I have a dilemma /an/
I have been thinking about getting a dog for the past 6 or so months and I think within the next week I'll be ready. The breed I have my heart set on is the Siberian husky, I've read 3 books about them and I feel like I am a pretty good match for one.
Here is the problem,
Currently I live in an appartment, and while it is a dog friendly place, the rescues I've seen all require I have a yard. I volunteer for a rescue so I would rather adopt a dog, even though I could get past that requirement by talking to a breeder.
I know huskys have a lot of energy but I feel like I am active and home enough to be a great pet owner for one. Is it wrong for me to lie and claim I have a yard just to get the breed I want? Should I just talk to a breeder instead?
Huskies are dropped off at animal shelters all the time, and many shelters don't require yards. However, with an animal shelter you will have to be patient and wait a few months, and most animal shelters go by first come first serve rules so you have to act fast if you want one.
>apartment
>Husky
No. I don't believe you've really read books on them. And yes lying about having a yard is shit because no one is going to want to adopt a husky to an apartment dweller.
>>2131404
>I've read 3 books about them and I feel like I am a pretty good match for one.
>Currently I live in an appartment
What the fuck?
>Yeah I've read like three books about tractors and I think I'm pretty informed so I've decided to get one for my beach house
>>2131429
>>2131434
I've read that they don't work for appartments. However, a husky owner forum was telling me it's fine. I understand it's not ideal, but it's their energy that would make apartment life hard, and from what the other forum was telling me it is fine as long as you are home and walk them quite a bit.
I get what you both are saying, but frankly I am going to be committed to this dog. I don't think living in an apartment outweighs my ability to care for the dog.
My dad got a Siberian and lives in an apartment and everything's been fine for the 1 and a half years he's had her so far. He lied about where he lived to get it.
He does take her out for walks a lot when he isn't working.
>>2131444
That's still the very, very bare minimum and that isn't fair to a high energy breed dog that was bred to live outside and travel long distances.
You don't think it's a good match, you just like how they look. I get it. Theyre pretty, cool looking dogs but find one better suited to your living situation.
>>2131444
If you're okay with your dog possibly becoming obese, then whatever. It's hard to keep them in shape with just the bare minimum walks.
For an animal that only lives like ~12 years anyways, it doesn't really matter all the much.
Just don't leave it locked up in a cage for hours, alright?
Got a husky at 2 months. He is 6 years old. Spent first 5 years in a one bedroom apartment, I kept him engaged with puzzle toys, multiple walks, and cardio a few times a week. He is so chill it blows people away. Finally moved into a house with a yard, and he doesn't even use it.
My experience do it, but really train, and re-direct their energy. One, time at 6 months he chewed my wall. Also he lived with a cat and bunnies, no problem, just have to take care to train, and again redirect energy.
PIC related him with one of our cats, in a two bedroom apartment.
>>2131469
Also, aim for getting an older one that has calmed down a bit. That'll make things easier with your situation.
>>2131458
I'm pretty sure everyone likes how they look, I'm not getting a dog to show off. If I didn't think I would mesh well I wouldn't consider getting one.
You do raise a fair point with it not being fair though, and that is really my only worry with this breed. I just want the dog I pick out to be happy, even if I have to walk an hour longer to make that happen
>>2131472
I'm glad to hear you could make it work in an apartment. One thing I really look forward to is training, huskys are so smart.
>>2131477
They are very smart, and they are stubborn at times. I also had a Corgi, and those guys are fucking smart and eager to please. The Husky, he would listen, but not really do tricks, unless he wanted. I have watched him several times solve things like where the cat is hiding, or open cabinets.
>>2131481
Jogging with them is also great, if they're not stubborn and refuse.
>>2131478
I'm pretty active with walking at the gym, so I could handle that. It would be more fun with a dog anyway.
Your husky looks wonderful btw, I'm glad he gets along with your other pets.
>>2131404
nope
Huskies CANT be inside like that. If any breed can't it's huskies. They need 4 miles a day or so. An apartment is aweful for them. Get a new place or ANY other breed
>>2131404
I have a neighbour that has a husky and lives in an apartment next to me. She has a small backyard that the dog can do it's business in, HOWEVER, she goes running up town with this dog every single morning, which is a good thirty minutes one way, thirty minutes the other.
As long as you can give this dog the excersise it needs, and take it to a dog park or something to get some interaction with other dogs, it should be fine in an apartment. But you DO have to give it the exercise it was bred for, and make sure that in the summer you can keep it cooled off. Going swimming would probably be great exercise for it actually.
The downsides are that it will get destructive and fat. Which, if you can handle that, aren't really that bad.
If you go the breeder route, try to get a line that has been bred for pets for some time now, and don't come from a working class line. That will help out quite a bit.
There are also other types of shepherds and such that look similarly to huskies and can keep up on a good hike/jog.
>>2131548
As long as they are meeting it's energy levels on a regular enough basis it's fine, though this is counting in that OP understands just how much energy these guys have to burn off.
I've seen it done with a dedicated owner and they are perfectly happy dogs, and do especially well at the dog park where they can really run.
