but she's a lump of lard who would be too lazy to attack anyone to guard you. And the Husky, well she's just not interested. She doesn't care who comes through the door, as long as they give her attention they're golden.
A Husky will more than likely never protect you from a threat. It's just against their nature. They rarely bark, the most they do when it comes to vocalization is howl, which is when they are bored, hungry, or grumbling at you. Other than their wolfy look and sometimes off-putting eye stare, they're gonna be about as intimidating as a sock.
"They are working dogs, so they're gonna need to eat a lot"
Surprisingly, Huskies don't eat as much as you think. Mine has two meals a day, but she's the pickiest eater I've ever seen a dog be. I didn't know it was even possible for a dog to be that picky, until my girl came along.
Mine used to eat dry kibble, and my Lab and Staffy love it. They practically inhale it, however, my Husky didn't appreciate it at all. Huskies are grazers really, they'll have a few mouthfuls (very small ones) and then come back to it during the day.
Unfortunately, this doesn't work when you've got two greedy sisters who will eat your food as soon as you stop paying attention to it. It's usually the Staffy, because she's a similar age to my Husky (1 year old). My Lab is 6, so she knows better. Most of the time.
My Husky stopped eating, and wouldn't touch the food I gave her. It caused her to lose weight drastically, and we tried adding Pedigree wet food to her kibble. This didn't work either, she picked up some of the meat and then spat it back out. Literally.
I ended up putting her on kibble and these high-protein raw meat rolls called Chubb Rolls. They're cheap, but they did the trick. She loves them, she digs in like I've never seen her do before, and now she's a healthy 16 Kg, which is still a work in progress, but she's much fatter now than she was, and I'm happy with it.
It's because most Huskies prefer raw, high-protein foods. I remember last Christmas, we had a turkey for dinner, and it came with all of the extra parts like the inners and the throat and all of that lovely stuff. I gave it to the dogs, as a treat. However, my Lab didn't touch it, and neither did my Staffy which was shocking to me... They'll eat anything, but my Husky went for it immediately and inhaled it. I guess she didn't like the Pedigree wet food because it was cooked a little bit instead of raw.
So, top tip, give your Husky raw, high-protein food!
"They need LOTS of exercise!"
Ok, this is true, every dog needs exercise, but not to the extent of what you're thinking. They don't need like 3 hours of walking every single day, although they would probably love that, and they can go for hours (has something to do with them being able to change their metabolism to preserve energy or something like that). 30 minutes to an hour every day would do a Husky, or if you can't walk them for a day or two for some reason, a good run around in the garden does wonders. Mine spends most of her time running around my garden with her sisters if I'm too busy to walk them due to college work or something, and she gets all of her energy out effectively with her sisters.
Of course, a dog has a need to migrate, so walks are a must.
"If you live in a hot country, you have to shave them so they don't overheat!"
NEVER SHAVE YOUR HUSKY.
Not ever. It's very harmful to your Husky, and they are more likely to overheat if all of their protective fur is gone. I don't know specifics, but I do know that their coat protects them from overheating or the opposite, freezing to death as they can survive in below zero temperatures easily.
Although it's true that Huskies thrive better in a colder climate, it doesn't mean that they can't live in hot ones either. All you need to do to help them in a heat wave is make sure they have the means to cool down, e.g. provide them with shade, plenty of water and I've even seen people giving their Huskies paddling pools filled with ice.
Just please, NEVER shave your dog. Or any dog for that matter, their fur is there for a reason.
"Huskies are great off-leash!"
Lies. Well, if you train your husky some hardcore recall skills when they are very young, they could be find off-leash and come back to you with ease all the time.
However, Huskies are generally terrible off-leash. They have a strong prey-drive, which means if they see anything small and moving, they'll run after it and will focus on it more than your commands.
Lots of people tell you never to let your Husky off-leash, but I disagree. From being small, I trained mine to come back to me when she hears me whistle. With lots of positive reinforcement in the form and treats and consistency, she's pretty good with it, but only if distractions are kept minimal.
I only let my girl off the lead when we're in a closed space where she can't run out into the road somewhere or anywhere else dangerous, and somewhere that isn't busy with other dogs or people around. If she see's one of two people, she's fine but may still go over to say hi, even more so if they have a dog with them.
I have two other dogs that are great off leash, whatever the situation, so she tends to follow the eldest (my Lab) around, so when I call her back, she comes following. Or if I whistle, I'll at least grab her attention and she'll turn around and come closer to me and the rest of the pack, if not come straight to me. So, it can be done but it's difficult.
Huskies are extremely smart, they won't do something if they don't see a point in it. For example, If I have a treat and I keep asking her to sit, eventually she'll catch on that I'm not gonna give her the treat any time soon, so she just won't pay attention to me any more, even if I have food. So, don't mistake their happy-go-lucky attitude for stupidity.
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To sum it all up, if you are looking to own one of these beautiful dogs, do it! They are amazing dogs that will light up your life, but please research them first to evaluate whether they are gonna fit in with your lifestyle first!
If they do, have fun with your Husky! <3
- Wolfee ~
- Wolfee ~
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