[danielleAlyse150]

I have a 5 month old Siberian Husky, who does exactly what Huskys are known to do, eat things, run away, try to escape, etc. it's a HUGE problem! I do not have a fence at my house, and I had trained my lab to stay in the yard and respond to basic commands since I live right off of a busy street. My lab is great and when we first got my husky she didn't leave my labs side so it wasn't a problem until this week when she has decided to run off wherever she wants. I am going to train her to stay in the yard, HOWEVER, I am not home for 6+ hours of the day during the week so my dad and sister are with the dogs who they do not listen to. They INSIST on buying her a shock collar which I am completely against, I found a happy medium and agreed on just a vibration and beep collar but I am still so upset and mad over it.

I know Huskys are very stubborn and are hard to train, they are also known to be Hudinis. But I am not ok with a collar, seeing that I don't have a fence I really do not think I have another choice. My lab does still run after birds which I know even if I train my husky she will do the same. I cannot bare the thought of her running off one day onto the busy street but I am afraid a vibration collar might not work and I absolutely will NOT buy a shock collar. If it has shock on it I will let them buy one I am not ok with them at all for my own reasons.

Please, if anyone has any experience with huskies, in training them and/with a collar PLEASE REPLY!! I need help I am so distraught I cannot bare the thought of hearing her Yelp from a shock and will not put her through that I have seen so many dogs because terrified of their owners due to shock collars and I will not let my husky ever experience that. I do think the only way to really make sure she never reaches that street is a vibration collar which is ok, I know it is just a vibration, but I need to know that they work. Please reply with any help possible!!

 

[Tuxi]

I don't know if im going to be of much help because the only time I ever had dealings with a husky was when I was minding a friends one over night and she escaped over my 7ft wall. Luckily she ran straight home and I found her in my friends back garden.

BUT I am going to be honest, I cant imagine a vibration collar working. And like you I would not use a a shock collar for all the money in the world - on any animal! It is inhumane as far as im concerned.
Is your husky house trained? could she be left in the house for those 6hrs a day that you are away? Could you perhaps crate train her?
If she cant live in the house could you perhaps buy her a large enclosure that she could be left in safely for those 6 hours - one that has a sheltered roof on it? You can get some really nice looking ones now too.

I would suggest tying her up but I don't really agree with this either because I think dogs can get themselves hurt quite easily being tied. But it is an option for those 6hrs?

In regards to training her to stay within the perimeter of your house I think maybe a dog trainer would be a better idea because each dog is different and needs a different approach?!

 

[danielleAlyse150]

Yes I have heard that Huskys can jump fences as high as 8-10 ft high and she already can jump about 4ft off the ground. Even when the vibration collar is bought I am still going have a trainer come out and train her in hopes that it works but she is VERY stubborn and only does the commands she currently knows when she's chooses too.

As for the housing situation, she is house trained but there's no way I'd be able to keep inside all day. My dad and sister are both outside all day with my lab and when we have tried to leave her inside before she has DESTROYED things including blankets inside her crate.

A space outside that would be fenced and roofed is a wonderful idea but I know that when I'm not home they will not listen to me and she will not be in the space anyways. It is very hard because my dad and sister do not understand just how sneaky huskys really are and they do not listen to anyone even when the worst happens they still believe that it was not their fault. That is why I got my lab trained so young knowing they are the way they are and my Husky is so stubborn, and energetic that I'm scared the worst will happen without a collar.

I absolutely do not want to resort to a shock collar which is why I agreed to let them try a beep/vibration collar on her since she is very smart and I do believe it will work for the first week or two. I do not think it'll work longer than that for her so she absolutely will need to get professionally trained, but I'm hoping a shock collar is not what it comes down to I am completely against them I am just so afraid that I might not have another choice if both the vibration collar and training does not help.

 

[SusanLynn]

Hi Danielle,

First, I just want to say welcome to the Dog Forum. I think this suggestion is going to be your best option:

If she cant live in the house could you perhaps buy her a large enclosure that she could be left in safely for those 6 hours - one that has a sheltered roof on it? You can get some really nice looking ones now too.

