Siberian Husky off lead walking??? Controversial

THATS the bit that matters Mick. the dogs produced by breeders who really dont give a damn where their pups go and consider their bit 'done' once they leave. these are mostly the ones who end up in various rescues when the ill-informed owner finds they cant cope, but yet sweeping generalisations are made about members of 'certain' organisations, most of which care passionately about their dogs and treat any pups as extended family for the rest of their lives and seek out the very best homes for them.
I will admit i am 'picky' where my pups go and have become more so as time has gone on and i would not let a pup go to someone who could not prove they can offer that pup the stimulation it needs in a SAFE manner. Furthermore, no pup born here has ever burdoned the welfare system and nor would I knowingly allow one to. All my pups are chipped in my name till at least a year, when their owner can request the documents to change that and We are about to further back that up by tattoing future litters, a tattoo, which will PERMANENTY remain in our name in most cases, so should that dog be presented to a rescue centre, we can be traced and will happily take back that dog for rehoming via the same strict criteria applicable to our pups


so before dragging the vast majority of decent caring owners and ' club members' into the equation, address the REAL reason these dogs land up in rescue in the first place.

With the mention of camps.. I have created a poll to see what most Spitz Breed owners actually "DO" with their dogs..

Click Here

You're absolutely right Lyn. Of the 55 dogs we have taken in since February, only 2 were bred by what I would regard as a reputable breeder. Both of these were collected by the concerned breeders immediately they were informed, and both were furious that the owners had put the dogs into rescue rather than return them to the breeder as stipulated in their puppy contract.

Mick

I just wanted to add that it's well known in the breed now, that more and more people are letting their sibes off It's just so silly and if you get to see the carnage that one sibe can do, then you would never ever try it unless in an enclosed space.

We are lucky in that we have 12 acres of land, but our sibes only run loose for the first few months of their lives - it's part of their basic early training, we like to think that they have slight recall if needed in an emergency. On average we reckon that at about 4 months they will start being typical sibes and have selective hearing, free running on our land stops then ;-) It's not worth the risk as we have horses, poultry & sheep.

It seems to me that all people worry about is about not being about to get their sibe back - that's the least of the problem, it's the damage they will do when off lead. It's not unheard of a sibe to attack smaller dogs, they definately will kill cats, wildlife, poultry, sheep & lambs they will also have a good try at taking down cattle and horses - yes believe me I've seen it!

So please, please do not let your sibes off lead unless in an enclosed area - think of the rest of us sibe owners/breeders who do care about the breed and the damage you are doing to the breed as a whole :-(

Steps down off soap box now :smt021

I'll second that ;-)

Excellent post grindys !

i think its a reasonable comment to make that the only thing garunteed to stop a sibe in full prey drive mode and persuing a small (or not so small!) furry creature, sadly...is a shotgun, car or train
mine have caught and killed, midflight, birds in the garden and there are examples a-many of sibes killing cats who ventured into their garden, and theres far more furry/feathered thing out there in big wide open!

we only have a megre 2500 square feet of garden, but still space for a good chase around when they feel the need. we also live bang smack in the middle of an area with a high population of farm livestock and wildlife of which im giving my dogs no opportunity to hunt down.

With you 100% there

be interesting if any other rescues do this: I.E. endevour to contact the dogs breeder, who may well happily remove the dog from welfare and rehome them personally, or if they just prefer to slate the breeder, who quite possibly has no idea the dog has been handed over to rescue in the first place and is mortified by the prospect???

our garden is big (1/3 acre) and fenced and I took both sonny and yaz out there, both had a great time and came back when called. Then all of a sudden one day yaz decided to go off on a walk and jumped the fence! I really panicked. She looked at me when I called, waited til I was closer and then carried on... Luckily she just went a few doors down into someones living room, terrifying some builders and embarrassing me lol. Until I get approval from the council to have a bigger fence up I'm not risking it again!! And I agree about the prey drive thing...so far they have caught voles, mice, frogs, birds out of the air, a duck and next doors cat....(the cat survived)

the problem with sibes from a biology point of view is that they have been bred with a strong desire to run. Its in their genes and something that was encouraged. The were also bred with a lot of independant thought, unlike many other dogs. This independant thought saved many lives when pulling a sled and the musher wanted to go one way and the dogs knew better! But leads to a stubborn streak... If that running urge kicks in they may or may not decide to listen to you and can run for miles and miles...
(sorry I'm going on...you can tell why I took zoology at uni lol)
we take them out walking, running and cycling and have long extender leads too and they are very content and happy.

That says a lot if you ask me

You know it's true, why say 'may well'

What a load of bull The majority of breeds that end up in rescue come from back street breeders but no where near is it 95%. Wishful thinking Mick, I'm guessing you yourself are a breeder

I think you'll find it's more than just a couple of opinions, read through the thread there are a good few people that either walk their huskies of lead or a agree with them being walked of lead

Originally Posted by MickB
Someone also asked several pages ago whether those who advocated keeping Siberians on lead, who advocate the same for other breeds. My answer is, with almost no exceptions, YES.
I have lost count of the number of times off-lead, completely out of control dogs have attacked my on-lead under control Siberians while walking in the park. I have even had two rottweilers jump into the middle of a team while training. Dogs get a bad enough press in the UK at the best of times. Irresponsible owners letting their dogs off lead and out of sight make things worse. IMHO

can say the same here...had 3 run-ins already with ot of control off lead dogs. One who bit my husband (lckily his shoe) and one who knocked my three year old over by jumping at her.....

do you have proof of this statistic?
Mick is quoting an ACTUAL statistic relating to the dogs rehomed via SHWA, not a general one.

Again a load of bull Any owner of a dog, no matter what breed, can be held accountable if their dog causes an accident

Every organisation in the world. Stop making things up!! if your going to post get your facts right

Good on you Mayhew :smt023

Nice sidestepping of own responsibility there
a dog thats caused an accident or damage, whilst it was off lead (as rarely does it happen on lead). and off lead because the rescue centre it came from INSISTED on it

Hi Helping Hounds - you wrote: "You know it's true, why say 'may well'" - actually, it's because I don't know if any of the SHWA(UK)members (few of whom I have met personally) let their dogs off leash in unenclosed areas. As Lisa claimed that such people did exist, I was giving her te benefit of the doubt.
As to the 95% figure, this is 100% accurate and of those 95%, less than 10% were KC registered.
And yes, we do breed occasionally - do you have a problem with good breeders attempting to maintain quality within a breed as opposed to puppy farmers breeding any old tat for money??

Mick

I don't know they Mayhew and from what I hear of their poicies I don't think I shall want to get involved with them!

The unwritten word in our breed is 'don't let them off lead' unless in enclosed areas - this has been gained/gleaned from the original sibes brought into the UK. How long have the Mayhew been dealing with the breed, to be able to condone such advice on such an emotive subject in a specialist breed?

I guess it's like telling a pit bull owner to leave their pack od dogs in the same room as a new born baby unattended??? Errrm, tasty.......... but very true........