[Closed] Huskies as Pets

Huskys look like the in thing at the moment ... 😮

Stupid dog to have in this country IMO.

They were bred for a specific purpose and environment and not to be a domestic pet.

Its the latest "dumb person" dog of the moment. Expect a flood of rejected pugs to arrive at the local pound any day now.

Several years back I met someone who did husky racing which looks like it could be quite fun. Crowded out most other hobbies for them though.
Wasnt it game of thrones that made them the latest cool pets?

Already crowding the dog homes & almost impossible to rehome, as there so big. Males are aparently extremely difficult to train to recall, as they been breed to run, which they tend to do if let off the lead

Stupid dog to have in this country IMO.

They were bred for a specific purpose and environment and not to be a domestic pet.

^^this

If people insist on having them they should be forced to live without any heating in order to make the dog comfortable. Hate it when people use dogs as fashion accessories. Research the breed you dickheads. 👿

Already crowding the dog homes & almost impossible to rehome, as there so big

Husky is quite small. I think it will be the Alaskan Malamute if it's big. They're the plodding over massive distance dog. Your fat bike, whereas the husky is your xc bike.

>Its the latest "dumb person" dog of the moment,

Really? Aren't you the expert...

I've had a Siberian Husky for two years now. Firstly, we've actually trained him properly (hint) and this is vital with all breeds of dog. But secondly, what a brilliant pet: completely non aggressive with other dogs, same goes for humans - incl the postman. Doesn't bark or whine, is obedient, very clean and easy to keep clean ( despite the white coat)highly intelligent and extremely affectionate.Also a brilliant trail dog as they can run all day long.

The only downsides are a tendency to dig and they do have a strong prey drive so squirrels, rabbits etc are toast if caught in the open. Mine can catch and kill mice at will and I've heard they can do the same with Rats and even Moles. For this reason they need to be on a lead anywhere near sheep or cattle but then you can say likewise for many dogs / breeds of dog.

The people 2 doors up from me have 2 huskies. Never seen them walk them. What's the point in having a dog you don't look after properly..? They would happily run for 10 miles and the lazy arse owners can't even be bothered to walk to the local shop never mind walk their dogs.

>Research the breed you dickheads.,<

I did you dickhead - no issues here. Cant speak for other types of Husky.

Well a round of applause for you then. You'll be a responsible dog owner, something that is sorely lacking these days 🙄

My Dickhead wasn't aimed at you, although now I'm not so sure 😐

A guy I worked with has had them for years, always very very well walked (it does seem like he is out constantly)and it seems to be his thing. He's had a few now and they are lovely, a couple have been shy but certainly not aggressive.

>Its the latest "dumb person" dog of the moment,

Really? Aren't you the expert...

I don't think you understood what I meant, let me clarify. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the breed, my point was that, in my observation, round my area huskies / malamutes are fastly becoming the latest "status dog" amongst certain folk.

The same folk who don't really have the common sense to train, care, and provide for the specific needs of these types of dogs.

We've owned several dogs over the years including 5 large breed retrievers, a doberman, and a rottie, so I know a little bit about them.

Only husky owners I know are very responsible owners. Lass I'm seeing at the moment has 2, and is involved with a rescue place that deals pretty much exclusively with them.

They do like to dig though. And are only every off the lead either in the house, or in a field that is used purely for letting dogs run around as they'll try to catch anything, including squirrels, birds, flies... As pets they're soft as owt.

Is it compulsory to have them tied to a belt when out walking?

It is very hard to see why people choose them as pets
[img] [/img]

It's only a matter of time before there's a husky uplift at a trail centre

If people insist on having them they should be forced to live without any heating in order to make the dog comfortable.........[b]Research the breed you dickheads[/b]

You may want to take a bit of your own advice.

They are perfectly comfortable in warm temperatures as long as they aren't running or exercising.
.

