New dog

[fivefootsix]

Hello! I've never had a dog before and I'm a little worried about my husky.

So I got Gray (previously Tianna) yesterday, she seems to have settled in brilliantly. She is so well behaved she doesn't bark or howl unless I go out. She's been sleeping loads, she won't play when I throw toys or encourage her with chew toys, she's not really eating a lot either but drinking.

She was ignoring me yesterday and wouldn't answer to her name or her old name for love nor money! She's been choosing when to answer to her name but came into my room when I called her this morning

She is 7 years old in human years. She's already grown very attached to me, she's currently asleep with her head on my lap. We have been on 4 walks, at first she was pulling

But wasn't very interested. This morning she was sat by the door so I took her out she was a lot more interested and was sniffing around, pulling LOTS like she was eager to get somewhere.

So my questions are, how can I make her happy, is she depressed or missing her previous owner?

How often should I feed her and what should I feed her? Her previous owner included her food in a bag for me (canned pedigree) but she won't eat it she is only eating a couple bits. I brought her dry biscuit food and she seems to like it.

How can I get her to trust me?

She went for another dog yesterday evening once it came near us, she was also keen on pulling towards a St Bernard (who was muzzled) and a fair distance in front of us. Her previous owner said she is VERY protective

Is it normal for her to sleep so much?

She also keeps sitting/laying in the doorway. Why???

I really want to make her feel safe and loved and happy.

Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners mobile app

I forgot to mention - her previous owner had to get rid of her as she ate her moms kitten or something. She has been staying with her previous owners friend for the last month so she has been moved around a little.

[Kitahusky]

Hello and Welcome to Husky owners.. my advice to you is that you should give it sometime she is adjusting to the new environment and that takes a little time and with that adjustment it can happen that she won't eat play stay by her self and even not be in he mood to do anything .. ur job is to make sure you make her feel that this is her home every time I travel with ether of my dogs they usually don't eat the first day or 2 now in ur case I think it should take a couple of days before she goes back to her old self now for the eating part didn't the old owner say how much she is used to eat ? You should adjust to that and also keep the same brand of food they were using and if ur gonna change brand don't do it sudden but make it happen over a few days so that her body gets use to the food .. and about her being next to the door that could just be a spot she likes being in [emoji4] I hope this helps you and hopefully u will get more advice people here know stuff that really helps


Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners mobile app

[Rachael_Astro]

Hi and welcome!
As you only got her yesterday, I would say just give her time. I would say all the changes and a new environment has probably made her sleepy.
Huskies do have selective hearing at times! Stick to her new name and she will soon adjust.
Again with the toys I would say it's just being in a new environment, give her time to settle in and she will come out of her shell
Has she been spayed? If not, that could be a reason for the sniffing. Astro sniffs a lot on walks if he picks up the scent of another dog who has not long walked on the same path, or if it's been raining! I think the rain brings out a smell in things more
Look at the ingredients for the Pedigree food, it's a load of rubbish I wouldn't want to eat it either! Also canned food is really bad for their teeth. Give her a good quality grain free kibble
You do need to get started on training her out of the pulling, especially towards a dog that's muzzled as they are probably reactive. Get a clicker and try that with treats, if a dog comes by make sure her attention is on you and the treat and not the dog. Having her sit for this is a good idea. If she tries looking at the dog, say her name and get her attention back on you. When the dog goes past, click and give the treat. Eventually work towards walking past instead of sitting and gradually phase it out. It will take time!
I've not got much experience on the protective side of things I'm afraid! Astro doesn't like it if people hug me, but he just jumps in between he's not aggressive
So the key thing really is just give her time, keep everything you do consistent and once she realise she's there to stay and she's not getting moved around again she will be fine


Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners mobile app

[Emma]

Welcome to the forum.
She's been from one home to another recently and that's bound to have upset and confused her. She might be lying in the doorway watching the front door because she's waiting for someone familiar to return to her? I'm simply guessing here though.
Huskies have a huge prey drive which extends to all small furries (cats included) it's not her fault, it's just something that's hard wired into huskies stemming from their ancestry of having to forage for themselves.
Over time she will settle and as you spend time together she will begin to learn to trust and bond with you. It will just take a little while. Once she's realised that this is her forever home you will be surprised how much more confident and happy she becomes. Ice trusted no one when we first got him and it took a long time for him to learn to trust again. He's still wary of strangers touching him but he's willing and eager to go and see them. Something he would never have dared do a few years back. He also trusts us now to look out for him and keep him safe. If he accidentally gets hurt or is unwell, he will make a beeline for me straight away to come to the rescue. He also smiles a lot now too! Once upon a time he looked utterly miserable. [emoji20]


Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners mobile app

[fivefootsix]

Thank you everyone [emoji3] she's coming out of her shell slowly.

