letting your husky off the lead

[tommyboi36]

I no alot off people on here dont agree and are set in there ways about not letting huskys off there lead.

If you are reading this and hav a puppy husky TRY IT it can be done if you teach from a very young age.

My siberian husky is now 1year 7month and i can honestly say he is briiliant of the lead , he plays with outher dogs off the lead has a enuf room and NO lead to run around and get a fully sprint out wich does him soo good he cums back wen i say sits waits for me i can make him stay and walk off and get him to come to me , the outher day he even walked home next to my side off the lead dont worry my house is about a 40seconds walk from my park and not alot off cars wen i was tryin this but he was very good sat at roads and came on my demand.

What i am tryin to get out of this is for all you new owners please try it and pratice at home first or in tennis corts were they hav no chance in gettin out just play and make them feel like they want to be with you, the best thing for a dog is to run free if you can connect with your dog and have a understandin in eachouther they are brilliant dogs and if trained propely CAN be let off the lead the longer you keep them on the less chance you got in letting them off cos u cant catch a husky lol.

I hope i havent affended too many people on here but im sure i have because when i was trainin my husky and asking for tips alot off people didnt like what i was doin but i can say i proved u wrong !

[MollynDiesel]

Congrats on such a well trained husky!

Get ready for the hate posts! lol (Not from me, im considering letting mine off in certain areas after he's neuterd)

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

i think what people need to remember is huskies have a VERY high prey drive and whilst some can be good offlead for months - even years - theres ALWAYS a chance they will one day decide something is much more intresting then yourself

raindog has a good post about a dog that was offlead for years - competed in agility offlead aswell then one day jumped a fence n got hit by a car - something that dog has NEVER done before

also i know a woman who had 2 huskies - she let them offlead for years they ALWAYS came back - then one day they shot off - only one came back - that was nearly 3 years ago now and she has no idea what happened to her other boy so for me despite the fact i do actually have 1 i can let offlead i will never risk it as u can NEVER be 100% they will ALWAYS come back - its your choice n yet not ur life at risk

NEVER offlead for me - 100ft leads (from ebay) give mine enough space to run around safely without the worry that im gonna go home without my dogs

UP1fyrp6SrU

[cas]

I know someone with a husky who did exactly what you have done: trained it right from a puppy, it had a brilliant recall - came back each and every time. Then one day when it was 3 and a half years old, it saw a squirrel and was gone for 2 days. That person now will never let it off the lead again after saying exactly what you have above! I feel the older they get the more their prey drive kicks in and i'm not prepared to take that chance

[tommyboi36]

i was sort of trainin him from 2months not out in the park but in the garden n in the house he used to n still does follow me everywere in the house but thats how he is and he hasent been chopped lol

[Rosemary]

Congrats on such a well trained husky!

Get ready for the hate posts! lol (Not from me, im considering letting mine off in certain areas after he's neuterd)

I think "hate posts" is a bit over the top. We may certainly disagree, but hate? I don't think so.

[MollynDiesel]

I think "hate posts" is a bit over the top. We may certainly disagree, but hate? I don't think so.

Its 1 of those things called a joke...

[Diarmuid]

I have left Kobe off the lead after about 4 months but only a little at a time, he is now 7 months and i will only leave him off the lead in parks or when we go mountain biking in forests or a late night walk when no 1 else is around. and outside my house on the the green.

He always comes back when i call him and is well mannered when he meets another dog, if i tell him to leave the other dog alone and keep walking he does.

On the other hand i respect what other people say about running away and stuff but i guess it up to yourself and how u feel about your dogs behavior !

[Michelle Melsom]

I wouldnt say it cant be done im just saying as a responsible pet owner with this breed it should NOT be done. I believe Al on here had a husky with amazing recall and one day it was just gone. Ive talked to people at the dog parks who have puppies they trained early with amazing recall and they always say there is that random time they take off. Its not because the husky is not well trained some of these huskies are more amazingly trained then you could ever imagine but these are fast dogs with very high prey drives they can take off and not even realize how far they are or anything. These are animals I don't ever believe a dog can have 100% recall every time Clubs and breeders that have been around these dogs from the beggining will tell you NOT to do it and they have way more experience with the breed. I think its great that youve trained your dog to do it but never fully trust it and I would also not be telling people that they should train their husky offlead somones going to try it and lose their dog! So youve proved nobody wrong you just look irresponsible :/

