Ok, I know this will be a controversial topic because ideally, no dog, especially a husky, should have the opportunity to chase a car. But realistically...it happens sometimes.

We have had the fortunate experience of having Tim, our recently deceased Malamute/ Husky/ Samoyed/ Wolf mix, who in 14 1/2 years never left our property. We have 12 acres, unfenced, and he was content to patrol them. I realize he is the exception, not the rule however.

Vixen is 4 months old and has recently developed the habit of chasing the car down the driveway when we leave. So I end up locking her in the barn when we leave. I am hopeful to teach her and Zelda to be trustworthy, like Tim. I know it is a long shot, but a girl can try anyway.

So...if anyone has experience in getting a dog to develop respect for cars and to NOT chase them, I would appreciate all suggestions.

If however you simply wish to lecture about the idiocy of ever trusting a husky off leash...please don't . I totally agree that it is usually a lost cause. But I know from experience it isn't ALWAYS a lost cause. If Vixen turns out to be a typicaL husky she will most definitely lose her freedom. Period. I won't. Be careless. Our 2 previous huskies couldn't be off leash for a second. Which is why I hesitated to get another. Having another dog turn out like Tim would be too good to be true. But this crazy breed is addictive, and once you haVe had one..its just hard to not have another. ANd another....

So..helpful suggestions anybody?

The only two things I can think of are either practice with someone holding her on a leash when you leave to tell her no or use an electric collar to zap her when she starts to chase the car. I wouldn't leave her unattended and loose when you leave either, she's a curious puppy and bound to wander or be stolen. People steal and lure/shoot dogs that aren't on the correct property.

You might have to wait until she's older also. For example, it's common practice to chain a herd guardian (that roams with the livestock) where it can still interact with the livestock (like chickens sleep by it and what not) until it's six months to a year because they will run away too.

so are you saying you leave your property with the dogs running loose on your 12 acres with no supervision? im not going to lecture you but i will say you should never leave a dog (no matter the breed) to roam around with no one home, what IF something happened.....

You could also look at craigslist for used invisible fences. We have 40 acres and Nunya started running away at about eight months if we weren't out with him. We found a fence for free.

jbealer wrote:

so are you saying you leave your property with the dogs running loose on your 12 acres with no supervision? im not going to lecture you but i will say you should never leave a dog (no matter the breed) to roam around with no one home, what IF something happened.....

Yup. But thank you for not lecturing.

I like the leash idea. I thought about the shock collar, but i have read so much controversial stuff about their use, and I am worried I may not use it properly and could cause behavioral issues.

We tried invisible fencing with our other huskies. They quickly learned it only hurt for a few seconds and would just make a mad dash across the barrier, yipping all the way!

I probably won't be leaving her unsupervised anymore though. Now that she has a partner in crime I think she will be more likely to start exploring beyond home. But she also chases cars that are visiting us, when we ARE home, and runs to greet them, which is asking for disaster. W make a point to restrain her, but sometimes people pull in who we aren't expecting. Tim always viewed cars as dog eating machines and never approached them till they we turned off. But he was just exceptional in all ways. Initially Vixen was scared of them, but now she associates them with RIDES.

I do appreciate the suggestions and will give them a try. I guess we have been pretty spoiled in that we live in a rural, isolated area and no one ever othered us, so I didn't worry about theft. I do have Vixen microchipped, and will be doing the same for Zelda as soon as she is fully recovered from her illness.

Snoopy ran through the fence once so my mom turned it up and now he's fine. He also doesn't know that his collar is what's zapping him so I can have him out without a collar on if I'm grooming him or whatever.

Nunya crossed the line last year when I was in the hay field, yelped the whole time too... He hates it though, so he hasn't done it since.

I live in a rural area too, there's less than 3,000 people in our town (technically it's a village lol) but we still have people that shoot pets, plus stealing animals and selling them is becoming a lot more common.

If you want to keep her outside when you're gone you can always use a tie-out instead of locking her up, as long as she isn't a dog that slips her collar. Just make sure she has adequate access to shade, water, and housing.

We are actually going to be moving in a few months and the new acreage has the COOLEST underground kennels built into the hillside, and it is fenced. I am very excited about it. Perhaps having a nice cool hole in the ground will keep them from digging new ones in my flowerbeds? Thinking positive!