My idiot boyfriend has got it into his head he wants a Husky, now we live in a tiny two bedroomed terraced house with little more than a concrete slab as a back yard, we both work full time and we already got two dogs Am i being unreasonable in saying no!?!??! [I know I am not]

Also if anyone owns one can you try outline for me how much exercise and grooming time these dogs need per week so I can arm myself with facts for when we argue over this.

You're being very sensible. Best place to get the facts from is the breed rescue website.

http://www.shwauk.org.uk/about_siberian_huskies.htm

My neighbour has an Alaskan Malamute in an upstairs flat with garden access. Now I see him walk his dog all the time so I know that dog is getting exrecise and it's a friendly well behaved dog. But I have heard it howling often too. Most probably because the owner goes to work. So from my own perceptions a Husky type dog is not ideal for a small flat, even if you walk it often. They require LOTS of exrecise and need mental stimulation. Otherwise they will go a little stir crazy. Also you need to consider your neighbours.

I saw a video on You Tube (I think) showing a couple grooming their Husky, it was unbelievable the amount of fur that came off him, it practically covered the kitchen floor!!

I think it was meant to deter people from getting a dog without really thinking it through - it worked for me!!

Pretty sure Husky's need lots of stimulation and its not going to get that with you being out at work all day.

Have a look on You Tube find the video, make your boyf watch it and i bet he changes his mind

lots of exercise and mental stimulation 2 hours a day minimum, are terrible for howling when seperated from pack members can also be very destructive with it, huskies and mals etc are some of the most high maintenance dogs out there and too many people take them on without having the time space and commitment for them, they are very much working dogs and like to have a job to do too

Get the dog and ditch the BF.
Sorted.

we need a LOT of exercise. there is an old thread on here about huskies. search for that.

they should never go off the lead, supposedly. as they will kill and chase livestock, although they don't guard, and are actually very friendly.

not sure how they would be with other dogs - might be a battle for supremacy.

try a Finnish Spitz instead. smaller version, methinks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_Spitz

I have two that I love to bits but they are indeed high maintenance.
Can be very destructive if bored
Shed fur like there losing every last little bit once a year!
Very difficult to train
Pull like b@&&rs on the lead (well you wouldn't expect anything else)

But
Incredibly loving
Love to play
Very intelligent

So my advice don't get one (you should never really only have one anyway as they are real pack animals) unless you have really researched the breed and know what you are letting yourself in for.

DO NOT LET YOUR BF GET ONE JUST BECAUSE OF A WHIM AND BECAUSE THEY LOOK GOOD.

we actually had a small female, only weighed about 17Kg. We did let her off the lead, as she was Ok, and returned for a biscuit - but her idea of being "with" you, was anything up to about 1/4 mile away.

fast as well, they are built like greyhounds under the fur.

she liked hot weather, and loved cold weather even more.

If I worked full time I wouldn't have a dog to begin with, so how do you manage with the two you already have?

Never mind getting the husky.

ROFL!

We have just adopted our second husky. He is 2 years old. He is exercised for a minimum of 2 hours per day (he walks fast so this is alot of mileage), he pulls on the lead and being a VERY independent breed they are tough to train (you have to be very patient as huskies won't do anything unless there is something in it for them), he likes to play lots everyday so its not just walking, its getting down on your hands and knees with him, playing tug of war, hiding treats for him to sniff out, chasing him round the garden (if you have secure fencing as they are escape artists), he is a chewer and so far has eaten:

a pair of expensive headphones
a christmas cake
a dog mat
a piece of carpet meant to replace dog mat
2 supposedly indestructible dog toys
1 soft toy

Twice a year they shed their undercoat, a relative bought me a sign to hang in my kitchen that says "nothing tastes good in this house without dog hair", how true!!! My vacuum cleaner is out twice a day, he is brushed daily and yet you can still see hairs floating round the rooms!

He is crated when i go out for his own safety as he is particularly fond of plastic and would think nothing of chewing through any electrical cables he could find.

They have a huge hunt prey instinct, this means they like to hunt anything that smells good so there is not a cat, chicken, lamb, squirrel or any other small prey safe in the neighbourhood if a husky gets off the lead. Some are good at recall, most will be trained to come back and will do so IF they feel like it, they can been great for years and then one day just decide not to come back when you ask them too cos they don't want to.

