Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm looking into getting a husky puppy sometime within the next year or so. I have done alot of reasearch and know that sibes have a very high prey drive, and most shouldn't live with cats or other small animals. But I have two rabbits and five outdoor cats. We have two hound dogs that like to try after the cats, which is why they don't live in the house, and they are not overly aggressive with the rabbits. My question is, if I got a eight week old pup, would I be able to teach her not to dig out to specifically chase the cats and to relativly leave the rabbits alone?

You would be dealing with powerful instincts. The Siberian Husky should never be left alone with any of the cats or rabbits.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

From my experience with these high prey drive dogs, the rabbits are an impossible thing to teach the dogs to stear clear of. The cats are difficult as well and it kind of depends on the cats as well as the dogs when this scenario works out. 5 cats would be more difficult that one because you can kind of work with the one cat to learn to have safe zones away from the dog areas. 5 cats- they have their own territories and an afraid cat will still not cross into those territories to get away from a charging dog. So I'm sorry to say, this combo would be very difficult to work out. I won't say it's impossible, but the amount of management required on everyone's part to make it work is more than most people can handle and the risks to all concerned if errors are made are pretty dire. Sorry-
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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

Depends on the individual husky and the cats. A sibe can be taught to live with cats, it helps alot to have the cats being older, but not afraid of dogs to start with.
Sibes respond to smaller animals running away, sometimes they chase for the fun, sometimes it can be dangerous for the cats. I started mine as puppies with the cat, he is confident, brave, and only runs to get a fun chase out of them. Other cats react different, they may view the cat thats not from their pack as prey, they may not.
Its always a risk but best to start with a puppy.
Rabbits, I dont think a guarrantee can be made, my adult sibe will chase them and overtake them fast, but he just looks at them and smiles (wild rabbits at least). His reactions to domesticated rabbits worry me a bit, I wouldnt trust him to not kill them.
The cats need to be calm and confident to introduce the sibe puppy, wear the puppy out seriously before any introductions.
I wont say that they can or cant live with cats, its your job to teach them to possibly be able to. I know a breeder that keeps all of their sibes, mals, and shibas around cats and kittens with no problems.
Good luck, the sibes needs to be taught to respect the cat.

I understand that it will be alot of work, and I'm willing to do. I would never actually trust the dog to be alone with them, I just wanted to know if anyone with a Siberian would think it possible to teach it to, not ignore them exactly, but not to dig out of our backyard to get to the cat in the front yard. Cause like I had said, we can't let our cats indoors, because my mom's hounds like to chase them and try to tree them, and they are constantly out at the rabbit cage digging at the cage to get the poop or the grain that has fallen out of the feeder. I also wanted to know how small is too small of a dog to own, when you're thinking about getting a sibe? I have a dog that could probably be considered a small dog, but she's like 30-35 pounds and 19" tall, would she be considered prey?

Thank you all for answering, I really appreciate it.

30-35 lbs isnt small really, Ive seen a few female sibes 30-35 lbs as 3-5 year od adults, they come in 2 sizes, racing, and freighting.
They can be taught, it takes time but can be done. Every dog and cat has its own personality, they have as much to do with how well they get along or not.