[QUOTE=gemma riley;1579827]

These are their faces in a controlled running enviroment. My dogs were not bred to play they were bred to work


One thing though Gemma, ref the comment being bred to work rather than play... We all know the famous proverb about all work and no play........I would imagine some proper play time would be welcomed by the dogs, and I don't mean a tennis court in which to play ball , I don't think my dogs would appreciate that either for more than a few minutes and would also show signs of being bored after a short while.

a famous proverb from a human!!!

Dogs are not human. My dogs purpose in life is to work. They do play at home all together. All 5 live in my house with me and are not kennelled. My dogs have never shown signs of being bored, I would know if they were bored as huskies are pretty destructive and a nightmare to look after if they are not being stimulated the right way. I have full experience of people letting huskies off lead as most of them end up here after the owners have been threatened by the police etc etc They all go in harness with mine and the differance in their temperaments is amazing!

I fully believe in people using their dogs for the purpose in which they were bred. I also fully endorse ALL owners keeping their dogs on leads.

........if only we had secure dog parks in this country we would all be happy


My Bella with next doors lab........they love each other LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJFGnJ0QSQs

Dogs being dogs at the dog park...sorry for the comments on the video, i thought I was going to delete it, but i like to watch Ami jumping out of the weeds. They were doing lots of circles and just generally being super playful until i hit the record button...its like they knew, lol.

I can't let my dogs off-lead, because of unruly dogs that are allowed off-lead and go for my little ones. At least when my little ones are in their harnesses, I can pull them up quickly by their leads (which I have had to do several times) to save them from being bitten.

In an ideal world, all dogs would be allowed off-lead to play and have fun but, due to aggression in some dogs, the smaller dog has to pay the price - being kept close to their owner for their own protection. Sad but true

Luckily, being so tiny and so many of them, they have lots of fun in-house and in the garden, where they run their little hearts out, chasing each other or fetching their toys, balls, etc.

I am in no way saying that large breeds should not be let off-lead. It's just the same old story, just a few irresponsible owners spoil it for everyone else Also, as I have said before, the largest breed that has ever been a problem to my lot is a Chow. The other naughties were all JRT's

LunaKitty do you have fully secure dog parks where you are?

I think they are a fab!!

Imagine a secure place thats safe for dogs and you could go to socialise with other breeds etc etc

i have 4 within driving distance....and another one when we were down at school...we also go up to chicago to the dog friendly beach, which is almost secure. But even then, little dogs fit through the holes, really all of the fences, save one, are easily low enough for ami to jump if she felt like it...but we usually just go to the pond near my house so she and my older dog can go swimming...my older dog isn't as fond of the younger dogs jumping around her...so a nice walk to the pond and in the path back where Lexus can chase birds and the occasional deer are our favorite walks.

edited to say, Lexus is a big old dog...so when she chases something, she doesn't get to far before she takes a sit. lol.

edited again to say 5 within driving distance...i forgot about the Bark Park, because we didn't want to pay for that one...as I don't really know where its at, and we paid for the will county park district which has 3 dog parks that we can visit...we have our favorite, but there is another one that we hope to be moving closer to (not as pretty, but it will only be 2 minutes away...), the third one made it onto America's top dog parks list...i think it was in the top 5.

I don't think i could own a dog if i couldn't let it off lead, i love taking my dog to the park and throwing tennis balls for her she is well trained and has a fantastic recall she doesnt approach other dogs or people(although she will say hello if they come up to her) she lives to chase her tennis ball - just recently she damaged her toe and the vet said she should have on lead walks only for at least a week, it was a very long week no matter how long i walked her for she still came home wanting more( doing the dobermann whinge), im glad the week is up and me and mads can go chasing balls again.
Im a dog walker and do walk some owners dogs on lead as that is what the owners want and what the dogs are used to but these dogs do generally have more issues with other dogs and i think its because their movements are restricted - dont get me wrong if you have a dog thats agressive towards other dogs then it should be on a lead unless you are in a safe enclosed area but in general i think dogs enjoy thier freedom as much as we enjoy watching them.Here's just a couple of madison and some of my regulars enjoying their freedom .

Regarding your first comment I would agree with werewolf and say that having off lead exercise is mutually satisfying for owner and dog. My dogs adore playing with each other, charging around after their ball and generally mooching and sniffing. All have excellent recall and I do not cause a nuisance to other dog walkers, so I don't see the problem with my dogs having off lead exercise. In fact, my dogs are rarely on lead

Four miles, three times a week? Proper exercise? I don't know much about huskies, but that doesn't sound like much exercise to me.

I agree that it is fabulous if you can use your dogs in the role for which they were bred, and it certainly does make for a happy dog in most cases.

My husband is a shepherd and all our collies work sheep. I would say their main purpose in life is to work - they love it However, they are also fortunate enough to have *time out* and they get to run free as a pack, mooch around sniffing and digging and all the other things dogs love to do.

As for your final comment, I am soooo glad we don't have dog parks (if it meant dogs being banned from other public areas) as I would HATE it (and wouldn't use them).

I think legislation is partly to blame for that, with the DDA people only have to feel threatened by your dog and a dog fight now seems far more serious.

I assume that is just the amount they are run in harness and that they have walks/other exercise on top of that.