Love Dire Wolves? Don’t Get A Husky
Do you love Game of Thrones? Do you love the dire wolves in it? Great. Now whatever you do don’t rush out and buy a ‘dire wolf’ aka Siberian Husky. At least not without doing a LOT of serious research first.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m a huge fan of the breed. I turn into a puddle of goo every time I see a husky on the street – even if I just finished patting my own husky at home five minutes ago. Yet I am here to tell you that nine out of ten people are not suitable to be husky owners. (I’m not great at math, so it might be eight out of ten people) but you get my point. And here’s why.
Huskies are not for inexperienced dog owners.
Huskies are one of the primitive dog breeds. These breeds are not as domesticated as other dogs. Even if you have owned and trained other dog breeds your whole life this will not prepare you for your interactions with a primitive breed dog. Huskies do not live to serve or please you, but may be willing to enter into contract negotiations with you, should you prove a worthy business partner and the contract terms are agreeable to them.
In fact, huskies are a lot like cats. Independent. Aloof. Self-sufficient. Calculating. You, dear human, are a ‘nice-to-have’ in their world. For them, it’s nice to have someone to feed them. Nice to have someone to give them scritches and scratches. Nice to have some company. When they feel like it.
Huskies will never stop digging up your backyard.
It’s not a phase. They will not grow out of it. It’s an innate survival instinct. They originated in Siberia where if they did not dig dens and hollows in the snow to sleep in they would die. Digging is a life and death matter to them. So you have three options: fortify your yard until there’s not a scrap of exposed soil left, try and quarantine their efforts to the least disruptive section of the yard, or embrace the moonscape that is now your home.
Huskies cannot be contained.
There are two ways to make sure your husky is still in your backyard when you get home from work. The first is to build a fully-enclosed cube of mesh, concrete and steel with double gates, and lock them in there. With a padlock.
The second is to create an environment they want to stay in. This option is infinitely preferable. The fact is no one can force a husky to stay somewhere it doesn’t want to be. They can climb, they can open gates, latches, lids and untie knots. In fact, the only thing my husky has not figured out how to open in a locked padlock. But I’m pretty sure she’s working on that.
The number of huskies sighted having escaped their yards and running the streets is heartbreaking. Getting hit by cars is a leading cause of death in the breed.
Huskies shed like it’s snowing. All. Year. Round.
I’ve made my peace with it. I’ve taken to wearing an over-sized guy’s hoodie to protect my nice clothes when I’m hanging with my dogs. When people pat my dog’s hair drifts free with every stroke. (Yes they get regularly brushed and groomed). When my dogs brush against people their pant legs are left covered in white hair. My lawn is covered in white hair. White hair is plastered to my fly screens. White hair collects in deep drifts by the door mats.
If your husky lives inside every corner of the room will be filled with white tumbleweeds of fur. You will find fur in your nostrils, your eyelashes, in your coffee cup and on your keyboard. So unless you are prepared to live like that for the next twelve to fourteen years, don’t get a husky.
Then twice a year they also blow their coats.
The Arctic breeds have a double layer of fur. An outer coat of longer, coarser hairs, and a deep, fluffy undercoat. This undercoat lifts free twice a year and starts hanging off your husky, making it look like a neglected sheep. This fur will start falling out in chunks and will require a week of intense daily brushing to get it all out. If you thought your house, clothes, and car were covered in white hair before, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Huskies talk. A lot.
Huskies are a vocal breed and make a wide range of noises, from soft ‘woos’ to full-on wolf pack howling (the neighbours love that one). They also bark, mutter and make a whole bunch of other noises I couldn’t name or imitate.
A husky will have an opinion on everything you do and will happily tell you about it. Once you have a husky there’s no more doing things quietly. Heading out for a 5 am walk before work? The neighbours will know about it. Tiptoeing back in after a night out? The neighbours will know about it. Is it ten minutes past husky’s regular dinner time? The neighbours will know about it.
Personally, I love how much the Arctic breeds talk. And back chat. It’s a lot like living with a sassy Chewbacca. But I don’t think the neighbours are as keen on it as I am. I have worked hard to build good relationships with my neighbours and supplied them with my contact details and told them to call me anytime my dogs are a problem. These are the lengths you may need to go to if you want to have a happy husky AND happy neighbours.
Huskies cannot be let off the lead. Ever.
Sure there are some exceptions to the rule. But they are the exceptions and not the norm. Huskies are bred to run. As soon as they get into wide open spaces their brains tend to switch off, their eyes glaze over and their recall hearing seems to conveniently disappear. They are overcome with the urge to chase the horizon and to just keep running until either exhaustion or getting hit by a car stops them.
So if you are fond of walking and daydreaming as your dog calmly runs on ahead a husky is not for you. Huskies on a walk require your full attention. And you and that husky are going to be tethered to one another for the next twelve to fourteen years. If this sounds like a bit of a drag, then please consider getting a more tractable breed of dog with better recall tendencies.
Huskies have a super strong prey drive.
If it’s small and it moves, they will chase it. And probably kill and eat it. I have a rescue cat who was raised by my Labrador. The cat is very chill and pretty much thinks she’s a dog. She lives in the backyard with my three big dogs. Sleeps in their kennels. Drinks from their water bucket and just hangs with the dogs all day.
It’s because she is so chill that she does not excite the predatory drive in my two snow dogs. But the moment she runs across the yard or jumps up the fence both my snow dogs switch from being her friend to being her hunter. They simply cannot help themselves. For this reason, huskies and pocket pets do not make a good mix.
Due to their rambunctious, boisterous nature, it is also often advised that huskies and small kids are not mixed together or are very close supervised at all times. (Though that can be said for small children and any breed of dog.)
Huskies need A LOT of exercise.
If I don’t walk my husky an hour a day, there is hell to pay. That excess energy needs to be used up somewhere. It can either be used up by the walk or by destroying property. The choice is yours dear husky owner. So if you get a husky be prepared to spend a lot of time in the great outdoors biking, jogging, walking, hanging at the dog park or beach, or perhaps even dry-land sledding.
But it’s not all doom and gloom.
Huskies are hands-down my favourite dog breed. They are the perfect mix of feistiness, majesty and derp.
They are the clowns of the dog world, and no matter how grumpy I get my husky can always make me laugh. Even after six years my husky still manages to do something that surprises me every day.
And every single day she still challenges me for the throne in a hundred little ways.
And what do I say to her?
