On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 11:35:32 -0500, sighthounds & siberians wrote:

No, it's not true that you can't obedience train Siberian Huskies.

Whew, good to hear. I'll be signing us up for a class!

Prong collars often work better than choke collars on
Siberians, because the dog self-corrects when it pulls.

Oh my gosh thank you so much. I had them show me at the pet store how to
put it on her and she pulls so much less now. Do you think it will be ok
for her to wear it to the class? I'm sure the other dogs will distract
her :\

Also, a prong collar is for training and/or walking only and should
not be left on the dog in the house.

She has two collars anyway. I keep one on her with tags and the other for
walking - just in case it breaks or comes off or something. She does not
come to me when I call her and would be gone in the blink of an eye if she
got loose.

Good luck with that. Almost all Siberian Huskies have high prey
drive. Many are not safe with cats and other small animals.

She is doing *so* good with it. She'll watch them but she has not run at
their cage at all today (sorry I forgot to say she's new here I just got
her a few days ago).

How old is your Sibe?

I don't know. At the dog pound they guessed her age to be around 1 year.

ate my first pair of guinea pigs when we weren't home - - she knocked
over the cage, opened it somehow, and all I found were a few spots of
blood.

That's awful!!

game. I think that sort of understanding depends on your dog having
more training and a clear view of you as the leader.

Yeah maybe that will come in time. She doesn't even know me yet or for
that matter have a name - that I know of anyway. She was a stray dog
that no one claimed. I wouldn't be surprised if she got away from someone
and ran many miles to end up here. Well I don't feel too bad anyway
because she's hand shy like she's been abused so it's probably better
she's got a new home.

Egads, yes, a young Siberian's need for exercise is beyond
leash-walking. It's too late for this now, but just curious: did you
research the breed at all before getting her?

A little. I was familiar with the breed being a high energy working dog.
It wouldn't have been my first choice breed, but I thought about it a
couple days, read a book from the library about the breed, then went
back to the shelter to adopt her.

Again, how old is she? A young husky has enormous amounts of energy,
and living in a trailer without a fenced area where she can run around
is probably pretty difficult for her.

Boy do I feel like a complete idiot!! I learned the hard way today that
pacing, crying and scratching the door means "I have to go out and go
potty right now". It's been many years since I had a dog so young and she
started this not more than a couple hours after she'd been out and went
both poo and pee. Well, she went again on my carpet. Serves me right, lol,
I didn't understand her! I took her out then took her running with the
bike just holding the leash. Good god she can run fast! Now she's
lying on the couch sleeping.

You didn't mention whether she does this every time you leave, how
often and for how long you're normally gone, or how she behaves when
you're out of her sight, so I don't know whether it's true separation
anxiety.

Oops sorry. She's new here like I said so this is all new to her. It was
the first time she'd been alone in the house and she was only alone about
15 minutes. Either I or my spouse are here pretty much all the time so she
isn't going to need to be alone much at all. However, she does follow me
around the house like she's glued to me. If I leave the room she follows.
If I go in the bathroom and close the door before she gets there she sits
outside the door and cries until I come out. Maybe it's just because this
place is new?

Owning a Siberian Husky in your current situation will be challenging!

Well thank you for all your info. I'm sure we can make it work somehow. I
really like this dog a lot. She's so neat. Great personality and
temperment. The funny thing is I thought she was kinda ugly when I first
saw her - especially with the different colored eyes. But now that I know
her more I think she's beautiful