To think my mum should categorically NOT get a Siberian Husky

[Tanif]

My mum and stepdad own two dogs, an old knackered border collie (her dog from before the relationship began) and a younger border terrier (his dog from before the relationship began). The border collie is getting old and infirm - she's 15 - and quite frankly, probably doesn't have long left.

My mum, persuaded by my darling stepfather, has now convinced herself that the ideal replacement is a Siberian Husky. They both work full time, at present the dogs get a 30 minute walk a day which keeps them happy. Are there any Siberian Husky owners on the board that can confirm a husky will be bored, destructive and probably run off at the first opportunity?

Neither of them have owned a husky before, my mum has always had collies or german shepherd dogs and my stepdad has always had gun dogs and terriers. He seems to think his husky will be special and not run away if let off the lead and be a doddle to train. I think he's kidding himself and it'll probably end up under the wheels of a lorry in the first week. They live very close to a main road and their garden fence is only 4ft high with horizontal lats with gaps between them that I can envisage an active young husky shinning up with no problems whatsoever.

Am I being unreasonable? Are most huskies beautifully behaved examples of canine perfection? Or should they stick with what they know when the old girl does pass away?

Oh gawd Ephiny went there... give it 5 minutes and Scuttle and DooMe will pop... give it 10 minutes and you'll be introduced to a world of hound collar porn from which your credit card will never recover... and in 15 minutes you'll be sat on the floor and have no sofa left!

I've just got a retired greyhound and she's fantastic. Laziest creature you'd ever meet - but does do longer walks if we go on them.

The other horror story about husky recall I heard this morning - guy who had a really well-behaved husky, thought it was OK off the lead, let it off one morning and the dog saw something that got its interest and was off... guy lived near a major A road - was the end of the dog.

www.siberianhuskyclub.com/huskydamage

www.scottishshc.org.uk/section_sibes/damage.htm

Interior redecoration - husky style - scenes of this level of devastation were last seen during the BBC programme Changing Rooms.

There is a REASON why our neighbour keep their dog outside.....

I am the lucky owner of a husky/shepherd cross, we rehoused him two years ago from the dog trust when he was about 6 months old. We had no history for him at all when we took him on but soon found out why he was left tied to the gate of the rescue centre. Even though we both work shifts and he is only in the house on his own for a couple of hours at a time in the first few months he ate two sofas, a kitchen floor, the staircase carpet and any decent plant in the garden while digging up the whole lawn that now looks like a moon scape. He has climbed over the 6ft fencing in the back garden and out of the living room windows in the past. I think its only that I always take him for 1.5 hours a time at different places where he can have play dates or swim along with a lot of long line training with his shepherdy bit of him that I have any recall. He is constantly shedding and the majority of his hair is black. One bag is never enough when he does a poop. He does a combination of a bark and a howl. He is the most affectionate loving dog I have ever owned but it took alot of time, work, dog behaviourists and trainers to get to this stage. He is definitely not the dog for an older couple. I wouldn't be without him though

oh tiredtrout I understand your moonscape garden. If I wasnt so embarassed by mine I would post a picture. 2 working line GSDs - this was done end of last year and although they seem to have stopped the garden isnt getting touched until Autumn time.

It isnt that they dont get enough stimulation/exercise it is just that the garden interests them. Also I had most of last year when my young thing was ill and wasnt allowed to have much exercise so he did entertain himself somewhat in the garden!

The husky seems to be the new 'in' dog for eejits and is replacing the staffie.