>>2131444
Everybody who's telling you you shouldn't get one is dumb or doesn't know dogs. You know how much time and energy you're going to be putting into the dog. As long as your apartment has a little space, it doesn't really matter if you live in an apartment or house or whatever. In fact, you may even have a better exercised dog than a homeowner because you won't be able to use the excuse that you let him run around in your postage stamp sized yard and will be forced to actually exercise him properly.
I have a high energy breed and I lived in an apartment when I got him and he was in great shape. I have a yard now but I still spend a lot of time playing with him one on one and he's still in great shape.
>>2131404
Anon, I ignored the advice about getting X dog without a yard and it was a big mistake.
I heard 20 people saying don't get X without a yard and then heard 3 saying they did it without one, so naturally I thought i could be one who wouldnt need it.
DO NOT DO IT
I have a whippet in a 1 bedroom apartment. It is a fucking nightmare and I wish I could kill the cunt sometimes.
>>2131748
You're not exercising it properly if it's being a nightmare, mine are mostly confined in my room and they just sleep.
I have a border collie mix, arguably one of the most energetic dog breeds. I also live in a tiny apartment.
We walk to the park every other day. There's a fenced field so she gets off leash time there. She runs laps and then we train and play fetch.
We also do lots of trick training, she eats from a frozen kong, and she wears a backpack on walks. Trips to local dog friendly stores are great. Sniffing around tractor supply or Petco for an hour will tire her out a lot. I dunno why but it does!
>Pic related, park time
>>2131748
Just walk it out more and tire it, you terrible cunt.
>>2131404
If its a puppy, and you train it properly, and you take it on walks/to parks and spend a lot of time with it, then its okay if you don't have a yard. My best friend lived in such a place with his husky for a couple years and the dog was extremely well-behaved and happy. However, he took it on walks every day and spent a lot of time with the dog. He also had grown up with huskies all his life, and it was the third dog he was personally responsible for, so he had a lot of experience.
I would not recommend it given your situation if it is going to be your first dog, but if you are certain that you can commit to the time required, it will be fine.
I think most people agree a high energy breed can do well in an apartment IF, and only if, they are given the proper level of exercise.
The problem is the vast majority of people overestimate the amount of time they will realistically devote to the dog.
OP claims to be pretty active but that's it. Everybody says that. The truth is OP and everybody else who justifies a high energy dog with that thinking aren't nearly as active as their ideal of themselves in their head is
A husky can do fine in an apartment but it will be a lot of work. I'm assuming you live on neetbux or something.
>>2131794
If anything a puppy would be more work and more energy and need more time devoted to it.
>>2131804
But if he doesn't get it as a puppy, it might be poorly trained. Either OP will get an older dog that will die soon, or OP will get an midlife dog that have behavior issues, unless he's really lucky.
>>2131810
> I really doubt that I would pick one I saw had behavior issues
And that shows how much you are not ready to adopt a dog.
Even if you buy a puppy from a great, responsible breeder you have to work through issues: teething, attention span of a dead moth (normal for puppies), stupid training mistakes like: what to do when your dog runs off the second you take the leash off, what if he doesn't have a good recall, what if he is too interested in cats / squirrels etc.
If you decide on an adult dog from a really good, responsible rescue, you are informed about the problems the dog has. So you can choose a dog whose issues you can handle, faults you can live with.
E.g. One of my walking partners is a standard poodle. She's 100% reliable and well mannered, to an outsider, she'd seem absolutely perfect. However those who know that poodle know, that she hates rude, conceited dogs, she's likely to make them learn some manners. With a less skilled owner this could easily get out of hand, the dog would have become aggressive.
And for fuck's sake know your limits. I'm pretty sure you can keep a husky in an apartment, however you'll have to rearrange your life completely to suit the dog.
E.g. I'd love to get a greyhound or a whippet but there is no fenced dog park in my area and my matchbox sized garden is too small to allow it to run at full speed. (So I have a small, old mutt who spent the past 6 hours in the garden, watching the world go by, feeling the wind on her skin and being perfectly happy.)
One more thing: instead of talking to people on line, go meet the breed, talk to owners in real life to see if the breed is a good match for you.
>>2131404
Don't get a husky if you live in a warm-weather place.
>>2131806
A puppy that isn't trained vs a dog that has little training.
You do know the 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks' is a myth right?
>>2132391
Thanks for the detailed reply.
I'm not going into training blind, I've been working to read and watch videos on puppies as much as I can. I'm also not a first time owner, though huskys are so different I might as well be.
I have been volunteering at a rescue for a few months now, so I know all about the random behavior issues that some dogs have. The rescue I spend time at makes that clear, I just can't be sure ALL rescues are as responsible.
I know what you mean about meeting up with the breed 1st though. Beyond seeing a few puppies and talking to a husky owner on a train I have not really got a better chance to interact. Hopefully that will change soon.
i have a husky and i regret every day... never i gonna abadonned my dog i love her so much but... im working 5 days a week i dont have time for her sometimes she freaks out and gone crazy like turn around the house like a psycho so i open the door and let her go. 1 hour and shes back, tired. on saturday sunday i go with her to walk in the wood i let her go again. with my kids shes ok. shes only 2 year , someone told me shes gonna be excited like this for 2 or 3 years. this photo was the first day i bought her
>>2132791
Are you aware that your dog has a cock and balls on its head?