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

I wouldnt say it cant be done im just saying as a responsible pet owner with this breed it should NOT be done. I believe Al on here had a husky with amazing recall and one day it was just gone. Ive talked to people at the dog parks who have puppies they trained early with amazing recall and they always say there is that random time they take off. Its not because the husky is not well trained some of these huskies are more amazingly trained then you could ever imagine but these are fast dogs with very high prey drives they can take off and not even realize how fast they are or anything. These are animals I don't ever believe a dog can have 100% recall every time Clubs and breeders that have been around these dogs from the beggining will tell you NOT to do it and they have way more experience with the breed. I think its great that youve trained your dog to do it but never fully trust it and I would also not be telling people that they should train their husky offlead somones going to try it and lose their dog! So youve proved nobody wrong you just look irresponsible :/

thats true - i forgot abouy Als story - shes been gone over a month now i think

[rose]

I dont think its a wise thing to tell new husky owners to be letting their sibe offleash.

[naomiJayne]

I let kira off but only in places I am 1 million percent sure, if she runs away from me, she will be safe and wont be able to get into a road etc. It's the best thing in the world to see how happy she is running around and yes she has amazing recall at the moment but I am so careful in where she is offlead and where she isn't, just in case. I don't let her walk off lead from my house to the feild even though it's about 20 seconds because there are cars that go up and down my street, You can be a responsible dog owner if you let them off the lead or if you never let them off.

[tommyboi36]

I wouldnt say it cant be done im just saying as a responsible pet owner with this breed it should NOT be done. I believe Al on here had a husky with amazing recall and one day it was just gone. Ive talked to people at the dog parks who have puppies they trained early with amazing recall and they always say there is that random time they take off. Its not because the husky is not well trained some of these huskies are more amazingly trained then you could ever imagine but these are fast dogs with very high prey drives they can take off and not even realize how far they are or anything. These are animals I don't ever believe a dog can have 100% recall every time Clubs and breeders that have been around these dogs from the beggining will tell you NOT to do it and they have way more experience with the breed. I think its great that youve trained your dog to do it but never fully trust it and I would also not be telling people that they should train their husky offlead somones going to try it and lose their dog! So youve proved nobody wrong you just look irresponsible :/

ok yh i cant compare with people like that obvlsly i am on 19 years old and cant touch there experiance but surley if i can do it then more experiance people probly like youself can, and probly better and i cant say anything to the dogs runnin away but i no outher breed and i sure there are many dogs who run away and irresponsible how do you work that out lol

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

Why Can’t Siberian Huskies Safely Go Off-Lead?

This is one of the constant questions raised about Siberian Huskies.

You would think it would be enough that:

• 
  
  
• every responsible Siberian Husky owner will tell you that it is not safe to let a Siberian Husky off lead in an unenclosed area
  
  
• every ethical Siberian Husky Breeder will tell you that it is not safe to let a Siberian Husky off lead in an unenclosed area
  
  
• every single Siberian Husky rescue organisation IN THE WORLD will tell you that it is not safe to let a Siberian Husky off lead in an unenclosed area; and that
  
  
• every single Siberian Husky Club IN THE WORLD will tell you exactly the same thing.
  
  

Now these people and organisations don’t take this line for fun, or to "big up" the wild nature of their dogs, or to try to keep the breed exclusive. They take it because it accurately reflects the bitter experience of thousands of owners worldwide over a long period of time.

However, this obviously is not enough because there are still a steady stream of people who just don’t believe this unanimous and ubiquitous message. When you give examples of Siberians which have been killed, caused accidents or been shot by farmers for killing/savaging livestock, the doubters come back with, “But you could say the same about any breed!†– and to be honest, in many respects they would be right. Too many irresponsible owners of all kinds of dogs let their dog off lead with little thought for their dog’s safety, the safety of other animals, or the safety of the public. That is not for discussion here though. I want to explain why, in my opinion, it is never safe to let Siberian Huskies offlead in unenclosed areas.

So, Why is the off-lead thing such a big deal with huskies? What makes them different from other breeds?