What food would be best for her that's easy to get hold of?

I fed her some dry food from my hand and she started eating some from the bowl so it's progress! I've left dry food, her Canned food her owner gave her and water down so she can go to it if she's hungry. Will just keep encouraging her[emoji3]


Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners mobile app

[Emma]

Grain free is usually a good place to start. Pets at home have a few but personally I found wainwrights to be the cheaper but still good quality of the bunch. Food changes should be done gradually over a week or two, gradually decreasing the amount of the old food and increasing the ratio of the new food to help reduce the risk of runny bums! [emoji33]


Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners mobile app

[Rachael_Astro]

If there is a Jolleyes pet shop near you, they stock Taste of the Wild food which is good. I get Astro Canagan from a pet shop called Pups and Pets but I'm not sure if that's a national store, they do have a website


Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners mobile app

[Emma]

If there is a Jolleyes pet shop near you, they stock Taste of the Wild food which is good. I get Astro Canagan from a pet shop called Pups and Pets but I'm not sure if that's a national store, they do have a website

Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners mobile app

Ooh, that's interesting! Funny you mention that as I've been looking in shops for taste of the wild and it's pretty hard to find. *I think* I saw a shop in a village near to me that stocks totw but I was with a friend and passing through quickly so I haven't had time to go back and take a proper look.

Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners mobile app

[goingsolo]

Welcome to the forum. We had it pretty easy with Solo because he's a laid back character.  I do use a head collar with him as it gets his attention on me though he can slip out of it so I always double attach him to his harness so he cant run off. She will settle and her personality will come out, be prepared to find yourself arguing with the dog and he loves to lie in the way. Time is the best thing and you will be richly rewarded. 

As for sleeping I think we own the laziest husky ever hates getting out of bed.

[Rachael_Astro]

Ooh, that's interesting! Funny you mention that as I've been looking in shops for taste of the wild and it's pretty hard to find. *I think* I saw a shop in a village near to me that stocks totw but I was with a friend and passing through quickly so I haven't had time to go back and take a proper look.
Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners mobile app

They've got an offer on at the moment in Jollyes, £44.99 for a big bag instead of £49.99! I'm considering putting Astro and Koda on it as Canagan is £61


Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners mobile app

[Emma]

They've got an offer on at the moment in Jollyes, £44.99 for a big bag instead of £49.99! I'm considering putting Astro and Koda on it as Canagan is £61

Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners mobile app

That's quite a reasonable price for it too I expected totw to be more expensive considering some of the other brands are. We've been using wainwrights for years and it started off being really much cheaper for a good quality food but I have noticed the price has crept up over time. Still reasonably priced but definitely more expensive. The dogs are bored with it too so might have a try and see how they get on. The only problem I have with online ordering is I can be a bit disorganised and forget to re-order in time. I've done it before when Bear was put on royal canin gastrointestinal food as a test to see if it controlled her ibd meducation free (it didn't). If you can't rush out and buy a bag to tide you over then effectively you end up screwed. [emoji85]

Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners mobile app

[Rachael_Astro]

That's quite a reasonable price for it too I expected totw to be more expensive considering some of the other brands are. We've been using wainwrights for years and it started off being really much cheaper for a good quality food but I have noticed the price has crept up over time. Still reasonably priced but definitely more expensive. The dogs are bored with it too so might have a try and see how they get on. The only problem I have with online ordering is I can be a bit disorganised and forget to re-order in time. I've done it before when Bear was put on royal canin gastrointestinal food as a test to see if it controlled her ibd meducation free (it didn't). If you can't rush out and buy a bag to tide you over then effectively you end up screwed. [emoji85]
Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners mobile app

It is good isn't it! It's a 13kg bag too and I'm sure Canagan is 12kg. Is there a Jollyes near to where you live? You could always get a small bag to use for emergencies


Sent from my iPhone using Husky Owners mobile app

[Emma]

Ummm. Well I've never heard of the store before which isn't the best start but I'll look it up and see where the nearest ones are [emoji1360]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[robke]

56 minutes ago, Emma said:

Ummm. Well I've never heard of the store before which isn't the best start but I'll look it up and see where the nearest ones are


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dartford I believe is the closest to you...  https://www.jollyes.co.uk/locator/index/store/