We are new owners of our little husky, and its so funny how different people react.

Here is the facts from our situation;

We live in a little house, with no garden! Olivier studies, and I work from home!

We have talked to several breeders before making our decision, all of them warned us! They all said;

"With no garden, it requires YOU to be outside with them for hours and hours every day"...

This is something we both enjoy, and on average before we had Dexter we would be outside walking by oursel 2-3 hours every day. Olivier runs a lot, and uses his bike a lot.

We where told by the breeder we bought Dexter from that she would expect as full grown he would require;

about 15 km "running" 3-4 times a week, plus the daily exercise (3-4 hours) and training.

Now when we have gotten the husky, I see people react like we are insane...
We hear people (ofc. its everyone that dont have a husky) say they need at least 25 km of running a day, they cant be alone, and they eat cats...

I look at my little Dexter and think; What? We are training home alone already, not that he will probably ever need it, but its good to have anyway, and he have already manage to stay in the bedroom when I go to the bathroom for a shower and stay there alone for 10 mins without any crying... I think thats huuuge for a little 9 weeks old puppy

To be honest for us it dosnt matter if we have to bike 15 kms, 20 km or 25 kms a day.. But as the breeder said; Just because the dog CAN run that much doesnt mean it have to, its also not very healthy to push it for "no reason"...

So... What myth and facts do you have about the husky? Do you run 25 km a day with your husky? Does your husky eat cats and small dogs? And does it cry if you leave it alone?

FACT.

Do not be fooled. What you are going through is quite common. Your 9 week old puppy is still in his "I'm a puppy, I like to please, I like to stay close to mommy and daddy" phase. He will grow out of it. Around 10 months or so he's going to hit his "teenage rebellion stage." You'll see a dog who likes to test his limits, push your buttons, and see what he can get away with. His energy level is going to increase exponentially. He's going to be able to tolerate going on long runs and he's going to WANT to go on long runs. In fact, he will probably need it.

Now... there are exceptions to every rule, but they are few, rare, and far between. Your breeder was right to warn you and in all likelihood, your pup is going to need a lot of exercise. I wouldn't count my chickens just yet

Heh, the things the breeder and other people are talking about don't usually show up in pups that young. Once his brain gets better at controlling his body he will start being more Husky-like. Hopefully you did get one that won't need so much activity to remain tolerable. It's just too soon to tell. My dogs get 8k-10k six days a week.

(9 weeks is too young for running distance anyway.)

About the exercise: 25 km = 15 mi ? I don't know anybody that runs or walks 15 miles with their dog regularly. I have had 2 huskies and my new 6 month old seems to be requiring more exercise than the first one. We began life with the first husky in a small apartment and just had to walk her and play at parks often. I think the amount of exercise needed depends on the dogs personality, but huskies do need more than many dogs. Basically they need to stay busy. They are working dogs and they need to have something to do.

About leaving him alone: I just said "they need to have something to do" and if left alone I would be less concerned about crying than about boredom. A bored, unsupervised husky can do some serious damage to your house and perhaps even hurt himself as well! When I turned my back to get coffee one day, Sabaka ripped a hole in my sofa cushion. Five minutes out of sight and BOOM...who knows what they can get into!

About cats: My first husky loved my Mother-in-law's cats and got along quite well with all other dogs. She caught and killed birds and squirrels and once a possum... so I think if an strange cat would be running around outside she might have gone for it. Don't misunderstand; don't picture a vicious, snarling dog killing small animals. She would just lunge at the animal and quite calmly snatch it up!

I hope this helps. I'm sure you will get many other answers and we will probably all say something different. I think, just like people, all huskies are different but share MANY similarities.

I don't give my Huskies that much exercise... I don't know many people (who aren't working their dogs) who do. Mine get a good long walk once a day and then sporadically some others throughout and we do the dog park daily for about an hour and a half. It's getting hot here so it really depends on how they're taking it.

What you don't want to do is create a dog who needs immense amounts of exercise. If you religiously build the dog up to running 15 miles a day.... the dog WILL be able to run 15 miles a day and will NEED to now run 15 miles a day. Not because the dog initially had that much energy but because you've conditioned the dog to do so.

This is a breed that requires exercise or an "active home" this is not a dog that you walk a few times a day and that's it. They love to do stuff.

