Should Miloh Be Allowed to Hang Out With Siberian Husky Puppy?
 

Hello YT Members!
My friend recently got a 9 week-old Siberian Husky puppy and is beginning to train him. As Miloh is very curious, he approached the puppy, their first play inside the house went well. However, a couple of minutes after as my boyfriend was playing with both the Husky puppy attempted to bite Miloh's nose. It has been over a week since that happened and we really haven't let either of them play without supervision. But lately, it has become an issue with the Husky puppy lunging at Miloh for no reason at all. I am in great fear that this puppy will hurt Miloh as I have read they dislike small dogs. Is there any way we can train both together to allow for them to play? All advice is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

Huskies have very strong prey drives so they are usually not good around cats and small dogs. At nine weeks, though, I'm sure his prey drive isn't really developed. He's probably just being a rambunctious puppy.

I know some people do it successfully, but I have just read too many heartbreaking stories about bigger dogs injuring small dogs to ever feel comfortable with it. Quite often it's the little dog that starts it with a larger dog by protecting a toy or treat, etc, but because of the size difference, it's the little dog who gets hurt. I know of several little dogs who have lost an eye because a larger dog snapped at them.

Just not worth the risk IMO.

I don't let Zhoie play with dogs bigger thatn she is (4.5 lbs), simply put, I will not risk it. The dangers to these little is go great, I don't want to add anything to the list. lol.
I don't know how big your dog is..but keep in mind, when this pup grows, he's strength will become massive and he won't realize how easy he can injure another smaller dog.
I would rather be safe...than sorry after the fact. IMO.
Good luck with whatever choice you make.

I'm sure the husky is only trying to play but he doesn't understand that Miloh is much smaller and very fragile.

I would keep a close eye on Miloh is you're going to allow them to hang out.

If it was my dog I would hold off until the husky is older and learns his manners.

Thank you all for your advice! Ever since I saw the Husky lunge at Miloh my decision had shifted to not letting them play but others that I have spoken to off YT have said differently. Miloh will usually go up to him and smell him or allows him to play with his toys. But I rather not risk my little man's life. Thanks again! :)

I would not take the risk. It might be harmless play now but the Husky will get very strong and fast very soon.

At 9 weeks of age, the Husky probably hasn't learned bite inhibition yet .... too risky and you might be expecting too much from the Husky pup for them to be together at this point. Not that he would be aggressive, just that he would play too rough and not know any better.

How on earth are we going to socialize our dogs to big and little sizes , if we are all to afraid to try.

The pup is 9 weeks old and needs to see small dogs learn to be gentle and respectful and know what a small dog is so that prey drive of them is less.

You are not going to leave the pup and Miloh alone and that is a good thing.h
So I say yes let them play.

I have a yorkie up next to 97 pound BRTS without a problem.
The breeder of the male BRTS raise them with silkies.
I have 4 to 6 standard poodle babies at 9 weeks up next to my yorkie right now.
It is the cuties thing to see the york strut across the yard with 4 little black babies following her like baby geese and not one of them ever think that can bounce her.

JL

I personally wouldn't want to use my little dog as the guinea pig in a training lesson. Let the Husky learn bite inhibition somewhere else!

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Just take precautions!

I agree with YorkieMother. Just set boundaries and remember who the husky's parents are. If the parents are careless and don't help you set boundaries as what is ok and not ok for either pup to do around each other, don't let them play. If the husky's parents are always there with you when the husky plays with Miloh, it shouldn't be a problem. Kaji plays with bigger dogs all the time, but as soon as I see Kaji is overwhelmed (he's outnumbered) or the other dog has had enough of Kaji's antics, I stop all play. If you feel like YOU can't do it, it's best not to let them play. Not everyone is comfortable with bigger dogs.

