2020 might be the year Convert Towers becomes a dog house.

A pair of 3yr old siberian huskies have come up at a rescue centre and caught our eye. Google makes the breed sound attractive for the most part.

But what are they like to live with in reality? And do they make good trail dogs or dogs to go mountain walking with? I’ve read some reports saying they should not be taken off the lead because of their high prey instinct and love of running.

Thanks for any advice.

Worked with someone who had 7 or 8 which she raced. She did not think they would be good pets. Garden needs a fence about 8 feet high or they escape. Need loads of exercise and their recall tends to be poor hence why they are almost always seen being walked on leads.

Friend has one, doesn’t get off the lead, ever, as it won’t come back.
It can indeed jump a fair old height.
Urine smells quite strongly too.
Quite friendly though.

Texted my friend. Said would work for hillwalking, mountain biking but on a lead at all times.

I’d echo all the above ^^ Chap on my team at work had one – shed a lot of hair all the time, needed a LOT of training and a LOT of exercise (they used to do the whole dog-sleigh thing), and 100% not to be trusted off the lead. But he absolutely loved it

First dog in the house being a pair of those?

I’ll have some of whatever you’re having. Strong stuff!

(Cracking hounds, but serious work. Plus, a pair? And rescue, while highly commendable, with dogs such as that there may be additional character issues to contend with)

Thanks so much – sounds like it would need a serious thinking about.

The ones I have experience with were all great with people but a bit of a handful with other breeds of dog.

There seem to be a fair few near us now and all seem quite aggressive towards other dogs.

I’m normally all for someone taking in a rescue but without more info, my instinct would be that the pair might be better off with someone who has breed experience.

There’s a great rescue near me call Helping Yorkshire Poundies. They do a great job of matching people with dogs.

They are a working breed , the arctic equivalent of a border collie , and as such require masses of exercise and to be challenged mentally.

.Not always but can be temperamental in behaviour / aggressive to other dogs

I would not recommend adopting 2 unless you were a very experienced dog handler..

Bloke across the road friom me has 2 ,  lives in 2 bed semi with little garden , only walks them round the block twice a day and thinks its ample exercise , the rest of the time they sit staring out the window looking bored.

They need an hours run every day.

He should have got a jack russell instead.

During my time at Battersea I saw countless huskies – you can work out for yourself why……but for clarity I’ll say they are a poor choice of pet unless you’re going to run it all day everyday – we rarely let them go anywhere but a husky centre. Quite often we had to get 2 of us to walk 1 husky. They are strong, intelligent & highly motivated to escape if bored. Recall can be non-existent. Pretty friendly to humans – not bad with other dogs but I wouldn’t let one off the leash nor get too close to other dogs as they can develop a hell of a focus (think staring nasty fekker at the pub type focus). As has been said (& its worth repeating) they are a working dog primarily – rarely a pet..

I’d quite strongly advise against it!

“He should have got a jack russell instead.”
They’d soon teach him to get off his fat arse!

Huskies? Have met a few, only a couple (malamutes) off lead. Never met a wrong’un, but they are very strong dogs. Enjoy a sing song, and sound good.
Good foot warmers too…
I know one woman who walks three (rescues), tied to her waist. She’s never been dragged anywhere, never had an issue at all.
Yes they’re working dogs, but so are border collies, spaniels and Jack Russells…

Most people don’t need a husky. I looked into adopting one pretty seriously about 15 years ago and decided against it. They’re far from ideal MTB dogs (get a viszla, collie or sprocker of some sort for that) and truly hard work to keep entertained if you’re out for any length of time during the day.

There’s lots of adoption organisations online and they all have a page which essentially says “here is why you shouldn’t”. The deciding point for me was a picture of a sibe sat inside the remains of a sofa. The dog had eaten and dug its way through the sofa, while the owner was out, in order to recover a lost toy.

They get hot very quickly and then don’t appear to function well until cooled.
Seem to be a good breed.

Mountain dog or trail dog is nice idea but the other 99% of the time they still need to live, exercise and be entertained. I love dogs but huskies are not great pets for the overwhelming majority of owners. Get another dog and enjoy it more.