There are two major factors, both embedded deep within the history of the breed. The dogs we now know as Siberian Huskies were originally developed by what are known as the “maritime†Chukchi people of North East Siberia who relied on dogs for transportation during the frozen winter. Other Chukchi groups relied on Reindeer for both food and winter transportation. The maritime Chukchi lived in fixed summer villages along the Bering Sea coast, but during the arctic/sub-arctic winter, became nomadic – following and hunting whatever game was available. The Chukchi would load their whole families on their sled and using teams of up to 20 dogs, would hunt all winter, sometimes covering 100 miles a day in their search for food. It was originally estimated that the Chukchi’s dogs had been in existence for some 3000 years, but recent archeological research has found the remains of sled-type dogs going back well over 10,000 years. Indeed, the Siberian Husky has been recognised as one of the oldest dog breeds known to mankind, so they have had a long time for their instincts and behavioural traits to become hard-wired into them.

The two major factors I mentioned above are:

1. 
   
   
2. An extremely strong Prey Drive; and
   
   
3. A fiercely independent intelligence.
   
   

Prey Drive - The source of their prey drive is simple. During the summer, when they were not required as transportation, the Chukchi dogs ran free around the summer villages, rarely being fed by their owners, but existing (if not prospering) on what they could steal or catch. As winter came and food became scarce the dogs once more became sled dogs (of course not all the dogs returned - accidents and natural predators accounted for some, but at least there were no roads for them to be killed on). This pattern of behaviour was built up over a period of time which has been estimated as long as 10,000 years.

As a result of millennia of such behaviour, these dogs now have a fearsome prey drive and the hunting skills to match. It is very common to hear that someone’s huskies have killed cats, rabbits, squirrels, birds (ours have taken birds out of the sky as they fly over our garden at low level) and even sheep. It is rare that they regard even small dogs as “prey†as they seem to be able to recognise a fellow canine.

Independent Intelligence – You will occasionally hear dog trainers complain that huskies are not “trainable,†and you will consistently see them left out of lists of “The Ten Most Intelligent Dog Breeds†etc. The problem with such trainers and such lists is that they confuse obedience and “biddability†with intelligence, and, in reality they are not at all the same thing. Train a Border Collie to fetch a ball and it will tend to retrieve the ball time after time after time. Train a Siberian Husky to fetch a ball and it will do one of two things – either eat the ball, or bring it back once. The next time you throw it the sibe will look at you as if to say – “You threw it! YOU get it back! Do you think I’m that stupid?â€Â

When you give a trained Border Collie a command, you usually get instant obedience. When you give a command to a Husky, the Husky actually thinks about it before deciding to comply or ignore the command. This may sound like bloody-mindedness, but it is in fact a deeply ingrained survival trait for arctic sled dogs. Think about it. You are the lead dog on a sled team pulling your Chukchi owner and his family across the frozen sea ice. Your owner shouts for you to turn right down a trail between a line of ice seracs as he knows this is the way to get to a safe camping area for the night. As lead dog, you can see that a right turn leads you to the edge of a deep crevasse and you refuse to make the turn. It is this intelligence and independence of thought which has been bred into Siberian Huskies over thousands of generations.

An example of this came from Leonhard Seppala’s famous lead dog (and hero of the 1925 Dipheria Run – Togo. One day, Seppala was running his team, led by Togo, over the sea ice of the notorious Norton Sound,

“Togo had been leading his sled across the sound during a northeastern gale on another occasion when, a few miles from shore, Seppala heard an ominous crack that let him know the sea ice was breaking up. Togo headed toward shore even before Seppala could give the command, but drew up short so fast he nearly flipped backwards. A yawning chasm of water had opened almost at Togo’s feet, but the dog had reacted quickly enough to avert immediate disaster. Seppala looked around and realized with dismay that he and his team were trapped on an ice floe and headed out to sea.

