A dog to go with a husky

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Mbronze

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Anybody any bright ideas?

I am considering when madam is at least 1 or 2 yrs old and established in her training etc of getting another dog. I have been toying with the idea of a gsd or collie or even a ckcs. Please don't suggest another husky (1 is plenty!)

Has anybody else teamed a husky with another breed which get on well together..?
 
Funny you should say those breeds, in the distant future I want to get a GSD or similar and the other husky lady in our village has a collie as a companion for hers. They're both a comparable size and energy level and both are suitable to work in harness if you explore that in the future. :)
 
Have you thought about an Australian shepherd. Like a collie but hardier. Will stand some serious rough playing and will walk all day if you want to but will settle after an hour or so's walk.
 
Again funny you should say that, said husky lady's collie is a dark blue merle with white and tan patches and almost certainly part Australian shep! They just call him a 'blue collie' as he's a rescue of unknown provenance.

Daxy gets along really well with him, they're of similar madness levels. :)
 
I always like the idea of a greyhound or other sighthound or lurcher. They love to run and are fast - and husky's love to chase.

Perfect!

My Inuit loves it when he meets a whippet on walks - he just cannot catch it but loves to try and the whippet finds it hilarious and runs and runs!
 
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:D

I would worry that they'd get chewed up a bit in rough play, but you're sorted on the hooning front. :p
 
My friends' two GSDs have a whippet friend at the park, apparently the female gets so frustrated when she can't keep up with the whip that she just huffs and sits on her bum and howls mournfully :p
 
Yep nic nic is kept in order by the bullies !!! Mine fit in well Digger loves the ladies and if they they tell him off he's in heaven, he likes a bit of dominance!! Blue just does as he's told and sits still a lot, Sis's as a pack don't like too much play it's not normal, though they are really tolerant with Nic as she has been there since a puppy though she yelped quite a lot and GSD's are not to OTT, Nic she thinks she is one now!

The funniest thing is that pack leader Cleo, has got a little jealous of Nic's training and will now do retrieves and searches! But only once!!!!

Single Huskys should be fine with most breeds that can take rough pay, but I would avoid breeds that tend to be too busy or manic as that would get on a Husky's nerves, Greyhounds etc would be good as they like to run fast and rest but they are inclined to run off themselves let alone with a Husky calling the shots!!.
 
I have 9 Huskies so far (!) and a Collie!! Harry (Collie) lives with the pack and also runs in harness! We have him as it's nice to have one to take out and throw a ball for!
We plan one day to have a GSD as well - as a guard dog. I love GSD's.
I know a few Husky people with GSD's and also Lurchers. Basically any breed of a similar size that's energetic is fine.
Why not a second husky? They you can have a 2 dog team, buy a rig and get hooked on the sport?! Way more fun than walking them!
I know you say you are training yours but please please please never be lulled into the belief you can let one off the lead unless in an enclosed area. Their hunting instinct is far too strong. Sorry if I repeat what you already know :-)
 
suzysparkle said:
I have 9 Huskies so far (!) and a Collie!! Harry (Collie) lives with the pack and also runs in harness! We have him as it's nice to have one to take out and throw a ball for!
We plan one day to have a GSD as well - as a guard dog. I love GSD's.
I know a few Husky people with GSD's and also Lurchers. Basically any breed of a similar size that's energetic is fine.
Why not a second husky? They you can have a 2 dog team, buy a rig and get hooked on the sport?! Way more fun than walking them!
I know you say you are training yours but please please please never be lulled into the belief you can let one off the lead unless in an enclosed area. Their hunting instinct is far too strong. Sorry if I repeat what you already know :-)
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Wow,9 huskies!! I did think about a 2nd husky, but I would love a dog you could just 'throw a ball' for....
Don't worry, I have heard many times not to let her off the lead,she has a 50ft lead now so she is always safe :)
 
I've got a collie x greyhound lurcher too - they do get on well, Shadow (the lurcher) runs around in circles and Isa (the inuit) cuts the corners to get to him. If he runs off in a straight line she heads off in the opposite direction so he comes back!

I have to say though, once he's 'on the chase' his recall's pretty rubbish.

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Excellent, another potential mafia member SS, give me a bell when you are looking I shall point you in the right direction, you husky people have great taste

That's great thanks. I have no problems with Huskies but would need advice for GSD's and I know finding a good one can be tricky. I did actually grow up with one though! He was great. Very protective but very accommodating of me climbing on his back etc as a toddler. I believe he also used to pull me along on a sledge....so it's all his fault.
RIP Fred.
 
blackcob said:
Again funny you should say that, said husky lady's collie is a dark blue merle with white and tan patches and almost certainly part Australian shep! They just call him a 'blue collie' as he's a rescue of unknown provenance.

