Can Huskies Live in Apartments? A Complete Guide

Huskies are huge dogs so the question is, can they live in small apartments? After some further research, I found what is best for huskies.

Although it could be difficult, there are ways to keep a husky in your apartment! Down below we will go into detail about how it is possible for your apartment life to work out with your loveable pet husky.

Huskies in Apartments: How to Make it Work

A Husky: the big, cuddly, brave and strong winter-bearing dogs. The dogs that are great with families, packs, and are loving towards all. Sounds like a perfect pet for anyone. Yet are they really perfect for anyone? Even someone living in the middle of a city in an apartment?

Huskies are wonderful dogs but sure require a lot of work. Like any dog, they require special attention and your time throughout the day. They are like children: you need to feed them, help them go to the bathroom, and help them get their energy out. This can be difficult if you work all day at a normal job and only have an apartment. But it can be done!

Exercise is so important. Huskies are strong and have a come from a strong family. They are used to running and walking a lot, even up to a hundred miles a day! They are excellent at pulling sleds and need that exercise to be happy and healthy.

To make it work in an apartment, you need to make a schedule for when you will exercise with your dog. This cannot be a couple days of the week, it must be every day. A good amount of exercise for an adult husky would be to let them run between five to ten miles a day!

This is a great opportunity for you to exercise as well. Not only does owning a husky require exercise, but it gets you outside as well!

This exercise is what will keep them happy and healthy. It can be difficult for a husky to be cooped up inside all day, but especially more in an apartment since there is 1) not that much room to run inside and 2) no doggy door that conveniently leads to a big backyard.

Some great activities to help your husky would be to go on hikes or a park to let them run around. Not just run around a little bit, but enough where they can get their heart rate up and meet a good amount like stated before, the five to ten miles.

Another idea that comes to mind is to go running with them. Huskies are the perfect pet to exercise with because they need to do it too. It’s like that gym buddy that you have so it’s not as lonely or awkward on your own.

Running outside would be a great activity to do together. This can build trust with your dog. Huskies seem to all share a common love language which is quliaty time. Running or doing sports together would deepen the love between you two.

Huskies needs will be fulfilled if they are taken out often. Huskies are used to being out and around a lot of other people or dogs because they are naturally made to be a part of a pack. This can be very lonely for them if they are not taken out regularly.

Leaving Huskies at Home During the Day

Huskies tend to howl a lot. If you keep your dog inside your apartment, expect to hear howling. They like to be with other people or animals so it is hard for them to stay home alone while you are out at work. There are some ideas, however, to helping them keep happy.

1. Leave them with a friend.

Huskies do really well with other dogs. If you have another dog or pet, it would help the husky greatly. Like stated before, huskies are familiar with being in a pack. They love being a part of a family and never being alone. So if they were to be alone in a small apartment all day, this would be very depressing for them.

If you have a friend that wouldn’t mind, you could leave your dog with a friend for the day. Or invite your friend over to come visit and play with your dog. Having a friend will help your husky feel loved and get that love that they need to be happy.

2. Provide Toys

Toys can be a great resource for providing your husky with comfort. Toys are great because the dog will focus on chewing on their toy versus chewing on your furniture. Toys that last longer are more preferable because if it is a toy that breaks open easily, your husky will get bored and start to go through different things in the house.

It’s important to be prepared for messes. Leaving your energy-filled husky at home means he will get bored and will fill his time doing something. Be sure to move valuable things to safe places and locked up.

Huskies are very smart. They can learn how to open doors and cabinets, so it is important to keep things locked up and keep your husky preoccupied with other things.

Not only are huskies smart, but they are also natural diggers and jumpers. If they get bored, there is not telling what kind of trouble they could cause in a small apartment. Really this goes back to the idea that huskies need time to go out and exercise. Without this exercise, they are more likely to get bored and make messes.

Owning a husky is similar to raising a child, they need to get their energy out! Forcing them to stay inside or forcing them to be “good” by not letting them go outside is not healthy. They need an equal balance in order for the apartment situation to work.

3. Food and Water

Make sure you leave enough food and water for your husky. They have a large fur coat so it’s important that they stay cool and hydrated throughout the day. One way is through purchasing water and food dispensers.

There are dispensers you can purchase for your dog so once they have drunk the water in their dish, more will refill it. The same goes for their food as well. If you don’t want them to overeat, place the amount of food that you want them to eat in the dispenser then it will continue to come out throughout the day.

Training Your Husky

Huskies are known to be hard to train. They are smart, yes, and can pull sleds, but they do not take to training very well. One of the things that Huskies do a lot of is howling. This can be difficult when you live in an apartment because you live so close to your neighbors. It may help to take some time with training your husky how to overcome howling so much.

