Hi,

My friends have recently purchased a sibe puppy who will be coming to my house for playtime 4 days a week.
They live in a flat with no garden so i have agreed to pick him up at 3.30 when i finish work and return him at 6.00pm when they are home. I did advise them against getting a dog in their tiny flat when they both work full time but it obviously fell on deaf ears :(
Anyway, the pup is here now and it seems i'll be having a bit of an input into training him.
I have 2 dogs myself, a 6 year old neutered male cocker spaniel and a 4 years entire male GSD who get along great. I am hoping the sibe (demon) will be a playmate for my GSD when he's a little bigger as my cocker just doesn't "do" playing with other dogs, he seems to think it beneath him lol

Can anyone give me any tips on keeping the harmony, or is there anything in particular i should/shouldn't do with Demon? He is the first sibe i've met so i'm completely at a loss about what makes him tick.
He is being trained by my friends to use puppy pads, i think this is a waste of time but as they don't have a garden do you think i should be re-inforcing this? or trying to encourage him to go outside while at my house?

Thanks
Laura

I suggest you look on the club website here: http://www.siberianhuskyclub.com/

My main worry is that the pup in the this living situation could become very destructive as that is something quite common in the breed if they are under stimulated/exercised.

Also how secure is your garden as Huskies are well known escape artists who will climb or dig their way out of all but the most secure of gardens, they also have a strong prey drive and most small furries will be in danger, including cats.

The advice from the breed club is that Huskies are NEVER let off lead except in an escape proof area, their instinct to run and prey drive are too strong, while young a pup may seem biddable but almost inevitable it will run one day, and keep going.

As for house training definitely teach him to go outside on a regular schedule, which his owners will also need to do.  Allowing him to toilet indoors will only led to poor housetraining and as he matures he will also almost certainly scent mark indoors.  I cannot imaging housetraining a dog without a garden, but with great commitment it can be done.  His owners ought to be taking him outside every hour through his waking day until he is reliable.

i have solid 6ft fencing round my garden but he wont be left alone out there at all.
My main concern with toilet training is that he is left alone from 8.30am until i'll be picking him up at 3.30pm. he has been using his puppy pads for wees but leaves little mr whippys in the most inappropriate places! lol
i have no small furries and only one neighbouring cat who keeps out of our garden anyway due to my dogs being fairly noisy when they are outside. I wont be actually walking him until friend returns home, then we'll be taking him out with my 2 ( i also work full time so don't want to spend any more time away from my boys than i absolutely have to) it's more of a play date arrangement.
He hasn't destroyed anything of theirs yet, but only been with them a week so there is plenty of time for that to come out. I'm hoping that while at mine he'll be more interested in joining in games with me and my dogs and maybe joining in with some mini training sessions.

I'm planning on feeding him before i bring him home so there is no chance of squabbles over food at my house, then i'll feed my boys after he's gone.

Thanks for the link, i'll have a read through that now

Have to agree perhaps the worst possible breed to have in a flat except perhaps a BC born of working stock. The adult dog will require loads of exercise both for it's body and it's mind. At the moment the dog being a pup he will need attention almost non-stop but once adult a couple of hours exercise in the middle of the day should suffice providing the morning and evening walks are of sufficient length and effort. If you as puppy sitter can make sure the pup has loads of stimulation at the moment as walking or running exercise is the same as for other breeds, little and often but play with you or a toy to interest the mind and keep his interest.

One does wonder about a breeder selling such a breed into a home housed in a flat, particularly one without a garden, most breeders of any breed except perhaps some of the toys would be concerned about this.

Mr Wippy's - LMAO - that made me smile :)

sorry, no advice, other than what on earth were they thinking re that breed in a flat??!!!

i know, bad decisions by all i think.
i'm not sure how he is bred, they just phoned up and picked him up the same day. The breeder is supposedly sending his papers through the post.
i did try and educate them a bit on finding a good breeder but they wanted him there and then ( they're not even allowed dogs in that flat )
they are thinking of moving to a house but weather they'll get round to it or not i don't know :(
assuming he's going to be a sad little boy during the day, i want to make his time at my house fun for him.