DezB

It is very hard to see why people choose them as pets

[img] [/img]

Come on now. Cute puppies isn't a reason to chose a dog. But if it was, Bernese Mountain dogs would be the default dog of choice.

[img] [/img]

You may want to take a bit of your own advice.

No intention of owning a husky because I read up on them and they wouldn't suit a lazy bastard like me. I'd also point out that it would be pretty cruel not to let one run out exercise.

I've owned a Bernese though, lovely dog was Poppy. Died at four from cancer. Had her from two after her old owners couldn't cope

[i]Cute puppies isn't a reason to chose a dog[/i]

annnnnnnnd.... back in the real World... 😆

As a dog owner, I don't understand why anyone would have one as a pet. I have *never* seen a husky (nor malamute) off the lead and/or unmuzzled on a walk.

what a brilliant pet: completely non aggressive with other dogs

As with any dog. It's all about the owner and I have no doubt that your dog(s) is/are an exception to the rule.

In my general experience, they have always been an aggressive breed towards other dogs.

That said (and back to my first point) my step-mum has a rescue that is quite literally scared of her own shadow. She's an absolute beauty but she point blank refuses to allow her to socialise with other dogs because every tiny patch of this earth is - in her mind - her territory.

So, went around the houses with that one and came up with nothing cohesive. But yeah - I don't get huskies.

Has anyone mentioned HAIR yet!
A friend has one and it leaves a bag load of hair on you every time it brushes past.

You may want to take a bit of your own advice.

No intention of owning a husky

I was referring to you suggesting it was cruel to keep them in a house with the hearing on, and saying people were dickheads if they didn't research the breed and know this.

They are great! We had an Australian cattle dog/ husky cross...in Australia. They/ours had a very adaptive coat and no problem with the heat.

We trained him well and they are very intelligent so I can understand people who have issues with badly trained dogs. They certainly are free spirits!

Edit: 'adaptive coats' = shed loads of hair!

Hang on...!

There's a lot of [i]dickhead[/i] being thrown about on this thread. No one gonna report it? Anyone getting offended? Negative use of the forum or somesuch...?

I'm feelin' a bit persecuted tbh... 😛

I was referring to you suggesting it was cruel to keep them in a house with the hearing on, and saying people were dickheads if they didn't research the breed and know this.

Everything I've read on huskies and malamutes points to them preferring cooler temperatures. They'd do better in kennels rather than a centrally heated house and also malt less as a result. You said yourself, it's okay as long as they aren't exercising. What kind of life is that for a high energy dog? I'd be willing to bet that the majority of owners in the last few years have bought on looks. That's doing a working dog a huge disservice and is rather sad

My Dickhead comment (for the umpteenth time) was being leveled at these thoughtless owners. I worked extensively with dogs in the past. A large majority are abandoned because the owners did not research the breed and had no clue regarding the needs of a given breed.

Hang on...!

There's a lot of dickhead being thrown about on this thread. No one gonna report it? Anyone getting offended? Negative use of the forum or somesuch...?

My first one was aimed at people outside the forum. Subsequent dickheads have been aimed at me, but I'm a big boy and can take it 😉

I won't be offended if you report somebody on my behalf though

lovely dogs and after talking to owners, they need lots of exercise are not aggressive to other dogs, love running free or on a lead, you need to be fit, a local used to have a wheeled husky sledge he would ride on, they dont half go, but looked great fun.

They also get bored easily and like attention or they start chewing stuff.

I want one

Stupid dog to have in this country IMO.

Popular in Hong Kong at the moment as well. Cruel.

Loads of people move up to the Peak District and buy a collie. Because that's what Emmerdale tells them to do or whatever.

Then they never get off their fat arses to exercise the poor bugger.

I won't be offended if you report somebody on my behalf though

Never have, never will.

Spoil sport 😆

Popular in Hong Kong at the moment as well. Cruel.

That's because of how they taste though surely

Spoil sport

🙂

Au contraire! Tis the very height of sport; no quarter given or asked.

