We're Going to the Dogs

A husky sits in the doorway a few feet from me, eyes half-shut, weary from another full day with the Kroekers.

This is our new dog, a husky.

Our search for a dog has been going on for a very long time, as we are faced with some limitations. For one thing, two of us are slightly allergic to dogs so we hoped to find a breed that aggravated that the least. Another issue is that we have four kids, and one is still a preschooler so we hoped to find a breed that was pretty laid back and comfortable with people.

We first tried a little mutt, but she was a frightened, nervous dog, and nipped at the preschooler. I just couldn't live with the fear that she might bite more seriously, so we asked if they would take her back, which they did. She came from a local rescue group and they want to find her the ideal home. Ours was not, and they understood.

Then I was surfing Petfinder, looking at dogs where the description included "excellent with kids" or something like that. One thing led to another, and next thing I know I was looking at a five-year-old husky.

In all the reading and research I had done, I'd heard about a few breeds being goodfor people with allergies--labradoodles, poodles, cairn and west highland terriers among others. I'd even considered the really short-haired breeds like whippets. Never in my wildest imagination would I have thought that a husky, with all that fur, would be okay for people with allergies. But the rescue director asked us to give it a try because some people can tolerate their coats well, so we visited the dog. My daughter and I in particular pet the dog, wiped our fingers near our noses, stuck our faces into the dog's coat, and believe it or not--no reaction. We had no allergic reaction to that amazing, thick coat.

That took us down a research road I didn't know much about, which is the personality traits of huskies. I was nervous about a lot of the things I read, but they reassured me that this dog was atypical, that he was a beta dog, not an alpha, etc. We've had him for only two weeks, and we've had a few transitional things to figure out, but for the most part he has proved to be a fine dog. I hope that we can work it all out and feel perfectly confident.

I was surprised at how much emotional energy it took me to transition, too. This is our first family dog, so we're adjusting, too. The biggest change will hit our pocketbook, as this breed needs a big, strong privacy fence.

As we head into our third week with this dog, I hope to settle in and avoid distraction from the other things that we're transitioning into, like school! He's a great schoolwork dog--he just curls up in a corner or under the table and sleeps. He's nice company for people with homework.