Blue Cross Animal Rescue Experiencing Surge Of Abandoned Huskies Due To Game Of Thrones Series. Advice For Potential Husky Owners.

An article was put out by The Telegraph recently about large an increase in abandoned huskies and lupine like dogs since the first airing of game of thrones. I am a Husky owner and am fully aware of the real responsibilities that come with this beautiful yet complex and demanding breed. So I figured I'd do a write up and tell the story of my Malamute in hopes that others who would consider providing a home to one of these majestic animals will consider the real responsibilities that come with these amazing creatures.

Six years ago I was pottering around my house enjoying a day off when my phone rang. A friend of mine who worked at an animal shelter had just had three Malamutes come in from an abused home and they were out of space. I was known in our village in those days as someone who would go out and volunteer with animal shelters and I trained dogs for a period outside of my normal job. She asked if I could provide housing for them until a place could be sorted. I accepted and in doing so discovered a whole new definition of chaos. These three dogs were in a state that was incredibly painful to witness. Two of them flinched and anxiety urinated at every loud noise and one was so hyper aggressive that walking her and feeding her was a strategic exercise every time.

When animals are beaten they go one of two ways, aggressive or hyper anxious and submissive. The commonality in these two states is that both exist due to an absence of trust. At the time I owned a black Labrador who I had since a puppy and she was instrumental in assisting me with our new arrivals. Within two weeks my friends and I had managed to find a home at a large horse farm for the two hyper submissive Malamutes, but the third was technically to dangerous to re home. The possibility of her biting a human was a dead certainty, and I knew this would result in her being put down. So after long consideration I decided to keep her and our journey through life together began as a pack of three.

For most of my life I have owned Labradors though I have worked and been exposed to a large number of breeds. I have helped people train everything from Papillons to Bull Terriers and one constant is that it's a dog so pack paradigm is always a constant in communication. With a Malamute this especially applies. A way to think of it is that a Labrador is 5,000 years or more away from being a wolf where as a Husky is 500 years. There is the real need to constantly be in company and this is why they tend to experience separation anxiety so acutely. You also have to constantly exercise them as they don't respond well to being cooped up. Now when I decided to keep my rescue I was working twelve hours a day and due to her trust issues and aggression hiring a dog walker was off the table. Within the space of two months she had racked up a severe bill in damage to my house. Chewed walls, destroyed sofa, ruined dining room table, you name she did it. The exhausting ritual of come home and clean up the after math was a routine for six weeks until eventually the training regime began to take effect and signs of rehabilitation began to show.

Routine Training:

If you own one of these breeds you understand that exercise is a must. I was up an hour early and on my bike with the dog on a drop lead (long lead) to cycle her down trails to exhaust her before work, this process would tire her out reducing the anxiety and eventually the destructive behavior. Next came rules around food. This was an aggressive mistrustful animal so her attempting to bite during feed times was quite frequent. However I found a way around this by utilizing a short lead to issue commands of back up and walking her to the door working on commands like stay, lay down, sit, etc. Today I say back up and it is almost a playful response rather than the toothy snarl of her early days. With chewed items and breaking this habit a lot of work needed to be done.

For some reason we humanize dogs and I don't quite understand why. We as humans have thumbs and complex languages and dogs are still using their tongues as toilet paper. As the higher species it's on us to learn their language not the other way around. Never in the course of training a dog should they need to be struck. When my Husky would destroy an item I would take her to the item, place the item in her mouth and in a firm tone while gently holding the item in her mouth say no. This repeated in tandem with exhausting her with exercise and the behavior actually stopped altogether. It's basically them learning your language. Striking a dog should never occur. Personally I believe those who beat dogs should be subject to public shootings. If you don't have the patience and resources then don't get the dog. Simple but true.

As our bond grew as a pack of three the truly deep running emotions that are so singular to this breed began to really stand out. What takes us a hundred words to say a dog says in a glance and her articulations became more and more clear to me as time went on. After six years together I now fully understand every nuance and she is basically an extension of my person. She has become protective, obedient, discerning, and incredibly affectionate. The old days of aggression haven't been present for many years now. When we lost my Labrador to cancer in July I had never seen an animal grieve so deeply. I was glad I had this year off work to be here with her constantly as we both mourned our friend and began to piece life together with her absent. I was terrified that the loss would trigger a regression to bad old ways but true to her character she has risen out of grief and we have pushed forward together.

For those of you who consider this breed for their looks or because some movie gives them a romanticized angle.... you're a moron. For those of you who go into Husky ownership with complete understanding of the breed and know what they require then you have a bright future as well as a life defining friendship to look forward to. Yes this dog is incredibly close to a wolf as a dog can get; but once you get past the lupine tendencies you find an affectionate, loyal, intelligent, and incredibly empathetic creature that without question sees you as the center of its world and without you knowing it becomes the center of yours. In short it's worth the work. Thank you guys for reading and steem on.