One of the girls in our office has two of them. Never ever let off the lead. Constantly trying to escape and they have no recall at all despite being very well trained. One has diabetes. Quite common if not worked or exercised enough. They are lovely natured but I can't help thinking they would be better off in the artic circle.

They were bred for a specific purpose and environment and not to be a domestic pet.

I work with someone who has about 7 or 8 huskys. Breeds them and races them. Doesn't recommend them as pets. Can't let them off the lead. Will try and escape from any yard they are left in. Need hours of exercise. Pretty much takes up all her time outside work.

I went to watch a race near Aberfoyle one year with a dozen or two teams competing. Very entertaining if you like dogs. Those things absolutely love racing. What a racket when a team are getting harnessed to the buggy before the start.

Like any breed there will be variation. Certain individuals that are well trained might work. But unless you like walking your dog(s) on a lead all the time I'd suggest they are a gamble as a pet.

They'd do better in kennels rather than a centrally heated house and also malt less as a result. You said yourself, it's okay as long as they aren't exercising. What kind of life is that for a high energy dog?

My central heating doesn't reach the park where the dog would be getting it's excercise.

Spoke to one of the Husky racers in Friston. Not brilliant as pets, garden has to be super secure, they are very destructive if bored. The neighbours cat used to sit on the fence flicking them v signs, one day it fell in the garden. No more v signs........

I met a bloke in Cyprus who had one, he said he gave the dog ice baths, seriously - bonkers

Now you mention it you're right, I haven't seen any huskies or similar off the lead

Re the game of thrones comment - they were wolves, not huskies

Would be the ideal trail dog - probably keep going long after you've headed off for a pie & a pint...

Problem is - f all recall! You'd never see it again as it hoons off over the horizon into the next time zone!

Someone I know once agreed to babysit a husky. It ate a large portion of his front door because he foolishly left it alone.

Friend had one in SA. Good guard dog, hair, lots and lots and lots of hair. And that was as an 'outside' dog.

They used to do dog-sledding along the beaches.

Quite a few up near us. I often see them when riding round the trails so I've no idea what sort of conditions they're housed in. I've never seen one of a lead, but muzzles are very rare.

We have an annual dogsled racing weekend which will see hundreds of them on the trails. You get used to seeing a pack careering towards you with a musher barely in control and soon learn to move aside.

My brother in law had a girl Husky when him and my Missus shared a house, she was a brilliant dog.

Very social, loved to play, needed lots of exercise and used to escape from time to time. She was often off the lead in large parks, she used to face up to other dogs but nothing more than barking at each other at worst.

The moulting periods was hard work and she needed a lot of brushing to keep on top of that.

Unfortunately he had to give her up for adoption as his Mrs is not a Dog lover, a proper shame, I'd have taken her on but I spend so long out of the house each day it wouldn't have been fair to her.

On the warm weather side of things she used to love sun bathing and regularly pushed one or other of us off our sun loungers so she could get comfortable.

I lived in Canada for a time. We were house sitting for some one, when their duaghter came to stay. She had a Husky, it slept outside. In winter. At minus 30 deg C.

They are becoming a fashionable dog for some of the idiots round here. At least they're nicer to look at than Staffies. God they're ugly things.

We were fortunate enough to go husky sledging in Finland. Truly wonderful dogs. Amazing strength and drive, wonderful temperament, incredible seeing them in their element.

Didn't strike me as being a great pet though.

Explorers like Amundsen used eat their huskies over the course of a long journey.

I wonder what they taste like.

I wonder what they taste like.

Dunno. I'd imagine the texture's a bit mushy.

God they're ugly things

Who you calling ugly??

[img] [/img]

Re the game of thrones comment - they were wolves, not huskies

Nope. They are Northern Inuit dogs. So whilst technically not huskies I doubt most people, including me, could tell the difference and instead just stick all those breeds together.

My central heating doesn't reach the park where the dog would be getting it's excercise.

