Some of the things every Sibe owner knows.

[Sarah]

Some of the things every Sibe owner knows.

Huskies do many things. They live fast and play hard, they are always on the move and ever willing to enjoy any situation. And along the way they make us laugh, as well as cry, and remind us constantly of what it really is we should be using our lives for.

Anyone who has owned a Husky can tell you endless stories about the characteristics of the breed. Some people consider them 'peculiarities', we prefer to call them blessings.

Here are some of the things every Husky owner knows, and every good Sibe does.

Playing rough.

It's surprising how few people in this world have seen a dog fight, a for-real dog fight, and not just a minor disagreement or scuffle between friends, but those who have seen it will probably remember it as being both vicious - and seemingly endless. Hopefully none of our dogs will ever be in a serious dog fight, but maybe if more people knew the difference between fighting and roughhousing they might be more accepting of the way some Sibes play.

Put simply, Sibes like to play rough, and love to give every bit good as they get. Rough doesn't mean an occasional bump or accidental trip-up, rough means full-on mouthing, tackling, ramming, tripiping and pinning, sprinting, writhing around on the ground with another dog in their mouth, barking, yelping and even occasional snarling. But it's all done with good grace and humour, and far from making two dogs enemies, rough play actually cements pack bonding and pack order, and is a great reliever of stress and excess energy.

When Sibes play rough, fur can fly and the dogs usually come out covered in each others' saliva. This is all good and normal to a Sibe owner, but frightening as hell to the owner of the fluffy white mop that just picked up their dog and hurried towards the park exit. In the Sibe world the play is only out of control if the dogs are showing obvious aggression or dominance signs like long periods of pinning another dog to the ground, raising heckles and biting hard, or if they refuse to respond to the commands of their owners.

Certainly if dogs get badly injured while playing , any game they might have been enjoying has crossed the line and is out of control. It might sound bad to some owners, but often minor injuries are part of the norm. Things like small bruises and tiny scratches - and not uncommonly small cuts on the tongue, often caused by a dog accidentally biting down on themselves - happen from time to time, but none of them are serious.

The solution is to let your Sibe play at the level you, your dog, and the other dog owners are happy with, and often this means befriending the owners of other large dogs who also love a bit of rough play.

Digging in the water dish.

With that much fur it's no surprise most Sibes get hot from time to time. And one of the best ways to cool down is to dig in the water dish. And besides, whether it keeps them cool or not, digging is just great fun.

Of course when digging in the water dish then means a trail of water across three rooms (and possibly into the unit below), something needs to be done.

The best way to stop water bowl digging is to get a bowl that is too small to dig effectively. Most pet water dishes are 'untippable' and come with a rubberised base. Stainless steel ones are best, and if possible, Sibes should only have access to water dishes that are tallish and not very wide when indoors. Of course water digging can also be trained out (by putting it on cue) or just ignored and tolerated, or even indulged, but most Sibe owners prefer not to reach for the mop several times a day.

To help contain any splashes that do happen, putting the water bowl on a bath mat works well.

For outdoor water bowls (which tend to be large of necessity), one good way to control digging is to upturn a flower pot or other dish in the bowl to form a narrow moat that the dogs can drink from but can't dig in. Of course the flower pot should have a hole in the bottom so it can fill up and drain properly. This means the overall amount of water the main dish can hold isn't changed.

Shedding, shedding and more shedding.

If you don't love fur - I mean really love fur, don't get a Sibe. It's just that simple. It's called blowing coat for a reason and it usually happens at least once a year, sometimes twice depending on the climate. While Sibes are blowing coat, hugging one of them becomes a ten minute commitment while you pick fur out of your hair, eyes and mouth, as well as off your clothes, your furniture, your food and the people around you.

One of the best things about Sibe fur though is that it's not sticky, in fact it's silky and some Sibe owners love nothing more than the slippery feel of a layer of Sibe hair underfoot on their carpet. For all the myths in the world too, Sibe hair doesn't cause allergies, it's the dander and oils in a dog's coat that cause allergic reactions in humans.

If the weather heading into summer doesn't have a definite change through spring, a Sibe can blow coat for months at a time, not just a week or two, as the temperature goes up and down and up and down. It's just something Sibe owners learn to live with. No, actually more than that, something they learn to love.