They spent more than twelve hours on that raft of ice, waiting as it drifted in the icy waters. Finally it neared land, but ran up against another floe that was jammed against the ice still connected to shore. they stopped moving, but there was still a five foot gap of water that Seppala couldn’t hope to cross. He tied a lead onto Togo and heaved the dog across the water. Togo landed on the ice and sensing what Seppala intended, the dog began pulling with all his might, narrowing the gap between the two ice floes. Then the lead rope snapped. Seppala thought he was a dead man. Then Togo, showing himself to be possessed of more intelligence and resourcefulness than most men could expect from even their lead dogs, leaped into the water and grabbed the broken end of the lead rope in his jaws. He clambered back onto the ice and continued pulling until he had narrowed the gap enough for Seppala and the sled to cross safely.â€Â

As it was with Seppala’s Siberian dogs, so it is today with our Siberian Huskies. No matter how well trained your Sibe is, there is always a part of his/her mind that, when he/she hears an instruction thinks, "Is it a good idea to follow that order?" and also, "What's in it for me?" - When you combine that independence of thought and keen intelligence with the high prey drive, you can see that obedience when offlead is a very dodgy prospect indeed.

Huskies don’t help themselves in this regard. It is often found that husky puppies will act in extremely obedient ways for the first few months of their lives. I have lost count of the number of owners who have told me their Sibe is the exception that proves the rule and is ultra-obedient. Upon further discussion, it almost always transpires that the dog is a puppy – 4 or 5 months old! Sibe puppies can lull you into a false sense of security - then puberty hits, they realise that they don’t need you, and all bets are off!!!

We have been interested in Siberians for 20 years and have owned them for 17+. During that time we have personally come across at least one owner each year whose “highly trained†Sibe has "gone deaf" for the first and last time and ended up dead under a car, shot by a farmer for savaging livestock or having caused a major traffic accident. The common theme is that all these owners quite genuinely believed thatthey could train this trait out of their dogs; that theirrelationship with their dogs was so good that their dogs would always respond to the recall command; and that the recommendation of every husky related organisation IN THE WORLD was nonsense and that they and their dog were somehow special. Unfortunately, these owners learned the hard way with tragic consequences for themselves and their dogs. The plaintive, “He/She’s always come back before†is a common refrain in these tragic cases.

This is exactly the naive "I know better than every Siberian Husky organisation in the world" attitude which unfortunately leads to the deaths of too many Siberians each year. My wife is an expert dog trainer. I have seen her achieve things with Sibes (and other dogs) that I would have thought pretty near impossible. All our adult dogs have excellent recall and obedience and are often a source of amazement to people who regard sibes as untrainable. Yet neither she nor I would ever let our dogs off lead in an unsafe/unenclosed area because we know that their recall can never be 100% and they are much too precious for us to risk.

Having said all that, we believe strongly that all Siberian Husky owners should train their dogs in recall. We always recommend that people train their Siberians to recall IN SAFE ENCLOSED AREAS to as high a level as possible. Even in the best regulated worlds accidents sometimes happen – dogs slip their collars, snap their leads, escape from cages etc etc – and if you have trained your dog to recall, at least you have a chance of getting it back. Such training cannot be guaranteed, but at least it’s a form of insurance.

Talking about insurance – a message to all those who, despite all the evidence and arguments, still insist on letting their dogs go offlead in unenclosed areas – get some public liability insurance. If your dog goes offlead and causes an accident or kills livestock – YOU are liable. On second thoughts, maybe it’s not worth it! The fact that every single Siberian Husky organisation in the world advises against letting them off lead, the owner whose dog caused the crash or killed the livestock could be liable for huge damages, as in legal terms, it could be argued that by acting against such universal informed advice, they had been incredibly negligent in letting their dog off lead in an unenclosed area and that this obvious negligence would invalidate their insurance.

Just a thought!

Mick Brent

Dreamcatcher Siberian Huskies

The Siberian Husky Welfare Association (UK)

[tommyboi36]

I dont think its a wise thing to tell new husky owners to be letting their sibe offleash.

" for all you new owners please try it and pratice at home first or in tennis corts were they hav no chance in gettin out " do you not let you dogs off the lead in ur house ?

[Kara]

As it is the one thing I dream of, I know it will never be possible, So in my pack, no one is off lead ever. I have an extra fear of this that was installed in me with my first husky, Alice. She was Diabetic and an excellent escape artist, and gave it her best try every in and out of a gate or a car, not to mention the daily search she would do for any possible weaknesses in the fence. a....my fear was always that she would get out and run herself down where her blood sugar would be low and go into a coma and die, not to mention, the mountain lions and coyotes that could do her harm. We had a few incidents over the years, and have also had our issues with the new puppy Grace, but Grace does seem to recall better, but its just her personality is so people driven she tends to be ready to come back and play at anytime, BUT STILL, my trust is gone....there will be no OFF leash here, so I shall continue the battle of the pulling on the leash w a husky and love every minute of it.

