Siberian Husky off lead walking??? Controversial

We too would be interested to know if this was SHWA, we assumed it was SHCGB having been informed by a concerned insider, luckily they didn't get there hands on the dog. Extremely unprofessional and certainly not in the dogs best interest. Like AllBreeds Rescue have said, if the SHCGB wants to help Huskies maybe they should start looking at helping all Sibes not just those with pedigree papers :?

I think ANY working type breed has the capacity to take off yes, and many of them yes are far better kept on leads, and yes I would reccommend that of course, however Huskies are a far more primitive breed than a Border Terrier so again the comparison is useless.

You do seem to answer everybodies answers with more questions, let me ask you one or two. Do you think its responsible for people to care enough about their dogs to want to protect them from harm as much as possible? Do you feel you are being fair to your dogs running them loose in public, knowing NO dog has a 100% recall and Huskies are far more likely not to respond, given something catching their eye? Why do you feel the need to risk their welfare, when most leading authorities, breed clubs, breeders, exhibitors and working folk wouldnt dream of risking theirs?
Dawn.

borderdawn, well put

some seem to be missing the point here. the main characteristic of the Siberian husky is that it is NOT LIKE ANY OTHER BREED, and as such, cannot simply be lumped under the 'pet dog' catagory with labradors, GSD's and the like.
You do not see huskies used as guide dogs, police dogs etc....Ever asked yourself why?

as a breed, its far closer in ancestry to its wolf/dingo roots than most other breeds and consequently far closer to its primative instincts.

while ever people dismiss this and treat it like a more modern breed, it will continue to fall victim to traffic, railway lines and farmers shotguns

Sorry I haven't read all of this, there's a guy who walks in our local park and has let his dog off once to have a romp with Takara (well he lets him off when the tennis courts are empty on a regular basis but this was in the main park).
That one time, the dog went charging upto another dog across the park and the guy nearly wet himself. I didn't know that the dog couldn't be trusted with other males otherwise I'd have never allowed Takara to play with him offlead (don't want her following suit).

The time I found Keana, the husky/malamute (I think she was a mal, dog sitter who lost her thought she was a sibe), she had broken her lead and run off... she'd been running for 5 hours when I found her and was just slowing down enough for me to get her collar and walk her back to my house (with Takara on the other side wondering what we were doing with this huge fluffy thing).

I don't really want to give an opinion, as I've never owned a husky but I know a few people with them and they wouldn't allow them offlead.

Letting a dog off lead is a necessity not a luxury. Walking a dog on lead in the park is torment, like taking a child to a fairground and never letting her go on the rides and a garden is not a substitute for the park: To a dog, the garden is simply another room in your house - just without a roof!


This is a very general pieces of advice, by no means definitive. For specific information on your animal you should always consult a qualified animal behaviourist, especially in this case as it is important that you are confident in your ability to handle your dog off lead for the first time. We advise you start your dog off on a 100ft trailing long line (not to be confused with an extension lead) to his harness. This is both reassuring for the you, and to help teach your dog perfect recall.

To teach your dog perfect recall, begin by stepping on the long line and calling your dog to you once. If he does not come back to you, gently reel him in, praise him and offer a tit bit as if he has come back of his own accord. Continue doing this and he will soon learn he has to come back and will be rewarded for doing so. Only when your dog’s recall is 100% perfect should you let him off lead without a long line - In some cases this may take weeks, in others it may take longer. Keep the long line in a safe place in case at some point in the future your dog decides to test you and regress. In such incidents, a few trips to the park on the long line will jog his memory.

Other top tips:

1. People tend to follow their dogs around the park which teaches their dog that they are always being watched. If you get distracted, and your dog thinks that you are still watching over him, he may wonder off. Instead, teach your dog to keep an eye on you. This can easily be done by frequently hiding from the dog, e.g. behind a tree, if only for a few moments, just until your dog has noticed you are no longer there and starts to look around. Don’t leave this too long, as your dog may get scared and bolt. Once your dog has noticed your absence, appear from behind the tree and call him to you. He will be so relieved to see you, he will come, so praise and reward him for finding you. Do this daily for a couple of weeks, and you will find that your dog is keeping an eye on you rather than the other way around.

2. If you only get your lead out at the end of the park walk, your dog may associate the lead with the end of the fun. Try popping the lead on the dog only for a few moments every now and then during the walk to stop him making this association.