I have a a 20 week old Labradoodle. Not a husky no, and I don't have experience of that breed. What I will say is any puppy requires a lot of time effort and patience. My doodle is adorable and we chose to go down the crate training route which resulted in him being toilet trained by 12 weeks and comfortable with being left alone for several hours at a time in his crate ( thus avoiding the destruction that others have talked about) But he is never left for more than 2 -3 hours and I have had to accept that he chews stuff and digs up the garden. Contrary to popular belief though he does malt and despite alot of literature saying no more than 20 mins exercise a day for a puppy is age he really does require a good 45min - 1 hour walk everyday and more importantly mental stimulation! Having said that we really researched our breed and he is great with the kids and cats and very affectionate so had been a fabulous addition to our family :)

hephaestus- fabulous post! really wish every numpty who has ever considered getting a husky in their 1st floor flat while out all day could read it! I really do believe that people need to know the breed of dog they choose, and be able to accomodate its needs- but the vast majority of husky owners seem to have chosen entirely on the basis of looks

Really in awe of your commitment to your dogs. Restores my faith (v. slightly!)

Last husky I saw had jumped out of its fenced in garden and had gone on a 3 day rampage of sheep in the countryside round us. At one point it tried to chase our horses in the field and we only just managed to keep it away (of course we tried catching it but in 40 acres of land it was just impossible). In the end it was shot by one of the farmers having killed/injured 6 sheep.

A friend has a malmute, they're similar aren't they?
That one chewed the cat as well as the computer

Malamutes are much easier than Huskies AFAIK.

Huskies are gorgeous and wonderful dogs. I would never want to own one though as I like an easy life and despite committing a large proportion of my life to my dogs ( I have 4 at the moment) I don't feel I could offer anough commitment to even one husky.

I know 4 people who own or have owned huskies. One of them looks after theirs responsibly and although they don't compete with it, it gets plenty of exercise on lead and access to a secure area where it can go off lead. It has human company pretty much all the time and is well trained and well looked after. Of the other three, only one still has their dog and I doubt they will for much longer. All of the other dogs have jumped out of gardens, dug out of gardens, chew things in the house incessantly and the owners seem to think they should be able to let them off lead. One even contacted a behaviourist who told her a Husky should be kept on the lead at all times unless in a securely fenced area, but they refused to believe it. Clearly these people are idiots, but I am sure they all thought they knew what they were taking on and could manage the dogs.

Can believe all of the above. A colleague rescued one and it chomped its way through two sofas plus numerous other things. Her husband is retired and it is hardly ever left alone.

my dads husky was lovely but he was very hard work, when walking him if he got the chance to run off he would and they are very hard to train, they have not been breed to be a family dog even though there is no other dog quite as beautiful (imo)

oh and they howl and when they growl they are very, very scary

my friends Malamute removed most of her lower face for her, he was the happiest dog you could meet but flipped. be carefull with big working dogs.

I agree with everything that has been said. They are gorgeous dogs, but your parents should absolutely definitely NOT get one.
A guy in our village has a rescue one. Rescue guess why - his previous owner was an elderly lady who lived in an apartment and thought that 30 min walk per day is enough. Of course the husky went nuts, destroyed everything around the house and ran away at every opportunity. He now gets intensive training and 2 2-hour walks per day, can not be off lead though - it does not sound like your parents are ready to do that.

I remember seeing husky sled dogs in Alaska - lovely dogs but what really struck me was the way they seemed to need to run, they'd set up an awful whining and howling when hitched up to the sled but made to stand still! No way would they be happy with the kind of life I (or most UK dog owners!) could give them.

I believe it's difficult to train them not to pull on the lead (not sure if this is nonsense, but to me it makes sense when you think they've been bred to pull!) and often don't have good recall so you can rarely let them off. Doesn't sound fun for owner or dog really.

Tanif, you've had some really good comments on this thread. I am so pleased that Heph has posted - she really knows her huskies and has given a realistic assessment.

Just wanted to add why not pop over to the Doghouse and take a look at the Puppy thread there? I hope it will put them off getting ANY puppy when they both work full time. Put bluntly, getting a puppy when they are both out all day is cruel. Puppies need lots of attention, not to mention cleaning up, and any pup is going to chew, bite, and generally have moments of madness. They will also go through a teenage phase (no spots , but plenty of boundary testing). I'd also say that the garden fence you describe is not sufficient to keep any dog secure if they live near a main road.

Please, beg them to reconsider. Sometimes it is the mark of a responsible dog lover not to be a dog owner.

