# What have I done! Siberian Husky X Belgian Shepard pup



## voodookitten (Nov 25, 2012)

We went to a distant neighbours house 2 days ago to pick up some landfill. We don’t speak to any neighbours much as we are pretty recluse and most people out these parts are country old timers that are very old school, especially with animals. So yeah, not much in common. We are rural, so nearest neighbour is 2kms away. We are chatting away, making small talk when I spotted something under a couch outside. I asked what it was and they reply ‘meh, just a pup we got for the grandkids, but they came over yesterday and all the pup does is shit everywhere and hide under the couch. No matter how much we dragged it out it went back.’ 

(No? Really? Geeeez) :doh:

I managed to coax puppy out within 5 minutes and within another 5 she is happy as a pig in poo, confident and a typical pup. She is super hypo too and very alert, I’m thinking some sort of shepard mix? They then say that they don’t want her now and wish they hadn’t got her. 

Hubby and I look at each.

Long story cut short - Pup is passed through the window with the phone number of where they got her from, we drive off. We look at each other and look at the pup thinking ‘what have we done!!!!!’ and I say ‘ ready for no sleep for the next 2 months’. Hubby says ‘you’ll be fine’ LOL. (He was kidding, don’t worry).

We rang the lady who bred the pups and she lives 3 hours away and was more than happy for us to come see her and meet the parents so we hopped in the car and off we went.

Both parents are lovely, Mum is a 5 yr old Sib Husky (with eyes to die for!) and Dad a 7 yr old Belgian Shepard. Both very healthy, confident, and happy dogs. Mum is quite calm and loves people. She doesn’t chase cats or chickens. Yes I couldn’t believe it, even when we saw it! Dad is a bundle of pent up energy that almost shimmers with life and in all honesty, he needed a lot more stimulation that what he was getting but it wasn’t my place to say anything. They were both very obedient and clearly loved their owner. Met the other pups, so adorable. Some of them had mums blue eyes, kinda eerie but very cute. 

The dogs looked healthy enough but of course no genetic testing done or either parent, typical BYB stuff.

She said this was an oops litter – the second one now. I rolled my eyes silently :suspicious: and moved on. I spent most of the conversation biting my tongue really but I did well.

She thanked us for giving the pup a home and passed $50 through the window as we left and asked us to put it towards her worming or whatever we needed at such short notice. We thanked her and drove off.

A huge talk happened on the way home, as I am quite taken with the pup even though I didn’t want one right now. Also we were looking at a Standard Poodle (as you can see from my history) as we both dislike dog hair throughout the house but wanted high energy. So I spent a bit of time researching and I reckon if I brush her out once a day, we can get past it. Isn’t it amazing what you decide you can deal with when you want to LOL. :biggrin1:

So, she is now ours. She is off to the vests for microchipping, vaccs, worming – all that good stuff in the next couple of days and we called her Ally. 

The cats are not talking to us, our 7 month old pup is so excited its stupid, the kids won’t leave her alone, I’m so tired from getting up 3-4 times (cant remember) to let out to wee last night, I answered the phone this morning and when I hung up 3 minutes later I turned and trod in pup poo (what did she wait until I was on the phone? LOL) 24/7 monitering of the kids, cats and the our 7 month old pup is a full time task and I’m just TIRED!! And I have MONTHS of this to look forward to. Ohhh……

But I have a cute high energy (from what we can see of course) pup that is very quick, very switched on and she has THE most gorgeous puppy breath in the world. So maybe it was meant to be. 

Ask me in 3 weeks time.


I have not owned either breed before, but am reading continually and learning fast – I don’t think I’m in over my head but I know it won’t be an easy ride – in fact, my world is gonna get rocked but if she is as high energy and smart as what I’m reading about both breeds, she will be perfect for me in the long run. 

I would LOVE to hear from others who have either breed, the more I can learn, the better. The good and the bad, hit me with what you know. Please no ‘alpha’ talk though and how we will have to be ‘tough’ with her, everything is positive reinforcement with our animals with clicker training the whole way. Yes, we are crate training her too. Not in a million years would I have pictured myself owning either breed, they weren't even a consideration (which now just seems weird as she feels so right?) so I'm eager to get as much info as possible :whoo:

So without further ado, please meet Ally – the dog that is going to either make or break me. 

