My brother started a husky in a one-room apartment and started howling within a month

Breed characteristics

When getting to know the breed, it is worth considering the history of its origin. Huskies are sled dogs used in the Far East. Now this animal is considered a decorative and exhibition animal due to its original color.

The dog has an attractive appearance:

• sharp nose;
• blue, brown or gray eyes (individuals with heterochromia are often found);
• protruding long triangular ears;
• curved tail;
• thick coat with undercoat.

Additional Information! This dog breed makes an excellent companion due to its friendliness, loyalty and obedience. Dogs can follow any command if you start training your pet from an early age.

Possibility of keeping a husky in a city apartment

Not all people think before purchasing a dog whether it is possible to keep a husky in an apartment. They simply buy a puppy and don't provide enough attention and care.

Before buying a pet, you should familiarize yourself with the rules of care and education, so that later there will be no problems with its maintenance.

Disadvantages of the breed for keeping in an apartment

How to keep a husky is worth thinking about in advance. There are not only advantages to keeping a husky in an apartment, but also disadvantages. One of these is the desire to spoil furniture, and this model of behavior is inherent not only in puppies, but also in adults.

To avoid such consequences, it is necessary to raise a pet from childhood, buy special toys that will help the animal satisfy its desire for destruction.

In particular, keeping a Husky requires the need for a large free space, since pets of this breed are very active. But even in a 1-2 room apartment it is possible to live with a dog if you take daily walks 3-4 times a day for at least 45-60 minutes.

Husky with its owner in the opening of a broken door

Norms and feeding regime for a puppy and an adult husky

First, they decide on the type of feeding: buy industrial feed or cook it yourself. Different enzymes are responsible for digesting dry kibble and natural foods. With a mixed diet, digestion does not have time to rebuild, food is poorly absorbed, and fermentation begins in the intestines.

The daily amount of dry food is written on the packaging. With natural feeding, you will have to calculate it yourself. The volume of food is determined by body weight:

These are average norms; the specific amount of food depends on the animal’s mobility and physical activity. If the ribs cannot be felt, it means the pet is overfed; if they stick out too much, there is not enough food.

Up to 2 months, the puppy is fed 5-6 times a day; as he grows up, the portions increase and the number of feedings decreases:

Adult dogs are fed twice a day, preferably by the hour: in the morning no earlier than 8-00, in the evening no later than 22-00. The bowl of food is left for 20 minutes, then removed until the next feeding.

Preparing your home for a husky

The apartment should be prepared before the animal gets into it. Often people, when away from home, lock their huskies in a cage indoors. This practice is possible, but it is worth creating a cozy environment for the animal. It will be enough to lay out a rug, put some toys, and don’t forget about constant access to clean water.

The cage should be spacious so that the pet can move around it freely. Do not forget to open the door immediately upon returning home so that the dog does not feel lost and abandoned.

Walking and physical activity

It is imperative to provide the animal with daily active walking. It is necessary to choose public gardens, parks and green areas for walks without large crowds of people.

How long to walk

There is no room for a husky to run around in an apartment, and therefore it is necessary to provide him with sufficient physical activity. The pet should frolic in the fresh air for at least 2 hours a day.

It is recommended to take him outside not only in the morning and evening, but also throughout the day. In this case, the walking time can be reduced to 30 minutes.

Husky in winter on a walk with a girl on a leash

Toilet training

At an early age, a puppy needs to be vaccinated quite often. After it, it is not recommended to walk the animal, and therefore it is necessary to teach your pet to relieve itself in a diaper during quarantine. When the animal develops immunity, it will need to be taken outside after eating, playing and before bed. After relieving yourself, your pet needs to be praised and given a treat.

To train your husky to use the toilet outside, you can take out the diaper in advance so that when the dog smells the smell, he understands what is wanted from him. It is not recommended to scold a dog, especially at an early age, since puppies do not know how to tolerate need.

