husky off lead question

puddles22

i have a four month old husky , so far on walks in forests or isolated places and even the park i have her off lead. her recall at this stage is 100% , i do a lot of hillwalking and when she is older i plan to take her on the hills, will her recall diminish as she gets older? as im reading never let husky off lead . i train her from 5 to 6 times a day for about ten minutes, she very smart and usually picks up new commands within first ten minutes,

seamus

If anything a dog's recall will improve with time as they settle down and become less jittery, but from what I hear on boards, huskies have a very strong prey drive and as the dog gets older will be more likely to take off if they spy a small furry animal and not respond to recall. As they get into their teen years (1 -2 years of age), they will also test the boundaries moreso than puppies do and you might find her failing to respond every now and again. But again, this settles down again as they become fully adult.

Training recall really needs to be done in a variety of environments. My dog has perfect recall in the house and on her own. But I have very little confidence in her recall if there are distractions about, like dogs or things to sniff, so she's kept on lead most of the time in public.

Have you been able to practise recall in a class environment - i.e. with loads of distractions about?

ABitofsense

My husky is nearly 1. He was great with recall, loads of training etc etc BUT now other things are more interesting than me. He will come back now when he wants or if i have treats. I only trust him off in enclosed areas where i know he wont go far or if he's playing with other dogs as he stays with them.

Do not let your husky off in open spaces like forests as when she smells or sees something interesting shes gone.

Shanao

In my opinion, no spitz breeds should ever be left offlead. Even though my akita has good recall, I wouldn't leave him off lead ever. You never know when a small dog might run past, a bird might fly past, a cat might go by, but the instant a high prey drive animal like a husky sees it, forget about him coming back when called. Huskies are faster than us, and they only need to start running once to realise this.