(Her ears usually touch in the middle when she is in alert mode but she was tired and it was the best I could do poor darling.)


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## nene (May 6, 2010)

Wow, she is gorgeous! Beautiful coloring and eyes.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

7 months or 7 weeks ? She looks more like 3 months? Beautiful and alert... You said you wanted high energy, however, I think you got a nuclear-powered rocket that's just preparing to go critically thermonuclear. You might consider getting a large hamster cage to power a generator, as well as a halter connected to the front of the car 

1. Ask the breeder how she trained her dogs.
2. Read these two free downloads: http://www.dogstardaily.com/free-downloads
3. Consider some puppy classes and lots of socialization ...
4. Assume that she can never be walked off-leash ... until clearly proven otherwise.
5. Be careful about letting her alone outside, Huskies can be Houdinis!
6. I don't know how to do this with a rocket, but look up Nothing in Life is free (NILIF) - DogForum Sticky and Google.
7. Consciously train now ... b/c she's going to train you... Be prepared for rapid, single trial learning....
8. Never leave the car keys out.... She might decide to go for a joy ride


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

she's beautiful and it's one of those fate things that you just don't say no to...


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## voodookitten (Nov 25, 2012)

hanksimon - sorry, I should have worded that better. Our first dog, is 7 months old. Which is why I was reluctant to take on another pup so soon. Ally is 8 weeks and 2 days old, she weighs 5.2 kilos (11ish pounds).

I think I wet myself laughing at your description - I totally agree, just wish I had your wording! We do have a generator and frequent power outages..hmmmmmm....lol

The woman who bred them just said she taught them herself and it was easy (huh?) I had already tuned out to numerous things she had said by then but her and her family were very old school with dogs. I'm guessing choker chains (saw them hanging up) and dominance from what I saw but the dogs didn't look broken, they were happy enough, they were very submissive towards their owners but not broken or anything if that makes sense, they seemed anyway, so guessing it worked for them. But I'm not interested in going down that path.

Fence is foolproof. 2 foot underground too (wild rabbits everywhere here). But a fence can be foolproof as much as it wants but Im thinking she may learn how to open latches so might be padlocking any lower ones. Promise I wont put them with the car keys though!

Yeah, I'm frantically reading about training. We currently have a couch potato who couldn't give a rats arse about training, she learns, but she really couldn't care less, so the new little rocket is going to be a real shock. Im the first to say I am a bit apprehensive about my abilities as I haven't trained a dog like this before. I love those downloads you mentioned too, I read them with our first dog - time to read them again I dare say.

I just had a quick look at Nothing in Life is free (NILIF) and from what I saw, love it - again thankyou!  Ill be reading all about that in bed tonight. Then having nightmares Im sure lol.

She is definately smart and very very confident. Our 7 month old is 10 times her size and she has no fear and will growl if she doesn't want her to come close. Even when Kayla (7 month old) jumps around to play (yes, we supervise 24/7), Ally will just sit there and watch her and if she gets too close will growl and go back to what she is doing. So very fast learning curve here.

With the never let off leash you mentioned until trusted - that was something I hadn't thought of at all. Does anyone know of anyone who has a SH that they would trust off lead even when older? My fear would be the first time is the last time?


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

Oh, she's beautiful! Sounds as though she's in great hands with you 

I don't know anything about either breed except that my husband's college roommate had a husky. Beautiful dog, but he had a habit of escaping the house/yard and running off to torment the area cows. The farmers hated him.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

She's beautiful, congrats


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## Rowdy (Sep 2, 2007)

What a gorgeous puppy! Please post lots of pictures as she grows.


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## DaisyDC (Feb 24, 2013)

She's gorgeous!

No advice, but good luck!


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## GrinningDog (Mar 26, 2010)

She is stunning! Best of luck to you weathering the puppy stress. It's no picnic, as you know, haha. Hang in there! She's gonna be a lovely dog, I'm sure.


