everything!

Question
Dear Faye,
  
  Iam new to this breed, but Iam not new to the world of dogs.I am getting my first siberian husky in a few months and need to know the following

1) Do you have any suggestions to what I could use to entertain my husky while I am at school?(He will be kept in a pen outside.)

2)Should he be given a largs doggie house? should it be insulated?

3)Do you have any suggestions on how he should be excercised?

4) Do you have any recomendations on his diet?

5) Should he be given toys? If so what kinds?

6)Can he be trained to stay away from, or like cats?

I am in need of desprate help! lol! please get back to me soon.

                   thank you soOoOo...much!
                       
                            -Ashley

Answer
Dear Ashley,
This is a big one so let me start by telling you what you will expect in a husky.
Welcome to the world of Siberians, you are due for a tough crash course in
dog ownership. I will help you all I can. Huskies are the hardest dogs to
train on this planet, unless you want them to pull sleds that is
What age is the best to begin training?
Beginning training, I start the moment they are born for the best results,
so get going now.
These guys need huge amounts of excercise, so if you cant walk at least a
couple of miles a day do not get this breed. Failure to do so will cause
them to be bored and very destructive.
I run mine on a bike.
They are very hard to train and wont do obedience like a german shepherd
will.
They are very stubborn and persistant.
They love to hunt all small animals even if it happens to be your cat!
They WILL NOT come when called. Do not let these guys go anywhere off
lead. That is what a husky does they were bred to work in hard
environments pulling all day. Off lead work is not for a siberian very few
can be trusted to return to you 100% of the time. One has to accept this.
They are notoriouous escape artists, if they want out nothing keeps them
in! So a secure yard is a must.
They will pull and pull on a leash until your arm is sore.
They love to dig like you wouldnt believe. Fine if you want a lunar
landscape in the back yard though forget having any kind of decent garden.
They will cover your entire home in dog fur especially in spring time.
Here are their good points. Yes they have them!
They have no doggy smell at all, even when wet.
They are great with people and kids, and as a consequence will not guard
at all.
They are an excellent companion and love to go places with you and do new
things.
They do not bark incessantly they howl, much easier on the ears.
They can be as gentle as they can be rough.
They have very few heriditary ailments.
Once you have had one you will never want to know another breed they will
steal your heart.
I guess this is the basic attributes of the breed. I am with my guys all day so they dont get bored. I take them for long walks and runs and in winter they pull a sled till they are tired. These are working dogs, and as a consequence don't always make the best pets.
As for feeding here goes...........
Sadly to say I see many dogs who do very badly
on this diet. I can never understand that humans are always told that to
eat healthy they must consume raw unprocessed food to have optimum health.
Yet for some strange reason our dogs and alot of other animals are not
supposed to eat this way. WHY I ASK? It goes against all commonsense and
mystifies me as to how even the most intelligent people are sucked in by
the pet food companies rubbish. Sadly many vets also play into this,
perhaps they dont know any better, and if they do they are downright evil.
It is obvoius there is a connection between vets and pet food companies
and I am not so sure it is a healthy thing.
I would not feed any commercial dog food to my most loved dogs, and if
looking at the health of your own dogs is not evidence enough here are a
multitude of reasons why you should change to a raw diet.
The rule is all the diet must be raw there is no getting out of it,  if
you cook a dogs food you will kill all the beneficial enzymes it needs for
optimum health. So in reality preparation is not hard. Just go to Walmart
and they have 10LB bags of chicken pieces there and they are cheap. Forget
all the salmonella rubbish I and my dogs have never got it and I have
played with so much raw meat in 10 years I should have by now. Give them a
couple of those a day and a raw egg you will see the difference in no time
on this simple and nutritious diet. I feed no commercial dog food at all
and I have 4 huge thriving boys the oldest is almost 10 he only looks 5! I
go to the vets and they are amazed at the health of my guys every time. I
attribute it to the diet I feed and the vast amount of excercise I give my
guys. I have also raised litters of puppies on this same diet and my pups
weighed 8 lbs at only 6 weeks!
I only ever feed my guys once a day, huskies can be very ruled by food.
But beware huskies were specifically designed to subsist in a very harsh
environment on very little food and work all day on it. So they can become
very overweight in the absence of this. But as your guys sound so skinny
initially you will have to play catch up and feed a bit more. Here are
some feeding hints these are the rules I live by and I have had great
success with.
I give all raw meat, all different kinds, keep it varied, but for growing
pups
chicken is the best. All uncooked bones are great, but do try to avoid the
real big hard ones like the ones from a cow's leg. They are so dense and
hard they can chip and injure a dogs teeth and cause wear if they have
them too often. Other than that all bones are great. For a growing pup
poultry and pork are the best but give him red meats as well. Remember the
only dangerous bones are ones that have been cooked, all raw bones are
fine. Raw eggs, cottage cheese, lactose reduced milk, all whole milk not
skim. Mince is great all different kinds, fish is great too. Blend up some
veggies from time to time and mix them in as well. Honey on the cottage
cheese, yohgurt, and any general table scraps you might have as well. Dont
feed cereals, chocolate, or onion ever they are piosonous to a dog. Only
feed them once a day, give them all they want as they sound a bit lean and
what they do not eat take away.
Feeding should be simple and with this method your dogs should thrive.
Basically I feed everything I would eat with the exception of cereals,
even fruit and veg. Beleive it or not, although dog food is full of the stuff,
dogs cannot digest it at all, and it has no food value to them what so
ever. So forget the cereals entirely. Cereals can even cause diabeties
which I have seen happen first hand in dogs, and often does. So give a
diet of 80% raw meaty bones and don't have a vet bill or a broken heart.
If you have any further questions don't hesitate to ask. Feel free to
email me at snodogz@eongraphics.com it is my company so I am happy for you to contact me there if you need any further help. I would dearly like to
help you see the difference in your dogs. Give it a try you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
As for the dog house yes an insulated one if you have snow would be a good idea.
Keep to the basics with toys as some toys will pull apart too easily and your husky may swallow pieces of them.
I hope this has helped you understand your choice of dog better.
Faye and Husky Crew.