My Huskies are fine with my cats. I've raised them with my cats and they respect the cats. Although, that stupid little squirrel teasing them up and down the tree will be mauled if he loses his footing one day. They have a high prey drive. Which is why they're also not good off leash dogs. They will run and chase a squirrel and ignore a recall while they're doing so. If you're going to let them off leash, it needs to be in a confined area.

arooroomom wrote:

What you don't want to do is create a dog who needs immense amounts of exercise. If you religiously build the dog up to running 15 miles a day.... the dog WILL be able to run 15 miles a day and will NEED to now run 15 miles a day. Not because the dog initially had that much energy but because you've conditioned the dog to do so.

Thats exactly what Ive been trying to tell people

Ofc. getting a husky does require the owner to have a high activity life, but its also about what the dog "needs", and what you put it to "want to"...

And my point is kind of proven, none of the replies here runs as far as all none husky owners says "they have to", they do require running, and a lot of it, but not in a "unnatural way"... Oliviers loves to bike and he regulary bikes about 15-20 kms (about 12,5 miles), and the plan is ofc. Dexter is gonna come for those runs.

(And just to clarify, we have already been told and already knew before by researche, that ofc. he cant and shouldnt do that massive amounts till he is older, its not healthy for a pup... )

I knew the responses here would corroborate your story... I'm just always the person who says to prepare for the worst with exercise.

I'll be honest... my two sleep all day. Seriously... all day. Will you need to run 25 km with him? More than likely not. However, you WILL need to exercise him and keep him stimulated. Glad to see you already know all of this though.

Koda wrote:

I knew the responses here would corroborate your story... I'm just always the person who says to prepare for the worst with exercise.

I'll be honest... my two sleep all day. Seriously... all day. Will you need to run 25 km with him? More than likely not. However, you WILL need to exercise him and keep him stimulated. Glad to see you already know all of this though.

Yeah I think most people just tend to want to scare people.. An dyes huskies do need a lot of exercise.. But not more than "humanly possible" If you know what I mean

Shii wrote:

Koda wrote:

I knew the responses here would corroborate your story... I'm just always the person who says to prepare for the worst with exercise.

I'll be honest... my two sleep all day. Seriously... all day. Will you need to run 25 km with him? More than likely not. However, you WILL need to exercise him and keep him stimulated. Glad to see you already know all of this though.

Yeah I think most people just tend to want to scare people.. An dyes huskies do need a lot of exercise.. But not more than "humanly possible" If you know what I mean

It absolutely is to scare people! But the reason is that most people WON'T dedicate the time and energy needed to take care of these dogs. The people that hear "You need to run 25 km a day" and don't run away screaming are the people that actually will do what it takes and make that lifetime commitment to a husky. Just because I don't run mine everyday, doesn't mean that I wouldn't if they needed it. Make sense?

Welcome to the forum

Hi, welcome!!! First let me start off by saying that if ran my 2 for that long I would be in amazing shape!

Honestly, mine don't need that much exercise. I have a 5yr old female and an almost 9month old male. I walk them some mornings (depending on how they wake up) and every evening for about 20min each. I actually try to walk them for longer, but they stop walking, sit, and look in the direction of the house. I'm guessing because it's so hot in Miami. Don't get me wrong...if they don't go on their 20min evening walk they'll drive me UP THE WALL! They also play a lot with each other so that tires them out as well.

BTW, he's adorable!

Hi Kristina,
Your definately in the right place for answers for questions. These guys are awesome. They have already helped me out so much.

I can tell you I definately don't get Miko in that much excersize. We get a really great walk in and then some free play at the dog park(I like her to socialize with other dags). I have found that when she stars getting roudy at home taking her for a walk helps. But Cy and I also include her in most of our out door activities (hiking, camping, trips to the park, fishing, etc).

Though she loves chasing other animals, its out of curiosity and the desire to play, never out of aggression. We have an indoor cat that is old and set in her ways and wants nothing to do with Miko, but it hasn't stopped her from trying.

Mine do just fine with two walks a day. I had to skip the walks for 2 months recently when I broke my wrist and they both did just fine. They didn't act up or drive me crazy without it. They love their walks though so I started them back up as soon as I got the ok from the doctor. Willow is typical in that she loves to chase anything that moves, but Dakota has never harmed another animal and has had several opportunities. Dakota doesn't destroy the house but Willow sure would if I left her unattended. We've had this discussion on another thread, but I think it's best to expect the worst and hopefully you will get lucky and your Dexter will be like my Dakota.

hehe, I think its good to buy a husky and expect 25 km a day, a dog that east cats for breakfast and cant settle inside At least you will then get positively surprised

Even though Dexter is only 9 weeks, it already shows that he does need a lot of attention... Well he is a puppy so ofc. but I mean attention in the way that he likes to be "challenged" and use his brain already...

We met up with a puppy team and none of them could do the same stuff as Dexter, who already can quite a few tricks