Siberian Husky off lead walking??? Controversial

Sorry I have to disagree with this..:?

A female sibe nearly took my Seiko's face off earlier this year..

No warning....nothing...

She was very well cared for, as was the other 5, but she obviously just didn't like him...

All dogs are different.... this might be one of them..

We have had Sibes for 12 years now. We too were under the impresion that they were OK off lead, that was until the eldest hit doggy puberty. We havn't taken the chance since. The youngest is 8 months old now, and when we got her at four and a half months old was onto her third home. She didn't come to us through the club rescue, but it was only a matter of time. I didn't ask too many questions when we bought her, but I simply couldn't leave her in an upstairs flat with no enclosed space outside. Still she has her paws well and truly under the table now!!
Lynn

I think it is great so many people care enough to ask or comment on dogs not being cared for in the proper way for their breed.
I agree that normally the Husky is a friendly animal and like a stated earlier they can cause problems by just jumping in to say hello and scaring the other dog to death and retalliating by trying to fight it off, then the Husky bites back etc etc.
However, the reality is that any dog if not socialised properly, or having had a bad time at either the owners hands (and with rescue dogs you can not always tell what happened to them before you got them, which having had three of my eight as rescues I know from experience) or by another dog can respond in an aggressive manner, or defensively which can appear to be aggression.
I always hold my dogs back and allow them and the other dog time to decide if they feel happy to say hello or not.

sorry had to put my tuppence in...
I've Owned Huskies for most of my life and every one of them has gone for off lead walks. It's hard training a Husky recall, but with the help of a 100 foot longline, consistency and patience it can be achieved

It's good to see so many sensible Siberian owners on here. I have has Sibes for 16 years and at the moment live with six, I would not trust any sibe off the lead, the prey drive is just too strong....sadly many sibes have lost their lives in Road accidents, train accidents and been shot by farmers, I just wouldn't take the chance. One well known dog was imported to the UK from germany a number of years ago, this dog always ran free until he was killed by a train at the age of eleven....they may come back 9 times out of ten but it's that 10th time that is the problem.

I met a man with his wife and child on my local park a week last Sunday and he had 2 Sibes both off lead. As we talked his dogs just wandered around him. Seemed like lovely dogs, but I did question when he told me the male had brought down a sheep in the past and had also killed a few rabbits as to their suitabilty to being off lead. I mean not far from where we were talking starts a few miles of farms with livestock.

I also agree Huskies can be trained to go off lead. Having owned Huskies all my life, every single one has been trained a reliable recall and have gone for daily off lead walks.
It's hard work but it can be done :smt001
Lisaxx

I really think that using the words reliable and recall in the same sentence, when talking about Sibes is dangerous for individual dogs and the breed in general, both British breed clubs and other clubs abroad always advise never to let them run free. I do believe that certain individuals would be ok but I'm not prepared to take the chance. My young male, who is a complete mummy's boy, has got off on a few occasions and came back as soon as I called his name but that doesn't make him reliable, I'm 100% sure that if he saw a rabbit or deer he would have took off without a thought for me. I presonally wouldn't sell a puppy to someone who was prepared to take the chance with it's life and let it off.
Before i had my first Husky i owned a GSD and HuskyX that were trained in obedience so I'm no novice when it comes to training but Siberians are different, they do things to please themselves or for reward if THEY want to, not to please their owner/handler like a GSD or collie would, many obedience trained Sibes will obey all of their commands one day then completely ignore you the next...this alone makes recall a hit or a miss. The natural hunting instinct is strong, coupled with their desire to run and stamina means when the sibe does take off after a rabbit, deer, bird, sheep, horse, or cat then it can travel a long distance without stopping to think about it.

This is a discussion that has being going on for many years and there will always be owners who think that training works or their Sibe is different and the experts in the breed who have forgotten more about the breed than most owners will ever know will always advise keep them safely on the lead.

One year whilst living in Scotland, I went to the annual championship at Aviemore to watch the racing, I got to chat to alot of people who keep Huskys. There was one gentleman who had 200 so far. He told me that out of that only one did he trust off the lead.
They're are always the odd exceptions to each breed but I think it is dangerous to say that if you train enough you can run any dog off lead. A girl with a husky came to our training a couple of years ago. She was told this by someone. Two weeks later, the dog had been hit by a car. Just took off and went deaf apparentely. Luckily the dog survived and recovered.
Another breed that I have a lot to do with is the Akita. They are also know as an on lead dog. I have a safe field where they can run off lead, However, In the house, obedient as anything, outside off the lead, DEAF DEAF DEAF and I'll get back to you.
Yes you can train a dog, but with some breeds you have to respect their traits. Each breed has them and they will raise there head without warning when you least expect it. I would rather play safe and have a happy and healthy dog, rather than take the chance and have a dead one.

i usually let kai excersise off lead as she has a reliable recall BUT i always make sure that the area is as safe as possible (ie: not close to any roads/other dogs etc) but i must admit that i read this link yesterday and on last nights walk it was still going through my mind and she didnt have her usual run around

If you have to make sure there are no dogs etc when you let Kai off then she doesn't have a reliable recall, distractions appear when you least expect them

