Life with a Husky

If you don't already know, life with a Husky can be pretty interesting. Case in point, meet Nikki:

My parents adopted Nikki from a rescue in Maine. Apparently she had been cooped up for the first 6 months of her life in a small cage in a puppy mill. Being so young, she endured a lot of neglect at an early age which made her VERY cautious and apprehensive with humans. I can only imagine what my parents went through to rehab her, but with some understanding, patience, and a LOT of time, we earned her trust.

One of the biggest challenges at first was keeping her from running away. If the door was opened even a crack (like you opened it up for a half a second to get the paper at the doorstep) she would run. Huskies are natural runners to begin with. They have an excellent work drive and don't tire easily. So if she ever escaped, it could be a real chore to catch her again. One thing we discovered was her kryptonite, however...car rides.

Nikki loves her car rides. All you have to do is open the door and she jumps right in. Works every time!

I've always heard that huskies are very independent dogs. They don't crave affection like other needier dogs do. That doesn't mean they won't want the good human food that you are eating, though...

In fact, you could say they are always ready to help with clean up:

If you don't mind a little pulling, they can be a lot of fun to take on walks, too!

But because they are so independent, they tend to not be the "cuddle" type, really. I had to learn to accept the fact that Nikki would never sleep on the pillow at the head of the bed, but rather at the foot of the bed.

And while she isn't much of a barker, she will occasionally howl if she hears a police car or ambulance drive by. Not that I mind, because her little gruff-like bark is pretty entertaining. I usually think "who the heck is that going to scare"! Nikki is our family's first husky and while they can be a little menacing, really energetic, and they have big personalities, I wouldn't have it any other way!

Thanks for being a part of the family, Nikki!

P.S. - They really like snow.