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Posts: 156
From:
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 08-30-2003 11:17 PM         

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First of all I stumbled on the site accidently and love it! Alot of nice people with great tips!
Now for my question, I have 2 poms and a siberian husky, all three are lovable sweet dogs. The poms are 11, and 9 months, not sure of the husky we found the sweet thing having been abused, vet says betweet 4 or 5. We have had her for about a year, and the poms one 4 months and the other 1 month. Jasmine(Husky) got depressed when we got the new dogs and sometimes will just snap at them, lucky no one has been hurt yet. The thing I need help with is most of the time they are best friends but then all of a sudden she will snap at one. I have read up on both breeds and both are dominant breeds but Jasmine is in charge of the house. Is this unuasual or just regualar dog behavior. I love them all and dont want the little guys to get hurt. Oh also they are all female. Thanks in advance for any advice!

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Posts: 132
From:Brewton, AL, USA
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 08-31-2003 07:02 AM         

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Hi 3dogs!!

First, welcome to the site...
...and then... well, you have three girls and what they're doing now is establishing the ranks within the pack. Looks like Jasmine is going to be the Alpha, but one of the poms is getting her chances at challenging. Yes, this is very normal behaviour for dogs. As long as the nipping is not constant or getting out of hand, it's OK. Remember, they are already a pack, and within the pack they would never attack to hurt or kill each other.
The one thing you have to keep in mind is to give all of them the same attention. If you give more attention to one, the others are going to be jealous. Especially make sure Jasmine doesn't feel like somebody else took her place in your heart , this is what may have depressed her or made her snipyer than usual!!!

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Posts: 1179
From:,Calif. U.S.A.
Registered: Dec 2002

posted 08-31-2003 12:35 PM         

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I just remembered something a women told me about huskeys. That they have a very high prey drive for small animals. I had taken two off the street, very large dogs. I kept my two in the house because I was afraid they may hurt them. But long story short. I helped these two get back home. They had huskey rescue tags on them. When I spoke to the person involed with them, she said not to put them together for the reason stated above. I don't agree that one won't kill another. I saw on aniaml planet one day I don't remember which show it was, but one person had two huskies and one of them snapped and she came home to a dead huskie. I have had my fair share of huskie run ins with my small dogs(most were not good especially the attack) I think that they are absolutley georgous dogs, but would never add them to a home with small animals.

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Posts: 277
From:Nellis AFB, Nevada
Registered: Jun 2003

posted 08-31-2003 03:07 PM         

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I have 2 Huskies. Yes, they have high prey drives. Personally, if you had the Husky first, I would not have brought two small dogs into the household especially since you do not know the full history of your Husky and the fact that she was abused. But, the fact that they are getting along most of the time says that they can. I would closely supervise your dogs when they are together. When you leave the house make sure that the Poms are seperated from the Husky. Sounds like your Husky is the alpha and trying to keep her position with the other dogs. She can snap at the smaller dogs and hurt them unintentionally so yes you need to supervise them. The fact is that a Husky can be trained to get along with small dogs and even cats so don't give up on her. There are books and info out there to help you. It actually takes six mos. or longer for a new dog to adjust to a new household, the owners,and the rules. She may not even be depressed and just might be adjusting to the new dogs in her house. I have another suggestion... since I have no experience with this really and this is all I know, there is a website/messageboard that Husky owners go to to talk and get advice. It is www.everythinghusky.com
I highly recommend this board as to the fact I have gotten great advice from experienced people on how to handle my Huskies and believe me if you have a problem you can get TONS of advice there. The people are great. Good luck!!

[This message has been edited by Karriesue (edited 08-31-2003).]

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Posts: 1387
From:Portland, Oregon US
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 09-01-2003 10:07 AM         

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Welcome to the board!

