Just been researching a lot about huskies recently. (Always loved and known the breed well, but delving deeper and deeper lately as there is one in need of a home local to me). Do you think they are generalised too much? A lot of people go on about them needing huge amounts of exercise/worked on a sled of some type, being hugely destructive and noisy dogs with a HUGE urge to escape. Fair enough, I agree not to let any dog particularly off lead - it's never safe, a garden must be dog suitable, and dogs need good proper exercise such as two or three walks/runs a day. But do you think some people sort of.. exaggerate things? Do you think its most definitely is about the dog, its up bringing and individual personality? I've worked a lot with collies, and not all are insane obsessive high strung dogs. Surely this is the same with huskies? Not all need to pull sleds, not all want to chew up the house? Even better, anyone have any huskies themselves, pets or workers and can discuss any differences between personalities and characters? It does intrigue me, as I have seen a lot of huskies, akitas and border collies in this City being walked. None appear at all mental, excitable or high strung. Most are quite happily ambling by content.
Although I don't know a lot about huskies I have to reply to agree with you that you can't always generalise a breed, every dog has to be treat as an individual. I own akitas, portrayed as aggressive fighting dogs, never to be allowed to be walked offlead- My male akita has zero prey drive, ignores other dogs, is actually frightened of small dogs and enjoys exercise offlead daily! And when once attacked by another dog, did not even retaliate, instead ended up at the vets in a very sorry state!
Oh, that's lovely to hear! I frequently see a chap walking his Akita, without fail, at about 6-6.30am every morning. It makes me smile when people are dedicated like that in a City (Especially when there are so many dogs I also see being dumped and generally unwanted and incorrectly looked after)
I think the majority of breeds like Huskies, collies, spaniels etc live to work, and they are happiest when working, be that pullling a sledge, rounding sheep or flushing game. I think it is ahame when dogs like this are bought and don't get a chance to do what they were bred for. Though I know a few huskies who are more like greyhounds happy to sleep 20 hours a day but still need some sort of mental stimulation to stop any destructiveness.
Im sure i have the exception to the rule !!! 6 year old huskamute who loves to spend all day upside down in front of the fire, has never bothered escaping, lives with the cat infact playfights with the cat. Loves his walks and will go alot longer than i can, walks at heel but the pulling does come in handy up hill when asked to His only downside is dog agression but only when meeting dogs head on ?? confrontation i guess? if we walk with dogs he is ok. He is let off lead in a safe field each day to have a run there are horses in the field but he does not bother them if one of his friends are about he has a chase round with them but usually alone while off lead, he has good recall but i know with ANY dog they may go if they see something to chase. He is just a happy hairy mutt
I think there are exceptions to most rules I don't know much about Huskies but recently in our local park a guy had a stunning one, along with a female Labrador. Both dogs were off leash and when I chatted with the owner and asked about the Husky's recall he told me he only lets him off leash if the other dog is there - because the other dog does have good recall and the Husky follows him I guess the breed descriptions are there for an outline and they are helpful but not always accurate. I read one about Akitas recently which stated categorically that NO Akita COULD ever be off leash, ever! But of course, some can
as a rule...yes the breed description where sibes are concerned is true!! it is always newbies that think otherwise and that they know best :-( ever wondered why sibe rescues are full to the brim and are in a desperate state?(apart from overbreeding)
I don't disagree with you I was surprised to see this man's Husky off leash which is why I asked him. The dog was playing very happily with the Lab and also my dog and didn't show any signs of wanting to run off - but of course I only saw them for a brief time so who knows?
I have had huskies for over 20 years now & never had one escape my garden or even try to jump our fencing. The siberians i have @ present have a huge prey drive even try to chase moving leaves, i work all 3 in harness but 2 out of the 3 pull, run really well & do work, the 3rd sibe is a female she will run in harness but wont pull unless she sees something to chase. she goes for the scenery i think, lol. I dont let them off leash unless in a fenced area. They get free running/playing in a tennis court daily on the way back from the daily walk. They are happy to sleep much of the day when we are there but if not walked or run @ least once a day they get really restless & play up . The eldest sibe that is the non puller in harness & on lead would happily sleep all day. so i actually have 2 with a need to run / work and 1 sibe that is quiet & happy to sleep all day . You do need to know the breed well & their characters pros/ cons as they can be very challenging & disobedient. They will come to your call if they feel like it or if nothing better going on around them. can be a real destructive dog if left alone, i lucky to have 3 well behaved siberians, some can be very hard work.