Still doesn't alter the fact that they are overall not suited to warm climates. Malamutes especially have changed very little over time and are bred for Alaskan weather. Maybe the higher parts of Scotland may suit them.

Would you exercise this dog of yours (is it a real dog or theoretical) in the park in the height of summer? As per my original comment, some of the idiots that will buy one on looks alone will and this will be to the dogs detriment. My original post (once again) was a comment on these kinds of people.

I hope you have a husky or other similar breed and that you are a responsible owner. At this stage I'm thinking you probably have a cat, parrot or goldfish though and you are just trolling me for your own amusement 😉

Bigyinn is off my Christmas card list Ugly???

My beautiful Staffy Badger 😉 met a Husky on a beach down West Wales, they got on great really friendly

The only downsides are a tendency to dig

Holy cow that Husky was a JCB in disguise. As soon as it felt sand under its paws dig dig dig. Must of gone down 3ft in seconds.

The ones I've met seem quite aggressive towards other dogs, and never seem to be allowed off the lead. IMO for city dwellers they aren't a good choice of dog for the majority.

I do find it hard to believe they don't find it too hot in a normal central heated house. in fact a Google search suggests they shouldn't do much exercise over 18 degC, which while I take the point that they aren't exercising in the house, it does give you an idea of temperatures they will start finding it uncomfortable in.

Still doesn't alter the fact that they are overall not suited to warm climates. Malamutes especially have changed very little over time and are bred for Alaskan weather. Maybe the higher parts of Scotland may suit them.

Temperatures in a good chunk of Alaska are actually pretty similar to ours in summer.

http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/fairbanks/alaska/united-states/usak0083

Perhaps this is the solution.
[img] [/img]

(joke, BTW)...

Pigface - Member

Bigyinn is off my Christmas card list Ugly???

Re the game of thrones comment - they were wolves, not huskies

Nope. They are Northern Inuit dogs. So whilst technically not huskies I doubt most people, including me, could tell the difference and instead just stick all those breeds together.

That's not entirely true, only really for the first season when they were puppies - http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/Direwolves (if this is to be believed)

Perhaps this is the solution.

Is that photo real? It's amazing 😆

Still doesn't alter the fact that they are overall not suited to warm climates. Malamutes especially have changed very little over time and are bred for Alaskan weather. Maybe the higher parts of Scotland may suit them.

Would you exercise this dog of yours (is it a real dog or theoretical) in the park in the height of summer? As per my original comment, some of the idiots that will buy one on looks alone will and this will be to the dogs detriment. My original post (once again) was a comment on these kinds of people.

I hope you have a husky or other similar breed and that you are a responsible owner. At this stage I'm thinking you probably have a cat, parrot or goldfish though and you are just trolling me for your own amusement

Not trolling at all. I don't own a Husky, but I worked for a guy who was a Husky breeder in the Austrian Alps, so I'm pretty familiar with them (although my job was nothing to do with his dogs)

The weather in the Austrian Alps in summer have daytime averages above 20degC for 4/5 months, in those months, you excercise the dogs mainly in the evenings when its cooler.
Other than that, they have no issues whatsoever. No need to turn off the central heating.

They can run far longer and far harder at sub zero temps, but they don't rely on cold weather for comfort or survival unless they are working (pulling/running a sled)

I avoid walking my labs in the heat of the day at the moment, they get noticeably hot (so do I!). If that's the only time I can walk them for whatever reason then they spend a fair bit of time in the stream to help them cool down.

They're both black though which surely can't help

This seems like sensible advice - http://alaskanmalamute.us/hudsons-malamutes-faq-temperatures.html

I have many owners with dogs in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Arizona, Florida and other very warm climates. They maintain their dogs temperatures properly and do not have any problems.

In the summer you can find most malamutes' favorite spot is inside on an A/C vent just having a snooze waiting for the temperature to drop so they can go out and play when the temperatures cool down for the day.

