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.
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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