I'm sorry, but do I take it they made an enquiry and picked a pup up the same day!!! With no papers???

this does not sound good :(

I hope they get sorted with him, and have a good support system, and well done you for taking an interest

Aaaghgh!! This sounds so familiar. Since February 2007, we have taken in and rehomed over 170 unwanted Siberians - the vast majority produced by unethical breeders interested only in money and sold to naive, impatient and clueless first-time owners.
I am assuming that at present he is only a baby puppy. The vast majority of the dogs we have taken in have been between the ages of 10 months and two years - when they stop being cute puppies and become big, bouncy, hyperactive dogs with the attitude and temperament of a teenage "Kevin."
At the moment you seem to be doing everything right (as opposed to your neighbours who have so far, done everything wrong!) - the important thing to watch out for is the fact that as he grows, he will need to sort out his place in the pack (Sibes are very much more pack-oriented than most breeds) and you will need to reinforce your position as pack leader in your situation and ensure that he doesn't try to dominate your dogs.
Why on earth did your neighbours want a dog if they are spending so little time with him????

MickB

yes, that's exactly what happened :( i will be having a peek at the papers though if they ever turn up to see if i can find anything out about the breeder.
I think they saw us happily having 2 dogs while working full time, BUT both of ours are adults and we have someone in at lunch time for a toilet break and a play and cuddle.
When looking for Toby (4 years GSD) i would have loved a puppy but i knew it just wouldn't be fair on it, or my cocker, or my furniture for that matter! lol He came to us about a month ago at 4 years fully house trained, non destructive and used to being left for 4 hour periods.
I thought my influence may have rubbed off but i suppose my mistake was telling them how long it took me to choose a suitable dog for our lifestyle.
I just hope this works out and Demon turns into a happy and well socialised boy. I have my doubts but i'm already attached so will do everything i can to help

When the cute puppy turns into a more demanding older bored pup/teen and he eats their flat, or howling and someone complaining (especially as they aren't allowed a dog someone is going to notice), I can see you having three dogs, LOL :D  Good Luck, and bless you for helping this poor baby have a chance.

I suspect there either will be no papers or ones that are not from the KC so not worth the paper they are written on.

lol as much as i'd love to be able to take him on i just don't think i could. I think they are a breed for very experienced dog people, i'm still pretty much a novice dog owner being only 23 and my cocker being my first solo dog away from my parents.
of course i couldn't guarantee my heart wouldn't rule my head when i'm already attached.

The funny thing is, they got him and said to me " huskys don't bark " :D i had to bite my tongue because the ones i've seen on TV make enough other noises to compensate lol

It is like Basenji's not barking, but boy can they make a racket with all the other vocals. :D

Oh dear, a pup on it's way to the shelter? Lets hope not as Laurajulian are doing there best to avoid that end but as they only have the dog for a few hours they will have to keep their fingers crossed that it turns out to be exceptionally biddable example of the breed.

Hope the owners do not really believe that it will not make a noise! I think they do bark in their own way but the biggest problem is the howl that is designed to carry and is used when the individual is trying to locate the missing pack, heaven help the neighbours.

Well, yesterday was his first time with us. Oh my Goodness i'd forgotten what it was like to have a pup in the house!!!
The little bugger kept boxing at my grumpy spaniels face lol and then the minute my back was turned he did it to my GSD who duly tried to play with him. As soon as he did the pup threw himself to the floor screaming. I don't for one minute think Toby actually hurt him or if he did it would have been an accident. I just stopped them from instigating play for now. Is this the right thing to do? or should i be letting them sort it between themselves?
Also he kept trying to hump my spaniel, i understand this is a dominance thing so should i be nipping this in the bud now? or again, should i be letting Bailey tell him off by himself ( i'm reluctant to do this as when he was doing it, Bailey was looking at me for help before telling Demon off )

So all in all, it was a little hectic but i enjoyed it :)

I would stop him pestering the old Spaniel if he seems unable to sort it himself.  On the other hand I would allow the GSD to sort him out if he isn't going to go over the top.

I would only step in if thigns look to be getting out of hand or too manic for yoru liking.

Humping in a young pup is just excitement not a bid for world domination or anything sexual, pups as young as four weeks will do it.

Right, i'll try and leave Toby to it tonight then, within reason of course.
I'm just a bit worried that with the size difference an accident could happen. I know this is all due to me worrying more than anything Toby has done so far, it's just that he is still fairly new to us ( only had him a month ) so i'm still getting to know all his mannerisms really.
Would it make a difference at this age (about 9 weeks) that they are both entire?
Bailey, the cocker was neutered about 4 years ago.

If he was your pup I would say leave them to it providing the adults were not too heavy handed but as he is someone else's you will have to monitor matters a bit more. Let the older dogs tell him off if he is pushing his luck and don't worry if he rolls on his back screaming for mercy, that is the way pups avoid being hurt by mistake.

The fact that both dogs are intact makes not difference at all and is unlikely to if they are used to one another company when one is young, I have several intact males and it is not a problem. Of course there are always exceptions but both the breeds are happy in a pack situation so there should be no problem.