Brushing a Sibe for an hour a day and vacuuming regularly will keep shedding under control, but every time the dog shakes and every time it's patted, clouds of fur will still be sent out to float on the breeze.

Sleeping legs eleven.

A few breeds of dog enjoy sleeping upside down, and Sibes are definitely one of them. Right from the very earliest age of only a few weeks, Sibe puppies will roll over on their back while they sleep and let their back legs flop open and hang their front paws limply on top of their chest. It's a classic Husky pose.

One of the unexpected side effects of lying on their backs is the occasional Sibe sneeze. Probably caused by things running the wrong way up their nose, some Sibes will sneeze violently as they roll over on their back, but it's not something to put them off the sheer comfort of lazing upside down. Not to mention the increased chance of a belly rub in that position.

Getting dirty.

The remarkable thing about a double-coated breed such as a Husky is that it's virtually impossible to soak them to the skin. They live in a warm, dry, comfortable world of their own insulated by two thick inches of fur from the elements of the real world. And inside their impenetrable fur coat they don't seem to notice when all the muck of the outdoors is hanging off them. It's like wearing a mackintosh and big yellow Wellies. They can run and dig and splash and collect all the foul smells of the earth on their coats and remain untouched by it all underneath.

The good news is that all the dirt almost invariably falls off of its own accord once it dries. Huskies have a kind of teflon coat. One of the best ways to clean a Husky too is to let them run around on grass during a rainstorm. Few other things will bring up a Sibe's coat whiter or their paws pinker than to splash around in the rain.

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

oh love this thread soo true

[Smithy]

Like that, especially the first two. Playing rough- Smithy used to meet another Husky on his walk (haven't seen him for a long time) and they both used to jump up on their back legs, lock front legs, lots of teeth and snarling, me and the other chap carried on chatting, and then just sit back down as if nothing happened. As for the water bowl, well so many times we thought "what is he doing?" now it all makes sense. Although our pseudo husky Barry has now decided this is good for him ...

[mbb23]

Very good post sarah. funny but true

Mary x x x x x x

[jules dief taz tor]

very true , not sure about the running in the rain one, theres no grass left in the garden , so not sure running round on it in a rain storm would help much lmao

[Val (Zebedee)]

Sarah, that is SO true! I love watching Myshka play with another husky, they seem to have an unwritten rule on how to play that other dogs don't understand! Myshka rears up & boxes with other sibes, but it ends up as a big hug-fest! And I did laugh out loud when reading about huskies lying on their backs with legs akimbo! We often call Myshka for it, no way to lie for a lady!! Excellent post, Sarah, thank you! x

[siberian_wolf]

Digging in the water dish.

With that much fur it's no surprise most Sibes get hot from time to time. And one of the best ways to cool down is to dig in the water dish. And besides, whether it keeps them cool or not, digging is just great fun.

Of course when digging in the water dish then means a trail of water across three rooms (and possibly into the unit below), something needs to be done.

The best way to stop water bowl digging is to get a bowl that is too small to dig effectively. Most pet water dishes are 'untippable' and come with a rubberised base. Stainless steel ones are best, and if possible, Sibes should only have access to water dishes that are tallish and not very wide when indoors. Of course water digging can also be trained out (by putting it on cue) or just ignored and tolerated, or even indulged, but most Sibe owners prefer not to reach for the mop several times a day.

To help contain any splashes that do happen, putting the water bowl on a bath mat works well.

For outdoor water bowls (which tend to be large of necessity), one good way to control digging is to upturn a flower pot or other dish in the bowl to form a narrow moat that the dogs can drink from but can't dig in. Of course the flower pot should have a hole in the bottom so it can fill up and drain properly. This means the overall amount of water the main dish can hold isn't changed.

Bandit's favourite hobby, lol, his trick is empty out all the water and then carry the water bowl into us so we can refill it again for him to empty it again lol bless him

Something that my 3 have recently taught me is digging in the mud is not only just fun but the soil lower down is much cooler and I have recently found out that they will dig down to the cooler soil and then just lay down there to cool down. They certainly aint stupid

[Austinville]

... along the way they make us laugh, as well as cry, and remind us constantly of what it really is we should be using our lives for.

Anyone who has owned a Husky can tell you endless stories about the characteristics of the breed. Some people consider them 'peculiarities', we prefer to call them blessings.

Excellent post Sarah - I'm particularly fond of the above....it sums up my blessing - Bo:60: