Siberian Husky/German Shepherd mix

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    • Gold Top Dog

    Siberian Husky/German Shepherd mix

    Hey I have a question about my Maggs the siberian husky/gsd mix, I have read tons about both breeds. The vet seems to think after seeing both Maggs and her "sister" Maizey  they are mixed with those breeds.

    Anyway, after having the vet think they are that mix, I am getting nervous that I have a "houidini" on my hands!! Maggie hasn't made any attempts at this point to escape, probably becuase we don't leave her outside alone as she loves to dig!  Does every husky try to escape, or is it just those who are left alone outside who become bored and then they try to leave? I don't want Maggie to get out (duh!) but she is microchipped, has an ID tag. 

    Should I be stressing out over this? Or will she be okay, as she is a mix and not a purebred and might not have the same escape drive??

    I am a bit paranoid.

    Thanks

    Kristie
    • Gold Top Dog
    I love this mix.  I had a Shep/Mal, maybe Husky and she was
    a fantastic dog.  At 75 pounds, she looked intimidating enought to keep strangers out of my yard, but all you had to do is say "hi"
    to her and she was your best friend.  After she died I was really
    surprised how many human friends she had.  ;People  I didn't know
    would ask me where she was and someone left her flowers on my gate.   
    The Shepherd did seem to tone down a lot of the Husky traits.  She
    was obedient, I could trust her off lease, and she was good with cats.
    The husky traits that remained strong were the digging and the
    need to be with people (her pack) at all times.  I solved the digging problem by giving her a large area with soft dirt.  As long as she got walks everyday, trips to Grandmas, etc. she too afaid of missing out on something good to try to escape.  I did however, alway leave her in the house when I left.  I'm sure she would have tried to follow because I couldn't even leave the yard without her whining.
    The coolest husky trait that she retained was the talking.  She would make these weird noises and do head nods that meant "follow me". 
    Trishanne just posted picture of her Shep/Husky Gracie. She
    could probably tell you about this mix too.
     
    .
    • Gold Top Dog
    Well, first let me start by saying it is actually a pretty popular mix and I have heard of people doing it on purpose, not just "oops" litters because both breeds have excellent qualities that are desired.
     
    Gracie is a digger like you wouldn't believe, but has never tried to dig her way out under the fence to get out. They are not all escape artists. Matter of fact, the back section of my yard is only fenced in with chicken wire right now and she could easily get out if she so desired, but she has never tried. I can trust her outside without her leash while Boss must be leashed at all times, he's my wanderer if I'm not careful. I can open the door to walk out and get us all in the car and trust that Gracie will stay right with us, but I have to wonder if a lot of that isn't mostly due to wanting to be with me and Boss.
     
    You probably would be better off to provide her with an area that is acceptable for her to dig in. I have done it with Gracie and I'm pretty sure I have seen Ron mention that he provides his husky mix with a digging area too.
     
    Gracie is also very stubborn. She has the smarts of both breeds, but the stubborness of the husky in her says she will do the things I ask of her.. when SHE wants to. That's something we are working on.
     
    Just because Maggie is a mix, don't underestimate her.. the drive may very well be there. So far I've been okay, but Gracie is only 5 months old and she never goes outside alone since I do have Boss and they are both very energetic and love to play. I wouldn't doubt for a minute that if she was left out alone without her playmate, she would probably gladly look for some mischief to get into that may include trying to take off.
     
    Have fun with your girl.. would love to see pics.[:D]
    • Gold Top Dog
    My dog doesn't try to escape, per se, but he loves to dig. I once saw an animal hospital show where this guy owned a GSD escape artist. The 100th time he got out, he was hit by a car and severely injured and had to be PTS. But Huskies can escape, too. They love to run really fast for quite a while and can easily be distracted by a good strong scent. I read of one case where a guy's husky escaped and made it to a friend's house, 30 miles a way, in an hour, which is the speed of an unloaded husky. That and the personal experience of many a husky owner is why you don't walk them off  leash, aside from excellent training otherwise. But the digging is a more husky behavior. They dig in snow to create a bed to sleep in. The dig in dirt to create a cool spot.
     
    • Gold Top Dog
    My husky has her independent streak. She's tried to dig under the fence several times, succeeding once. I purchased some poultry netting (chicken wire) fence....24" ....went around the entire enclosure,putting about 1/4 attached to the fence wire, folded it down in an L shape . She tried it again  a couple of times only to find the nose wouldn't go thru the wire. Problem solved. She's not that high energy anyway, from what I understand she would be an exception to the "norm" for Sibes. Her best talent and favorite occupation is keeping the dog bed from floating to the ceiling.
     
    I would hazzard a guess that it's  individual dog + how bored they are + breed.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Thanks for the replies! We seem to have found out what Maggie loves to play, it's fetch!
     
    The dog will play it for hours on end if we would let her. Everytime we take her out we play with her and then she just gets so tired she just lays around the yard  and then wants to come back in the house.
     
    As for walking off leash, never going to happen here as in our neighborhood we have a few people who just let their dogs roam the neighborhood, and some are quite aggresive. So we would want to have complete control over Maggie at all times when we bring her out.
     
    Thanks again
     
    Kristie
    • Gold Top Dog
    Blue is a german shepherd/ husky mix.
     
    He will be 3 in Oct. I know he does wonders with a drag line, but just like you I have to worry about dogs running loose plus my next door neighbor has cats so kind of worried Blue will chase them. Doesn't help also that my neighbor's kid has a BB gun now and is shooting at birds don't want him to work up to hitting Blue with it.
    • Puppy
    I recenlty adopted a 9mo. old husky/german shepherd & she is wonderful, except for one thing. I have read a lot about both breeds so I am aware of the fact the shepherds need to be kept busy all of the time & huskies do not like to be left alone. However, when I am at work during the day I have been keeping her in her crate for now just because I don't know her well enough yet to know how she will do without me around. She has numerous chew toys, but I cannot get her to stop chewing any kind of bed I put in with her...I originally had a smaller bed & she went through that awfully fast so then I tried just a towel & that was demolished & the same with a blanket. Any suggestions as to what I can put in there for her to lay on that she won't chew apart or how to keep her preoccupied during the day?

    Thanks!
    [:D]

    • Puppy
    kendyl-
     
    I had a dog that did the exact same thing. He was a husky/ grey hound mix. He loved to chew. We finally got to the point where we didn't put anything but a rawhide in his kennel. He seemed to be content with this. Perhaps just a toy to keep him busy too. Just depends on his temperament and how much he chews. Our dog was very lonely during the day, so I think that's why he chewed. He never chewed anything when we were at home, and he slept on our bed at night and never got into anything he wasn't supposed to...Hope this helps.
    • Bronze
    My parents have a siberian husky/wolf mix male.  He digs ALOT.  He has gotten loose quite a bit but has always returned.  They live a ways out of town, so he can run if he chooses and there really is not much of a chance of getting hit by a car or anything like that.  He is a very sweet dog though.  They have never had any problems with aggression or anything.  Just the digging thing and getting loose.  He like to have someone with him all the time.   He is strictly outside no inside at all.  Because he has so much wild in him.  He really can't come in at all.  
    • Gold Top Dog
    I just got a new puppy that's german shepherd/husky mix.  she's only about 4 months old right now, and she hasn't tried to run away (although whenever we open the front door we have to hold her back bc she loves to go outside) but she LOVES to dig!  I take her and my chihuahua out to the dog park and she loves to dig then lay down in it, I guess to cool off. 
    I wouldn't trust her off leash, but since she's mixed with shepherd I'm sure she'll be ok.  Just get to know her and see if she shows signs of wanting to escape and use your judgement.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Please do not count on the gsd part of the mix to over ride the husky part of the mix.  German shepherds aren't neccessarily gonna hang around the old homestead either unless they have been very well trained.
    • Gold Top Dog
    When I was a kid we had a purebred gsd named Shane and he wouldn't stay off least at all either, so we never let him off it. Although when he did leave it was with my nephew the few times he managed to sneak out of the house at 3 or 4 years old, and my boy Shane never left Jordan ( my nephew) and as a matter of fact Shane wouldn't let our neighbor go near Jordan, instead the neighbor just kept a close eye and called us.
     
    I miss my Shane, he was awesome!!!
     
    Kristie
    • Silver
    Two months ago I bought a Husky/GSD mix. I named him Timber. He's 2 1/2 years old. He is very calm, quiet and lovable. He loves meeting new people and he is really great with my cat. Now the cat I couldn't say the same about at first..he tormented Timber but now they are friends. They follow each other everywhere. It's really cute.
    Also, he is very obedient and smart. He gets so excited when he hears the word walk so I started spelling it out and now he even gets excited when he hears "go for a...", I don't even have to say walk. He's too smart!
    So far he hasn't dug at all. He just lopes around the yard smelling everything in sight and then he suns himself on the sidewalk. He loves going out in the snow and when it's raining. Last night it was raining but I had to let him out and then he didn't want to come back in!! I had to force him in. Luckily with his Husky coat he was only damp on the outer coat but completely dry underneath. I wish I had a built in raincoat!
    He's fine at home alone for at least 8 hours. A few days after I got him my sister had a baby and we were at the hospital all night. He didn't tear up anything and didn't go in the house at all. He was just jumping to go out the second I walked in the door.
    He rarely barks, only if someone comes to the door but if he recognizes the person he won't bark, he will whine as if to say "let them in already so i can love them up." And when he's out and wants back in he will bark one time. If I don't hear it he waits a little while and then barks twice. All of the other dogs in the neighborhood bark incessently but he just looks around like "what's all the fuss about?"
     
    His only vice is the trash can. He loves taking things out of the trash and scattering them all over the place. So now I leave the trashcan in the mudroom off of the kitchen so he can't get to it.
     
    Sorry about the long post but I love my dog and I love talking about him.

    • Gold Top Dog
    Timber is beautiful! What a handsome boy.