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## luv mi pets (Feb 5, 2012)

Cute! and that you know she is going to have energy and trying to stay ahead of it that speaks volume of the owner you want to be. Just keep us posted of picturesas she grows.


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## annadee (Aug 22, 2012)

Oh my, sounds like quite the active mix!! Congratulations, she is beautiful, I wish you all the best! Keep us updated on how you're doing from time to time!


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

It's spelled shepherd (an amalgam of sheep and herd(er), essentially), just so you know. 

She is gorgeous. And don't worry, most of us on this forum spend a lot of time telling people to forget all of that debunked "alpha" stuff, so we're certainly not going to tell you to use those techniques on your puppy!


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## StitchWitch (Feb 28, 2013)

Very pretty! First thing I noticed were those giant paws!

I too, had a puppy land in my lap and I'm right with you on the whole train ride. He's about 4-5 months old however.


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## voodookitten (Nov 25, 2012)

Holy Crap! I just double checked and yep, its written like that everywhere LOL. God knows what was going through my head with that one! Thanks Crantastic 

I've already had someone tell me that she will need a tough owner and to make sure I stay dominant and ensure she sits at the bottom etc etc. Nice fake smile and walk away as they wont listen to any other way so meh - their loss.

I do already have a few questions (no real suprises, Im sure Ill be asking heaps in the next few weeks!) so will start another thread later on when its a bit quieter on the home front.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

Wow! What a gorgeous gorgeous puppy!  Congratulations! I certainly hope you post plenty of photos as she grows. She is going to be one gorgeous adult!


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## juliemule (Dec 10, 2011)

I can answer most questions on the Belgian side. Hopefully the pup will be biddable. I know a vet who has this mix, but she is pretty low drive compared to most malinois, and not too bright lol. She always says, "good thing she is pretty, cause that's all she is" lol!


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

I need to say something outrageous, so the Husky people will speak up, also.

@Crantastic: Don't need orthographic help, need Husky help ... Is a Klee like a husky?

There are definitely people that have huskies and malinois that are very safe off-leash. I don't have the experience and don't know the method. My assumption is not that Ally would randomly run away, but might try to run down a rabbit etc., where ever it runs to... Start the off leash training now. Susan Garrett has a 5 min. Brilliant Recall ... I think the online course is Very expensive, but you might glean something fro the Youtube videos... There are many other methods - Dunbar and Kikopup... and Ally may be more malinois 

You might think about dominance methods as being a [harsh] way of distracting a dog from unwanted behavior [too late], vs. positive methods, which require anticipating and avoiding opportunities for unwanted behavior. So rather than a choke chain to prevent pulling, teach loose leash and silky leash. Rather than using an Alpha roll to prevent fighting and aggression, socialize lots with many, many people, animals, dogs, locations, experiences, situations, and noises... so that ever place and everyone seems to be a friendly encounter. Also, teach Bite Inhibition. Rather than chaining the dog to prevent destruction and barking, crate the dog, exercise the dog, and train the dog physically and mentally. 

I know you understand the positive side of the house, but most people don't consider translating effective correction based methods [or harsher dominance methods] into positive equivalents.... You've seen what you get with dominance. 

Unfortunately, with positive methods you may get a well-balanced, trained, intelligent dog that chooses when to be obedient ... and when to be independent  [Personally, I like that ... at the Lab retriever level ...]


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## sclevenger (Nov 11, 2012)

No advice on the breeds, just wanted to say good luck! I have a 4 month old sheltie and a 2 month old Aussie! And we have a almost 2 year old, so I just wanted to share in your misery! lol jk. 

In all seriousness though, don't be afraid to step away and take a break, when I'm feeling extremely overwhelmed, i put the puppies in their kennels with a chew toy or treat and just have some me time or spend time with my daughter, at first i felt guilty but after a few crying spells because i was so overwhelmed, i realized its good fur me and it doesn't hurt them to have some down time either. 

Goodluck and she is beautiful!!


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## Rae134 (Oct 19, 2013)

Hi, I've just gotten a puppy that is this mix, could you please tell me more on how everything is going? 

(oh and more pix please, I LOVE pix! )


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

I second that request... What's new? Did she get a driver's license?


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