Siberian Huskies as Trained Hunting Dogs?

I have been a breeder of AKC Siberian Huskies for almost twenty years now, and the first thing I learned about them is they are a hunting breed. That is, not to train to go on a hunt, but rather to hunt for survival. Any small animal immediately piques their interest. I keep the dogs in an outside kennel because my house is just too small for three huskies, two cats and two adults. The cats are the bosses in here, but if they ever get into the fenced-in kennel area they would be toast. As cats attack small moving bodies, so do huskies! And all this brings me to this story.

The dogs are usually very quiet most of the time. They do get excited when we go out to feed, groom, clean and spend time with them, but for the most part they are usually quiet, even in play. Sometimes they have a short howling sessions just to let everybody know they are still there. Most neighbors like the sound of the wild on summer evenings. The other morning was different, however. At about 3:45 a. m. we were awoken by the alpha female barking at something, Well, it was just a little excited woof or two so we went back to sleep. With the windows open during these cool summer nights, we can here what goes on out there. So when she began again, we were up and whistling for them to be quiet. It usually works well and they quiet down. But not this time. Because I am still on crutches from my tibia reconstruction--see 'An exterior fixator to fix a problem' --my dear sweetheart went out to see what the ruckus was all about. At this time, the sun was just coming up and the day was beginning to get light. I eagerly awaited news from the back door. Almost as soon as he entered the exterior fenced-in kennel yard, he backed out and returned to the house. It seemed a big old skunk had wiggled through the exterior fence and was meandering around the concrete-padded chain-link kennel with the dog houses and dogs enclosed within.

After about 15 minutes, my dear went out again to open the front gate to the fence -we always double door the area to make sure no one slips out--to allow the skunk to meander back out. Meanwhile the dogs were going berserk. I called the police department saying that they would probably get some calls from the neighbors about the disturbance because of the very early hour. I explained the the skunk kept running towards the dogs and driving them on. They told me the animal control officer would come out by 7 a.m. to give us a hand trying to get the skunk to move on,

Prior to all of this, we were both awoken by a skunk smell much earlier, and did not think too much of it as skunks are always about in summer, and went back to sleep. By 5 a.m. the smell had permeated the house and the entire neighborhood. But the dogs had not gotten sprayed--thank goodness.

By now, the dogs were in a frenzy and one of the neighbors stopped by to see if the dogs had gotten hit in the face and may need medical attention. We told her they did not get hit, but the skunk's tail was held high as he progressively ran in attack mode towards the chain link fence and the dogs.

Because of the curious actions of that big old skunk, we both thought that it might be rabid and took great care to stay away. From the back steps, we watched as it finally meandered out through the front gates and headed towards the neighbor' s house. Well, thank goodness. My dear went to check out the dogs who had settled down and began jumping happily to have the company after such excitement. So I then called the police again, since I did not have the number of the new animal control officer for our town, and told them the skunk found it's way out and was heading home as the sun came out. All was finally quiet.

About 11:00 a.m. the dog officer did come by and I explained everything and apologized about the noise. He understood and examined the kennel area and the dogs to see if they needed medical attention. He said he would go to the neighbors who had called and explain the situation. So that was that, or so I thought.

Last night was very quiet as usual and even by morning, when the dogs get a bit antsy to be let out, there was not a peep from them. It was time to mow the kennel area so the mower and my sweetie went into the kennel, closed the doors and went over to let the dogs out for a romp. When he approached the kennel where the dogs were housed, he smelled the skunk spray again but it was not strong. All the odor from the previous morning dissipated in the wonderful breeze the kept the air fresh and cool all day. As he entered the kennel, he notice the three dogs were all sitting in a row looking into the next section; just sitting, and not a peep. With one glance in the same direction the question of why the dogs were so quiet was answered.

There in the middle of the kennel was the body of the dead skunk that had cause so much commotion the morning before. It was the same huge white-backed beast that kept charging the kennel and causing the dogs to go into a frenzy. It lay dead and not too mangled. It seems the dogs had had their revenge and satisfaction with this tormentor.

What we cannot figure out is why the animal came back not only to harass the dogs from the outside, but had to actually get into the chain-link area and commit Hairy-Kari. Now the theory about being rabid is more pronounced than ever. I again called the police to ask them to inform the animal control officer of the dead and possibly rabid skunk. We had no intention of touching it. The animal control officer came out and removed the dead animal and said it would be tested for rabbis. If it is proved to be positive, the state of Massachusetts would inform us of what we would need to do with the dogs as far as isolation.

The dogs have been vaccinated for rabbis but their three-year shot would need to be re-given next March. I called my vet to see if they should have a rabbis booster just to make sure. We will wait for the results before I cal the vet again have this done. The skunk, it turned out, was rabid and now i had to have to give the booster to the dogs to make sure they are protected.

In all the past twenty years, we have never had a skunk get into the kennel area, the fenced-in acre, never mind the padded chain-link section. The behavior of the skunk was bazaar to say the least, but the hunting instinct would have drove the dogs into killing any small animal within reach.

We have had some strange carcasses in the kennel area from time to time. Wild rabbits always think the grass is much greener inside the fence and we do find a dead body on occasion. One of the strangest was when I saw the dogs playing catch with an odd looking shape. One of the dogs would throw it up into the air and the others would pounce on it after it landed. With curiosity abound, I went up to the object and grabbed it before the next pounce. It was the body of a dead brook trout almost a foot long. Now, there is a brook in back of our property that does hold some good-sized trout, but how in the heck did one land in the kennel some two acres from the stream?

That one stumped me for a couple of years until I learned about the cormorants that nest in the trees just behind the kennel on our property. Apparently one of the young probably lost the feast and the dogs had a field day with the body. They did not eat it, just played with it. So it went into the burial area for all the unfortunate critters that meander within the Huskies"s reach. These dogs are natural predators and will kill small prey when the opportunity prevents itself.

To train a Husky to be a hunting companion is only practical if one does not care about the condition of the prey after the Husky has caught it!