Siberian Husky off lead walking??? Controversial

SNAP sibelover....30mtr washing line from focus-people look at me like"what is that mad cow doing?"-but hey,i know my dog is safe!

Yup both mine run about on 30ft long lines hard to keep them untangled though

I have to agree with Archer, I'd never let my Sibe off the lead in an unenclosed area. He obeys commands very well but is easily distracted, especially when he spots something to play with. A bird could swoop down and fly by and he'd be off an running.

Method

This is a neverending debate with Husky owners.
In 10 years I have had the privilege of owning 8 of this wonderful breed. I still have 6 today, having lost two older dogs to illness.
I never let them run off lead in an open area. Why? Because I know the breed and care about their welfare. Their instinct is to run and when the call comes nothing else impacts on their senses.
Like everything else in life there are exceptions, but these come with a rider that says a Husky will come back almost every time if you are lucky enough to have one that is more focused on their owner than most.
The problem, and the reason why responsible owners and breeders say Never Let Your Husky Off The Lead In An Open Area, is that one day even this Husky may hear the call and decide to go off on wild run, unheeding of your calls. It only takes once and when it happens the results are very often disasterous. I have spoken to a few owners who got away with it until the eventful one time - they then no longer owned a live Husky. Whether it had been run over or shot by a farmer the result was equally devastating.
To lose a dog to illness is heartbreaking, but to lose one because you believed your Husky was the one that made the rule seem foolish is soul destroying. Ask the owner of one such dog we unhappily came across at the end of a rally a few years back. He was cradling his dog in his arms as it died in the middle of the road where it had been hit by a car as it ran out.
So ask yourself why so many reputable owners and breeders say do not let them off. Surely they have seen and heard of even more incidences than I have in my short time with the breed.
All I can say is dont do it.
Last point then I will stop preaching. One of bitches is devoted to me and will do all the obedience things, but the other 7 were typical 'everybody dogs'. It does happen but is rare. And yes you guessed it I will still not risk her welfare to prove to everyone that she is something special. I already know she is special and being off lead does not make her more or less special to me. Whether I race them or not I exercise them in lots of other ways and stimulate them with lots of outside experiences. My dogs are happy and healthy and I love them.

I'm so glad I read this post. It was a Sibe that went for Cassie on the beach on Saturday and was off lead with absolutely no recall whatsoever. I knew I'd read it somewhere that it was not advisable with this breed. We actually know a woman in town who has 6 and she always has them on extendable leads. They are wonderful dogs and Cassie always gets a fuss from them. I'm now so frightened for this dog as the idiot that had her had no idea what he was doing. I have a terrible feeling that this particular dog will either get killed by a car or injure someone. I really can't help thinking about her, even after what she did as it was not her fault but her idiot chav owners fault.

Are you sure it was a Sibe? Its just because Sibes do not have a vicious nature at all :? If it was one then i can only assume that it has been very badly treated. Zuki has been attacked by other dogs and she has never once attacked a dog herself, not even on seeing the dog that attacked her again. Sometimes i wish she was a little less friendly for her own safety

I'm almost positive she was a sibe, or very similar. Thing is the bloke said she was only playing and to be honest she possibly was. All I could see was Cassie pinned down and yelping so may have just been from the weight of her. She was beautifual as well but the owner was a complete w****r so goodness knows how she'd been treated.

I am so glad you have seen the Husky in its normal mode. They are great and love other dogs. But they are exciteable and do have a habit of just jumping in and then causing a fight as the other dog is not keen on being jumped on!!
I always walk mine on long leads and then hold them back so they can say hello nicely until the other dog feels comfortable with them and shows they want to play. One of the reasons I love the breed is their sheer love of life, and everything in it.
I agree that an owner who has no control is a danger to not only his dog but other dogs and owners too. It breaks my heart to hear of such incidences as you can guarantee at some point the dog will be killed in an accident, or put up for rehome when the novelty factor wears off and the uncontrollable dog is not fun to have around any more. The Welfare side of the Husky Club is under a lot of strain at the moment with dogs needing new homes.
Pity not more dog owners like yourself who observe dog behaviour and realise that is is the owner at fault not the poor dog. I live in hopes more people learn this.

If the guy came across as a w****r you can bet for sure that the poor dog is way down on his list of priorities And walking her off lead the guy needs shooting, I wish I was there to put him in his place, me on my high horse

Thanks Cossack, we'd never blame a dog of any breed for their behaviour and to be honest we don't come across a lot of idiots, just the ones we do come across are 'supreme idiots'. Cassie's a tiny collie, only 10.2 kgs and was getting over a particularly nasty virus at the time. All I could see was my baby being pinned down and not able to get up!
My best friend growing up had a Sibe and she was a beauty who I loved to bits. Sadly, I do think this poor dog will come to a terrible end of one sort of another. I really hope I don't see them again, he was a stranger. Breaks my heart as well when any dog has a terrible owner. Thanks for your reply. We all live in hope that all dogs will one day have loving and responsible owners.

The only off leash exercise my sibes get is in a tennis court, petra & mishka tear around in it, suka walks around slowly as has arthritis, but yes sibe welfare are getting more & more dogs going in because of people like the chap mentioned with his dog offleash & not knowing traits of the breed or not caring & lets it do what it wants. These folks really annoy me, sorry.

Me too Rose, this guy knew nothing about dogs let alone Sibes, plus the fact he watched the dog poop on the beach and did nothing about it! The woman in town who has 6, has lovely well behaved and absolutely gorgeous dogs who adore Cassie. This guy was a moron who I'm sure got the dog to make him look 'hard'. Makes my blood boil.

There is no way to protect dogs from morons like him not until he does something extreme and even then you have to catch him

I know, Donna, that's the worst part of the whole thing. I can't get that dog out of my head. :-(

Nor can I :-( just watching my two playing and wondering if they know how lucky they are just to have a human who treats them right :?

OH reckons our dogs don't know how lucky they are cause they've never known any different and probably think all dogs live the 'billionaire lifestyle' that ours all do

Yeah he's probably right, pampered from day one

;-)

Absolutely, and we wouldn't have it any other way. When Cassie was poorly, I couldn't stand that little hang dog look on her face. I'd rather have her the cheeky little moo that she's been today than the way she's been for the last few days.

I know what you mean, having this discussion with OH the other day. Zuki wouldn't be Zuki if she wasn't a pain in the butt 99% of the time

LOL definitely. Think we've gone off topic here. The police will be here in a minute LOL