Daxy gets along really well with him, they're of similar madness levels. :)
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why do they think he is part aussie? he is probably a bone fide blue merle tri border collie;):)

im not sure a collie with a husky is the best choice - espec if 1 husky is already enough, lol. If you did decide on a BC id be careful about the lines and 'type' and avoid anything too sharp. good luck :)
 
suzysparkle said:
Excellent, another potential mafia member SS, give me a bell when you are looking I shall point you in the right direction, you husky people have great taste

That's great thanks. I have no problems with Huskies but would need advice for GSD's and I know finding a good one can be tricky. I did actually grow up with one though! He was great. Very protective but very accommodating of me climbing on his back etc as a toddler. I believe he also used to pull me along on a sledge....so it's all his fault.
RIP Fred.
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There are some very good working/showline crossovers in the UK at the minute, can do a hard days work but not *too* intense (IE all up in your face/hanging on your arm or self-mutilating/wrecking the joint if they don't have Your Complete And Undivided Attention At All Times) :p
 
Are huskys really so bad off the lead? I always assumed they were like Mals- mine spends most of her time off the lead and has never run off and not come back. Why are huskys so different when the job is basically the same?
 
I have no idea why, when similar breeds can eventually be trained out of it, but they really are bloody useless off the lead. I've put in months of one-on-one recall training with long lines, roast chicken, blood and tears and it's still pretty much 50/50 as to whether I'll get her back when she's called.

Hear that curious swish/thwap noise behind you on a walk? That'll be us, trailing a 50ft line between us. :p
 
Huskies have a very very strong hunting instinct. You just can't train that out of them. I do know of one husky owner (owns several of them) and one of hers who she thought was good off the lead one day spotted some sheep and ran off. She was later shot (and quite rightly so) by the farmer. She injured several sheep.
When we lived in Yorkshire I let our first two out (into our very highly fenced garden) and there was a wild rabbit in there. Two seconds later that rabbit was in a mouth and not much later was dead. They are frighteningly effective killers. But, great with people and with kids. I have heard more than once of packs killing husky puppies hence the reason for very very carefull introductions.
All of ours will come to call....but I'd never test it in non enclosed area. I know for sure with all of them that they would be off and doing what instinct tells them given the chance. I've seen their reaction with the farm animals being driven past!!
Unfortunately you get the odd know it all that says theirs doesn't need a lead. I encountered one when I lived in Anglesey and was out riding a Dales stallion. Luckily my Horse was well mannered enough to ignore the circling dog who ignored his owners for over half an hour.
If you want a husky you have to accept that they aren't retrievers, they like to dig up gardens, they can't be trusted off lead which means that really, they need working in harness and if you don't want to do that - why have one??? They are sled dogs after all. Unfortunately their good looks do them no favours and hundreds end up in welfare every year because of cr*p breeders selling badly bred dogs to people with no idea. Same as most breeds I guess. Any decent breeder has a contract insisting on return to them if problems arise. And any decent husky 'breeder' has a very long waiting list.
 
I wish someone would tell mine that she's supposed to be a good hunter, she put up a fat pheasant the other day which bimbled about in front of her for ages, she couldn't work it out at all. :o

It's frustrating when HPR type dogs can be trained out of the instinct but yes, you have to accept that, suck it up and buy a scooter. And then another husky, then you move house so you can put up a run, then buy a rig, more huskies, maybe a van fitted out with cages... :D
 
In general though a gundog doesn't have a 'let's kill things' instinct! They have more of a 'let's catch this and take it back to boss' instinct. It's easier to let them know what you want as they are doing it for you in the first place, rather than a husky which I guess is doing it for itself! It would be more like training a cat not to hunt! :D
 
Bah, maybe I meant hound type things - beagles and the like, taking off after a scent and going deaf. But yeah, you've hit the nail on the head, huskies just don't have that desire to please humans in the same way. She couldn't give a fig about earning my approval. I can respect that, actually, I wouldn't come back for a bit of pocket-fluffy sausage and a damp tennis ball either - still frustrates me, mind you. :o

Even with the working in harness I'm sure they're not doing it because it fulfills any need to provide a service to the human, it's simply because they fracking love to pull and run. :p
 
blackcob said:
I wish someone would tell mine that she's supposed to be a good hunter, she put up a fat pheasant the other day which bimbled about in front of her for ages, she couldn't work it out at all. :o

It's frustrating when HPR type dogs can be trained out of the instinct but yes, you have to accept that, suck it up and buy a scooter. And then another husky, then you move house so you can put up a run, then buy a rig, more huskies, maybe a van fitted out with cages... :D
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LOL - that biy about the pheasant made me laugh!! Mine would have definately eaten it!

And yep, have the scooter, the rig, the quad, the heavy passenger cart, the fitted van, the dog run...............and funnily, no money :-)
 
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