Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 2 Where to Go from Here 3 Part 1: Getting to Know Your Siberian Husky 5 Chapter 1: The Lowdown on Siberian Huskies, Just the Basics 7 Knowing What to Look for: A Husky''s Breed Standard 7 Understanding Why Huskies Make Great Pets 10 Picking a Husky: Where to Go and Where to Avoid 11 Introducing Your Husky to His New Home 12 Ensuring you have the right supplies 13 Listening to your Husky 13 Helping your Husky make new friends 14 Incorporating some discipline and training 15 Keeping an eye open for behavior issues 16 Caring for Your Husky 17 Making sure your Husky has proper nutrition 17 Giving your Siberian a spa treatment 18 Ensuring your Husky is healthy 18 Noting any changes in your Husky''s health 19 Chapter 2: Recognizing What a Siberian Husky Is (and Isn''t) 23 Examining the Siberian Husky Breed Standard 23 Size 24 Body 25 Front view 25 Back view 26 Neck 26 Skull 26 Teeth 26 Expression 26 Eyes 26 Ears 28 Feet 28 Tail 28 Coat texture 28 Color 29 Nose 31 Gait 32 Temperament 32 Comparing the Lookalikes and Imposters 32 Alaskan Malamutes 33 Samoyeds 33 "Alaskan Huskies" 33 "Miniature Huskies" 34 Alaskan Klee Kai 34 Northern Inuit Dog 34 Wolves and wolf-hybrids 34 Part 2: Looking for Your Soul Mate 37 Chapter 3: Selecting a Siberian Husky 39 Determining Whether a Husky Is Right for You 40 A Husky''s heritage 40 Children 41 Financial considerations 42 Your house 42 Climate 43 Time and exercise 43 Legal considerations 44 Commitment 44 Finding Your Dog 44 Your first option: The breeder route 45 Your second option: The shelter/rescue route 50 Avoiding pet stores 51 Choosing the Right Puppy 52 General condition 53 Size 53 Sex 53 Color 54 Eyes 54 Ears 54 Temperament 54 Age 55 Recognizing When Your Husky Puppy Matures 56 Chapter 4: Outfitting Your New Husky 57 Selecting the Right Collars, Leashes, and Harnesses 57 Collars 58 Taking your friend on a walk: A leash 60 Protecting your dog''s neck: Harnesses 60 Using ID Tags 61 Choosing Food and Water Dishes 62 Focusing on Grooming Tools 63 Picking a Place for Your Husky to Sleep 64 Finding the Right Crate 65 Understanding when to use a crate 65 Considering your options 66 Getting Chew Toys 67 Considering great toy choices 68 Steering clear of certain toys 68 Considering Pet Doors 69 Considering an Outdoor Kennel 70 Adding a Dog Gate 70 Part 3: Living with a Siberian Husky 71 Chapter 5: Welcoming Home Your Husky 73 Choosing a Veterinary Practice 74 Naming or Renaming Your New Dog 76 Surviving the First Day and Night 76 Feeding your new dog his first meal 77 Helping your dog adapt to his new family 77 Reassuring your dog on his first night 77 Determining Whether Dog Is an Indoor or Outdoor Dog 78 Securing your Husky outdoors 78 Keeping your Husky hydrated outside or inside 79 Wintertime fun: Keeping your Husky outdoors 79 Summertime blues: Helping your Husky avoid heat stress 80 Giving Your Pup the Love, Exercise, and Discipline He Needs 81 Knowing when your Husky needs exercise 81 Rewarding your dog 82 Housetraining Your Husky 82 Using crates to help housetrain 83 Getting the basics of housetraining 84 Figuring out what''s behind the accidents your Husky has 86 Cleaning Up: Siberian Housekeeping 87 Taking care of the yard 88 Getting rid of urine stains 89 Dealing with vomit 90 Cleaning up blood 90 Chapter 6: Figuring Out What Your Husky Is Telling You 91 Picking Up on What Your Dog Is Saying: Audible Cues 92 Barking 92 Howling 92 Wooing 94 Whining 94 Growling 94 Yelping 94 Soundless chattering 94 Interpreting Your Husky''s Body Language: Visual Cues 95 Circling and sniffing 95 Mounting behavior 95 Pawing 96 Bowing 96 Nudging or punching 96 Wanting a belly rub 96 Hand-holding 97 Mouth-licking 97 Constant licking or tail-chewing 97 Reading Your Dog''s Facial Gestures 98 Watching Your Husky''s Tail 99 Making Sense of Weird Behavior 99 Rolling in nasty