YorkieMother, Britster & DvlshAngel985 you three are changing my mind! Lol I want my boy to be able to play with both big & small dogs. I will give it a try! :)

Just be very vigilant. Dogs are the only thing Kaji isn't afraid of, and I don't want to take that away from him. If this husky's owners aren't setting boundaries, just don't allow it. There are other dogs Miloh can play with that are well behaved. I keep Kaji from kids more than I keep him from dogs. I just don't always allow it! I have the same rule there too. If the parents aren't controlling their human kids, I don't let them play with Kaji. Kaji is fearful as it is, I don't want him to have a bad experience with kids that will make things worse.

Totally agree:)

You're right! The Husky's parent is willing to work with both dogs to make sure they get along. He knows it will be beneficial for both and will make him playing with other smaller dogs a less stressful situation. Now that you speak of children, Miloh & I met some out of control children as we walked around the park last week. It's terrible to see how people can't control their children. Miloh likes children but not when they're running after him. Thanks for the advice! :) Any other helpful tips that might make the training easier?

Has anyone heard of predatory drift? I read an article on this and it really scared me. I have Ringo - my 16 lb Westie and Lucy - my 4 lb Yorkie.

Basically this article said that anytime dogs are playing that have a 10-15 lb difference or more, that the larger dog can to into predator mode. Even with dogs that have lived together for years . . . something triggers the larger dog to see it's smaller companion as 'prey'. It happens in a second and can be over in a second.

Just watch the dogs together and make sure everything is ok. It's always the little dog that loses when things go wrong.

Thanks for bringing up an interesting point! Both dogs will be supervised at all times, no matter what. If play gets rough than both will be kept away from each other until the Husky learns proper manners. I am praying and hoping all goes well, it would really help Miloh as he fears big dogs.

I have faith in a pup that is 7 weeks old in the first place the size will not kill or hurt my yorkie.
I would also make sure that the owner was done his or her job in picking a dog that is of good temperament and I know my stuff which I do when it comes to dog body language then I AM NOT using my dog as any guinea pig. If I had a any concern at all with any dog I put or think of putting together it does not happen or if it does it is done with multiply back ups and safety in place. Like long lines and muzzles.
You want to know why small dogs are afraid of big dogs and big dogs hurt small dogs it cause we are not letting them learn to co habitat with each other and we do not take he time to monitor and manage them when they are. We just lock them apart and hope that they will not have dog on dog aggression with each other as they have never seen or inter acted.

When we have a litter we always stick our little soical skills dogs in with our pups so they see little ones and are taught to play nice and we are right there safe guarding that everyone is ok and nothing goes wrong.

When we are at dogs shows our big dogs are not going around hunting the little ones as they know they are dogs and not food or a squeak toy. Well ok except the one that looks like a cat cause our one girl missed out on cat class and likes chasing cats.... why we social skills our pups to cats when we can too.

Call socialization and we need to do more of it so all our dogs live well and are ok in the world.

When you quote me please do so in full so my comments are in context please.

JL

Yes you do have to be careful and that is why we do not let our big 90 pounder gilr and little 10 pounder dogs hang alone.....that said.

One little social skills dog grow up with our big girl and our big girl never hurt our little one ever they are true sisters. They have spent hours with each other hanging out and are upset when not with each other. So much so I trust the big girl with my yorkie now when I leave the room... most time the girls follow.

my little one is a itch and she will stand her grow and back off any and all comers. She is still very gentle with all our babies and teaches them quick to mind their feet and not to run over her but by all means you can follow me anywhere as long as it is at a nice distance. She shows them the best places to pee.

Where we have to watch is the 90 pounder with the 40 pounder and them getting into it too rough. But the 40 pounder kows to either duck into the igloo or come to me if she needs a break and our 90 pounder knows off now and does it. Called training.

JL

There's an excellent article on "bite inhibition" on this site... changed my perception of letting Dante mouth me. (And BTW when he was trying to get a bite of a "big boy treat" I held for another dog, he punctured my thumb... and let me know that when he'd previously "chewed" on my fingers, he WAS inhibiting his bite).

I agree with YorkieMama... supervised play between the pups is fine. Right now I'm in the 8th day of dog-sitting my son's American Mastiff pup, who at 18 weeks is near 50 pounds. My 16 week old Biewer Yorkie is 3 1/2 pounds. Yes, I scoop Dante up a lot if Dozer (the mastiff) gets rambunctious. And if Dozer tries to "pounce", I grab his face and tell him "NO!" in a loud voice.

