OK, we haven’t had Creampuff very long, but she’s expressive about what she likes. I’m hoping this list helps someone decide that she’s the perfect dog for them!
Things she likes:
- Food and treats. Our resident dog is perpetually watching her weight, so being able to reward good behavior with treats is really nice. 🙂
- Attention. Belly rubs and scritching around her neck seem to be her favorites, but she loves all attention.
- Licking you to show you she likes your attention. It’s not obnoxious (ever met a dog that just wants to keep licking you like they are grooming you? It’s not like that, it’s just a sneaky kiss…) but if you hate it you’ll have to teach her another way to show her affection.
- Brisk walks. As many as you’ll give her. I strongly suspect she’d actually prefer a run, but I do not run. If you are looking for a dog that will hike, walk or run with you, this could be the dog.
- Attention. I know, I already said this, but it’s her thing.
- Lunging at squirrels – but then lunging away if they chatter at her… I don’t think she’s particularly keen on them. Huskies typically do have a prey drive, and I’d take her behavior about squirrels as a warning – she’s not going to co-exist with bunny pets or anything…
- She apparently likes the car – when we got home today she wanted to just stay in the back seat for a while.
- Other dogs. However, other dogs don’t always reciprocate since she greets them with the doggy equivalent of “OH MY GOSH IT’S YOU I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU ALL MY LIFE AND NOW YOU ARE MY BEST FRIEND LET’S PLAY” so we’re working on that a bit. My resident dog is overwhelmed by her, and Creampuff responds appropriately to a warning growl. She does not escalate, she’s far too eager to please.
- Chewing stuff. So far, she has not chewed anything inappropriate – she spotted the dog toys immediately and likes to take them all out of the basket and move from one to the other… If she did not have any toys, I do think she might find something toy-like and chew it, if she was left alone and bored. She has not damaged any toys (unlike resident dog, who chews the eyeballs off of stuffed toys, Creampuff just mouths them and then moves to the next toy.)
- Being with humans. She is extremely social, very affectionate, and wants to be where the people are.
Things she does not like:
- Not being with humans. This is a dog who would like to be your constant companion. Unfortunately, this human works in an office, so she’s spending some time in a crate. We’re working up the length of time she’s in there, and she’s adapting – but she will vocalize her feelings about your departure for a while. So unless you can provide that constant companionship, I don’t recommend Creampuff for an apartment-style home. Your neighbors probably would complain about the noise she makes when you leave. (She does settle down eventually.)
- The very expensive diet, limited ingredient food I buy resident dog. It’s literally the only thing she has not wanted to eat.
So far, those are the only things she has not liked – being left and expensive dog food. She’s just SO HAPPY to be with you, it kind of doesn’t matter what you do?
She’s an absolute gem of a dog. She is quickly learning the rules of the house – so if you gently correct the behavior you don’t like (we don’t let her on the couch, even though a previous foster did) and tell her she’s good when she’s doing what you DO want, she’ll adapt.
Here’s her, checking to see if I’d like to change my mind and invite her onto the couch… (by the way, if you want a dog to snuggle on your lap while you sit on the couch? Creampuff wants to be that dog VERY MUCH.)
This video is her when she is tired. We’ll get another when she’s perky and trying to sneak in the face kisses…