Our last next door neighbours had a couple of Huskies. I can only echo the issues that previous posters have highlighted. They couldn't let them off the lead or they would hunt anything that moved and wouldn't re-call. Lots of walking/running required including attaching them to a belt as they wouldn't stop pulling. They spent thousands getting their back garden hard landscaped so the dogs couldn't dig it up. Hair everywhere. Last question we had from them was "How long do you think Huskies live for?"

That's not entirely true, only really for the first season when they were puppies

The neighbours cat used to sit on the fence flicking them v signs, one day it fell in the garden. No more v signs.....

Positively the best cat [s]deterrent[/s] remover ever. Only downside is the size of the dog dumps compared to a cat one.

The weather in the Austrian Alps in summer have daytime averages above 20degC for 4/5 months, in those months, you excercise the dogs mainly in the evenings when its cooler.
Other than that, they have no issues whatsoever. No need to turn off the central heating.

He's a breeder and a sensible owner which is brilliant for him and the dogs. The earlier posts were directed at the kind of people who'd buy a dog based on looks and the damage that not getting a breed to suit your lifestyle will cause to the animal. My fear is (just liked with Staffordshire Bull Terriers and Rotweillers a few years ago) we will see abandoned, traumatised animals taken to shelters. All because some Dickhead didn't do their research or bought a high maintenance working dog as their first ever dog.

Used to break my heart the number of dogs I'd work with that were given up on.

I used to turn the heating off when I had a Newfoundland. Then again there were no wife and children then and I'm from Yorkshire. Bearing that in mind there would have probably been no heating on any way 🙂 the Newfi still preferred to lay down on the driveway in the rain rather than be inside.

I'll be called one of those dickheads, no doubt, but I had seven at one time - all male. I did all my training on the Isle of Man and raced in that UK.
A training run on a rig, behind even seven race-fit dogs, is a never to be forgotten experience. When you pull the hook on those they're away like shit off a shovel and aren't for the faint-hearted. Go to Fairbanks, Alaska and watch sprint racing there if you want to see what real speed and acceleration is. A lightweight sled behind 22 Alaskans would have most people, myself included, crying for their mummies in the first 100 metres.
Bear in mind your leaders in this case are maybe 25 metres ahead of you and you have no control, other than voice.

I was fortunate enough to have a superb leader (Snyek Dal'nii Pevek, if anyone's interested) and with him in front of a team it was like driving a car. You could put him anywhere on the trail you wanted, left right or centre, avoid holes and puddles, stop and turn back on yourself, adjust pace - all that stuff. It was almost like telepathy but he would only work for me - put him with another driver and he wouldn't even want to get off the line. I trained him extremely well but I wasn't a "good" trainer, in that he only identified with me.

Sadly missed, anyway.

My secret was that I mostly trained on wide open areas, rather that forest trails and if you can execute fancy turns on a wide beach then a forest track is a piece of piss really.
Also the drag of sand and grass built strength like nothing else.

Last question we had from them was "How long do you think Huskies live for?"

In my case, up to eighteen years. Bitches probably longer.

They're not the dogs to try and make fit in to a "normal" lifestyle though. The only time that mine would do what I wanted them to was in harness. You can't let them loose, they are lethal with small livestock.
Wonderful with children though and useless as guard dogs as they love people..

Not a Dickhead at all as you seem to have actually used the dogs for purpose, looked after them and know the breed. The exact opposite of what I mentioned to be honest. There is a lack of dog owners of your calibre.

I'll take that as a great compliment - I'm not really a "dog" person, to be honest, and so I didn't have the same preconceptions that some people would. I accepted Siberians for what they are - a primitive working breed. Primitive in the best sense of the word.
It was a wonderful experience though, and never to be repeated. For someone from the back of beyond to win a British Championship round on his first attempt is something that I'll never forget.
I remember saying to my lead dog afterwards that it didn't matter if he never did anything right in his life again - he'd given me that, and that was enough.

If I had some photos here I'd post them, but they're all analogue and I'm in Greece atm......

That is very cool!