They can be very demanding and will dominate you if you let them, you have to be ultra consistent in training and how you treat them as they are extremely intelligent. We are onto our second husky and he is very different from our first one. They really know how to keep you on your toes!
Kobi came from the husky club rehoming scheme, they are currently closed to new intakes with a waiting list as they have too many huskies to find new homes for and not enough people to adopt them. They are very low on funding to keep their current dogs in foster homes.

Oh yeah and i work from home so he's not left for long stretches during the day. We only adopted him 2 weeks ago and we are taking our time getting him used to us and being left alone for a couple of hours or so here and there.

I absolutely love this breed but i'd been planning on getting a labrador or retriever, the reason we have a huskie is because my hubby remembered how beautiful they were and wanted one however i made him read and research thoroughly and he takes his fair share of walks/plays etc too.

We had wanted a dog for many years but had to wait until we had a bit of a garden and a flexible enough work life that the dog wasn't on its own 40 hours + a week. I know the pull to have one (any breed) is strong but for the dog and your sake commonsense should prevail and i hope it does

Haha I don't want the dog, havent got time

Thanks guys I was already convinced just got to try convince the BF its not fair to get this breed in the environment we have!

Good luck, can you let us know how you get on?

having two dogs already i think is a nice household as it is

getting a puppy (of any breed, let alone such a lively and vocal breed) could upset the balance
often it's true that "two is company, three is a crowd"

You sound like you have your head screwed on right my hubby is realising how much more work our husky is this time!

Hi there, you've already got some brilliant advice on here but just wanted to add my thoughts!

First of all i think you are completely right for saying no!
It would be completely unfair on the dog with you both working full time as they are extremely demanding dogs in my opinion.

My parents have just adopted a 4 year old huskamute (husky x malamute) who is absolutely gorgeous BUT so so much hard work. He NEVER seems to wear out! He gets about 2-3 hours worth of walks i reckon a day & he just does not get tired!
Luckily my parents both are retired so they can handle all his needs & be there with him pretty much all day every day.

Like other posters have said they do howl, especially when left alone! They don't seem to cope very well being left alone, i know my mum's rarely gets left alone unless its necessary because he really doesn't like it.

While they make absolutely beautiful pets & are extremely loving family dogs i cannot stress enough how much hard work they are!
I really think you need to put your foot down & say a big fat NO! Especially as well since you have 2 dogs already!

Please let us know how you get on!
I really hope he realises that it would be a silly decision to get a dog like this. i always think that some people get breeds like huskies because they do look so beautiful but just do not realise how much hard work they are & then they get either dumped or put into a rescue shelter

On a seperate note - i don't know if this is near to you but maybe for a present you could take him to a place like :
http://www.peskyhusky.co.uk/

Where you can actually pay to go trekking with a pack of huskies!
i have to say they all look absolutely gorgeous & you can even pay to have them appear at special occasions!
Maybe that's an idea for him instead of actually owning one?!

I got husky boris is now 7 months
No joke he's massive
so far he's ripped up the garden. brand new nike trainers, dads bed, work boots
his toliet mess is totaly massive we just got him not to do it in the house so far so good
he gets upset if we leave him more than a hour thats when he chews
I wouldnt change him for the world

Because, smart alec, our workplace is accomodating and we can bring them with us if we like or failing that my house is less than 10 minutes away, our lodger can see to them during the day if need be.

if he is massive he would not be a pedigree husky which in actual fact are kind of dinky

Is this true?
We had a pedigree Siberian husky (not sure if being Siberian makes a difference) but he was around 35kg. And really quite a big dog.
I have noticed that some of the huskies these days do look really thin.
The huskamute my mum has is about 40kg! He's huge!! But I presume that's because of being half malamute .

Our previous husky was 33kg at a healthy weight, he was broad and looked like a big white wolf. Our new guy is fully grown and just weighs 20kg, much smaller.

They do seem to come in different sized frames even when purebred.

t

breed standard for male weight is about 28kilo and thats the upper weight, from all the pedigree shows i have been to they do look twee, problem is you do get a lot of malamute crosses and the inuits, and this that and the other bred in with them but in general if you are calling a husky massive imo it probably has more than husky in it