whens a good time to introduce another siberian husky in family

1. 52

   mariecposted 14 years ago

   whens a good time to introduce another siberian husky in family
   
   I have a 2 year female siberian husky, she is food aggresive and toy aggresive, This is the only problem we have with her. She loves other dogs, but scared to have problems.

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2. 69

   Cowgirl0216posted 14 years ago

   If your Siberian is food and toy aggressive, chances are she'll be aggressive over the attention you would give another dog. The safest thing to do would be to wait until something happens to her and then, if you want two siberians, consult with a reputable breeder and find out the temperments of the puppies and the parents. Perhaps you would be able to get littermates.
   
   If you are willing to take on the risks and responsibilites of having an alpha Siberian and bringing in a new dog, here are some suggestions:
   
   Try introducing a male instead of another female. Two females will fight faster than a male and female. You'll want to make sure he is fixed, of course. Puppies produced from a female with food aggression are likely to have the same problem.
   
   Try introducing an older dog. You female will be less likely to hurt an adult. Introducing a puppy to her could mean risking its life.

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3. 60

   stey_trueposted 13 years ago

   Before bringing another Siberian Husky into your home you should try breaking the female Sibe of protecting her toys and food. One way to do this is hand feed your dog. Let her know that you putting your hand near her dish brings good things instead of her thinking you may take it away from her. My husky wouldn't eat her food when I first gave it to her she would guard it for hours and not let anyone touch it. It will take some time to break her of this..but you can either take little handfuls at a time and put them in her dish and when she eats that, give her another scoop. Or you can just hand feed her. She will learn you are the one giving the food, and will learn your hand is good.
   
   For toys- a good way to break your dog from being toy aggressive is don't let her win the toy. Letting your Sibe win the toy is showing that she is more dominant than you are. Let her play with her toys and when you want the playing to stop put it up where she can't reach it. This will show that you tell her when she can play and when she cannot.
   
   I think it is great to have more than one Siberian Husky. They give each other something to do. I have read that if you put two Siberian Huskies out ( in a fenced in yard) they will be less likely to try and escape because they have a friend ( another sibe) there with them.
   
   I hope this helped!

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4. 60

   siberbloggerposted 13 years ago

   Before you consider anything you are going to want to address the agression issues. For some dogs food agression can be easily curbed.
   
   Number one, you eat first. With a Siberian husky there must be a pecking order and you need to be on the top of that. Second start to hand feed them but only after you pretend, (Or actually if it's a yummy treat) eat the food first.
   
   They need to understand that the food is yours not theirs and that you are only "allowing" them to have some.
   
   If this doesn't work then the issues can be more deeply rooted and I would HIGHLY suggest consulting a dog behaviorist. (I am not talking a pet smart dog trainer) but someone who knows how to modify a dogs behavior.

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5. 59

   HuskyChaosposted 10 years ago

   I already have a hub on this subject:
   http://huskychaos.hubpages.com/hub/addi … husky-pack
   
   A couple of additional points to consider in your situation:
   
   Is your current female spayed? Not being so can add to aggression over food and toys.
   
   I personally feel that adding a second Husky is best done while the first one is younger. This means they have a playmate as a puppy, as well as learning to be around a second dog in the home.
   
   Dealing with her current food and toy aggression is important, whether you add another or simply keep the one. She needs to know this is not ok.
   
   The fact is when you add a second, there will be a settling in period, so some problems may occur. The question is whether you are willing to work through the problems as they occur and not give up by getting rid of one of them too soon.

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6. 66

   tsadjatkoposted 10 years ago

   
   
   These are all great answers and the only thing I would add having bred Quality Siberian Huskies for over 25 years is this:
   
   It may be too late to easily modify food aggression behavior of a 2 year old Husky that has never been broken of food aggression depending upon the dog's temperament and if you use hand feeding be prepared to get nipped in the beginning.
   
   I assume your dog is spayed as keeping an intact female for 2 years as a pet is not reasonable and a food aggressive animal should not be bred as that trait will be passed along and can even be intensified.
   
   Even though it is best to match pets with the opposite sex to achieve compatibility, dogs that exhibit aggressive tendencies may be so even toward an opposite sex dog if for some reason it doesn't like it and that reason may only be apparent to the dog. It could be it's sense of smell, body language, territorial instinct or just an alpha personality that makes it aggressive toward the companion dog. I had dogs who got along for a while but then something triggered a rift in that bond only they know.
   
   So in the end you won't know until you try, but as others have said if you can break her of the aggression first that would be best but not required if she doesn't escalate from food aggression to dog aggression although you would have to feed them apart. Breaking the food aggression is easiest if started as a puppy and is mandatory if you don't want innocent children or others bit because they wondered to close to her bone, food or a plaything.
   
   Of course if the dog is kept outside with plenty of room (and many husky owners do keep them outside as they are very hardy, love the cold and can be a disaster inside when they shed) food aggression would be less of a problem if they have plenty of room to avoid each other.
   
   Finally I'd pick the friendliest most non aggressive (neutered when old enough) Husky you can find to be this dog's companion, young or old. It is most important that the new dog not be prone to react to aggression with aggression so when you get the new dog have it be on condition that you can return it within one month (or more if possible) in case they don't work well together. They may get along at first and when the newness wares off start having problems so give it as long as possible to work out. It is important your dog understands that you do not approve of any aggression toward the new dog so supervise their interactions as much as possible. http://hub.me/aaC86

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