Hello,
I currently have 2 rescued shelter dogs. One male Shepherd/Husky mix, Caesar, and a female purebred Siberian Husky, Lizzy. We just got Lizzy a week ago and I was curious about Sibe mannerisms. Our current husky mix, Caesar, we adopted when he was 4 months old and he was and is a handful. Caesar is now almost 2 and is a very high energy dog. So high energy that we ended up putting in a radio fence around 5 acres so that he could run off some of that energy. Caesar was also an extremely social dog. He loves to play with other dogs.
Lizzy, on the other hand, is a very low energy dog. We are unsure of her previous situation but she was very timid when she first arrived but is already beginning to show some confidence. When we loudly tell our other dog "NO", she runs and hides in the corner. When you approach her, she cowers and rolls over immediately. I usually try to get her to stand up and come to me before I pet her so that she knows she doesn't have to be submissive. Also, she will not play with any of the dog toys we have (she does not know how to fetch) and will only nibble for about 1 second on any doggie bone we give to her. She doesn't like milk bone treats or any real doggie treats. The first three days that we had Lizzy, she slept the whole time. Now, she will willingly go on walks 2 - 3 times a day but does not seem upset if she doesn't get one. She also lays down sometimes on the walks like she doesn't want to go any further. She does, however, play with Caesar and they seem to get along really well. We are going to try and train her on the radio fence even though a lot of the forums say it's impossible to boundary train a husky. I will say that she is an absolute sweetheart and will lay in your lap (well, half in) for hours if you let her.
Is Lizzy showing typical husky behavior? Or does it sound like she may have been abused? Does anyone have any husky advice?
I currently have 2 rescued shelter dogs. One male Shepherd/Husky mix, Caesar, and a female purebred Siberian Husky, Lizzy. We just got Lizzy a week ago and I was curious about Sibe mannerisms. Our current husky mix, Caesar, we adopted when he was 4 months old and he was and is a handful. Caesar is now almost 2 and is a very high energy dog. So high energy that we ended up putting in a radio fence around 5 acres so that he could run off some of that energy. Caesar was also an extremely social dog. He loves to play with other dogs.
Lizzy, on the other hand, is a very low energy dog. We are unsure of her previous situation but she was very timid when she first arrived but is already beginning to show some confidence. When we loudly tell our other dog "NO", she runs and hides in the corner. When you approach her, she cowers and rolls over immediately. I usually try to get her to stand up and come to me before I pet her so that she knows she doesn't have to be submissive. Also, she will not play with any of the dog toys we have (she does not know how to fetch) and will only nibble for about 1 second on any doggie bone we give to her. She doesn't like milk bone treats or any real doggie treats. The first three days that we had Lizzy, she slept the whole time. Now, she will willingly go on walks 2 - 3 times a day but does not seem upset if she doesn't get one. She also lays down sometimes on the walks like she doesn't want to go any further. She does, however, play with Caesar and they seem to get along really well. We are going to try and train her on the radio fence even though a lot of the forums say it's impossible to boundary train a husky. I will say that she is an absolute sweetheart and will lay in your lap (well, half in) for hours if you let her.
Is Lizzy showing typical husky behavior? Or does it sound like she may have been abused? Does anyone have any husky advice?