gjbroom92: Can you train a Siberian Husky to the point that you can let them off the leash?
We have a 5-month-old Siberian Husky puppy and everything that I've read says that you cannot train your Husky to obey off the leash due to their working dog instincts. They say that even older Huskies will take off and run for miles and miles. Can Huskies be trusted without the leash?
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Answers and Views:
Answer by Karen
Have had 4 Siberian Huskies 3 of which can be off-leash constantly the 4th is starting to become capable of small amounts
Answer by Larry
I have had three different male Siberian Huskies. Until they were tired, none of them would/will come to me on my command if they were outside and off-leash. Sure, inside they will come to you, but outside, no. If they get loose outside, your best hope is a stranger that they might go up to play with. Maybe they will come up to you with another non-Siberian obedient dog such as a Golden Retriever. Alternatively, you have to follow them until they tire playing "keep away". The only difference between a senior dog and a younger dog is that the senior dog might get bored playing "keep away" sooner.
Answer by Helene Orenstein
I learned the hard way that Siberian Huskies cannot be trusted off-leash. I had 2 beautiful females, that we used shock collars with the underwire fence. I wish someone had told me they need a good fence and not to be off-leash. I worked with them, had several sets of lessons and they got off our property and someone shot them claiming she thought they were wolves.
An experience I will never get over and I post this to prevent it from happening to someone else. My experience is that no matter how well trained they are, a husky is bred to run and run they will. Please don't ever take the risk of thinking you will be the one that can train them to stay off-leash.
Answer by Brodie C
It's going to go both ways for eternity. The point is it depends entirely on your relationship with your dog. If he/she trusts and fully respects you, that mixed with proper training, a husky will have no problems with an off-leash. My 4-month-old is a spirited one, but he comes when I call. I have him with his leash on and I just drop the lead and let him drag it. Took him to the dog park for the first time yesterday and, after the general curiosity passed, he still came when called. Do NOT attempt training off lead without a guarantee that the dog won't get loose. But it is entirely possible and whoever says it isn't is narrow-minded and gives up too quickly.
Answer by S (in reply to Brodie
He's a 4-month-old puppy so will come when he's called and you will get away with letting him off leash just wait till he's older. The majority of husky owners will not let theirs off-leash. It's nothing to do with being narrowly minded it's being aware of the breed.
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Answer by kristen
I think you may have missed the window of opportunity to train Husky off-leash. We started with ours as early as 6 weeks. There was a point around 10 weeks when he became very independent and started running off.
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We then started working on call back training at the dog park. This is great for training because there are so many distractions (other dogs) and it's usually a wide open area, but you can rest assured your husky won't be hit by a car, or run too far (the park should be fenced in).
Our Huskies can be trusted off-leash, and he is 5 months old. However, it took quite a bit of training. If he's not wearing a leash, he may run off. But if he's wearing it (but we're not holding it, it's dragging behind him) it puts him in the mindset that he needs to stay close.
It's absolutely possible! Just know it will take hard work. Use treats and praise him when he's coming back to you!
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Anita says
Our husky is 2 years old and he is great off the lead, we treat every day as a training day there are things he will encounter that are much more interesting than we are. Today he met horses for the first time whilst running free in the woods. It took us a while to get him away but he is not agressive and luckily the horses were well used to dogs. He has had ample opportunities to run and keep running but he not only follows the command to come but also the one to keep moving (for when he encounters dogs, and people who dont want him greating them) it didn’t work with the horses but at the end of the day he is an animal and they can be unpredictable. I just let the riders know he had never met a horse before and we dealt with it the best way we could.
Anita says
I would like to add we never used any electric collar, it sounds so cruel and we never attended any classes and apart from a baby boy in the house there is no firm male. Yes our boy did all the things mentioned he even broke the window locks on several occassions, he opens the fridge and the freezer any cupboard or door. He is most definitely an excellent escape artist the only thing that has curbed this behaviour is the 45 minute free run in the woods he is a different dog unless he is left to long then he gets bored and hae met us at the gate but has never run away.
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sis says
I have a rescue league Husky/German Shepard mix – the brown eyed side wants to do the right thing, the blue eyed side – not so much. He is 2.5 years old. I have done some training classes, but the alpha in him made him somewhat of a terrorist in class. I believe he can be a good dog and one day can be an off leash dog. I had a husky before that was somewhat successful at that but he was older and had been tied up his whole life when I got him. This guy has me baffled though, I am willing to put in the work. I have a GPS shock collar fence but don’t trust it. Advice welcome.
