New member with new addition;)

[cchafe]

Hello everyone! My name is Cheryl, and I have 2 sibes (again!). We lost our beloved male in October at 6 1/2. He has taken a piece of my heart with him, & I miss him dearly, but it just wasn't the same being a one dog household. We all had our hearts stolen again, and just added another male this past week. Our girl, Tala is soooo happy to have a buddy again! Tala is a grey/white brown eyed spayed female. She will be 6 in July. She has been with us since she was 8 weeks old. Flint (Can Ch Nanook's Firestarter), our new boy, is a red/white bi-eyed intact male, who turned 2 on Valentine's Day. They hit it off instantly, and have been pretty much joined at the hip ever since.

I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to transition him from being an outdoor kennel dog for the past year, to being an active family member. He has an amazing sweet temperment, loves kids, & doesn't at all act like a stud dog, except for lifting his leg on everything in the back yard...lol I think we have him cured of trying to lift his leg in the house. I have been putting him in the cage kennel in my bedroom at night, just in case:) He is not protective of his food, & is respectful of Tala when she is eating-he will not try to take her food-but he dives into his bowl like it is the last meal he will ever have. He makes such a mess that I have started feeding him on the back deck. I am also wondering if we might end up with some separation anxiety issues. He seems to have bonded to me instantly-even the breeder was shocked at how comfortable he was with me from the moment we met. I had some errands to do the day after I brought him home, so I put hin in the travel kennel in the mud room while I was out, while Tala was loose in the mudroom with him. She has been in there with a baby gate across the doorway so she could see us come in since we moved here 2 months ago. When I got home, he was still in the kennel, but barely. He chewed off one of the latches so that only the bottom vertical metal bar was holding it in place. I feel more comfortable crating him if he is inside while I am out, and I do have a large cage kennel as well (he sleeps in that one at night). My other idea was to let him stay outside with Tala-we have a 6 foot chain link fence, and both gates have padlocks on them. Wondered if he would be more comfortable outside for the majority of the day, with short stints inside to get him used to it. I can be inside the house all day, & they are perfectly content to laze around outside, playing or sleeping bum to bum:) Not sure if they would do the same while I ran out for an hour or 2? Can't take them everywhere, as much as I would like to. I have also been trying to figure out how to convert a plastic wagon to a cart they can pull the kids in, so they will get a better workout than a leash walk. I have X-back harnesses, and weight pull harnesses with the rings on the sides, plus all the lines, etc. No idea how to attach the shafts to it so that the wagon doesn't clip their heels on downgrades. Any suggestions on any or all of the above would be appreciated!!! The transition of bringing in an adult is new to me, as we had both our previous sibes from the age of 8 weeks.Thanks, Cheryl, Tala, and Flint

[SiberHusky97]

Welcome to the pack Sibefan and your pics are so lovely!

It's good to see another Canadian round here (my parents are still in Montreal) I loved your story and it's great that the two "babies" are getting along so well. I don't have experience with transitioning an outside dog to the inside, but it sounds like you are on the right path. I would feel uncomfortable leaving 2 huskies in a yard while I'm not home to watch them. They tend to get bored and find ways out, especially when there's two of them to encourage each other to be naughty lol Mudroom sounds good, although it sounds like you might need another crate hehe. If you're home and you can keep an eye on them, I don't see any harm with letting them hang out outside, if they enjoy that. As for the marking, if you don't trust him around the house yet, keep a leash on him and keep him close to you, make sure you spend time (Read a book or something while he gets used to a new room) in each room every day so that he learns this is his den/home now, and there's no need to mark it. I have put a diaper on a Huskamute (for a couple of days) before, because even though he was neutered he still had the urge to mark the house and after a couple weeks of closely watching him I could trust him not to mark, but each case is different of course.

[KSNS]

welcome to the site great pics a lil massive but i found the dogs after scrolling around lol

hope to see more pics soon :-)

[Lana]

Welcome to the family .

[Rosemary]

Hi Cheryl , welcome to the site You have two really beautiful sibes. Sorry I can't help with the problems you are having - I have two puppies, but I am sure you will get all the help you need. Good luck.

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

welcome to the pack - sorry 2 hear about ur loss - ur sibes r gorgeous - im afraid i cant help as both our sibes were pups when we got them (blaze at 7 weeks skyla at 3 months) someone will be able 2 help u tho

[Dunc]

Hiya Cheryl welcome on board

[Tikaani&Aiyana]

Hi Cheryl and welcome Hope you find lots of useful info on here, its a great pack to be part of

[Mazz]

Hi Cheryl, welcome to the Pack. Maybe if your female is an inside dog, that will help the cause. Interact with him a lot while he's in the house, and that may keep his attention.

[valkyries]

Hi Cheryl welcome to the site, lovely pics we need more lol xxxx

[Kells xx]

hey cheryl welcome to the forum

[Sarah]

hi and welcome to the pack

I tend to only have the problem of my older dog Kimba marking if we go to someone else's house - then i'm forever apologising and following him round lol

both my boys are indoor when we're at work having said that they love being outside as much as they can be when we're at home :0

Look forward to seeing you around the forum Just love the pics