Hey guys,

I have been waking up with early with Riley to get in a walk, mostly to tucker her out.  I have noticed that she ALWAYS has more energy on the way home.  Sometimes, I have to really work with her to get going as we walk away from our home.

Now these walks are not that long and are at a very leisurely pace.  She is about 10 weeks old.

Has anyone else seen this before?

I don't think it's too weird. I think my guy seemed like this when he was younger. I chalked it up to him knowing we were heading back towards home and knew where to go so he just wanted to GO.

Is she still more energetic once you get home or is it more just on the second half of the walk?

MGoBlue wrote:

I don't think it's too weird. I think my guy seemed like this when he was younger. I chalked it up to him knowing we were heading back towards home and knew where to go so he just wanted to GO.

Is she still more energetic once you get home or is it more just on the second half of the walk?

It depends how long we walk for, sometimes she really is tired when we get home.  The best way for me to describe it, is that on the outbound leg she is always level with my knee or behind me.  On the inbound leg of our walk she is always pulling the leash ahead of me.

Yeah, sounds familiar. Our boy still does a little bit of that, but he has mostly gotten over it with growing up and leash manner training.

Okay thanks. Makes me feel better.

It does sound like she is eager to return to the familiar safety of home. Being so young that is understandable and likely that she'll grow out of it with age. Two of my previous dogs that I no longer have were real home bodies. They were rescues from a bad breeder so they had fear issues and therefore liked being in the safety of their home. They always did what you describe. My girl Faith would walk as far behind me as the lead would allow but as soon as we were headed towards the house she was full steam ahead walking as far in front of me as the lead allowed (without pulling). My other girl Glory was so fearful she'd walk next to me on the way out and then would be pulling ahead of me on the way home. I'm sure your pup will grow out of it as she ages and grows more confident.

Thanks Valerie,

Do you think it is better to "force" her to go on more walks or simply keep them to a minimum for the time being?

-- Jeff

I wouldn't force anything, but at the same time, getting her used to walking and socializing her is very important at this age. I would just make it your goal to make every walk a fun experience for her. Bring toys and treats and start with less distance and more frequency. Take her to new places, but if she seems overwhelmed, then take her out of the situation.

I have the opposite problem. Diz drags on the way home because he wants to stay outside!

Hi Jen,

There are no shortage of people meeting riley, but she has only really had exposure to one other dog since we got her. It was a very positive one. Once we get her third vaccination I think other dog socialization will be easier.

I have not really thought about making it fun or rewarding her. I will try that tomorrow morning.

Thanks for the advice.

Jeff, is she really only 10 weeks old?

I would not have her out and about at all until she has had her last shot, don't want her picking anything up. the rule of thumb is 5 min of walking per month of age so you should only be taking her out for around 10-15 min at a time, but a few times a day. practicing leash walking in your yard or around the house is just as good for right now, and mental training.
congrats on your pup

Jeff,
All great advice. What I did was take sections of our yard and did the 5 minute rule, as she got older we made the perimeter larger, did this 4-6 times a day. Along the way, if I felt she was getting bored we started command training, carried small treats with me. It's a great way to start recall, sit, stay, etc. Now that she is older we take our long walks, and she races for home, because she wants to jump in the kiddie pool to cool her tootsies, lol. Btw, she definitely knows our property lines.

Renee

jbealer wrote:

Jeff, is she really only 10 weeks old?

I would not have her out and about at all until she has had her last shot, don't want her picking anything up.  the rule of thumb is 5 min of walking per month of age so you should only be taking her out for around 10-15 min at a time, but a few times a day. practicing leash walking in your yard or around the house is just as good for right now, and mental training.
congrats on your pup

Hello Jennifer,

Yeah, well she is now in her 11th week.

I'm a bit of a knowledge junkie, so I try to read and learn as much as I can.  In this case it is on puppies and huskies.  This is so frustrating, because there is SO much conflicting information.  I joined this forum so I can learn from actual husky owners, so I'm glad everyone is responding to this thread.  I actually feel like I'm getting somewhere.

Now,  I have been taking her on walks since we got her at 8 weeks.  They can last as long as 45 mins.  While we are not walking the whole time, she is definitely out there sniffing and pouncing.  Before we started we checked with our vet and she said the walks are fine so long as Riley does not show symptoms of being tired, and are kept away from unfamiliar dogs.  

Should I be curbing the walks and only walking her, playing with her in my yard?

I tried the other Jen's tip of bringing along some treats to get the walk going and it worked like a charm.  I truly feel that Riley appreciated and was totally content during our walk.  Once we got back she still had a bunch of energy and we then played in the yard together.

I tell you raising my daughters was much easier than Riley.

MiyasMomma wrote:

Jeff,
All great advice. What I did was take sections of our yard and did the 5 minute rule, as she got older we made the perimeter larger, did this 4-6 times a day. Along the way, if I felt she was getting bored we started command training, carried small treats with me. It's a great way to start recall, sit, stay, etc. Now that she is older we take our long walks, and she races for home, because she wants to jump in the kiddie pool to cool her tootsies, lol. Btw, she definitely knows our property lines.

Renee

Hi Renee,

Thanks for the advice.

Did you find that she would rest easy after the short walks?  At what age did you forgo the 5 min rule?

All four of us do command training, but it is not really scheduled.  it is usually when she is pretty mellow so she can focus.

-- Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Huskies are like a child, and they will not show that they are hurt, tired because they don't want to miss out on anything. lol.
I did the 5 min rule until she was about a year, I adjusted the frequency vs adding distance. As she grew older the lawn perimeter grew as well. It's tedious and boring, but not to her. I also added the commands to tire her more. We still play a game where she has a toy we play with and in the middle of play I'll start using commands, then we'll play more, then more commands. This will tire Riley out mentally and physically, it's important to do both. More structured walks started around 6 months(half hour walks, grass or dirt type area vs concrete or asphalt). This is to protect their joints, hips, etc. Most vets are not familiar with a specific breed and will give you general info that covers all dogs. some huskies grow until a year, year and a half, but some continue to grow until 2 years of age. That's why you have to adjust exercise. Quite frankly a 3 month old pup will have a ton of energy, but do not have common sense to stop playing, running, etc. to protect themselves, that's why you have to do it for them.

Miya's first walk of the day(still true to this day) would be her sniffing everything. Second would be a more focused walk, leash training if you will. Third would be command training/walk. Fourth focused walk, etc. Again tiring both mentally and physically is key to young pups. They can not over learn things. I believe training is on going and I try to make it fun. You'll be amazed at how many commands Riley will learn through consistency, and repetition.

Hope I helped a little bit more.

Renee

Thanks Renee,

It did!

-- Jeff

Just a quick update.  

Riley walks like a dream.  

As a three month old, we feel she is still a bit young to learn the heel command.  What we did was teach her a "let's go" command.  When she is sniffing or lagging, we simply start walking say "let's go" and give her a slight pull she immediately stops what she is doing and catches up.  In most cases the command works by itself. It took a good week for her to get it, but it was worth it.

I'm sure it was an age thing, as now she is much more curious and willing to explore anywhere.

Thanks to all the tips.

Great to hear Jeff! "Let's Go" is still our go to command.