Hello, everyone.
Here's my situation. I'm a college student living on my parents' property for the time being. I'm strongly considering getting a husky, but my parents aren't convinced it's the right choice. The property was initially a farm house, so there's a lot of open field space. Because of this, they say I should have a dog that can be off leash and run around freely. The property is surrounded by thick woods with a lot of brush, but that likely won't prevent a husky from bolting.
I don't mind so much keeping it on leash, and I believe I can fulfill its exercise requirements easily. That's actually one of the reasons I want a husky, because I want to have more outdoor activity due to my largely sedentary college work. I also like that they're a more intelligent breed.
Ultimately it's my choice what dog I get, but it would be nice if I could convince my parents that this is a good choice. Researching them does paint a pretty bad picture of them. They come accross as aggressive, disrespectful, disobedient, disloyal, destructive and overall impossible to manage. But I know they can't be as horrible as they sound, otherwise why would anybody keep them? It seems like people emphasize their negative traits to deter people unwilling to put in the time and effort necessary.
So could I ask people to share their more positive husky experiences? And maybe how you manage their more negative traits?
Also, if you have any suggestions on how I could let it run around more freely, that would be appreciated. It would be a shame to let our open fields go to waste.

If a person isn't committed or can't remain committed for the entirety of the dog's life is when you see the bad in the breed show up. A lot of people get Huskies because they are pretty and then don't do what it takes to keep them and that's when the horror stories start popping up. They are a wonderful breed that is super smart and loves people. They are a lot of work though. They have some interesting personalities and everyone is unique.If you share your life with a husky they will make you laugh every day. Ultimately it's your parent's house and they are going to have a say since the dog will leave hair all over their furniture. You can look into invisible fence systems to utilize the fields possibly depending on the size of field.

My spiel with getting dog while someone is still in college is this. Do you know absolutely where you will be after school? Do you know absolutely that wherever you go after college that you will be able to find housing that allows you to take the dog with you? The renters market when you have a dog is really tough and depending on the state you are in Huskies may be on the aggressive breeds list so even a dog friendly place may still not let you have a husky. These are extremely important things to think about before getting a dog of any breed. Your parents may also be concerned with where the dog will end up after you graduate if you can't find a dog friendly place and they know they won't be able to handle the needs of this breed when you move on after school and want to avoid the whole possibility. I think where your parents are concerned you need to assess if it's just the breed that makes them uncomfortable, or if it's the possibility of them having to take care of the dog down the road that worries them.

Thanks for the reply.
I probably need to clarify that I am in no way rushing into this without forethought. I'm actually coming here well in advance of when I'd get my dog. By then I'll have a solid idea of where I'll be after college, and whether it'll be a wise idea to get it.
My parents are not concerned about having to take care of it themselves or about shedding. They're concerned that a husky would be more of a chore than a joy for me to own. I was hoping that around here I could learn about how rewarding owning a husky can be if you know what you're doing.

Hehe the horror stories are very real. Loki ate a cactus the other day. The last thing i ever thought he would do was eat something that was stabbing him in the gums, but he did. Thirty minutes and a fifty dollar phone call to the pet poison contol line later, I'm out on my porch at midnight straddling him to keep him laying on his side and squirting water from a mustard bottle over his teeth while he twists and kicks the $=&7 out of me because that was the best advice they could give me. It's a life long learning process and they'll get into things that deter less tenacious dogs, lol.

But yeah. I'm going to agree with Jennifer here. It's hard as heck to find a place that allows dogs larger than 40# and is affordable.

As a fellow college student, I think it's all about time management. You just need to make sure you have enough time to put into your dog to make sure the "crazy" doesn't come out lol. There are days where I'm working late at school, but luckily, I can take my dog to my studio and I walk him around campus a couple of times throughout the day. Also, as Jenn stated earlier, make sure you know how you plan on working around housing with a husky. Luckily, I found an apartment with no breed restrictions, but it was an extra $300 on the deposit.

Generally, the breed is very bad off leash, but with enough training, there have been a couple of people who do get them to have good recall, but they only let them loose when they feel it's safe.


Good luck!

The stories about Huskies are true, but the owners don't see them as negative traits. In many cases, we actually find them quite endearing. In fact, my Husky, Suka, decided to dig a hole to China this morning. He came into the house with his muzzle and paws black (I think he got into potting soil but I'm not sure where he found it). Instead of getting upset, I busted out laughing because he looked so adorable covered in mud like that. I also recognize that he had a lot of fun, and that's worth him getting a little dirty. It's easy enough to clean off with a towel. It set the tone for my day, and I've been in a good mood ever since! This is the kind of thing that would upset most dog owners, but the Husky personality is so much like my own that they're like a kindred spirit for me.

In 2005, I once caught my old Husky, Mika, lifting up the bottom of the fence high enough for my other dogs to scoot under. Then she crawled under herself. I had seven dogs at that time and had to round them all up. Instead of being mad at her, I was impressed by how smart she was. I also made changes to the fence so she couldn't do that in the future.

You just have to have the right personality to own a Husky, and be willing to take care of their needs (such as their need for exercise).

I wholeheartedly agree with whitehusky3, you have to have the right personality for them. They do not respond well to negative reinforcement and you must have a sense of humor when owning these breeds because they can be destructive if not properly exercised and taken care of. My husky has so far has ruined about $700 worth of stuff and he is a little over a year old. To me, he isn't anywhere near as bad as what I had read about on this forum and other places, but that doesn't mean those huskies don't also exist!