None wedding question...

Are there any brides out there that can give my fiance and I any tips on puppies??? Has anyone bought one recently? We're probably going to get one soon. A Siberian Husky. Any thoughts would be helpful. Thanks!

None wedding question...

If you have, or are planning to have children during the life of the dog I'd reconsider that breed. We had an Alaskan Malamute, which I believe is considered to be friendlier than the Husky and while it was fine with me, it played way too rough with my brother (we were about 7 and 5 years old). It was also very destructive to furnishings when left alone, tearing down the curtains on the sliding glass doors and was rumored to have killed a kitten in the neighborhood. They are beautiful dogs, but we ended up giving her to friends with a farm, because our suburban ranch house on an acre of land was just too confining to her. I think that Labradors (Yellow, Black or Chocolate) or Golden Retrievers are considered to be one of the best breeds with children. We later had a yellow labrador who was a wonderful pet.

I agree w/ Karen...(m)

my parents had to get rid of there husky when I was born b/c it got very jealous and played way too rough w/ me. Goldens and Labs are wonderful with any age children. Friends of mine have 2 goldens and 1 lab and just had their second baby; and have not had any problems. Good luck!

Same here

We were looking for a puppy a few months ago and we were advised by husky breeders not go get one. They said they are not as playful as they seem, they love to jump (especially fences) and can be rough. We ended up with a chow/shephard mix-we really lucked out because she is a sweetie and she was a year old from the North Shore Animal League! I am partial to german shephards and golden retrievers because I have had them all my life...Labs are good too though :) Good luck! Have fun puppy hunting!

Same here

I have heard the same thing.. look into the golden labs.. they are great, my fiance and I are thinking about a dog, right now we have a rabbit.. she is great!!! and easy to take care of!!!

None wedding question...

I would say that if you both work and don''t have a large yard with lots of running room, a husky is not a good choice. The other posts have good suggestions for family dogs. You also might want to consider an English Springer Spaniel. My ex-husband and I had one before we even had our children and she was the most sweet, loving and wonderful friend you could imagine. We had her for over 15 years and when she died we felt like we lost a family member. Just some reminders when adopting any pet. If you are adopting a purebred, make sure you use a reputable breeder. If you purchase from a pet store or adopt from a shelter make sure they can provide you with background on where the puppy came from. Many pet store puppies are inbred and have numerous health and behavioral problems. Ask for a copy of the puppy or dogs health record( you need this to make sure they have had their immunizations). And no matter who or where you get the puppy from, take it to your own vet within 24 hours to make sure that it is healthy.

Go for a mutt!

I agree with Wendy. Purebreds often have problems because of inbreeding. I always suggest going to the pound or shelter. They have so many animals that would love a new home. We found our dog. My FI found her on Christmas Eve 1999. She was 6 weeks old, and she is a retriever, shar-pei mix (we think -- we'll never really know for sure) and she is the best dog. They know that they've been rescued and I think they are so much more lovable because of that. I agree with the retriever being good for kids. We don't have kids but our neighbor does and she often stays with them while we are away, and they always mention how well behaved she is around the children. GOOD LUCK! Dogs are so wonderful to have in your life. And this is coming from someone who never had or wanted a dog in her life, before my little girl came along. (Little girl, meaning my dog :-)

Don't Generalize a breed based on ONE dog

Melissa, As an owner of a purebred Siberian Husky and being a veterinarian for almost 14 years, I disagree with what Karen posted about the breed. While I am sure the story is true, do not base the experience with one dog on the entire breed. My dog was the most docile animal you'd ever meet. We also had two cats at the same time and they all cuddled together. Keep in mind an animal will act accordingly with how it's treated or how much attention it receives. I've been bitten by golden retrievers, poodles, etc. so please look at the individual temprament of the animal and how much time you can devote to it. The saddest thing is to hear stories of someone who HAD to give a dog away for reasons like it was destructive or plain mean, when THEY left it alone 18 hours a day in a locked house. The only thing I will say about the breed is they like to run ... so I hope you have a big yard or a school nearby for lots of exercise. :) Enjoy!

Kimberp - we DIDN`T mistreat our dog...

