Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 4 yr old female husky. She's burgundy colored and is the biggest sweetheart. Anybody else out there in the DC area? I would like to find other husky owners to get together with for some hiking/mushing expeditions. She loves to pull but she doesn't really get motivated unless there's another dog around. I'm really curious to see how she'll do with another dog in harness with her.

Also, does anyone have any tips for getting her to get along better with other dogs? She ignores most all dogs in public and won't really play with them. The problem is, there's also a golden retriever and a beagle where I live and she's very mean to them. She gets upset anytime someone tries to pet one of the other dogs and she won't let them into a room if she's already in there. The funny thing is, if the other dogs fight back, she'll back down, she's a real wuss at heart it just gets old having her bare her teeth and growl at the other dogs whenever they try to "invade" her area. She has no problem with the other dogs, however, when I walk them together. It's only when inside the house and when they try to get attention from people. She's just really jealous and I'm not sure how to go about making her a little more tolerant of her housemates.

Getting dogs to "play nice" all the time is tough, especially when they are the same gender.

My first bit of advice for anyone trying to get dogs to live together is to get a book called, "Feeling Outnumbered." It's not expensive and gives quite a few pointers.

From what you are describing, this girl is doing very well overall and just needs some reassurance that she will eventually get the attention she wants. Yet, that isn't going to happen if she bullies her way to getting that attention.

I tend to not give attention to an attention seeker. Trying to pick a fight with another just results in being put in a kennel for a "time out." All must obey a basic command before attention is given out. Basic "doggy bootcamp."

It's not always easy to get dogs to learn to co-exist. Make your rules and be consistent. That helps quite a bit.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles

The thing is, I don't give her attention when she does that and I usually send her out of the room when she tries to bully the other dogs. She's a very happy, self confident dog and she gets tons of attention but she's greedy about it. Thanks for the tip on that book, I'll have to check it out.

Training takes time and pushy confident dogs will always continue to test the boundries. It's something you may always just "control" and not necessarily get rid of.
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PHReign
Email me: HReign@pethobbyist.com" target="_blank">PHReign@pethobbyist.com
Dear dog,
I can not buy anything larger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think that I will continue to sleep on the couch to ensure your comfort. Look at videos of dogs sleeping, they can actually curl up in a ball. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to your fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straigt out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space used is nothing more than doggy sarcasm.

I was afraid I'd hear something like that. Interestingly enough, she's actually quite obedient with everything else. I can let her off the leash at the park and she'll come back when I call her (this, to me, was an amazing development. I never expected when I got a husky that I'd be able to let her run but I most have gotten extremely lucky), she heels, she goes to her bed when you tell her to, ect but she just doesn't like other dogs to get attention. She just can't stand sharing anything with another dog. She's gotten a little better with time but it's been so much easier to teach her anything else.