Jon Noble says
Sounds like you have the right state of mind and are willing to be open minded. Just know that it wont happen over night and will be a long process but will be worth it in the end.
I also used to use a long leash when i first started training him. I also found it useful to let him off in a secure area like a tennis court or basket ball court, some where i knew he couldnt escape from, untill i had confidence that he would come back consistantly.
Clearly know one hear would say it would be a good idea to let any dog off lead for the first time in a area that is not safe, regardless of the breed.
The other tool i used was an e-collar for when i was in busy areas where there were more distractions. Then eventually just used it less and less, now i dont use it at all.
This was one of the best tools i used as it gives you the confidence to stay calm knowing that if he tries to run off you will be able to stop him. If you get an e-collar use it sparingly as the more you use it the less effective it became in my experience.
Dogs are happier off lead and you will have a more enjoyable walk with a dog off lead too.
Brodie C says
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S says
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Jono says
Anyone who says they can be off lead is irresponsible our one is never off lead and never will be. Why would you risk it? If you want a dog off lead get a retriever or collie.
Jon Noble says
I would say anyone who cant train them off lead is not willing to put enough work in and is just giving uo too soon.
My huskey is now 10 and i didnt get him untill he was 18 months, he had never been off lead and was a typical escape artist that ran off at every oppertunity.
Now i never walk him on a lead unless hes by a road.
They are a dog so of course they can be trained.
Dont listen to all the negative,lazy people that say otherwise.
S says
Totally agree jono if you want an off leash dog get a retreiver. I know a few husky owners who let theirs off one person was lucky to theirs back the others were not.
Jon Noble says
Just think about what your saying for a second, and how stupid that sounds!
Would you also say that you should never let a pit bull or a staffy off lead because all of them are aggressive?
That’s just such a narrow minded thing to say, and you think all labs are born good off lead? C’mon anybody that believes this has no idea about dogs and you definatly shouldnt be taking advice from them.
Karen says
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Larry says
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robin says
I love siberain huskys
J'sHuSkY says
With being involved in rescue, racing, and conformation, I've only seen 1 out of 1,000 siberians trained successfully of lead. Chance are you can not. Sorry! It's for their own safety.
Immortale says
Yes, Sibes have a tendency to run forever because that was what they were initially bred to do, but YES you can get to a point where you can walk/jog/run with them by your side without a leash. Just have to put in the effort to make it happen.
♫♪ Nekkid Bootie says
Ive heard of a few people who have huskies off leash.. but even then, I dont think they still trust their dogs 100%.. I believe they still use a remote shock collar on the dog (to properly use one on a husky tho, you have to shave the fur so that the prongs will make contact with the skin)..
A husky is just not a breed that can be reliably trusted offleash.. even if the dog is 100% recall on a leash.. they are smart enough to know when they are leashed and when they are not.
bluebonnetgranny says
Off leash training doesn't start until the dog has MASTERED all the on leash exercises & long line ones as well. It is part of the advanced training.
As a private individual you have no need to the dog to be off leash unless you are hiking or camping. But leash laws apply almost every where in towns & cities all over the world.
It is wonderful to see a trained dog work. & to know that it can be done without a leash is good training. But the dog must (MUST) be 100% reliable on a leash & long line.
Albino Raccoon says
I have a 7 month walker coon hound puppy that I let off the leash. You can get them to the point that know matter what, If their on a trail or not to come back. Just takes some time.
Bree says
What you're read so far was true. Huskies are known escape artists and they will escape whenever they find the chance so never take it out off-leash. They can jump fences, break tie-out chains, slip collars and find any other way to escape. They need a high fenced yard and the fence should also be buried several inches below ground to prevent the Husky from digging his way out.
Dom Allen says
I had a siberian huskey for 5 years before he got into rat poison and died on me :( He was my favorite dog ever. but siberian huskeys LOVE free space and LOVE to run. They keep a 5 mile radius around your property that they like to explore and run around and play in. Our huskey always ran off on us. Im not sure they can be trained. Id suggest fencing in your yard…even though they seem to be master escape artists too.