They are happy living outside down to -30 and can run 100 miles a day for 10 days straight. Does that sound like a pet for you?
A black lab cross would be my choice. Maybe a collie for the legs and a lab for the house dog part. Gun dogs have been bread to lay by the fire until it’s time to go shooting then be active and attentive for the few hours you are out doing something
Just my opinion of course

Collie crossed with something placid and lazy all the way. Intelligence x calmness x stamina x reduced possibility of collie psychosis.

(In the spirit of STW ‘recommend what you’ve got)

They are not good with small furries either, I was chatting to one of the local husky team owner in Friston about them as pets and he advised high fences and loads of exercise as bored Husky’s are destructive.  Also his neighbours cat would sit on the 8ft fence flicking v’s at the Husky’s sending them mad until one day the cat fell off into the garden………

I own one.

I would advise anyone to absolutely avoid as a “first dog” and certainly the pair, the OP describes.

We’ve had ours since he was a tiny pup and we had a German Shepherd from a pup prior to this so we knew what we were doing. I would describe training as highly challenging. They are very intelligent but that is largely focused on hunting, climbing, running etc and not on pleasing their human owners. They are almost cat – like in their demeanor at times, capable of being highly affectionate when it suits them but they can treat you with almost total disdain when they want. Super friendly towards humans… to the point any burglar can look forward to the dog rolling over to get his tummy tickled. Can be fickle with other dogs but I’d take a Husky over a Collie any day in that regard.

They can climb up – and down, almost any fence if they really have to (like a human – search “husky climbing” on you tube) and if they can’t go over they will dig. They are hunters par excellence and can easily catch rabbits, squirrel and even mice buried in the grass. They WILL kill whatever they catch. As others have said they are bred to run and their endurance is phenomenal so they do make superb trail dogs if you can keep them close at hand. Problem is, if you go anywhere near livestock their hunting instincts take over and they become a complete liability. You really have to have them on a lead for peace of mind.

They are stunning looking animals and we wouldn’t swop him for the world but you do need to be prepared to dedicate a lot of time to training and exercising them which is why you see a high proportion of owners with multiple dogs – it takes over their lives.

Collie crossed with something placid and lazy all the way.

This is one of the reasons why lurchers make such good pets, that and they dont tend to have all the problems of inbreeding that breeds often have.

We have Karelian Bear Dog which share many traits with a Husky. Stays on his lead apart from one or two places where its known there won’t be any other wildlife to chase. Has a Flexi 10m lead when out in the hills.
Quite willful and needs strong but reasonable commands.
Loves being out – I do 8-10 mile a day with him.

I would take a pair of Huskys on but we’re set up already with a Volvo estate and a van and our house is an old industrial building with large hard floors that can stand being wet and muddy. We also don’t have children. For a first time dog(s) in a normal carpeted house with kids?- no chance.

Forgot to mention – any arctic/cold climate dog with a double coat will be constantly too warm in the UK! Summer month walks with ours are plotted via streams and lakes so he can swim and cool off. He will be a ‘trail dog’ but only for short bursts then he lies down for 10minutes cooling off.

A pair of 3yr old siberian huskies have come up at a rescue centre

Hmm wonder why they ended up there then 🙂

You can get a nice scooter though and harnesses to exercise them with which is fun but as said these things are serious working machines and you’ll be working hard to exercise them and the prey instinct :-(.

Siberian owner here, 11 years.
“Cat like” is a great description. Very independent and strong willed. Has been travelling to work with me his entire life. They don’t like being left alone and can become very destructive.
“It’s not hair, It’s Husky glitter!! There’s lots of it and they moult a lot. Husky breeders will tell you that they only moult, blow their coats once a year. It’s true – for 365 days!!
Need lots of exercise, minimum 2 good walks. Very rarely off the lead, only in an enclosed area, with no other dogs present. Can be perceived as aggressive, but mostly they just want to play – But, Huskies play rough. Have a very strong prey drive. Will hunt and kill almost anything “just for fun” and are very determined. As previous posters have mentioned, love to dig and climb, your garden would need to be husky proof, for sure.

welcome to the world of vanity pets

The way you talk it sounds very much as if you are not so experienced with dogs. Getting a pair of rescues that are likely to be very demanding would be something that many experienced dog owners would have to think very carefully about. I’m sure that they could be great but might not work out if you dont know what to do. Its probably how they ended up in rescue in the first place. My advice would be not to underestimate getting a dog and go for something that will be easier.

