huskies not being walked - any advice?

alyth

This has worried me for a while - someone I know has three huskies, and they never get walked - they're kept in a pen at the back of their house and I'm told by the neighbours that they rarely get walked. Talking to someone at work today who has a huskie who is about a year old, he said that he walks his huskie anything up to 10 miles a day!!!!

I don't suppose there is anything I can do, if I report them they're not exactly being abused, but it had always been in the back of my mind that they needed lots of exercise but the husband of this person told me that they didn't. Having spoken to the guy at work about his huskie, and the amount of exercise it needs, I just think it's plain cruel to keep these dogs and not walk them.

The house has a garden of maybe half an acre so they do get to run about it that, but as someone who cares more about their dog than anything in the world, am I just over-reacting to how these dogs are being kept?

Thanks for any advice.

bugbabe1970

Call the RSPCA or Dogs Trust for some advice, sounds a bit tricky though as i suppose the dogs arent being abused as such, i can understand your concern though. I have 2 Jack Russells that live in our house and are treated like babies but they go stir crazy if they dont get a walk for a few days!

Oldernotwiser

If they've got such a big garden and there's 3 of them they'll get a lot of exercise that way. I'd also suggest getting some advice.

alyth

ONW do you never sleep! Thanks, it's just the guy I was speaking to at work said that they need walks as opposed to just being thrown out as these dogs are, which got me thinking!

Thanks again.

wobblecat

sorry this is my first post , saw this about huskies and had to reply , I have a husky and she is walked several miles a day only because she can't be let off the lead , if these 3 huskies have half an acre to run round in and play together i would say that is OK, a nice walk a day aswell as the exercise in the garden would be nice, more for socializing and new sights and smells, but really for exercise, the 3 dogs running around and playing with each other probably have more exercise than my dog with a smaller back garden and with walks in the day. The man with the 1 year old in my opiniun is walking the dog too many miles a day for it's age , I wish I had a half an acre garden so I could have 3 huskies as they are better off in a group , so if they look fit and healthy ,they probably are

bugbabe1970

apparently they should still be walked even though they have the large garden, just like an animal in the zoo really, even if theyve got a large enclosure they still become bored and frustrated!

Ruby_Moon

bugbabe1970 wrote: »

apparently they should still be walked even though they have the large garden, just like an animal in the zoo really, even if theyve got a large enclosure they still become bored and frustrated!

Yes, you often see the Lions and Tigers and Bears being taken for walks don't you?

suki1964

Here where I live in the country its only us two ex townies ( us and a neighbour) who walk the dogs - the rest just have the yards and are never walked

MrsTinks

If they get enough exercise in the garden then that's fine - but they will become more of a pack and to a degree stop including humans in their pack. Gorgeous dogs though they are then they can be difficult to get to bond with humans - they can be very aloof with people and I would expect that to be more the case if they're never walked so never get that hands on quality time. If they have a half acre to roam in then it's not as bad as someone who puts their dog in a small back garden and never walks it. And they have company too which is better than most dogs...
Is it ideal? No probably not - is it cruel? No not really

Fire_Fox

I think this is really the same argument as is it cruel to keep a cat indoors only ... the sensible answer is that it depends on the individual cat/ dog's personality, what the home environment is like and how much stimulation the animals get from humans and/ or other animals.

BitterAndTwisted

I can't understand why people would get huskies and then not give them an appropriate environment/life. These dogs need to work, work, work preferably with a load behind them but cruelty? It's debatable, really.