question about huskys

is it true you should never let a husky of the lead?
if so why is it to do with the prey drive of the breed?
have heard it but just wondered if its right don't they do recall as such? i would have thought some would recall as every dog is different.
some one please tell me whats what as i wondered what the truth of it is.

just to be on the safe side after recent events no i am not knocking the husky breed in any shape or form.

I know a couple of husky owners one dosen't ever let their dog off lead

the other guy has 2 huskies and I see him when out walking and his dogs are never on lead but they are sooo well behaved

so it goes on the dog then.............. now i know a bit more but then the question would be when as a husky owner to you try it i bet the heart is in the mouth...............
but then again its the same with the others first time off lead.

I think its to do with a mixture of things how well the dogs bred, trained, dogs personality

I think it is a combination of a high prey drive and the desire to run long distances

I have heard that if they are let off lead and they see a small furry, where most dogs will chase it for a short distance and return (some quicker than others) a husky will not give up for a long time and can end up miles away, heading across roads and whatever else gets in the way...I have heard that although Huskies are very smart they are also very independant thinking and when they want to run it will be difficult for them to stop on command so most don't risk it...

I love Huskies and Mals but this is what interested me in my breed, that I could let them off lead, although with my breed even they are sometimes harder to train recall than lots of other breeds or at least get them to obey recall! because they also have a high prey instinct and love to run but what I have found with mine is that they give up quick enough...It has been quite some task teaching my two recall and I know they must be harder than many other breeds because their ancestory but they 9 x's out of 10 go on to be perfectly trustworthy off lead (we are not there yet though but working on it everyday)

I think if I had Huskies or Mals I think I would have to take up kick biking or similar with them as they still need to run...Of course it would be fine if you had loads of enclosed land!

Of course their are always the ecceptions (sp?) like Emm's friends dogs but that would just be something you would luck out with and not gauranteed

I know we have a couple few owners here that we see now and again, hopefully they will come along

i have heard splitz breeds are independant as well and i wouldn't fancy chasing one for miles.
thats another thing do they pull on lead as its part of their make up or you can get them to walk to heel?
is it in them so much that it is hard to adjust?
alot of questions when you think about it.
are mals related to huskies like the samoyeds but whats the other splitz breeds?
whats the one called begining with E i have forgot!!!!!

Huskies shouldn't be let of fthe lead.... OK I know some people do, but they are in the minority and a very small minority at that. They will chase anything that moves, and some things that don't! They will run in a straight line, after all, thats what they were bred to do. So when your average herding breed will run in ever decreasing circles till the owner can grab it as it goes past (assuming the dog doesn't reecall very well!), the average Husky owner will find that their dog is well out of earshot so can't here his owner calling anyhow! Yes I own huskies and have done for the last 11 years.
By the way, what "recent events"?
Lynn

They are not reliable off lead, not much to do with prey drive although they will give chase like any other dog, more to do with running in straight lines. Most of the Spitz and primitive breeds are not totaly reliable however much training you have done with them, they are just too independent and there will come a day when they will go, they would come back when it suits them but the trouble is in the UK you can't run in a straight line for long before you cross a road, so you have to be very careful if and when you let one off lead.

Hi

i have a spitz breed (not huskies) as they have got older and a little
slower! i do let one/two of them off when no other dogs are around.
i havent lost them yet - but it has taken a lot of patience they still
"go deaf" if anything worth chasing/interesting is around.

you can see the hunting reflex is very strong i would never leave them alone with a smaller dog unattended.
a lot is to do with personality. i'm sure my eldest bitch is safe to leave with my cavalier -but i wouldnt risk it just in case, the tragedy would be horrific, years ago i saw a yorkie that was killed becos some idiot of a kennel owner put it in with three larger other borders, pack "hunt it" took over.

This is something that happened near me two weeks ago - breed? individual dog? big dog/small dog? i leave you to decide for yourselves.

A young year old CKCS tri colour, adored family pet owned by one of my clients was out for a walk in locally in Dartford Kent.
a siberian husky owner had their dog off the lead the CKCS people asked is he ok with other dogs?
the owner said yes fine - the two dogs did the usual intro sniff and wag - no problems

the CKCS turned to run back to his owners who also had their two year old son with them - the siberian huskey chased tossed attacked and tried to kill the CKCS - it was just alive as it got to the vet who put it out of its agony. the little boy saw all this happen to his much loved pet, a super young dog is no more.

I am not commenting on breeds involved or individual dogs i am simply
factually saying what happened.

is it ever worth the tragic consequences to risk it? i'd be interested in what others think?

If i owned a husky i personally wouldnt let it run free JMO
Its not worth the risk..