I don't know anything about Poms or Huskies but I do know that dogs will kill another dog within their own "pack". My aunt who used to breed Great Danes has had this happen with her dogs and on another board that I go to for Catahoula people, I have read more than a few posts about dogs killing a puppy brought into the house. One of the posters story really stuck in my head because she told of how the adult female of her dogs attempted to hide the dead body of the puppy she had killed by burrying it in sand. The male of her two adult dogs showed her where it was.
You always hear about two male dogs fighting and how bad that can be...females can be just as bad if not worse.
I am not saying thats whats going on with your three girls...just that I think the statement above about dogs not killing within their own pack is a mistake.

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Posts: 156
From:
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 09-01-2003 01:28 PM         

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Thanks for all the advice. I do seperate them when we are not home. Right now it seems they are getting along pretty good. One of the poms and Jasmine are just best buds, its the new one that seems to not want to let Jasmine be alpha. We are trying our best but might have to find a new home for her. Like I said she gets along great with one pom. But thanks for all the advice I will continue to watch them all closely. They are all sweet babies and I dont want to see harm come to any of them!

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Posts: 166
From:Colorado, USA
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 09-01-2003 05:11 PM         

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I have a Husky- she is now 16. We recently added a female Austrailian Shepherd. Also have two male cats. My husky has always been very prey driven. I never thought we could have cats because of this, or another dog. However, when this black cat showed up on our doorstep one day, she tried to get ahold of that cat and luckily the cat fought back with a fierce blow to my dogs ear, and she learned to keep her distance. Our black cat now purrs up along side of our Husky, who acts completely confused and somewhat embarrassed by the encounter. We then added a gray kitten to the family, seeing how our husky took to accepting the black cat. The first encounter was not good- she lunged for the kitten, and with a firm correction, she learned that the kitten was off limits. It is crucial that your Husky be obedience trained -and they are not the easiest dog to train. They are so higly distractable and independent. We were able to trust our Husky in a matter of a few weeks with the gray kitten, and have had our Husky now for 16 years with no problems. Our cats are now 9 and 5 years old. When we got our Aussie this summer, our Husky was definetely bent out of shape. She occassionaly snaps at the 5 month old Aussie now, but tolerates her for the most part. We give ample attention to all animals and she definetley puts the aussie in her place, and occassionally they will run and play together. My aussie has a very sweet temperment though and is submisive to the Husky, repspectful of her. However, she is very old now and not nearly as aggressive, and is somewhat senile, so this makes it much easier at this stage to bring in another animal with this type of dog. A husky is high maintenence, but a joy to own, especially as they age and slow down! We also have 3 children she has been raised with and was awesome with them. It is always important to learn all you can about the breed, which it sounds like you are doing.
She is still in great health- takes walks, and has a lot of energy for her age.
Good luck!

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Posts: 156
From:
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 09-01-2003 05:47 PM         

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Thanks for the advice. I also have 2 young children and u would think they were the huskys! She sleeps under the babys crib and I went in there one night to check on the baby, Jasmine started growling till she relized who i was, So she is excellent with the children. we have really enjoyed her and its great to hear from other husky owners.

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Posts: 277
From:Nellis AFB, Nevada
Registered: Jun 2003

posted 09-01-2003 08:11 PM         

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I guess what jeminn and I are trying to tell you is to try to give jasmine a chance before you give her away to another family.There are experienced owners on the site I mentioned above that have had experience with your type of situation with Huskies so maybe that is an option for you. The obedience training that Jeminn mentioned could help. I just want to see a happy ending to your situation because I love dogs so much. Huskies are very adaptable if given the proper training and a chance.

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Posts: 156
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Registered: Aug 2003

posted 09-01-2003 08:17 PM         

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Well thanks for all the advice. I didnt mean to imply i would be getting rid of my husky cause she is my baby. If things dont work out I was going to try and find a nice home for the poms. Jasmine is like a 3rd child to me. She is such a great, fun, loving dog. Again thanks for all the advice it has been helpfull! Again I love this board and u all seem so knowledgable (sp?)

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