The majority of huskies are like this. We always say to people contemplating getting a husky that they have only two speeds - full speed or sleep. It is part of their arctic heritage. In arctic conditions, every moment spent asleep would recharge the batteries and store energy. A hyper dog wouldn't last long working in arctic conditions. The Chukchi who originally created the dogs which were brought over to Alaska in the early years of the 20th Century, would sometimes run their dogs for 50 or even 100 miles a day - day after day. The ability to sleep almost instantly and conserve energy was a really crucial survival trait for these dogs. Like any breed, huskies respond to effective training. Compared with many of the dogs we foster for welfare, our own dogs are incredibly calm and laid back (until you get their harnesses out for a run). Unfortunately we often find that the people who are most confident in their ability to train their huskies to ignore their hardwired desire to run and hunt, are the least likely to put in the time and effort to achieve it (if it is in fact possible).
The point about generalisations is that they are just that, generalisations about the predispositions of breeds to give would be owners a bit of a clue as to whether or not the breed would suit them and their lifestyle. It is unfortunate that the vast majority of dog owners buy their dogs not with regard to what it was originally bred for but for looks and then are surprised/dismayed/shocked when their hounds bogs off for hours on a scent trail, or their GSD is gobby, or their husky howls! There are always atypical specimens and, because the majority of most breeds are no longer bred solely for work, some which have most of their original purpose bred out of them hence why people say "well my (insert name of relevant breed) does not do (insert relevant behaviour). The fact is, that when dogs were merely tools, if they were defective, there was no use for them, so a gundog that was gunshy, a herding dog that killed sheep etc were destroyed so they were not bred from. Nowadays we do not find it necessary for dogs to have proved themselves in the field for which they were designed, so, outside certain spheres and breeds, this control mechanism is no longer a factor.
Sorry, a bit offtopic, but how much exercise would your average husky need? I've seen people say anything from 45 minutes to 3 hours for a young dog. Going by that I always just assumed they must be really hyper A dog that goes on either full speed or sleep, sounds like my kind of breed...
When i walk ours we walking for about 2 hours, not sure how far we go. Depends on the husky really we have 2 that could run around all day if they could & 1 that is content with a half hour walk if we let her. When they are running in harness with bike or rig they run from 2-5 miles mostly.
you cant really tire a sibe...not because they are hyper manic dogs...but because they are clever little so and so's ...they 'self regulate'
I believe when they are young (from pups to a year old) you have to limit the amount they have. Otherwise it puts a strain on their joints and more prone to getting hip problems and the like
They can be hyper, but that is often because they are fed incorrectly. Because they are "working" dogs, naive owners sometimes feed them high protein "working dog" food which they don't actually need. They have an incredibly efficient metabolism - they would work all day for the Chukchi on just a lump of seal blubber or (on a good day) some salmon heads. Unless they are actually working day in, day out as long distance sled dogs, they really don't need high protein food. Lots of young dogs are offered up to welfare as "uncontrollable" and we advise the owners to cut down on their protein levels before they make the final decision to rehome. It is amazing how many phone calls we get saying "We are keeping him now, since we lowered the protein levels he has been much less hyper" The exercise thing is an interesting one. Although they love to run and think a 15 mile trek is a stroll, they are also happy just to play together in the garden and sleep 20 out of every 24 hours. Almost more important than exercise is mental stimulation - a bored husky can be unbelievably destructive (an indestructible "Kong" lasts about 15 minutes) and they can eat through fences, walls and almost anything else if they really want to.
our husky was a street dog who attacked all livestock & cats ,now he lives happily with our cats but gets exited if he sees other cats, he walks well on lead dosnt need too much exercise,hardly ever howls,dosnt dig but can jump high & squeeze through small gaps in fences to escape & kill chickens, his recall is better than many other dogs considering he had no training before 10/12 monthes old, he is very gentle,clean & not at all destructive & dosnt steal or beg for food when people are eating,