Got to agree with most of the above, they aren’t pet dogs. Mate had two, in Hong Kong 🙄 they were mental. A python ate one of them, that was a big snake.

The golden rule is never ever get a working dog unless you are going to give it the activity and challenges it would get working, eg maybe consider a husky if you are an ultra endurance runner or work outdoors and can have the dog with you all day.

If you aren’t outdoors all day consider a hound breed instead. Most of them are happy with a decent walk off the lead and then will be content to lie around for the rest of the day. A decent walk being about 5-6 km, plus run with it at heel for about 12 km about once a week. (NB assuming you put the effort into training them properly.)

A python ate one of them, that was a big snake.

A python has come up at a local snake rescue centre, and I’m thinking of getting it as my first pet snake. Do they make good trail snakes? Anything I should watch out for?

Good site for overall views on breeds:
https://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/reviews/siberianhuskies.html

Another good point to bear in mind:
“Noise. Unless you live way out in the boondocks and have no neighbors, Siberian Huskies should never be left outside in your yard, unsupervised. Their mournful howling will have your neighbors calling the cops to report the nuisance.”

Not pets!

Lived with one for a while, amazing loving dogs.
So much fun, keep you fit walking/running/riding with them.

Never let them off the lead where you can’t get at them.

The one I lived with used to run away whenever possible, used to come back when tired/hungry/thirsty.

Surprisingly wary of snow, loved sunbathing, kicked my Mrs off the sunlounger once.

they love singing and joining in with you.

She really respected the hierachy, and saw me or her owner, the mrs brother as the leader, took no notice of my mrs.

So much fur.

Not a first dog, as a rescue but maybe as a pup.

Our company secretary has them. As has been said they can climb any fence, they dig for victory/escape etc. They are never let off the lead never. They can disappear for days then come back as if nothing is the matter. They need a shit load of exercise. Tendency for diabetes in older dogs I believe. You would have to be mad to have one never mind two for a first time pet.

My mate is a dog walker. He’s only been attacked once. Left him with a hole in his neck almost to the windpipe. It was a husky.

Another friend of mine had two. She got
Home one evening to an absolute bloodbath – one had attacked the other. She hasn’t managed to give them their hour-long walk (individually walked) before she’d left for work that morning.

My advice? DO NOT DO THIS!

I don’t have a Husky but I do have a male Alaskan Malamute , had him from a pup now coming up for 8 . Do your homework on the breed , Malamutes are a lot more chilled out than Husky’s which some can be very highly strung. Both have a high pray drive & next to no recall so will have to be kept on a leash, male to male can be very aggressive . Another thing is health, there is a couple of issues with Malamutes that I think is the same with Husky’s so pet insurance is a must imho. Good luck hopefully they are pretty chilled

No. Just no. So many other breeds out there.

a hound breed instead. Most of them are happy with a decent walk off the lead and then will be content to lie around for the rest of the day. A decent walk being about 5-6 km, plus run with it at heel for about 12 km about once a week.

My hound would look at you like you’d gone mad if you tried to run 12km with her!!

Simply no.
I know 3 ex owners, 1 had the dog put down after a series of bites, 1 had their dog escape and 5 days later was reported dead hit by a car, 1 had their dog shot by a farmer after it escaped and was in afield full of sheep, attacking them.

All owners long time dog owners.

So simply no

anagallis_arvensis
My hound would look at you like you’d gone mad if you tried to run 12km with her!!

I should probably make it clear that my version of running is shambling along just a wee bit faster than a fast walk. 🙂

The dog probably covers more distance on a walk when she’s free range.

Used to work at a property which had 2. Lovely dogs but were quite independent. They had a huge garden for them to run around in. Despite this they used to escape and we’d spend ages trying to track them down. Once got to work one morning to find they’d taken out a Muntjack deer in the garden. And the fur, my god, the amount of thick white fur they left around the house. Would I ever consider one, no way!