3. If you run after your dog, this will only encourage him to run faster: a great chase game. You can’t catch your dog so instead let him catch you: run in the opposite direction and praise him when he catches up with you.


4. Always reward your dog for coming back to you when he is off a long line, even if it has taken a long time. If you tell him off for taking so long, he will only associate coming back to you with punishment, so will not do it in future.

5. Take heed of the recall training above. Sometimes when you are in the park, you may see people calling and calling to an apparently deaf dog. This simply teaches the dog not to listen to his owner. Every time you give your dog a command and do not see it through, you are actually teaching your dog not to take you seriously, and therefore not to obey you.



Huskies are not a different species, although not the easiest of breeds to train recall, with time it can be achieved.

WHat utter garbage!!!

I don't think it's out and out utter garbage as it depends on the other circumstances - if a dog that couldn't run free wasn't worked and all it got was a walk in the park or any other open space but always onlead I can imagine it would be really frustrating for the dog.

Either way a healthy fit dog needs to run on most days and it will be happy but I know if I can't let my guys offlead I actually stay out of parks or beaches etc as I happen to think it is a bit unfair - On the other hand if they had gotten a really good run that same day it would be different.

To add: If I haven't managed to have the dogs run free in a day I give them a pavement walk instead of out in an open space where they can't get off lead -When my dogs see lots of green and trees for instance they know it's time to run! and they do get frustrated. So if they can't get off for any reason we walk the concrete jungle instead where they know they don't get offlead.

Got to agree with you Louise. I've been following this thread as there has been some very informative and sensible discussion but it has also hit the depths of anthropomorphism, and misunderstanding of the effects of selective breeding on the innate behaviour of breeds.

Well said.

Dogs do not think like people. Good thing, if they did they'd be wasting their time banging their heads against a brick wall too !

It is against the law to let your dog roam off the lead in many parks. Not to mention fairgrounds ...

As I've already mentioned, when they are not getting their appropriate exercise running in harness, my Siberians regularly get to play off lead in a large enclosed tennis court. They will play for a couple of minutes then hit the permimeter fence, looking for a way out. Dunno. Perhaps they are still feeling hemmed in, subjugated, alienated, that their natural selves are being stifled under human oppression...Or more likely they're just being typical huskies and have their eyes on the far horizon...

Lisa, you reckon a garden isn't enough? Well, IMHO, neither is a park, a field, a wood, a moor... These are dogs that can cover 4, 10, 20 miles in no time at all if they choose to take off... Once again I'd say the owners you've rehomed to who haven't lost a Sibe yet have been very lucky. I really hope for theirs and their dogs' sake this luck continues.

Advice from the sites of the two british breed clubs:

And from the website of SHWA's chairperson

If thats what the breed clubs and welfare schemes are saying, thats good enough for me.

:smt041 :smt041 :smt041 Excellent Post Mayhew :smt041 :smt041 :smt041

I agree with this Wholeheartedly :smt023

I find it extremely worrying that there are owners who would disagree with this :-( :?

:smt041 :smt041 :smt041 Excellent post Blues and Twos:smt041 :smt041 :smt041




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Can you blame the poor things :-(

Can I ask how many sibes you own?

I can't believe the selfishness on this thread, it's all me, me, me Your poor dogs, for goodness sake these dogs need free running, especially Huskies, it's a basic canine need. Stop being so Bloody lazy and narrow minded, get off your backside and teach your dogs recall, if you yourselves don’t know how too find someone that does. God people make me so angry, especially when dogs end up suffering as a result

EXACTLY Louise, well said, utter Rhubarb! Talk about anthromorphising!!

Oh dear.

LOL.. Thats hilarious..

Surely she must be a wind up

So.. taking you dog for a walk.. on a lead.. which means you walk as far as it does is lazy..

BUT

Letting it off a lead to run about while you invariably stand still.. means you are lazy..

Thats too funny

AND where has anyone said ME ME ME...

They want to keep their DOGS safe!!

So is that not putting the dog first..

Years ago I used to foster them for the RSPCA, the rescue I work with now also regularly gets Huskys in and we wouldn't dream of homing them to someone who would only walk them on lead.

Anthromorphising, oh please, I'm not saying Huskys should be pushed around in a pram They should be given the freedom to be exercised off lead, basic needs people!!!