Hello All!
Let me start off by saying, I have never owned a Siberian Husky before. I've owned dogs all my life but only labs, spaniels, mixes, and my current dog who is a hound mix (we think maybe Plott hound mixed with grey hound or Great Dane). Recently, a friend of a friend who owned 3 Huskies had to transfer to another state for their job. For whatever reason, they can only bring 2 of the 3 dogs (seemed unusual to me).
Some background on the Husky: he is about 15 months old, hasn't been neutered, was purchased from a breeder in Florida when he was a puppy, and his name is Axel. He is a beautiful dog and is very friendly.
My girlfriend and I were asked if we would be interesting in adopting the dog and we are trying to decide if we are a good fit for the Husky or not. I've been doing a ton of research regarding Huskies and the only thing I've learned is that, no matter how much you think you know about them, they always require way more commitment than you are expecting. I am OK with this part. I understand they require a ton of exercise. I currently walk my dog now 45-60 mins per day.
My main concern is that both my girlfriend and I work all day, and the husky would be required to be home without any humans from around 830 AM to 530-600 PM during the week. Our current dog has adjusted to our schedule and does fine with free roam of the house all day while we are gone (he mostly just sleeps the whole time). The husky is supposedly crate trained already, and we would look to continue this. I'm worried that this is too long for the husky to be alone, and will it lead to negative behavior due to his loneliness. Has anyone had a similar circumstance where they could share their experience? Does anyone have one dog crated and the other roam free during the day?
We have already introduced our dog to the husky and they got along well, minus some dominance while feeding them. I'm not so much worried that we will have an issue adjusting to the husky as much as I am worried about us being the right home for him. We don't want to react emotionally and adopt a dog that is not a good fit for our work schedule when he would be much happier in a home that can give him the attention he requires. But if we do not take him in, then he will end up being taken to a shelter and hopefully will find his forever home while in their care.
I'm new to this forum so I apologize if I left out any information or submitted this in the wrong topic.
See the attached photo of the handsome boy!