Cam - that sounds like a super place for a dog. The only question - are the panels solid or have spaces between...make sure puppy can't fit through.

Don't know if this would work for you with your situation as a student.

I was a teacher in my working life when I got Bodhi.
He could not be left alone for long as he was too wild.
Another teacher was successful when she got a pup with bringing the dog to school.
The dog would stay in a crate in her car.
She would go out between classes, let the dog have water and a quick walk around.
At lunch time, she'd eat while she gave the dog a longer walk.
This worked for her and it did for me.
You could not do this if it was summer though.

Amymeme, they are solid wood planks across, no gaps so the dog can't squeeze through.

And Jalapeno I'm only allowed out of school at lunch, not between classes. I have an hour lunch and my house is a 15 minute drive away so I could come home if necessary.

Lots of great advice and info here, but I want to add a couple things that stood out to me.

First off, google some things like husky hole, husky digging, etc and look at the image results. Huskies don't dig like normal dogs. They can dig large burrow like structures and can tunnel under stuff that is a only a foot down. Not all dig the massive mine caves, but they are capable. If you notice extreme digging, you may want to burry something a little deeper to really prevent escape under the fence.

I'm a little worried about your age and your future plans. You're 17 and claim you have 2 more years of school. What then? College/University? Moving out on your own? What is your plan for the dog's care during those years? Would you be able to live off campus or secure housing that would allow the dog. Are your parents going to be caring for the dog during this time? If so, do they know what they are getting into. You are looking at a potential 15 year relationship here. Will your parents be willing to partake in the multiple daily walks, daily grooming, daily feeding and waste removal?

Huskies are not an easy to care for breed. They aren't gentle lap dogs that can lounge around the house all day. They tend to be high energy animals that need a lot of exercise. If you fail to meet their exercise needs, they become very destructive. Carpets, furniture, clothing, and even walls can become targets. If they are outside, anything they can chew on or dig will take the brunt.
Despite plenty of exercise and lots of different toys to chew on and play with, my husky pup has done a lot of damage to the 2x4s that make up part of his kennel system.

I'm not trying to deter you from the breed, only wanting to make sure you know what you are getting into and have thought long term about the commitment.

Hi Kmanweiss,

Currently I have two years of School left, I'm in 6th form, which i believe to be the equivalent of College in the US, afterwards I'm not 100% sure where or what i'm doing, as its hugely dependant on a number of things.

As I stated in my original post, all of the family is in for the dog. I have researched extensively and they all understand the responsibilities and dedication required. So yes If I do go to university everything will be ok.

As for their digging I've been looking into it more and more and it seems they're more instinctive style of digging is only really present in extreme weather conditions such as in northern Siberia to escape harsh winds. Where they will dig burrow like structures to get away from it. As a pet, their main digging is usually only done out of boredom, and from what I've been reading is quite preventable if you nip it in the bud early on.

Cam

Ummm....digging. Really not only in extreme situations. Let me count the ways for my boy: In summer, it gets warm (which means anything over 40°) he digs a pit in the shade, most preferred is next to the house foundation, on the north side, behind the rhododendrons. Then, particularly in spring and fall, he digs for critters in the lawn - we are rural and have lots of voles, moles and mice. They have burrows in the soil, he hears/smells them and off he goes. He also digs in the line along the septic system lines. I assume because he hears the water percolating. And then, if I am digging anywhere...well, he likes to join in. With abandon. So first warning is don't stand downstream - that dirt flies fast and furious and you will be covered

Then, there are the bones...he gets a raw, frozen beef bone daily (not marrow, mostly neck, rib and blade leftover from custom butchering). Most times he gnaws and these for an hour or so then he likes to bury his treasure. Sometimes, he buries it immediately. It is actually quite entertaining to watch - we have invisible fence around 4 acres of lawns, brush and woods with various hedgerows. He trots around with bone in his mouth, looking for the perfect place...here?, nope...trot trot trot, here? nope....repeat several times then BINGO!!! This is the spot....dig dig dig, plop goes the bone, then he uses his nose to push the loose material back over the bone. I can always tell when he's been digging even if his paws aren't all dirty, his nose will have a ring of dirt on top

So - I would be prepared and have a good spade and rake available. And grass seed.

Digging is pretty inherent to the breed and is based on several instincts. My dogs have a kennel area that is both indoor and outdoor. The outdoor area is concrete pavers with a 2-3 inch gap between them filled with small stones. We originally just had rock in the outdoor area, but heavy rainfall kept causing problems, so the pavers were put in to manage runoff. The other dogs we had wouldn't dig at all in the kennel with or without the pavers. Rorschach digs between the pavers EVERY day. In the fairly small gaps, he can dig out a foot deep easily. He gets past the couple inches of rocks and digs through the hard packed dirt fast. I can come home after 4 hours of work and sometimes have to fill in 2 or 3 large gaps he's dug. He's not doing that to hide stuff, find stuff, or make a burrow, it's just that he has an urge to dig, so he does.

When we have them in the back yard, you have to keep your eye on him constantly. Lose track of him for a minute and there will be a large hole in no time. I had to put pavers under the deck stairs as there was bare dirt that he got into the first day. We have bushes with wood chips near the house where we've filled in dozens of holes already from only 3 months of ownership.

On walks, his nose is to the ground sniffing every yard for any kind of grubs or bugs he can find. He'll rip a chunk of grass out of the ground in an instant to get to something underneath it. Any bare dirt along our walks will be attacked and dirt will be flying before I have a chance to pull him away.
Just yesterday he attacked someone's yard as we were walking and ripped out a chunk of full, plush grass, took a big bite of dirt and then moved on before I could even react...a few seconds later I heard a crunching sound. He had smelled a peanut, still in the shell under the dirt and grass and picked it out of the ground in a second or two. That peanut had been there for who knows how long, but he caught it's scent.

Huskies dig to bury food/toys for later use and to protect them from other dogs or people taking them. They dig to find food (bugs/grubs/rodents). They dig to make burrows for shelter (to stay cool in the summer or warm in the winter). They dig, way more than any other breed I've ever encountered.

We're planning on rebuilding the deck in the next year or two, and when I do, I plan to redesign it a bit and make room for a digging pit that I'll just let him go to town on so he gets to have a release for his digging needs.

Dave - that about covers it