Exercise restrictions for a puppy

A full load can be provided to a pet only after it reaches the age of 1-1.5 years. After this, you can ride a bike with the animal or go jogging. However, until this age, you cannot run with him up steep stairs, over long distances and jump high, since the dog’s skeleton is just forming.

Safety on the street

When outdoors, you must keep your husky on a leash, as he may chase a cat, a relative, or a pigeon. At an early age, it is necessary to carry out the process of socialization of the pet so that it is not afraid of other dogs.

Education and training

The Husky puppy is very active and loving, so he will happily absorb all the attention you give him. The first six months are critical for the formation of the owner-pet relationship.

During this period of a husky’s life, it is important to devote all your free time to him, playing with him, caring for him, walking him and giving him your affection and warmth. During walks, you need to give him all your strength, making him exhausted, so that at home he will be more calm and diligent

During walks, you need to give him all your strength, making him exhausted, so that at home he will be more calm and diligent.

In general, when raising a husky, it is useful to introduce a number of rules.

• Your role as a leader should be clearly established. The leader is the first to eat, the first to enter the home, and leads in any narrow passages.
• It is unacceptable to use violence against a husky. If the dog has committed an offense, you should limit yourself to the command “fu”, “no”, “place” or the like, ignoring some of the dog’s needs until the moment he backs down. If the dog shows persistence, it is permissible to take it by the withers and press it to the floor or ground until the dog stops persisting and relaxes. Causing pain to the dog is strictly prohibited.
• Always give the dog a choice, reinforcing it with the right reward - be it treats, affection, or at least approval from the owner. This way you will form positive reinforcement for the dog to behave correctly (from your point of view).
• The husky must have certain living rules, which rooms she is allowed access to, what time she eats, what time she sleeps, how she behaves while walking, during meals, with guests, and so on.

Up to 6 months, priority should be given to the formation of a bond between the owner and the puppy, after which you can focus more closely on the education process.

Punishments are acceptable only if the husky has shown aggression towards its owners, towards other dogs, or has done something dangerous to itself.

Husky care rules

The description of the rules of care will not make you change your mind about purchasing an animal, since they are quite simple. The only evidence against purchasing a Husky dog ​​is a reluctance to care for the dog at all. But in this case, you need to refuse to purchase any animal in principle.

Grooming

There is no need to particularly monitor the cleanliness of your husky's fur at home. You only need to bathe your pet once a year using a special shampoo. However, you cannot completely forget about the hygiene of the animal’s fur in the remaining time.

You should not allow your dog to roll in the mud or run through puddles. If you cannot avoid such situations, then upon returning to the house you should wipe your pet with a damp towel.

Note! Such methods of keeping a husky will not bring problems to the owner of the animal in the form of an unpleasant odor, since the hair of this breed does not have the odor associated with dogs.

It is necessary to comb your pet quite often. This is especially true for puppies under six months of age, since their fur is too soft, which is why mats easily form on it. They need a similar procedure a couple of times a week, and after reaching 6 months, you can reduce the amount to once a week.

During shedding, the pet needs to pay a lot of attention in this regard - combing must be done daily. Caring for a husky in a private home is easier - during shedding, the coat needs to be brushed about 3-4 times a week.

Grooming your dog is strictly not recommended, since in this case you can disrupt the process of thermoregulation, because the pet has a double undercoat. You should not shave your animal closely, as there may be a risk of skin damage. After grooming, your dog's fur may begin to mat and become coarse.

Husky lies on the floor next to combed wool

Caring for your pet's eyes, ears and claws

The owner must remember to take care of the animal’s claws and ears, since these are the ones that can cause the most trouble. It is necessary to regularly check the dog's weak point - the ears - for the presence of wax and pathological discharge.

• In the first case, you can remove the accumulations using a cotton swab dipped in warm water.
• Secondly, contact your veterinarian for help.