[Michelle Melsom]

ok yh i cant compare with people like that obvlsly i am on 19 years old and cant touch there experiance but surley if i can do it then more experiance people probly like youself can, and probly better and i cant say anything to the dogs runnin away but i no outher breed and i sure there are many dogs who run away and irresponsible how do you work that out lol

I dont want to ever let my dog offlead unless he is in a fenced park or we are out in the middle of nowhere. Marius plays fine on his long lead with other dogs he could be offlead becasue he does have recall BUT I dont want to ever take that chance becasue it is a trait of the breed that makes it not a good idea to have them offlead. Your not the first person ever to train a husky off lead and you wont be the last Im just saying its not a good idea and you shouldnt be telling other people to do it I couldnt make out the last bit of what you said so I cant really respond to it

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

Should you trust your dog off-leash? Read on...

There is a deadly disease stalking your dog, a hideous, stealthy thing just waiting its chance to steal your beloved friend. It is not a new disease, or one for which there are inoculations. The disease is called trust.

You knew before you ever took your puppy home that it could not be trusted. The breeder, who provided you with this precious animal warned you, drummed it into your head. Puppies steal off counters, destroy anything expensive, chase cats, take forever to house train, and must never be allowed off lead!

When the big day finally arrived, heeding the sage advice of the breeder you escorted your puppy to his new home, properly collared and tagged, the lead held tightly in your hand.

At home the house was "puppy-proofed". Everything of value was stored in the spare bedroom, garbage stowed on top of the refrigerator, cats separated, and a gate placed across the door to the living room to keep at least part of the house puddle free. All windows and doors had been properly secured, and signs placed in all strategic points reminding all to "CLOSE THE DOOR!"

Soon it becomes second nature to make sure the door closes .9 of a second after it was opened and that it really latched. "DON'T LET THE DOG OUT" is your second most verbalized expression. (The first is "NO!") You worry and fuss constantly, terrified that your darling will get out and a disaster will surely follow. Your fiends comment about whom you love most, your family or the dog. You know that to relax your vigil for a moment might lose him to you forever.

And so the weeks and months pass, with your puppy becoming more civilized every day, and the seeds of trust are planted. It seems that each new day brings less destruction, less breakage. Almost before you know it your gangly, slurpy puppy has turned into an elegant, dignified friend.

Now that he is a more reliable, sedate companion, you take him more places. No longer does he chew the steering wheel when left in the car. And darned if that cake wasn't still on the counter this morning. And, oh yes, wasn't that the cat he was sleeping with so cozily on your pillow last night?

At this point you are beginning to become infected, the disease is spreading its roots deep into your mind.

And then one of your friends suggests obedience. You shake your head and remind her that your dog might run away if allowed off lead, but you are reassured when she promises the events are held in a fenced area. And, wonder of wonders, he did not run away, but come every time you called him!

All winter long you go to weekly obedience classes. And, after a time you even let him run loose from the car to the house when you get home. Why not, he always runs straight to the door, dancing a frenzy of joy and waits to be let in. And remember he comes every time he is called. You know he is the exception that proves the rule. (And sometimes late at night, you even let him slip out the front door' to go potty and then right back in.)

At this point the disease has taken hold, waiting only for the right time and place to rear its ugly head.

Years pass - it is hard to remember why you ever worried so much when he was a puppy. He would never think of running out the door left open while you bring in the packages from the car. It would be beneath his dignity to jump out the window of the car while you run into the convenience store. And when you take him for those wonderful long walks at dawn, it only takes one whistle to send him racing back to you in a burst of speed when the walk comes too close to the highway. (He still gets into the garbage, but nobody is perfect!)

This is the time the disease has waited for so patiently. Sometimes it only has to wait a year or two, but often it takes much longer.

He spies the neighbor dog across the street, and suddenly forgets everything he ever knew about not slipping outdoors, jumping out windows or coming when called due to traffic. Perhaps it was only a paper fluttering in the breeze, or even just the sheer joy of running.

