Husky off-lead?

[maryevaoh]

Hello, my little siberian pup Koru is turning 3 months tomorrow, and up until now, has been amazing off leash. Not only is he really well behaved- he's actually better at staying by my side and ignoring distractions (such as unfamiliar yellow snow and birds/squirrels) than he is when on lead. Even then, he rarely pulls and when he does, he responds well to "heel" and will return to walking beside me.
In general, he's been extremely easy to train. A few days after bringing him home at 6 weeks, he had learned to sit. Days after that, he would sit and wait for me to call him to me. And not long after that, he learned to sit and wait patiently for me to give him the "ok go" after placing his food bowl on the ground. He also shows no aggression in regards to me taking toys from him, or when I place my hands in his bowl while he's eating.
The only time he has wandered away from someone walking him off leash on our farm, he was with my grandfather, and after going on a really long walk that tired him out, he walked home ahead of my grandfather (who was having troubles with his knees, and walking really slow). When he got to the door, he sat, and I noticed him and let him in. This would have happened a bit more than a week ago, and I was pretty impressed.
What I'm wondering, is if it is too soon to say if any of this behavior will last? I live with two adult huskies, trained by my grandfather, who are great off leash. He'd take them on popular hiking trails, and they'd know to stop, look back, and wait for confirmation before they'd ever get out of site, and they'd mostly ignore other people and dogs, other than a quick sniff. I think he may be learning a lot from them.

Thanks.

[hedgiemama]

I think as long as you keep doing it from when he is a pup, then it should be a behavior that sticks with him. Make sure to give him a pat when he does decide to come back to your side or stays there for a while. When he gets older and hormones kick in more he may try and follow the smell of a female, but neutering him, when he is old enough should help with that. Also make sure he isnt in situation where he could run away and get hurt. Its better to have him on a leash and be safe if your arent sure how he will react.

Im sure others will come along with some more input soon.

[Koma]

I have a pup who is almost 5 months old, and during the first month with me (9 weeks to 13) he behaved incredibly. Potty trained, no aggression, minor nipping (as he is a herding dog) but an overly great dog.

He then turned 3 months, and became a bit of a brat.

At that point he rebelled, and at one point (which you may see in another post too) even though he was "potty trained" as he went weeks without an accident in the house, he stood on my couch with front paws up, and peed directly on it while looking at me.

Your pup is still young, and as he is growing, realize that his mind is also growing along with his curiosities. He may have been so close to your side to begin with due to fear of you leaving him for more than a foot, but be careful that he doesn't become too curious, or too rebellious during this period of time as he will be likely to do things to be naughty.

I would honestly say, since you are on a farm, I see no real big problem as your pup will still be a bit of a suck and won't stray for too long, work on his sit/stay for about 5 minutes at home each day until he can successfully do it, and only let him off leash as a treat, so that he doesn't think he gets it as a right until he gets old enough to respect your commands.

Just ensure that if he ever travels any more than a couple feet from you, to call him with a command, (I use hussle outside in a loud voice, and come inside for a relaxed trot back) and instead of coming towards him walk further away, as the increasing distance will only make him more afraid, and will make him put away his curiosities to be with you.

Now as I stated, I do use hussle, but only when he is out of arms reach. Also, let him go off leash only when he behaves, and if he misbehaves, instantly remove the priveledge.

Just as a side note, I did notice you state there are other dogs as well. When other dogs are thrown into the mix, a lot of these behaviors won't be near as much of a hassle as they have role models around them at all times to teach them the ropes. Most dogs, even though the owner is alpha, will still have an alpha as a secondary leader, who will undoubtedly keep the others in line to the behavioral patterns of the alpha dog.

[rainbow]

WOW, the sibes you and your grandfather have sure are alot different than the three I've had. I would never trust them off leash as all they want to do is run.

Beautiful dogs though ....do you have any pics to share of all yours?

[maryevaoh]

Thanks for all the input. Yeah, I figure there will be a lot more to worry about when hormones start to kick in more. He's already a little Romeo, haha.
A good thing about our situation is that every weekend, and for any time off of school I get, I stay in three different houses in the city. This is the time that Koru stays on leash, of course, because it would be a pretty dangerous (let alone illegal) move to have him off leash on the streets. There, he only gets to go off leash if he heels to me for a good while when we are walking on a safe trail through the woods. I also feel it's probably really good for him, having multiple places he knows as home, all with children and cats in them. :P

And I do have pictures of the three.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sniping...7625756086144/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sniping...7625630485961/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sniping...7625756086144/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sniping...7625840679804/

[Koma]

Gorgeous dogs

[Sib.HuskyMom]

oh, how adorable!!!

I have 2 sibes myself. I couldn't have either off leash when they were younger as they were both so curious to go check out nature, they wouldn't listen to me at all (even though they had perfect recall inside the house).

Now that they're a little older, Timber (my brown husky) is pretty good offleash. We practice at the cottage where we're surrounded by thousands of acres of forest, so if he goes off for a few minites, no big deal. But he has improved dramatically and I imagine by this summer, I'll be able to have him off leash pretty much all the time.
My Jasper on the other hand, I doubt I will ever be able to have him off leash reliably. He has such a strong prey drive, that I don't think he'll ever be able to pass it up.
He's 2 years old now, so we'll see as time goes on, but that's my gut feeling.

My inlaws also had a husky who was a runner when he was younger, but as years went on, he grew out of that and was always off leash and stuck around.

Some people say that a sibe will never be able to be off leash even with all the training in the world. But I think it has a lot to do with the personality of the individual dog, not the breed.
Sounds like your off to a great start. And having 2 role models for your pup to follow makes a huge difference. Congrats!