When you leave the apartment, this usually causes howling because huskies don’t like to be separated from their family. To train them and let them know it will be alright, begin these steps.

First, on a day where you are not actually leaving, prepare yourself like you are about to go out. Grab your keys, put your shoes on head over to the door like you are about to leave. Instead of leaving, go to the door, then walk back to the couch. After going to the couch, wait there for some minutes.

Do this again, and again so that they start to realize that even when you are preparing to leave, you still come back.

After a while, leave the apartment but only for a short time. The first time can be about five minutes. Then return back inside the apartment. The second time can be ten minutes, then return again. Doing this method different days can help your dog see that you will return again, helping cease their fears of you leaving.

Potty Training Your Husky

Another problem that can come up for people living in apartments is: how can I let the dog go out to the bathroom when I’m not home?

A useful tool would be to potty train your husky, especially if you are going to leave him for a long period in the day. Unfortunately, a doggy door won’t work when you’re high up in an apartment building!

For indoor potty-training for dogs, some people prefer a litter box similar to that for cats and others like to use a “pee pad.” A “pee pad” is a pad that you lay out on the floor and is used as a spot for the dog to pee on. This pad soaks up the pee, helping you keep the floor clean.

Both can be beneficial for training your husky. The best way to potty train your husky would be to start them when they are puppies. Puppies are in a state of growing and learning which is the prime time to get them going pee inside. Once they create this habit, it will become much easier when they get older.

To help your puppy potty train, it would work best if there was a speficic spot in the house that was always their “pee” spot. Once they are done eating, take them to their spot, and wait for them to do their business. This can be done best with newspapers. Once they are finished, give them praise for doing it in the right spot.

Then clean up the newspapers, but keep one newspaper that was near where they peed. Dogs go to the bathroom usually in the same spot. If you keep one of the newspapers, they will be able to smell it and recognize it as where they went to do their business before. So next time they need to go, have newspapers set up with one of the previous papers so the scent is familiar.

It’s hard for them to smell the scent and recognize it when you clean up after them. The paper from the last pee experience will help them remember that spot!

Be prepared for some accidents. Learning how to do something new is never easy, and the same can be said about puppies and learning how to potty train. Never physically hurt them if they do their business somewhere else. Let them know you are disappointed in them, but never physically hurt them to lose their trust.

Be sure to give them praise as they continue to go do their business. As they receive praise, they will continue to do that to please you. Do not become discouraged, huskies are difficult to train and can take time.

It is also helpful to teach your husky to go to the door when they are ready to go to the bathroom so you know when to take them outside. Whether they scratch or give a little whimper, anything to help you know when it’s their time to go.

Surviving in the Heat or Cold

Huskies were built to live in cold climates. When I think of a snow movie with a dog, my first thought turns to a husky. They are the hero dogs that can live in 75 degrees below zero. They are ones that can pull sleds and run several miles a day! So if they were built to live in the cold, will that affect how they live in an apartment?

Huskies can adjust to different climates, even in the heat. It is possible for them to live in different conditions besides the cold but it is important to keep them in the proper care.

Ensure that the apartment is not stuffy and warm. It is important for Huskies to keep cool because they have warm coats and like stated before, are built for cold weather. Keeping the apartment at a constant, cool, temperature will help them.

Although opening a window is a nice way to let in a fresh breeze, this can be dangerous. Huskies can jump quite well and if you rely solely on a window for fresh air, this may be a problem. Ensure that you have a good air flow throughout the apartment that can keep your husky at the proper temperature it needs.

Be prepared to clean up some hair! Huskies shed hair, and not just a little amount. Their beautiful coats are what keep them warm all of the time but also can get everywhere. Make sure you have a vacuum or even an automatic vacuum to clean up the hair daily.

Keeping the Love Alive

Something I heard a friend do with their husky is set up a baby monitor but instead of monitoring a baby, it would be to listen in and see their husky! They had a monitor that allowed them to hear and see their dog while they were away. It was hard for their husky because she loves having company and hated when her owners would leave for work.

It was great for the owners to look and see how their dog was doing and to also talk through the monitor to their husky. The only downside was at first their husky would howl when she heard her owners talk! She would howl because she could not see them but could hear their voices and missed them.

It is important to spend time with your husky. Like stated before, plan every day to exercise and have fun with your dog. If you put energy into helping them have the best experience, then anywhere you live it will work with a husky.

Huskies are wonderful, loving, pets and want so badly to be with you. It is important to give them attention and time that they need to be happy. Not only for their happiness but for yours as well.

Spending time with loved ones brings happiness and can lead to a healthy life. An apartment life will work if you are willing to put for the time and effort into having a close relationship with your husky.

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