You should check with Animal Control in your municipality, but I would imagine that keeping a dog outside, unsupervised, in a yard without a physical fense might be a violation of local ordinances. I think you're going to run into trouble if your husky starts wandering the neighborhood and is picked up.

Here's an example of a dog run that you can purchase:

KennelMaster 4 ft. x 8 ft. x 6 ft. Welded Wire Dog Fence Kennel Kit-K648WWBL/C - The Home Depot

You'll want to secure a run like this someplace where your dog can't dig a hole and escape. In the long run, investing in a fence or a dog run is going to save your family a lot of headaches.

Good luck!

 

[Moonstream]

A vibration/shock collar is going to do little to nothing in terms of containment. With the shock collar, I'd be less worried about the humanity of it and more worried about whether it would even be enough to keep her in the yard. IME, the dogs that are able to be contained with shock collars tend to be the ones who have soft temperaments, low pain thresholds, and aren't really that interested in trying to leave the yard anyways. My parents used one (against my suggestions) for our lab mix in our yard at our country house and it worked for her, but she also wasn't really interested in roaming, didn't have high prey drive, and we live in a very quiet area on a dirt road so there's not a lot to really draw her out of the yard. I know someone else with a Beagle- who I would consider a lot more similar to huskies in terms of wanting to roam, etc- and he couldn't be contained by the fence at all. To my knowledge it also didn't work on their Corgie. I would be very surprised if the shock collar actually worked- much more likely in my mind would be that the dog would decide the shock was worth the freedom. Personally that's the argument I would use against the collar- it's more likely that someone who doesn't believe shock collars are cruel will be swayed by that argument vs the argument that they hurt the dog.

In terms of containment... short of getting a very high fence or keeping the dog on a longline attached to its harness when outside I don't think there's much that can be done. Huskies like to roam- they certainly aren't labs. A lot of Huskies are never reliable off-leash, also, because of them liking to roam and their normally fairly high prey drive.

You might look into Susan Garrett "Recall Games" to teach a more reliable recall, though.

 

[Nikita1]

I have a 5 1/2 month old husky and never let her off leash outside of our backyard for the very reason stated. Huskies love to run and explore at every opportunity and are often lost because of this. I keep my fur baby in the kitchen with a baby gate blocking access to the rest of the house when I am away from home. She has access to food, water and toys to keep her busy until I return. So far we've had no problems and she hasn't "escaped" her confines.

Recently, on a walk around a local park, she managed to slip out of her harness after wrapping herself around a tree and before I could grab her, took off running. I was frantic that she was going to run out into heavy traffic and get hit or just keep running. In that split second she got away I panicked but I knew if I gave chase she would have continued running and my biggest fear would have been realized. Instinct kicked in, I stood my ground and repeatedly called to her. She stopped just short of reaching the corner and busy intersection, watched traffic for a minute, turned, looked at me and much to my relief, came running back. When we go on walks she knows she is not to cross the street without my ok so she stops and waits for my signal.

My Nikita has had no formal training other than what she has learned from me yet it's important to set boundaries early on. A fortunate few have been lucky to off leash train this special breed. However, leaving a husky in an open yard unleashed and unsupervised is risky and not something I would advise under any circumstances. Not even on a tie down. Especially for extended periods of time.

Best of luck to you both. Huskies are beautiful animals that require a lot of work, physical and mental stimulation to keep from boredom and destructive behavior. If, at some point, you are able to put a barrier around the perimeter of your yard, make sure it's high enough and doesn't have cross bars or other materials s/he can use to hoist up and climb over. Also have something solid at the base and preferably several inches below ground to prevent digging out.

 

[Sabina88]

As stated huskies are deffinitly more of a stuborn breed and on top of that they have a pretty good prey drive. I think starting with teaching a good recall is a good place to start, its always important but I think its even more important with dogs with high prey drives or those who are wanders.
Could you possibly get them to comprise with at least keeping her on a long line (i have a 50 foot one that keep my aussie on, i don't have a fence either and i don't trust him off leash) while she's outside with them.
I don't know if you mentioned it but is she completely crate trained? It might also help to exercise/tire her out in the mornings/before you leave, or have a kong frozen for her while your gone to keep her occupied.