Mals/Huskies off lead (split from Have Your Say) Controversial

My Mals and Canadian Eskimos run off lead,but not at the same time.I only let them off lead when I am walking in a couple of local areas,well away from roads and familar to myself and the Woos.I have 4 mals and 2 Eskies and only take them out in pairs when I know I may let them off lead.They have pretty good recall,even when distracted by the odd bunny and rather watch deer than chase.However if I spot other people with their dogs mine automatically go back on their leads and I hope the others twill do so as well.,the same applies if I spot cyclists,joggers etc.I tend to go very early or very late too as I and the dogs prefer few distractions.However this took quite a long period of time for me to have trust in my dogs not running off and on the whole they only go off lead a couple of times a week.
I would never ever let them off near traffic or any unfamiliar area.

We did a lot of research into Husky and Malumutes before we bought our dog (Northern Inuit cross Husky) and many of the articles do say about these particular breeds having a mind of their own. Faolan is only only 9 months old and when something catches his attention before we do he is off..... I would not feel confidant about walking him off the lead when not in a safe and secure location.
I completely agree that a dog being off the lead at a service station is irresponsible.

I think people know their own dogs. I would never have mine off lead at a service station but that doesn't mean others do not do it and that their dogs cannot be trusted. I bet if people keep an eye out at these places there will be more oflead dogs than we would think.

We have a 7-8 acre park out the back of our house which is fully secure I allow my malamute bitch off lead over there as she has a good recall and I know will not run off if she didnt she wouldn`t get very far, my two siberian boys do not even get let off here as their recall in none existant and I would spend hours over there trying to catch them, so they go over there on extension leads or longlines or we drive the 35 minutes to the nearest large enclosed tennis courts (three tennis courts inside the enclosure) where they can run off lead till their hearts content
There are people over the park who have sibes off lead but strangely the sibes are never with them and can always be found over the otherside of the park terrorising other people and their dogs and the owners dont seem to have any problem with them doing that or a worry about their safety and where they are

its that type of thing that will give the breed a bad reputation.

and too common sadly :-(

5 Malamutes here, even if I thought my dogs had 100% recall (which they DONT) I wouldnt risk the chance of them one day teaching me a lesson, and doing a runner. I allow them to run ONLY in fully enclosed areas, all the other times they are on lead full stop, working where I work I hear every single day people coming in to claim their dogs that apparently have never ran off before and always had great recall, and yet they end up being picked up by the dog warden, (or in some cases the council cleaners off the roads) these arent even mals or sibes, so mals and sibes that have the urge of always wanting to head for the horizon IMO its just too risky, loose at a service station for any breed is IMO totally irrisponsible, no matter what control the owners have.

Mo

Ok, not a service station but a busy main road...a few miles from where I live , I was coming back from the supermarket just the other day and there was a woman walking two Border Collies, both off lead, very focused on her, one looked fixated.

I must be really irresponsible then :?
On the way to Wales a few months ago, I let Stone off the lead at a service station on a grassy bit at the back of the car park - he was desperate for a poo but will NOT go on the lead. So he did his business and got back in the car.
Would I do that again if I needed to? Yes.

Stone isnt a sibe or mal :? ;-)

But he is one of these

I was absolutely gobsmaked when I read about how many dogs are killed on the motorway near to service stations - all breeds, not sibes/mals. It is a more than daily occurance apparently at most, think it was on a doglost type site.

I expect it is because you don't know if anything will occur which will spook your dog etc especially with all that traffic thundering about

If anyone wishes to blindly trust their dog in those situations then do so, after all it is only your dog who will ultimately pay with its life for your ego and you can always get another dog

I don't believe in letting dogs off leash. It's irresponsible and just shows poor judgement.

What a generalized statement. ! There are certain breeds that’s best kept on lead, I had Akitas that I wouldn’t let offlead , but my Gsd’s have always been allowed offlead with no problems.

I have let all my previous dogs off their leads they were PitBulls, Rottweilers, Dobermans, GSD's & Heinz 57.
I now let all my JRT's off their leads & my brother's & lodgers dogs.

I have never owned Malamutes/Huskies/Akita's/ so can't say whether I would let these breeds off their leads once they reach adulthood.

You could never train a working dog by keeping it on a lead.