Any Siberian husky owners?

[SpotTheCat]

I am looking at maybe getting a husky to do dryland mushing with. But I am not sure they would suite me because we have cats. I see a lot of people with cats and huskies but a lot of places say that they are not good with cats.

I would also like to hear about people’s experiences with huskies and see pictures

 

[NatJ]

I have had one person say no husky will ever get along with cats, a different person said that it would be best to get a dog from either a breeder who has huskies with cats or a adult rescue who gets along with cats. Another person said getting a adult rescue would be best. Its getting very confusing and I am not sure what to do

If you are considering an adult dog, you can check whether it is good with cats or not. No matter what may be "normal" for the breed, the individual dog might be different.

If you are considering a puppy, then learn about the parents of the puppy, and about how to raise the puppy. If the breeder says "no husky will ever get along with cats," and you have cats, you might not want to get a puppy from them. But if a breeder has cats, and their adult huskies get along fine with the cats, then their puppies might also be able to learn to get along with cats. Such a breeder might also have useful advice on raising & training their puppies to get along with cats.

 

[JenInNev]

I'm sure it does depend on individual dog temperament, and also to some degree on training.... But my experience with huskies and small animals hasn't been good. We had one kill 7 chickens in under 10 minutes. I locked her in the basement while we found her owner, and she was perfectly sweet with people and with my dog. Just had an incredibly strong prey drive. When I talked to the owner, I found out she had previously killed housecats.

Huskies can be an unpredictable breed. They can be very loyal to their owners and their fellow canine house mates. My first Husky killed cats. We believed he was part wolf hybrid and cats in his early years were a no go. He eventually settled down when he was about 10 and got along with the cats.

My current husky is a Rottweiler mix. He looks husky but has the rotty body. He is loud at yelling at the cats when they bother him, but cuddles with them at night.

Huskies need to be kept active for the most part. If bored, they can destroy your house with chewing, etc. They were meant to run and pull like you are proposing. If you have ever watched a dog sled race, you would know what I mean. Doesn't matter if it's a short race through the streets and trails of Anchorage, or a 1,000 mile Iditarod, when they get to the finish line, their heads are up proud and prancing across that finish line.

I would get a puppy. An older dog may not accept cats as part of the pack. A puppy raised with them, in the house with them, most likely see them as part of the family.

Btw: get a Strong vacuum. Java Bean, my current husky, has killed three vacuums with his fur.

 

[Scrumdidlyump]

It was the hair - he was terrified of the things.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Sorry, I haven't read the entire thread but I wanted to add my 2 cents worth.

1. You don't HAVE to have a "mushing" breed to do Skijoring. I know a lady who breeds Irish Setters and races them in mushing competitions during the winter months. I see a guy all the time that uses his golden retriever to pull his bike on the trials around here.

2. I absolutely LOVED my siberian husky. Had her for 9 years until I had to put her down because of bone cancer in her jaw. She would do anything that I asked her to - we had a very strong bond between us.
a. She was an escape artist - my friend had to make a special gate latch (welded metal bars) that she couldn't open - she figured out how it opened, but never had the strength to actually do it. We couldn't put yard furniture near the privacy fence or she would get out. Welded wire fencing - she learned to bite the welds and break them so she could squeeze out and chase squirrels while I was in class.
b. She wasn't a big talker - very quiet dog. Barked at strangers a little bit but not much.
c. Her best friend was a cat. She loved her kitten and they would snuggle together on cold winter nights. She didn't bother outdoor cats - but that was because I told her not to.
d. She had fairly good recall - as long as I kept an eye on her and didn't let her wander too far away, she stuck around.

 

[Scrumdidlyump]

Thank you! Did he not chase your cats if they ran?

No. But I had two grumpy old man cats.

 

[TJAnonymous]

So I have heard huskies are very good at escaping, what do you do to prevent this when letting them out in to the garden? Supervise? Do have to have 8ft fences?

Our Husky cannot be let off the leash or she would be gone in a NY minute. I was going to invest in one of those wireless fences that work with your dog's collar but a dog trainer told me not to bother because it would never contain her.

 

[NatJ]

Hector killed two Roombas.

Wow, that's some prey drive!

(I'm assuming it was really his hair that damaged the Roomba vaccuums, not him chasing & biting them.)

 

[ShrekDawg]

I’m not sure about the cat thing, that largely depends on the individual dog, but I just wanted to say that you do NOT necessarily need a “mushing breed” to do this sport or really any sort of joring. In fact, I would say it might be better to NOT get one given your current circumstances. Unless you were planning to compete with the dog??? But even then, there are other breeds and purpose bred crosses that may be better for you.

Just about any breed can do bike joring, ski joring, etc. as long as they’re over about 30-40 ish lbs and love pulling. Labs, Terriers, GSDs, even Border Collies can do this. I would also recommend perhaps a Eurohound (purpose bred cross specifically bred for speed for sprint racing and, quite often, dry land racing) or an Alaskan Husky or even just a regular purebred German Shorthaired Pointer or just Pointer (different breed. Think the latter is English).

Just try to find a breed and temperament you want for your family and worry about mushing later cause essentially any dog can do it if they’re big enough and raised right. If you want to race with it or something, then maybe get one for that but even then, I would just practice and gain experience first before racing.

 

[NatJ]

My problem is I really want to do mushing, other wise there would be plenty of dogs that fit

you do NOT necessarily need a “mushing breed” to do this sport

Just what I was going to say!

Your best bet would be to talk to actual mushers about what kinds of dogs are suitable, if mushing is what you want.

In Alaska where I grew up, real sled dogs (the racing kind) are usually NOT purebreds recognized by any kennel club or registry.

The ones pictured here look to me like a typical assortment:
https://www.researchgate.net/figure...ly-for-their-racing-performance_fig1_45281024