Hi Ryan ,
Firstly, we are a big family so someone is almost always home. My husband works shifts and I work part time, we are like ships that pass in the night, although we don't see much of each other it works great for the dogs!! They are hardly ever left alone.(About an hour 2/3 times a week max)
Regarding exercise, they get an hour or more in the morning and the same again in afternoon or evening.As we have an exceptional area to exercise them in, their energy is always permanently drained,and that makes for tired but happy huskies!!
As for how we exercised them as pups...once they had their jabs they came out on walks with the older ones,mostly just walking along next to me, sometimes trying to keep up with the adults but they knew their limitations!!
Best of luck with whatever you decide.......Karen