Siberian huskies make excellent pets and companions, and they are extremely well-noted arctic working dogs. But on the flip side, Siberian Huskies are high-maintenance pets not well suited to everyone.
If you think a Siberian Husky is in your future, read on and find out if you are up to the task of owning a Siberian Husky, and if your lifestyle, home, and style of dog-ownership is right for the breed.
What Your Siberian Husky Needs From You
Your Siberian husky will need you to understand that this is not a docile lap-dog. Siberian huskies are quite boisterous and require a lot of exercise and the opportunity to play, be frisky, and burn off energy.
What's more, Siberian Huskies are runners, and cannot ever be trusted not to take off on their own. This means that Siberians cannot just be let out in the yard to play, unless your yard is impenetrably fenced; and impenetrable means cannot be dug under or climbed, as a Siberian Husky will do both of these things. Impenetrable also means not of the wireless or invisible variety-these will not work on Siberian Huskies; a husky would sooner take the electrical hit and blast off for greener pastures. Many Siberians have been permanently lost to their owners (or worse, killed by automobiles) because they were trusted with inadequate, or no, enclosures.
Keeping your Siberian Husky with you also means that whenever you go out with your dog you need to be sure to keep it leashed. A Siberian Husky is a highly curious and social animal that will run off, even if you are right there with it-Siberians cannot be trusted not to run and must always be leashed or fenced!
Siberian Huskies need you to love them and play with them, and they will display a strong love and affection for you and your family, but don't expect that they will love and play with only you and the members of your household. These dogs love other people and other dogs; this is great because it diminishes fears of stranger anxiety, dog aggression, and associated fighting and biting, but the downside is that Siberian Huskies are not fiercely loyal one-person dogs. If this is what you expect from your animal, you probably are not right for a Siberian Husky.
Siberian Huskies need you to fulfill their need for socialization; as an animal that was bred to work and live in a pack/team environment, they thrive on dog-socialization. The best situation for a Siberian Husky is for there to be two or more dogs in the home; if you're a one-dog person, you probably are not right for a Siberian Husky.
What your Siberian Husky needs above all things is your understanding. Your Siberian needs you to know what they are like and respect them-don't expect this dog to be something it's not. If you can do that, and you feel you can properly train and maintain a Siberian Husky, then this dog is probably right for you after all, and together you're sure to have many happy years.
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