Nice to hear from others who also allow their Huskies off lead:smt023 I know of a few members of the SHCGB who allow their Huskies off lead but don't openly admit it to other members for fear of being shouted down :? When people say not allowing a Husky off lead is a myth that’s got out of hand I tend to agree. Huskies are no different to any other independent minded breed, I get the feeling sometimes that Huskies experts try to make out the Sibe is unlike any other breed of dog, at the end of the day they are a dog just like any other (well maybe not the easy breeds:smt002 ) I know some Huskies owners that exercise them on a rig or go for on lead jogging for at least a couple of hours a day which is fine, but the very thought of a Husky only going for an on lead walk around the park once daily, or worse those that feel their gardens are big enough, sorry but IMO that is just cruel.

hi i have a utonagan she is just over a year old.i also have a husky cross malamute just over 6 months.the ute comes back well when you call her but the husky cross malamute her ears go back and she runs i have to send the ute after her to bring her backl.since that she stays on the lead. i was told to keep her on the lead as huskys tend to do this.they are both friendly dogs i have got them so when they are eating or chewing on bones they dont snarl or get nasty when you stroke them they just carry on in what they are doing.

To advocate Huskies and other breeds (as there are many) are all safe to let off the lead and all just need training is a dangerous one, and I am surprised at the comments from someone who is responsible for rehoming breeds. Your attitude towards breeders and breed societies is such an aggressive one that you choose to completely ignore their expertise and advice. You are right and they are all wrong, rather than giving a balanced view.
Yes there are people who let huskies off the lead and have had no problems, YET. On the other side we see that people who have let them off have had the dogs run off on them and worse killed. Your answer seems to be training, training, training. You can train a dog and it be fine for years, but it only takes one time for it to run off. I have been to see Husky kennels including the secretaries of the SHCGB and I've seen it with my own eyes just how the dogs react when let off the lead.
Fine if people choose to let their dog off in breeds like this. But they face the consequences if something goes wrong.
No-one knows about every breed there is out there and I am saddened that you might give crazy advice to perspective owners at your rescue with little regard to the people that have kept the breed for years. I'm not saying huskies as you claim to have them.

If I was to have a Husky I would accept that I may never let it off lead in public and would make sure I had suitible plans in place for it, run it with a springer attached to a bike etc etc (esp if I did not have plenty of my own enclosed land) as I agree that it would be cruel to have one of these breeds and only walk around with it onlead and never do anything fun as I imagine it would lead the dog to go crazy.

If in the event I was lucky enough to have one of those exceptions to the rule with as good recall as any other breed then I would consider that a major bonus.

But I would never get one of these dogs thinking that I would be able to let it off lead and without decent plans for safe excersise.

I've know Anne and AllBreeds Rescue professionally for many years and felt I had to comment. Your post is completely unfair; Anne is extremely experienced with Huskies and has more experience in various breeds than anyone I know. I personally agree with everything she has posted, we too won't home Huskies to people who will keep them on lead and like Anne give plenty of guidance on how to do this. She does not give out Crazy advice as you stated, in fact I can't think of a better more knowledgeable person to advise someone on how to care for a Husky.

I think everyone who loves or owns a husky will agree that there are exceptions to the rule, however, as even these can one day get the urge to just run the advise never to let them off is the only safe advise. Whether your husky is like that from day one, I have four like it, or whether they take 5 years to do it the result can be the same. Two of mine I could probably let off. It is my choice and with almost 10 years experience of my own and of friends I choose not to take the risk.
Exercise again I agree with everything here. One thing not mentioned though is that if you do not train your dog to do 10 mile walks it will usually adapt to a more sedentary life style, providing you give it enough general exercise and have somewhere they can be allowed to blow off steam with free running.
I too pity those huskies whose owners do not check before buying - but then the breeder is also at fault for allowing a dog of any breed to go to a home where they have not first made sure the hopeful owner understands all the good and bad points. My first two puppies came from two breeders who would not even discuss letting me have a dog until they had met me and made sure I was aware. Yet I hear of people collecting puppies from laybys etc.

I'm quite aware from this post and others that you and ALLBREEDS are friends and am not surprised you jumped to her defence again. What I said was, to tell people that certain breeds are perfectly fine offlead ignoring the majority expertise from people that keep them is crazy.
Yes everyone is entitled to their own view as you are.
ALLBREEDS has made her feelings perfectly known on other posts how she feels about breed societies. But who generally are members of these? people that keep the breed. The majority opinion on certain breeds cannot be ignored. It was that point I was making Mayhew.
As you are totally aware, when you rehome dogs, you put your personal opinions to one side and look at the breed in a balanced way and look at the general consensus of the breed, the plus and minuses of the breed and their traits. No-one is an expert in every breed and even in your own breed it is a learning process.
I am aware that you and ALLBREEDS have huskies which is why i suggested other breeds such as Akitas, most of the spitz breeds etc.
It is your opinion to comment as it is mine and I stand by what I said.
And as for the comment of keeping the dogs on lead constantly is cruel, that certainly is a "myth". Leads are available longer than six foot now, so the dog can still run around freely if there nowhere secure to run them.

Perfectly put Cossack. A balanced view of the breed

The fact that they fear being 'shouted down' by other members of the same club makes me feel that they know they are wrong, because if I was in their position and every Sibe I owned was trained to come back on command with out fail I wouldn't be embarressed about it and I certainly wouldn't be shouted down about it, I would fight my corner and prove the others wrong.

And as for the SHCGB, I got offered to become a member myself, but I wont go into that.