Nothing new to add other than to say NO, NO, NO, NO! They are absolutely the wrong people to have huskies for all the reasons given.

But they sound very stubborn so I think you need to think about how to stop them rather than how to persuade them not to. No rescue will approve them for a husky so that only leaves breeders. No responsible husky breeder is going to allow them to buy one of their pups either unless they lie about their circumstances. Would you be up for finding out where they're getting the pup from and phoning that breeder on the quiet and having a word? And if they don't care, reporting them to the RSPCA etc?

In my defence as the mother of Taniff, the husky pup was only ever a fleeting thought. As for being a long time since I had a puppy, I actually bought Tanif her pup 3 yrs ago and raised it here with our two dogs that we already have. Yes we were all workking then too including Taniff. Although I work I do not start most days till 10 -30 and Im back usually about 4. There are also 2 grown up sons in the house at other points during the day. So the dogs are rarley left for more than a couple of hours. I have only ever once asked Taniff to dog sit my old Collie and that was earlier this year as the house was getting re-wired and as any responsible owner would do, I didnt want the dog escaping out the gate when there were approximatley 10 workmen in and out for a couple of weeks. However because Taniff herself was working full time it resulted in her young Collie (which had up until this point lived with me for several mths after she had left home to live with her partner) severaly biting my old Collies nose and a £70 vet bill. Needless to say that I then had to get Taniff to keep her Collie and brought mine home. As for the coments on Taniff living a few miles away and not wanting my dog to be her responsibility, well can I just say, Im the one that pops in to hers during the week while she is at work and lets her dog out for a much needed wee. I have no idea why everyone on here would assume that Im an idiot when it comes to dogs as both myself and husband have been around dogs all of our lives. My dog is actually 13 and although a bit stiff, in pretty good nick. I was recently faced with her having breast cancer a few months ago and the vet actually said that although they could operate, it was a £500 op and with no gaurantee of not coming back and that it might be time to consider having her put down. I was not having that and booked her in for surgery the next day. She is fine now , very well looked after and cared for and I do not think that people on here should be saying that I am cruel or irresponsible when they do not no me or my circumstances. I have mainly had collies and shepherd and I had a pets for therapy dog myself a few years back. I have a big garden and in front of my home is a wood. My garden is secure with a 5 ft fence and gate. My dogs are regualy walked, and that usually involves them running while we bike with them , they are wormed, and flea treated regually, fit and healthy. If anyone has a problem with this then there is something very very wrong!

After reading the orignal post surely you can see why people jumped to the conclusions they did with the information available.

Your wall of text made my eyes sad!

YANBU. They are pack dogs par excellence and need to be run not walked. My old neighbour has a Siberian Huskie/ Chow mix and that dog could run all day if he was allowed. My neighbour is a serious runner and he and the dog would go out for at least an hour daily. The dog would get back as fresh as a daisy, neighbour - not so fresh. They got the dog from a shelter where he had been brought when he was found. The previous owner was located by the shelter but decided not to take him back as he was a bolter. He loved the cold weather and hated being indoors with the heat on. When it snowed there was nothing he liked more than rolling around and lounging in the snow. Summer bothered him a lot.

YYY to everything Heph says.

My neighbour established himself as the alpha individual very fast with the Husky-Chow, as advised, and devoted hours daily to the relationship with the dog on top of the running. There was lots of wrastling in the beginning; establishing of the relative positions in the family pack of neighbours and dog required physicality and determination and a commitment and consistency not necessary even for an irascible child.

The neighbours had a holiday cottage with lots of woods -- couldn't take the dog there.

I am sorry if people have got the wrong idea from my daughter, and really at a loss why she posted it in the first place. But trust me, I know all about pups and dogs and huskies were only mentioned in passing. I hope that I still have a good few years with my loving loyal and very well cared for collie. Im NOT the one who keeps saying she is knakcered and inferm.

Ohh and while Im on a rant , we arent elderly, Im only 43!

:o