Stopped in an instant. Stilled forever - Your heart is as broken as his still beautiful body.

The disease is trust. The final outcome; hit by a car.

Every morning my dog Shah bounced around off lead exploring. Every morning for seven years he came back when he was called. He was perfectly obedient, perfectly trustworthy. He died fourteen hours after being hit by a car. Please do not risk your friend and heart. Save the trust for things that do not matter.

1988 By Sharon Mathers

Courtesy of Canine Concepts and

Community Animal Control Magazine

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

http://www.husky-owners.com/forum/threads/ignorance-or-arrogance-in-my-breed-either-can-kill-me.23781/ <----- worth a read also

[rose]

" for all you new owners please try it and pratice at home first or in tennis corts were they hav no chance in gettin out " do you not let you dogs off the lead in ur house ?

we dont have wildlife wandering around our house when the dogs are loose, when the dog is out in an unenclosed area there are wild critters around to chase its the prey drive in sibes that make them unpredictable around wildlife & other animals. ie cattle,sheep etc. Thats when sibes go deaf.

[Mistyrayn]

all i can say is good luck for the 99% off the time co's there might be that 1% chance he wont come back .. or will run out into a road and .. well im sure you know..

that 1% chance that they may spot something so interesting that they could get lost or worse... well its 1% chance i wouldnt be willing to take.. i love my girls way to much to dice with their lives like that.

i hope for your sake you never have to witness losing your dog or worse see the face of the innocent car driver as he hit your dog..and then realise that what happened in a split second but felt like slow motion that the poor innocent dog has been hit.

i have witnessed it and had to carry the dogs body all the way back down the road to home ..balling my eyes out..

and why did this happen ..co's i thought the dog would be fine.. but something spooked her and that was it..

its not worth the risk !!!!

you say you have proved us wrong ... well i really hope its not reversed and we prove you wrong.

[Michelle Melsom]

http://www.husky-owners.com/forum/threads/ignorance-or-arrogance-in-my-breed-either-can-kill-me.23781/ <----- worth a read also

And good part at the end

"Please remember to honour the breed and ALL its traits. Siberian Huskies are born hunters who WILL kill. It is this hunting drive which was harnessed by our ancestors and what makes the breed what it is today. It wouldn't have mattered if it was a road the other side of the hedge, as once they are in hunting mode, the result would have been the same, and they have no road sense either.

So please, don't be ignorant about the breed, know and understand it. But even more importantly IMHO, please don't be so arrogant as to believe that you can change your dog, because if it is a Siberian Husky it cannot and will not change for anyone! And why should it!

Don't listen to people who comment that your dog is on a lead and therefore MUST BE badly trained. In actual fact you are probably the better owner, because not only do you understand more about your dog than they do, but you are actually walking WITH your dog rather than just letting it run riot!"

[Sparks]

lets not turn another thread into an argument peeps. Some people can walk there huskies offlead, and there are other who choose not to....

I myself would only let Yogi offlead in an enclosed area, that is my choice, everyone has the right to choose what they do with their own dog.

[Marley & Lumikkis Mummy]

Only yesterday 2 huskies were seized by the police under the dangerous dog act because they were let offlead and were chasing chickens. My 2 pups were fantastic all summer offlead, they had brilliant recall then one day they seized their chance and went chasing cows. Marley got booted in the face, im pretty damn lucky it only caught his mouth because had it hit him full blown in the head he wouldnt be here with us right now.

I think anyone who lets their husky offlead is dicing with their life and im certainly not willing to dice with my furbabies lives. Not when things like 100ft leads exist.

[Alex T]

I met a Husky a few months ago over Cannock Chase that is able to walk off leash (100% recall, etc) according to his owners! I tend to disagree, as once we started walking away he followed us and ignored his owners calls. We did the sensible thing and stopped so that his owner could come and put him back on the lead.

I'll admit that as a pup I used to let Isis off the lead and she was pretty good at coming back until she saw something that took her fancy, ignored me completely and bolted off! Luckily for me she stopped to have a wee and that's when I managed to get her back on the lead! Since that day she has not been allowed off leash when we are on walks - as the trust is no longer there!