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Do you ever get depressed


Langy91

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Knowing you can't let your Husky off-leash? I keep seeing my friends walking their dogs (Collies, GSD's) and they're never on leash, they always ask why mine is so I show them in our garden/in the house, when Storm focuses on something he seems to forget his surroundings (will bump into the chair etc) I couldn't trust him off-leash, sadly...

Anyone know this feel? He seems happy enough pulling me around on his leash and he never fully extends his long leash, I just feel guilty I can't let him be truly free every now and then.

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I don't get depressed about it. It is just one of the many facets of husky ownership. Sometimes I do wish I could, but her safety is more important than my wishes. And truly, if I wanted an off-lead dog, I wouldn't have chosen a husky.

It's important to remember that there are places you can let them off lead, for example dog parks. Though, speaking for myself, it isn't a place I wish to take her due to the many who don't understand the husky's version of play. I've also had close personal friends end up with a near lawsuit on their hands because of ignorant people in a dog park.

Purchase your husky a 50 to 100 foot lead and let her run in a field. She/he gets the experience and you keep your sanity!

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I used to have this feeling, then i contacted a pro trainer and found out about e-collars. I know people in the dog-owning community have mixed feelings, but personally both of my huskies get off leash every day and the only time i ever correct them now it's using the pager (the e-collar has a pager that simply vibrates like a cell phone). IMO I'd never go back to being on-leash all the time - it's much easier for them to get their excersize now and it helps me keep my sanity ;)

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I too feel like Austinville, if I wanted an off leash breed I would not have chosen a Siberian Husky. This is one of the limitations I knew going into the breed. Though there are people who will lead you to believe it can be done, those who are experienced and knowledgeable in the breed know better than to risk it. There are so many things you can do to fulfill the breed's unique needs and exercise requirements without risking their well being by risking an off lead accident. I feel that biking, scootering, and sledding my dogs brings me closer to them and is a more personalized form of exercising them vs off lead. They are my family and I don't want to risk their lives for anything.

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Cool responses thanks, I don't mind walking him on leash at all, I know he pulls, and he'll always pull (not a lot, just a little) which i'm fine with, makes me walk faster and stops me from crawling a long haha... I use a halti leash and wrap it around my waist, clip it, attach the bungee to the end and clip that to his harness, then let him do whatever he wants...

There's a park in our village but it's not fenced off, carpark opens into a road just next to the park and it's surrounded by stud land (which is fenced off). I have a 100ft lead but it's a pain having to roll it up everytime I take him for a walk, which on the weekends is like 3-4 times... Are there any strong rectractable leashes I could buy? he doesnt pull for much in the park except if he finds a really good sniff spot, so I don't think he'd break it at all, i'd use his Halti for walking to and from the Park and if we see another dog he wants to pull to play with i'd also clip the Halti back on...

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Smokey and Zeeva both used to be totally off leash until I moved. Now I get very depressed that I can't have Smokey off leash. I miss it so. He used to run around like a maniac and had AMAZING recall. But now that there are squirrels, bunnies, cats and the like in my new home town, I just absolutely cannot trust him...I don't trust Zeeva either :( so in short, yes I do get depressed, but I am trying to retrain both of them even though I know it may take years!

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I do feel it would be nice to see him running free and such without his lead on but Broder wouldn't come back for hours I feel :P It's a bit sad but there's nothing to be done really about it. He has a 100ft lead atleast which he never really gets to the end of.

When he is allowed to pull me, it's nice when going up hill atleast :)

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I definitely don't get depressed. If I let her off lead I'd spend the whole time panicking about potential threats and her running away. I am happy to use a long lead or to wait till we're in Ipswich and go to the dog park to let her off.

Don't get me wrong, she has fabulous recall and stays very close in the dog park, but I have other methods of giving her the exercise she needs.

I'd be more depressed if I let my dog off and they got ran over because I got too over confident.

Stacey xxx

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Cool responses thanks, I don't mind walking him on leash at all, I know he pulls, and he'll always pull (not a lot, just a little) which i'm fine with, makes me walk faster and stops me from crawling a long haha... I use a halti leash and wrap it around my waist, clip it, attach the bungee to the end and clip that to his harness, then let him do whatever he wants...

There's a park in our village but it's not fenced off, carpark opens into a road just next to the park and it's surrounded by stud land (which is fenced off). I have a 100ft lead but it's a pain having to roll it up everytime I take him for a walk, which on the weekends is like 3-4 times... Are there any strong rectractable leashes I could buy? he doesnt pull for much in the park except if he finds a really good sniff spot, so I don't think he'd break it at all, i'd use his Halti for walking to and from the Park and if we see another dog he wants to pull to play with i'd also clip the Halti back on...

The biggest and strongest retractable I have found is the 8m. Giant flexible lead. If you want a retractable make sure it's a tape one as the cords are likely to be chewed through!