stuff 100 Scooting 100 Eating grass 100 Rock eating 101 Eating feces 101 Noticing Your Siberian''s Sleeping Style 102 Chapter 7: Socializing Your Siberian 105 Interacting with Your Puppy 105 Visiting with your Siberian 106 Staying safe: No dog kisses 107 Enrolling in puppy kindergarten 107 Introducing Your Siberian to Children 107 Training the children to be pet-friendly 108 Dealing with toddlers and your dog 108 Getting your Husky ready for a baby 109 Helping your Husky welcome a baby into your family 110 Introducing Your Husky to Other Animals 110 Other dogs 111 Cats 111 Birds 112 Livestock 112 Small pets 112 Chapter 8: Training Your Husky 113 Training the Family before You Train Your Dog 114 Setting Your Training Goals 115 Agreeing on Commands 116 Commanding without words 116 Paying attention to your tone of voice 117 Using your dog''s name 117 Teaching Your Husky the Basics 117 Watch Me! 117 Come 118 No! 119 Sit 120 Stay 120 Down 121 Leave or Get Out 121 Off 122 Give It and Drop It 122 Heel 122 Correcting forging in your Husky 123 Taking Advantage of Formal Obedience Training 125 Chapter 9: Solving Bad Behavior 127 Coping with Separation Anxiety 128 Sensitize yourself 129 Desensitize the dog 130 Medicate the dog when necessary 131 Coping with the Thunder Phobia 132 Addressing the Vocalist 132 Dealing with Holes: The Digger 133 Stay observant 134 Discourage digging 134 Chomping on Everything: The Chewer 135 Understanding why dogs chew 135 Curing chewing 136 Preventing chair chomping 137 Stealing Set-Out Food: The Counter-Cruiser 137 Dumping Trash: The Trashman 138 Running Off: The Escape Artist 139 Hunting Other Animals: The Big (or Small) Game Hunter 140 Heading for the Door: The Charger 140 Being Playful: The Nipper 141 Getting Your Attention: The Jumper 141 Chapter 10: Dealing with Aggression 143 Establishing Your Leadership 143 Handling Aggression 144 Relative dominance among dogs 145 Predatory aggression 147 Aggression toward people 147 Understanding Types of Aggressive Behavior 149 Fear-induced aggression 149 Territorial aggression 150 Food or toy guarding 150 Pain-induced aggression 151 Irritable aggression 151 Maternal protectiveness 152 Genetically based aggression 152 Environmental aggression 152 Hiring a Professional 153 Avoiding Dog Bites 153 Part 4: Keeping Your Husky Healthy 155 Chapter 11: Feeding Your Husky 157 Knowing Your Husky''s Nutritional Needs 157 Protein 158 Fat 159 Minerals 160 Water 160 Carbohydrates 161 Reading the Labels 161 Taking a Look at the Main Types of Dog Food 163 Dry food 163 Canned food 164 Semi-moist food 164 People food 164 Considering Supplements 166 Figuring Out How Much to Feed Your Dog 166 Looking at Performance, Maintenance, and Low-Calorie Foods 167 Feeding your puppy 168 Feeding your senior dog 168 Chapter 12: Grooming Your Siberian 169 Brushing and Combing Your Husky 169 Basic grooming 101: Important points to remember 170 Combing and brushing: Easy-peasy 171 Bathing Your Husky 173 Dealing with Shedding 174 Paying Attention to Your Husky''s Entire Body 176 Feet 176 Nails 176 Teeth 177 Eyes 179 Ears 179 Anal sacs 179 Finding a Professional Groomer 180 Chapter 13: Focusing on Your Husky''s Health and Wellbeing 181 Knowing What to Expect on the First Vet Checkup 182 Neutering and Spaying: The Biggest Decision 182 Eyeing why you''d want to spay your Husky 183 Considering why not to spay your Husky 183 Eyeing why you''d want to neuter your Husky 184 Choosing not to neuter your Husky 185 Examining Vaccines in Plain English 185 Looking closer at vaccines 186 Considering key points about vaccines 187 Focusing on the Different Viruses That Can Afflict Your Husky 188 Canine parvovirus 188 Canine distemper 189 Infectious canine hepatitis 189 Rabies 189 Kennel cough 190 Canine coronavirus 190 Avoiding Heartworm 191 Knowing How to Prevent Leptospirosis 191 Being Aware of Canine Hip Dysplasia 192 Being Aware.