If the dog does not grind down its claws during a walk, then you need to shorten them at home yourself using a nail clipper. Eyes should be wiped once a week with a cotton pad soaked in chlorhexidine or chamomile decoction. After going outside, you need to inspect them for dust and damage.

Note! The breed is prone to ophthalmic diseases, and therefore care is extremely important. If excessive tearing appears or the dog's eyes turn red, you need to immediately take the husky to a veterinary clinic, where he will be prescribed the necessary care.

Oral care depends entirely on the animal's nutrition. If the owner prefers ready-made food, then the teeth are cleaned of plaque while chewing the granules. With a diet consisting of natural products, the owner must brush the dog’s teeth himself a couple of times a week using a toothbrush and veterinary paste.

Surprises from a pet

Important note: walking the puppy, especially in the first months, must be on a leash.

An independent, self-confident dog can easily go on a long journey. In this case, it is necessary to increase the duration of walks due to a decrease in their intensity.

But at the same time, you need to set a goal: to get the dog to understand that you can spend more interesting time with your owner than without him.

If the relationship “doesn’t work out,” neither a leash, nor a lock in the apartment, nor an enclosure at the house will keep the animal from wandering..

Keeping a puppy can result in another unexpected concern for the owner: shedding. The dog's coat seems relatively short - and rightly so.

However, there are twice as many hairs on the Siberian Husky as on the furry St. Bernard.

There are two periods of coat change per year - for females and one for males. You need to brush your pet regularly.

What to feed your husky

Huskies require well-chosen nutrition to avoid health problems. When choosing natural food, the owner takes on great responsibility, which consists in shaping the pet’s diet, as well as preparing daily food for it.

Ready-made food contains all the necessary components, and therefore represents a balanced diet.

Husky eats watermelon

Natural nutrition

When purchasing an animal, you need to ask the breeder what the husky was fed until that moment. After moving to a new place, the pet must be given the same products. Most often it is milk, vegetable puree and pieces of meat.

As you grow older, you need to enrich your diet with offal, sea fish, fermented milk products, buckwheat and rice porridges. Every day the animal's menu should include:

• meat and offal, sometimes sea fish (50%);
• porridge (30%);
• fermented milk products (10%);
• greens and vegetables (10%).

In between meals, you should feed your pet fruit. They can be apples, pears, bananas and peaches.

Important! With a natural diet, the husky still does not receive the required amount of vitamins and microelements, and therefore it is periodically necessary to give the pet complex medications.

When living in an apartment, the animal also does not have enough sunlight, and therefore the owner must take care of replenishing the dog’s vitamin D.

Ready-made feed

Ready-made food is used by owners who want easier animal care. In this case, you need to purchase dry food for active breeds of at least premium class.

Poor quality foods can cause health problems. Adult dogs do not tolerate food changes well, and therefore it is necessary to introduce ready-made food into the menu at an early age.

What should you buy for a new family member?

I am attaching a list of things without which normal dog care is impossible:

• Caring for and maintaining a husky at first is impossible without two bowls and toys. The last point, despite its apparent optionality, I do not recommend neglecting. Otherwise, the active baby will use his energy and sharp teeth on something useful in the house.
• A little later, you can go to the pet store for a muzzle, collar and leash. You won’t have to wait long for your puppy to grow up, so it’s best not to put off purchasing these things. I can also recommend buying a halter - thanks to it, even a child can handle caring for a husky.
• Harness – I would like to talk about it separately. It is an excellent alternative to a collar, and is extremely useful when caring for an individual with problematic cervical vertebrae. However, I have to warn you that it is often problematic to restrain an extremely active puppy or an adult husky with just a harness. It should also be taken into account that different harnesses for this breed may be suitable depending on the purpose of use - just walking, riding, cargo, combined and intended for husky guides.
• A special comb - a furminator - is also useful when caring for an animal.
• I think that a Siberian dog will find a special mat with a cooling gel filler very useful.