Walking/hiking

[abook2784]

Hey i was wondering how does everyone get to the point where they can take ther husky on a nature walk without a leash on? Im just so scared to even try it i dont wanna lose my fleury pup. Is there a certain point in her recall and or age that i should wait for?

[HuskyCouture]

i'd never let mine off his leash if it isn't fenced in. you can never trust them due to their prey drive. why don't you get a 50ft or 100ft leash off ebay?

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

never let mine off if im in an open space where they can have a run around they are on 100ft leads - i think uve missed your chance now shes 7 months old maybe when he was younger you could have let her off as she wouldnt have a prey drive and to her you would be the best thing since sliced bread but now shes got to the age where her prey drive HAS kicked in and there are far more intresting things around then yourself, i would still teach a recall though as you never know when you might need it - should she get out or get loose

[Sarah]

i wouldn't risk it hun, my two were great off lead until about 7 months then their selective hearing kicked in I trained recall with them constantly but now it wouldn't make a dam bit of difference if they see something they want they'll go for it

[abook2784]

okay thanks !!

[SarahNukka&Shadow]

Flexi or 50ft training lead is your best friend on this one Im afraid, its just a husky thing really some people do let theres off but I just think their lucky they havnt lost their dog yet! So I figure better safe than sorry, my dogs mean too much to me to loss them!

[abook2784]

Flexi or 50ft training lead is your best friend on this one Im afraid, its just a husky thing really some people do let theres off but I just think their lucky they havnt lost their dog yet! So I figure better safe than sorry, my dogs mean too much to me to loss them!

exactly, i dont wanna lose my pup

[beachhusky]

Its your dog, your responsibility. I've never had too much trouble walking mine off the leash, but I still wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.

[Rosemary]

Alex, I certainly wouldn't try it with my two, they would be off as soon as something more interesting came along.

I would suggest you read the following thread by Shawn, in it he explains how he got to where he is today with Silver

http://www.husky-owners.com/forum/index.php?/topic/10850-sterling-silver-aka-nightmare/page__hl__%2Bsterling+%2Bsilver+%2Bnightmare__st__40

[aikibujin]

Let me preface what I'm about to say by stating that:

1. My dog Polar is a mulamute, or a huskamute, not a husky. So her temperament is different.

2. I live in a mountain village in rural China, where there isn't any leash law for dogs, and traffic is light.

3. I understand there is always a risk. So are a lot of outdoor activities myself participate in. I accept the risks and balance it with doing things Polar and I enjoy.

That said, when I'm hiking with Polar in the mountains, 90% of the time she's off leash. There are no wild animals larger than rabbits in the mountains around where I live, and the roads are really far away (and the Chinese drivers are always on the lookout for dogs, chicken, ducks, cows, etc crossing the road). So the danger of being off-leash is fairly small. When I give her the "heel" command, she is expected to walks by my right hand side (and she does) in case we encounter local villagers, sheep, and/or pack animals on the trail. But most of the time I give her a "break" command and she is free to run around the hills unless I call her. When we walk to a place close to a village or to a road, she will be back on the leash 100% of the time.

Getting Polar trained to this point was a long process, I didn't just decide to let her off-leash on a whim. Polar came into my life when she was 3 or 4 months old when we found her as a stray (possibly as the result of running away from her previous owner). I adopted her and started training her right away. At first she would try to pull me around on a leash, like any husky or malamute like to do. It took me a while just to get her to the point where she would "heel" on a leash. I also started to train her on a regular recall and an "emergency recall" which I use a special whistle for. When she's able to "heel" (and lots of "leave it" ) right by a bunch of chickens on the road without me putting any pressure on the leash, and I'm able to recall her even when she's happily playing with other dogs, I started training her off leash. She's close to 1 year and 4 months old now, when I take her hiking now, she will stay fairly close to me, and I always take my dog whistle with me.

I'm also able to spend a lot of time with Polar, probably more than most husky/malamute owners. I run a hostel, and I'm also a professional climbing guide. When I'm not away guiding a trip, I pretty much spend 24/7 with Polar. I take her on long walks daily, take her running and hiking every couple of days, and she even gets to climb big mountains with me. I try to be a strong leader for her. I can't say I never get angry with her, but I never hit her. She trusts me and depends on me to take her to all sorts of exciting places and bring her back.

I can't recommend anyone else do what I do. You need to have the time, the dedication, the proper environment, and the right dog to let them run free. And the risk is always there.

[Rosemary]

Boer, Polar is so lucky to have the freedom to do what she does. Like Shawn and Silver, it has obviously taken hundreds of hours of work to get to this point. I think it is amazing, and commend you on your dedication to her. She is beautiful How is it going with the problem you had with your guests feeding her against your wishes ?

[aikibujin]

Boer, Polar is so lucky to have the freedom to do what she does. Like Shawn and Silver, it has obviously taken hundreds of hours of work to get to this point. I think it is amazing, and commend you on your dedication to her. She is beautiful How is it going with the problem you had with your guests feeding her against your wishes ?

Thank you Rosemary. Now I make sure I explain to any new guests checking in that they shouldn't feed our dogs at all. We haven't had any problems with guests feeding our dogs lately, at least no one has tried to feed them chocolate. International travelers are generally very good in this respect, and we haven't had a lot of domestic travelers lately. So all is well.

[Madbootsblu]

Hey I walk Moomoo off the lead everyday - I know they say you can't walk Husky's off the lead but me feeling is its all in the training, I have a close friend who is a registered dog trainer and we trained MooMoo with a remote collar - I know people don't agree with them, I didn't either but used correctly they are fine. Mine has 2 buttons, one with a tone only and one with a shock - we trained Moo to the tone only for 2 weeks solid and I have been walking her off the lead ever since - to this day (over a year later) I have had to shock her once (on the lowest setting) after she took off after a deer, she came right back - even though 4 labradors kept going and went missing for 2 hours!!!!!!

My feeling is this - its up to you - My husky was miserable before she went off lead and almost over night she turned into very happy content dog and our bond doubled!!! I know its a risk but she deserves to be happy and have fun and to see her happy is a risk I am willing to take, especially as I trust her more off the lead than any other dog I've had (including labs, collies etc) I just keep the collar on her whenever we walk but I rarely even need to use the tone anymore and she is never off the lead near roads.

I wouldn't recommend training with a remote collar without the guidance of a reputive registered dog trainer as in the wrong hands they can be incredibly dangerous and do more harm than good. But even though it took a lot to convince me to try it as I didn't like the sound of them, I glad I did cos for her she found it way crueler to be stuck on the lead - although the local squirrels may not agree with me!!! (She likes chasing them up trees!!!)