We have a 2 year old, neutered male Husky/Malmute. He is a pound dog, and we are his third owners that we know of. We have had him since May '03. He is an outside dog, with a dog run and house. We were doing well with his training, by October he was coming to me when I called, he knew how to sit and stay and he didn't wander far from home. In December he started running off to our landlord's place to play with their dog. Now anytime he gets a chance, he takes off next door and won't come home unless we go get him. I am going to pick him up yet again after lunch and I don't know what to do with him once I get him home. This time he took off in the middle of a tug of war game with my dd. He just dropped the rope and ran off next door. I don't want to keep him chained up all the time, as he is very hyper and gets depressed when chained for long periods of time, but I'm tired of chasing him all the time.Any ideas would be much appreciated. Thanks.
This may sound mean but sometimes love hurts. Get a GOOD shock collar. Stand out of sight. When he is let loose and leaves the yard lay on the shock collar until he comes back. He would associate this discipline with an person. There is also a similar device where you bury a wire around the perimeter where you want him to stay inside of. When he gets close then he starts to get a shock. The bad thing about this is if his momentum carries him past the wire then he wont be able to get back.
My first recommendation is obvious......build a 6 foot wire fence and bury about 8 inches or so below ground level. I don't know if you're renting or buying so it does make a difference. Wire will allow him to see and hear everything that his sensors are receiving but he won't beable to leave to participate in the activity. Is there a specific reason that he 'leaves" such as the presence of food at the location or a female dog who could be coming into heat??? I have a Male Akita and when I first moved out here into the country(before my fence was up) he started running with other dogs. I went to a Horse supply store and bought one of those 20 foot long by 1 inch wide nylon straps and I got him acclimated(sp) to responding to my voice while he was on the end of his teather. Also, He is FULL of raging hormones at 2 years of age.....SO take him to the vet and get his "Brains" removed. This will make a significant difference in his aggressive attitude and Need for Roaming type activities. You have to remember that these type of dogs are still very close too the Wolf and as such they are programmed to do about 3 things: killing their supper, breeding to sustain their species, and rest to continue to participate in the other two. I would call the AKC and see if there is anyone available to advise you on your particular type of dog. I know how you feel BUT don't give up easily because there is help and answers for your problems..........fordy
mtnhighgirl, Huskies are runners. Taz, our 7 year old neutered male, loves to run his fool head off. Fortunately he primarily runs back in the woods which are bordered by a river and a 70 foot high railroad embankment (he has about 200 acres to play in). He spends his days either tethered or in the fenced in area we made for him. Also understand that huskies are diggers and climbers (yes, they can even learn to climb chainlink fences). Having said this, huskies are very protective and loving once they bond to you. You can train them. Taz no longer attempts to eat our cats. That only took a year or so to take effect. He is still willing to go after squirrels, rabbits, deer, possums, groundhogs and other male dogs. Mike
I have a Husky/Wolf mix She is 2 years old and very playfull I keep her in a fenced area about 100 x 200. She did need the shock collar to help train for about the first 5 month I had her now all i have to do is walk outside and she will stay within 20 feet of me.
We will look into the shock collar. We can't build a dog pen, but he is on a chain lead that allows him to roam a good part of the yard. We used to be able to let him run free if we were outside with him, but since the first snowfall, he doesn't come when called and takes off. He is already fixed, so that won't solve anything. Our landlords have an older male dog, that seems to be the incentive for our dog to run over there. He's a great dog, good with kids and cats, I just want him to stay home and listen to me! Thanks for all of your advice. Any other ideas would be great.
Invisible fencing. I have a Graet Dane and a mixed breed chow/shepard/wplf cross and once trained to invinsible fence [about 2 weeks] they have never left the propery. I love it
An invisible fence is NOT an option with a husky or husky mix. They generally have a pain tolerence that's off the scale (unless they are conning you) and will simply ignore the shock. A shock collar may not work for the same reason. I'd recommend frankly, keeping him either chained or on leash, and re-doing ALL the training you had done, just to reinforce who is really in charge here. You do have a problem in that he has learned he CAN run away, which may make things difficult. You might also try tethering him to you with a 6' lead and going around your normal activities. It's a good way to reinforce 'stay with me' and force the dog to be aware of your movements. I'd also put the dog on NILIF- nothing In Life Is Free- basically, no treats and no playing EXCEPT as rewards for good behavior. Sits before you put his food bowl down, before you let him in or out a gate, or through a door, or before you pet him. Frankly, you got away with a lot more freedom than I think most huskies could handle. I suspect you can retrain this dog, but it's going to be a battle. Huskies and Mals are MEANT to run- it's so instinctive to them, and it's VERY difficult to stop- it'd be like asking a border collie NOT to herd, or a pointer not to point. I've got a friend who is not TOO far from you, who does husky and mal rescue, who might have some good advice. If you would PM me, I can give you her email. Cait, wearing the dog trainer hat
I have had two husky-mixes and one malamute briefly. Freedom doesn't work with these dogs at that age. Ours would run for MILES with a neighboring dog if given the chance. We have found the best deterrent is LOTS of play and exercise. Some of the things we do/did: At the peak times of training I walked about 2 miles in the morning and again in the evening with the dog (and the neighbor dog he liked too). There were times I "biked" him--held him on leash and rode that distance. But that it is hazardous with rabbits around. So then we trained him to run with the car with a leash out the window on our very quiet deadend road. He could run at higher speeds (20 mph was no big deal) and was plenty tuckered out for the afternoon or evening. We took obedience classes with a group of dogs as well. And I learned patience and learned to appreciate a long leash. Don't let the dog out where he can meet up with other dogs. With our neighbors we had an agreement: his dogs loose during the day and mine was loose after 6 PM. Kept all of them out of trouble....there was a nasty incident with a neighbors pet bunny...two dogs together do things they wouldn't do alone. Err on the side of caution. Good luck. [Oh, and Corgitails is right on--we call that Status Reduction when we make them let us go through doors first, remove the food bowl in the middle of a meal, etc.]
Jack Russells, terriers, huskies, pit bulls, etc all have high pain tolerance and sneeze at those invisible fences. My pit bull gets whooped but good on wild hogs and catches them for a living so an invisible fence is nothing to her. Ted
Forgot to mention that.....huskies are VERY conscious about status. You need to let him know that you are the ALPHA. Mike