My mother was a stay at home mom and my brother and I were young. The dog was rarely at home alone. We had an acre of land and fields behind the house. There were no leash laws in our rural area and Nikani was allowed to run loose at night. So please don`t imply that our 'mistreatment' of our dog was responsible for her behavior. She was wonderful and docile with me, but for some reason she liked to jump on my brother, and to have an 80+ lb. dog jump on a 5 year old to roughhouse was not a good idea. He'd be sitting watching TV and she come bounding up and jump on him to 'play'. All I wanted to do was point out that if they were considering children they might want to do more research or reconsider. I`ve seen lists of dogs that are NOT good around children with Huskies and Malmutes often near the top of the list. You`re right, you can`t generalize a breed by one dog, hey, I`m sure there are nice pit bulls too, but some dogs are better off when they get more attention and have more room to run. We CHOOSE to let our dog enjoy her life on a farm with someone who could give her love and room to roam when we found that her temperment was not appropriate for our situaton, although we`d been led to believe, by the breeder, that it would be fine. We had thought that a large suburban ranch home with lots of room to run would be enough for her, but it wasn`t, and I was trying to illustrate that because most of Long Island is a lot more confined than the rural area of Michgan where I grew up. And keep in mind that it`s near to impossible to judge the temperment of an individual animal without spending some significant time with it. As I said, her temperment was fine with me, but she roughhoused with my younger brother. Sometimes you do the research and think you`ve made the right decision only to find that it`s not. We gave her a better life than we were able to give her - we didn`t have her put down, so please don`t make us look like we were irresponsible and uncaring.

North Shore or any shelter

The people at North Shore love animals and know these animals pretty well. You can look at the dogs and they have notations on them if they are good with children or not. Plus these animals need a home so bad, while they are being treated well at the shelter you could give it the love and attention it needs and diserves. If you get an animal - go there...

Kimberp...

Hi... You have a Siberian Husky??? Tell me about him/her! I'm so excited and I've always wanted one my whole life. I work at home right now, so I'll have lots of time for it. I'll give him plenty of exercise outside also. I got back a couple of hours ago from looking at a litter of husky puppies. Oh how cute. I just don't know which one I would want. I always had my heart set on a male, black and white with 2 blue eyes. All the puppies were black and white, 3 females with blue eyes, and 2 males 1 with blue eyes and 1 with 1 blue eye, 1 brown eye. The male with 2 blue eyes had the long hair. So it really looked like a chow kind of. The other male was exactly what I'm looking for, except 2 different colored eyes. Am I being too picky? He is gorgeous. I just don't know if I really want 2 blue eyes, a female, male???? I don't know. I actually want them all. The females are gorgeous too and they all have blue eyes, but they're female? Do you mind giving your opinion and experience with a husky if you don't mind??? Thanks so much. I like those other dogs a lot too, but I've always had my heart set on a Siberian Husky. :)

Karen H - never said you mistreated your dog

Karen, sorry to get you excited, I wasn't saying that you mistreated the dog, what I said was that some people generalize about a breed based on a 'story' they heard, but never know the circumstances behind the dog's actions. It sounds as if you had a great dog, although playful, and did what you thought was best for it (and your little brother :) Doing what I do I just felt it necessary to give Melissa something to think about .. that's all. Was not meant for you take to personally.

Melissa ...

Melissa, Wow, it sounds like you have a tough choice to make ... choosing just one of any type of puppy is hard :) I have had many types of dogs, but Huskies are my favorite. My dog's name is Natasha, and she is a female with 2 blue eyes. Although she is older now, as a puppy she was very playful. I suggest getting one of those pull toys as they tend to like to 'tug' on things, and as a puppy, shoelaces are no exception! She doesn't need a leash as she walks right next to you or even just sits on the front lawn and 'looks around.' Never even gets up when another dog walks by. She is a very unique dog but I think so because of the tons of attention that she gets. People stop as they drive by on the street to come see and pet her .. she is kinda spoiled :) People tend to react to her since she has a perfectly symetrical mask, which you don't usually find. She is a great dog and I can't recommend huskies enough, but every dog is of course different. It sounds though like your house and your eagerness to have one will make you a great husky owner! :) If you have any questions, feel free to write me away from this board at [email protected]. Good luck and at the very least, let me know which one you choose!