Conditions for keeping a husky and proper care

Husky is a very loving, kind and sensitive breed that will undoubtedly give its owner a lot of joy. But keeping a dog of this breed may require special conditions, and for the dog to be healthy - proper care.

The word "husky" goes back to the distorted name of the Eskimo people - "Eski". Various northern peoples, such as the Chukchi, Kereks, the aforementioned Eskimos and other peoples inhabiting the north of Eastern Siberia, and later various people who came to the north of North America, used dogs of this breed for transport purposes. Involuntary selection, which took place in conditions of cold, long distances covered, feeding (on the way) with dried fish and constant stress, led to the formation of the very characteristics in the husky that make them recognizable.

Dogs of this breed of medium height, with a dense coat, have a lean figure, some note a distant resemblance of these dogs to wolves. Let's see a more detailed description:

• the coat is long, the undercoat is very thick;
• the husky has erect ears, covered with wool from the inside;
• international standards allow up to 15 color options for dogs, but the husky is characterized by the presence of a light muzzle and a dark periobital region;
• the most common eye color is blue, but brown, olive and golden are also found;
• males, as a rule, are larger, their skeleton is more pronounced;
• huskies are very hardy, can withstand prolonged loads, moreover, females are practically not inferior in terms of endurance to males;
• Huskies are very friendly to all strangers, which excludes the possibility of using it as a guard dog.

To acquire a husky, you should find a reliable breeder or kennel with a positive reputation. The puppy should be taken in the second month of life, because before that, it is very important for them to stay with the mother. When choosing a puppy, pay attention to its skeleton, it must be strong. Look at the condition of the paws, tail, bite, oral cavity. Also, the puppy should be active, curious and relatively peaceful.

You should check with the breeder for the availability of documents for the dog, and also check the presence of a stamp or, if any, a chip. If you are offered a dog for too low a price, be sure to be wary, as a good purebred husky cannot be cheap.

It is very important to provide the puppy with a range of supplies - food bowl, water bowl, collar. You should also provide the puppy with a leash, undershoot, muzzle. It is necessary to provide the puppy with toys that are resistant to attempts to chew on them. The dog also needs to prepare a special backpack equipped with a weight so that the dog is not hyperactive, a cooling mat, and a furminator for grooming the coat.

Any pile flooring, such as carpets and rugs, should be removed from the dogs' reach - huskies are very fond of tearing them up. Also hide clothes, shoes, and valuables. It is worth removing glass accessories, appliances, clay pots, wires can be greased with special preparations, and it is advisable to remove various detergents away to avoid poisoning. Insulate your dog from noise sources, sharp objects, and exposed wires.

The dog should be kept in conditions regular physical activity. Every day you will have to devote up to four hours to walking, otherwise the puppy simply will not waste its energy, moreover, you should not worry about the weather - the puppy will be comfortable under conditions from +20 to -20. The number of walks will have to be increased to three instead of the usual two in other breeds.

In an apartment interior, a husky will have nowhere to pour out his energy, if you do not engage in his leisure time while walking. Therefore, be mentally prepared for the fact that walls, doors and some small things may be damaged. Therefore, sometimes it is advisable for a puppy to use a spacious cage with a soft place to sleep on the floor if the owners are forced to leave the dog unattended.

In no case should you forget to open the cage as soon as it becomes possible without too destructive consequences.

Be aware that it is impossible to require your husky to be on guard duty in your home. As already mentioned, the husky is a great family friend and a wonderful sled dog, but not a security guard.

In a private house, there are more comfortable conditions for a husky, but to organize leisure on the street, it is not enough for you to just open the door, you need to organize the animal full-fledged walking with games outside the yard.

Husky dogs have a very hard time in the heat, so it is important to give them a shelter in the shade and provide them with plenty of water to drink. It is also important for dogs to organize a spacious aviary, while not forgetting about the natural ingenuity, curiosity and cunning of the husky.

Based on this, they can dig in the walls of the enclosure and get out in search of adventure. To avoid such problems, you should reinforce the enclosure with a net, long steel rods, and the floor should be reinforced with something solid so that it is not possible to dig a tunnel.

Hygiene issues are very important in caring for a dog. Even as a puppy, the husky should receive hygiene procedures more often than other dogs, because he has a long coat and a thick undercoat. Husky sheds twice a year, leaving a huge amount of hair behind. If the dog lives in a comfortable climate, these periods may be less pronounced.

Up to six months, the dog is combed twice a week, after which the coat coarsens to some extent, and then the frequency of brushing can be reduced to one per week. At home, the dog is combed a comb with wide teeth or a furminator. It is important to preserve the part of the undercoat that has not yet molted. During molting periods, dogs are combed out daily, or, if the house is private, every 3-4 days.

In addition to regular combing, the dog needs to be bathed, and those living at home - regular washing of the paws.

Husky should receive preventive eye drops... In addition, in specialized institutions, you should clean the dog's teeth and remove stones from them. Veterinary clinics are ideal for this.

During summer and winter, dogs need to be cared for. For this, there are special creams, gels and even wax.