I won't lie - it's tiring to be so eternally vigilant! And the mastiff spends a lot more time in his crate than he would if I didn't have Dante, because when I can't focus on them (fixing dinner, for example), I have to crate him. But the two dogs will spend a lot of time around each other over the next 15 years (I hope!), so we want them socialized - to each other, and to all kinds of other dogs they may meet.

Sorry for the rant.

I'm not saying big dogs and little dogs shouldn't play.

The whole 'predator drift' thing scared me because the whole article was about dogs that had gotten along all their lives and suddenly, for no reason, the big dog attacked the little one. Maybe it was because the little one was wriggling around and a light bulb went off in the larger dogs head - like hey! that looks like a rat! And I'm supposed to kill rats!

No one really knows why this can happen with dogs that have lived together peacefully for years. There was no conclusion in the article about why. I wish I could find it.

It scared me because there is a ten lb size difference in my two dogs.

I don't mean to scare anyone else! But something we all should be aware of ~ it had nothing to do with training. Just a fluke.

Scared makes us think and be safe.

We run a 87 pound difference and a 80 pound difference and a 70 pound difference and a 30 pound difference and yes we have anywhere from 3 to five dogs here and pups depending on our shows and litters.

I have one dog that I watch like a hawk as he sometimes forgets himself but I never let anyone out alone at play. I with them and if I am not with them only big go with big and little with little. Except the sister that are one bog and one small.

I'd like to see the dogs that attacked the others I am thinking that other things where going on medically or that they may only have been co existing and not liking each other.

JL

I agree with you that dogs should be able to play and get along with any size dog. That is as you say you KNOW what you are doing in training them to respect each other, but how many people actually knows what the danger signs are and then to often it is the smaller dog that pays the price.

I have a huskie, bichon and we just got our Yorkie puppy this year. We introduced them with me holding her and then after a few days with them on a leash ( I know Milan would say not to introduce two dogs on a leash ) then we made sure to take walks together everyday so they understood they were a pack. After two week we let them play with supervision at all times, now they are inseparable. Just like children if they get playing and it gets carried away (yes the yorkie starts most of it) I step in, but they have seemed to figure it out. Always supervise and praise for good play. Huskie's do have a prey drive but they need to learn that dogs no matter the size are not prey!

Wise person wanting to put their dogs together would maybe educate themselves by looking into Brenda Aloff's book on dog language or maybe Turid's book called On talking terms with Dogs. Then turn down the sound on Caesar's TV show and watch all the dog language that he misses to practice until one felt comfortable with what one is seeing. Then put it into practice with safe dogs and then add in the bigger ones.

JL

Spike and I have been going to the off leash park since he was five months old. There, we encounter dogs of all shapes and sizes. My theory, right from the start, was that Spike is ALWAYS going to be the smallest dog, so he might as well get used to it. He needed to learn how to behave around big dogs as much as they needed to learn how to behave around him. I decided that when we met other dogs, I would stand with my feet apart so he could have a place to "hide" if he needed to, but that I wouldn't intervene by picking him up unless I thought he was in danger.

In three years, the only problem we've had is that he got stepped on once by a bigger dog who was looking to play. He wasn't injured. I have never had to pick him up. He's met numerous Huskies, Pit Bulls, Great Danes, St. Bernards, Mastiffs, Rottweilers, and he's learned how to behave.

If you're not comfortable, then just supervise them when they're together. But they need to work it out for themselves. They need to determine who is the "pack leader". It might be your dog, even if he is smaller!

My 9-month old puppy played with a month old siberian husky/alaskan malamute this week and it was perfectly fine. I think it depends how trained the other dog is. My friend also has a smaller dog that the husky/malamute is used to playing with so Sparticus (the husky/malamute) was able to be gentle with Romeo because he was used to being with small dogs.

Make sure the other husky is well trained and gentle, it should be fine then.