Husky + Apartment

Question
QUESTION: I live in an apartment half the time, and the other half I live on a 10 acre lot. I'm getting a Husky pup from a neighbor, and have problems with taking the dog to my apartment. The apartment owners don't allow huskies, and I might be able to pass with calling her a Malamute, since she is actually half of each. I know how affectionate they are, and that they love to be around people all the time, so I don't want to leave her alone for weeks on the acrage. What do you think I should do? Do you think she'll be okay coming to my apartment (if I can get away with calling her a malamute) or do you think she would be happier alone on the 10 acres with my border collie? I have someone go by there every few days to make sure the food and water are fresh. Anything you tell me will help.

The much confused,
Jessica

ANSWER: Well, you can always go with the "proper" reference by owners of the dogs . . . they are Siberians.  :)  Actually, "husky" is often a generic name applied to all spitz breeds, but only the Siberian uses it in it's official AKC name.  In either case, an Alaskan Malamute and Siberian Husky cross you can get away with calling a Sibe or Mal without much trouble hopefully.

As for your situation, it's tough to say.  First, you are right about the affection and wanting to be around people, so my first instinct is to say that taking the dog with you to the apartment is a good idea.  With adequate exercise and interaction, most of the time they can be great in apartment life.  Now, Sibes do love other dogs too, so staying out with the Border Collie wouldn't be a horrible thing either.  However, be careful since Siberians aren't known for having a homing instinct, so I wouldn't trust the dog in open areas without proper confinement.  (Recall is shady at best, and Siberians, being bred to be nomadic, don't remember where home is usually.)  If it is properly confined on the 10 acres, you should be ok.  (Keep in mind that proper Siberian confinement is much stricter than proper Collie confinement . . . usually involving chicken wire, cement, electric wires, etc . . .

I guess the main deciding factor is if you can give the dog plenty of interaction and exercise from the apartment, she'll do fine with the smaller living space.  If not, I would look into finding a way to keep her out running in the country.

Feel free to write back with some more specifics if you need anything else.  Oh, one other good point - Siberians are very intelligent dogs (and so are Mals, so your cross should be fine).  One way to wear them out without a lot of physical space is obedience work.  Problem solving and mental exercise seem to tire a lot of dogs out just as much as a good hard run, so make sure to look for obedience training and maybe even getting into other activities that will challenge the dog's mental as well as physical abilities.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Fisrt off, thank you so much for your outlook on my prior question. It really helped me decide what I wanted to do.

It's been a year and a half now, and my Sibe is doing great. We lived in the apartment together for the first 6 months, which really helped with the bonding and training, as well as exercise for both of us. We're now inseparable$.
Now, we're living out in a semi-country atmosphere. She has plenty of space to run and play with her staffy sister.

I do, however, have another question for you. Although she obeys very well for such a stubborn brat, she still has trouble with the long distance "come" command. I noticed that on days where shes been more so mentally challenged, she listens more. What are some exercises I can do with her to mentally drain her?
Also, she's not very talkative anymore. She was before she was about a year, but now she's much quieter. Most people I suppose would consider that a blessing...but I enjoyed her Sibe speech. Is there anything I can do to get her to talk more often? I've taught her to speak on command, but she only does her high pitched bark with that.

One more thing...She's always been great with children. Now, I'm expecting my first child, and I don't expect any problems with her. I would trust her on the floor next to a new born...but just in case, if there are any problems...what do you think I should do about that?

Thank you so much for your time.
Jessica

Answer
Glad to hear things are going well.  Recall with a Sibe is difficult, so I understand the frustration.  Your best bet to mentally drain your sibe is obedience work or agility.  A combination of getting your dog to work, to think and obey is usually the best.  Generally, Sibes don't do super well in the agility competitions, but training for them can really be a lot of good work for the dog.  As for talking, sometimes dogs talk more, sometimes less.  I'm not sure of any way to enourage her, except to mimic the whines and howls and talk to her.  (Of course you have no idea what you are saying . . .) :)

I wouldn't worry about the child, Sibe females are usually great with small kids - just make sure to supervise all interactions.  Unfortunately, little ones can sometimes do things that are unexpected, and the dog may react in a way that is not as gentle as you might like.  The dog of course is protecting itself, the child, just exploring - so even the best kid and the best dog might find issues now and then.  The best bet is just to keep an eye on things.