In addition, it is worth taking care of the animal's claws. So that they do not break, thereby causing discomfort to the dog, they need cut regularly to optimal length.

Up to 2 months, puppies should be fed up to 6 times a day, up to 4 - 4 times a day, at 5 months the puppy should be fed at least 4 times a day and from six months to 10 months the puppy is fed three times every day. An adult pet should be fed up to 2 times a day.

When purchasing a puppy, some breeders recommend keeping it on a rice diet for up to 7 days, later adding white poultry meat or sea fish.

At each stage, you should maintain a diet, feeding the puppy at a certain time. From 4 months vitamins and minerals are added to the diet. Regardless of the choice of the owners between a natural product and ready-made meals, it is important for the owners to ensure the availability of immunostimulating vitamins A and C, vitamins of group B for the skin and muscles in the diet. Vitamin D is important for calcium metabolism, vitamin E has a positive effect on reproduction, and ions of metals and non-metallic compounds form the skeleton of bones and tissues, and also play a role in enzymatic regulation.

It is useful to feed huskies with cereals from cereals and cereals - buckwheat, rice, oatmeal... Moreover, steamed buckwheat or oatmeal can (and even desirable) be given daily. Up to twice a week you can add quail eggs. The combination of these products should not exceed 1/5 of the diet.

Even up to 1/5 of the diet should be given under dairy products. On vegetables up to 1/10 of the diet should be allotted, moreover, preference is given to products containing fiber - carrots, cabbage, apples, etc.

If you decide to resort to ready-made feeds, then it is important to consider the price class of the feed and how guaranteed it meets the needs of your dog. It is advisable to stop the choice at premium or super-premium price class of feed... In cheap food, very often there are low-quality additives that have an allergenic effect, disrupt the intestinal microflora, or simply give a feeling of fullness, without actually saturating the dog. They contain starch, corn, and sometimes grain additives.

Puppies must have a diet with a high percentage of meat. Dry food can be mixed with a natural product only when it comes to adding fermented milk products or vegetables.

Opinions differ regarding the method of transferring to dry food. Some breeders are inclined to believe that it is possible to keep within 10 days, every 3 days, reducing the proportion of natural food by a quarter and increasing the proportion of dry food by the same quarter of the portion, others believe that this process should be extended for 2-3 weeks. Therefore, we can conclude that conversion to dry food should never take less than 10 days and should be a gradual process. It is also important to add an appropriate amount of water to dry food.

It is strictly forbidden to feed the husky with sausages, sausages, flour products and minced meat. You should not feed your dog tubular bones and chicken skins. Also exclude from the diet legumes, grapes and other foods that provoke flatulence - this can cause her discomfort. You can not give dogs raw liver, as well as river fish due to the increased risk of helminthiasis, as well as the likelihood of poisoning. Potatoes and, in particular, the starch contained in them can lead to metabolic disorders in the dog.

The husky puppy is very active and loving, so he will happily absorb all the attention you give him. The first six months are critical for the formation of a host-pet relationship. It is important to devote all free time during this period of a husky's life to him, playing with him, caring, walking and giving him affection and warmth.

During walks, you need to give him all your strength, forcing him to exhaust himself, so that at home he is more calm and assiduous.

In general, when raising a husky, it is useful to introduce a number of rules.

• Your role as a leader should be clearly established. The leader eats first, gets into the dwelling first, goes at the head in any narrow passages.
• It is unacceptable to use violence against the husky. If the dog has committed a fault, it is worth limiting the command "fu", "no", "place" or the like, ignoring any of the dog's needs until the moment when she backs down. If the dog is persistent, it is permissible to take it by the withers and press it to the floor or ground until the dog stops persisting and relaxes. It is strictly forbidden to inflict pain on the dog.
• Always give the dog a choice, backing up the correct one with encouragement - be it goodies, affection, or at least approval from the owner. This will build positive reinforcement for correct (from your point of view) behavior in the dog.
• The husky must have certain rules of residence, to which rooms she is allowed access, what time she eats, what time she sleeps, how she behaves during a walk, while eating, with guests, and so on.

Prior to 6 months, priority should be given to the formation of a bond between the owner and the puppy, then it is already possible to lean more closely on the upbringing process.

Punishments are acceptable only if the husky has shown aggression towards the owners, towards other dogs, or has done something dangerous for himself.

Dogs of this breed are characterized by very good health, but this does not mean that they are not susceptible to diseases, including infectious ones.

At the age of 2 months, dogs are given a combined vaccination against rabies, distemper and enteritis with the introduction of a second dose in a month. To prepare for vaccination in a planned manner 10 days before it, the puppy should be given anthelmintic drugs. After the second vaccination, the dog is at home for two weeks, and then it can be taken outside. In a year, it will be necessary to carry out revaccination in the same way.

It is important to protect dogs from ticks during the warm season, as they are carriers of piroplasmosis, which can potentially be fatal to the pet. Prophylactic collars or pharmacological topical agents, as well as drugs for internal use, can be used to protect the dog.

For information on how to care for a husky, see the next video.