There's a basketball court nearby thats not listed on the councils website as being banned to dogs (many are but this particular one wasn't mentioned) we let them off to run in there at least once a week. Usually more.

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Cool responses thanks, I don't mind walking him on leash at all, I know he pulls, and he'll always pull (not a lot, just a little) which i'm fine with, makes me walk faster and stops me from crawling a long haha... I use a halti leash and wrap it around my waist, clip it, attach the bungee to the end and clip that to his harness, then let him do whatever he wants...

There's a park in our village but it's not fenced off, carpark opens into a road just next to the park and it's surrounded by stud land (which is fenced off). I have a 100ft lead but it's a pain having to roll it up everytime I take him for a walk, which on the weekends is like 3-4 times... Are there any strong rectractable leashes I could buy? he doesnt pull for much in the park except if he finds a really good sniff spot, so I don't think he'd break it at all, i'd use his Halti for walking to and from the Park and if we see another dog he wants to pull to play with i'd also clip the Halti back on...

no matter how much you role it up into a nice un tangled loops, when you get it out next its allllll ways tangled lol....i love the long leads but my god we spend just about the same time untangling them as we do on a walk :)

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do I get depressed?

sometimes, I wish I had a safe place to let them off.

But I dont live near a dog park, so I use the long leads and let them run in our gardens.

they arent unhappy. They dont realise they are missing out on something.

And I get the peace of mind that I am keeping my dogs safe.

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I don't. But I do tell myself that whatever other breed I will own next, it must be one I can let off-lead so that I'll know how does it feels to have a dog that has a perfect recall x) but after choosing a husky as my first dog, I hardly see another breed in my life LOL

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I've had Freya off lead for a couple of walks (not anymore, earlier on when I got her) and her behaviour was exactly the same as when she is on lead, i.e. she isn't unhappy or frustrated at being on a long lead on walks. Kiska is a different story - she is an off lead dog and if I were to put the long lead on her on a walk she would sulk the whole way round, barely leave my side, etc. But Freya's happy as a clam :D So no, I don't feel depressed, guilty or anything. She gets a great run around and I know she's safe :)

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  • 4 weeks later...

Yes and no. I would never take my dog, any breed off leash on the street, or a field, bcause its not the safest place around herre, but I do miss not having to tie up my dog in the yard. Happily I never knew this was an option until my parents got a huslie/shepard cross that liked to "wander" and guard babies and attack ppl on bikes/ At this point its just normal for me.

What I do get sadest about is while my parents god can me off lead when they are playing with him, like ball or hose, or frizbee, Blue cant do that at all. My dad tried once, wanted to teach Blue to play frizbee. Work the first two throws, but on the third Blue saw a butterfly and took off into the contrustion next door, that was fun, he is not easy to catch, let me tell you!

And I an happy to say that becuase my dog is always on a leash of a lead, or rope, or whatever, I always know wherre he is, he will not run away, I never have to worry about that. Also if he gets into trouble with another animal, racoon, stray cat, ect, I dont have to get close to them to get him away from it.

There are pros and cons to everything. Just never let your dog kow you think it sucks that he has to be on a lead because then he'll feel the same way, and then you can have issues. It has to be fun and normal.

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no not really my girls get to run around on their long leads and they enjoy it, it knackers them out and i have that piece of mind that im still attached to them and they can shoot off and disappear xx

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I don't feel depressed as such.... But I have a Yorkshire terrier that barely needs a lead she has fantastic recall and always has done... So my only worry is Lexi will wonder why she is stuck on a lead and holly isn't.... :/ but I kno it's safer for her :)

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Yes and no. I would never take my dog, any breed off leash on the street, or a field, bcause its not the safest place around herre, but I do miss not having to tie up my dog in the yard. Happily I never knew this was an option until my parents got a huslie/shepard cross that liked to "wander" and guard babies and attack ppl on bikes/ At this point its just normal for me.

What I do get sadest about is while my parents god can me off lead when they are playing with him, like ball or hose, or frizbee, Blue cant do that at all. My dad tried once, wanted to teach Blue to play frizbee. Work the first two throws, but on the third Blue saw a butterfly and took off into the contrustion next door, that was fun, he is not easy to catch, let me tell you!

And I an happy to say that becuase my dog is always on a leash of a lead, or rope, or whatever, I always know wherre he is, he will not run away, I never have to worry about that. Also if he gets into trouble with another animal, racoon, stray cat, ect, I dont have to get close to them to get him away from it.

There are pros and cons to everything. Just never let your dog kow you think it sucks that he has to be on a lead because then he'll feel the same way, and then you can have issues. It has to be fun and normal.

I need to amend myself with one small thing. Its very basic and common sense-y, but always make sure your husky cant slip his collar. They tend to have thick and flyffy necks . . . . I just chased Blue into my neighbours when he slipped his collar chasing a cat . . . . I was not impressed.

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