Hi All!

I have a friend with an issue with his husky, and thought I'd ask you guys for thoughts/help.

Here is what he wrote:

I am actually pretty frustrated at the low energy he has. He doesn't run around inside the house very much I'm running and he trots along after me. Then catches up and lays right down. When he lays around indoors, he is awake eyes half open. Then if we go outside He runs around with me then gives up after a minute. I'm trying to understand where all the Husky energy is. Now I'm grateful that he is a fairly mellow dog, but come on!! He will just lay there, he is 8 months old. Can you help me?

Here are my thoughts:

1. Warm weather. It's not too hot where he is, still getting down into the 40s at night, and low 70s during the day. Although Diz starts to slow down when it gets into the 70s.

2. He's 8 months old, so could just be in a growth spurt and sleeping a lot more than normal?

3. He's bored with the routine? Might need a change in scenery, or routine? Maybe, try a new park a different route on the walk, a new toy to chase and play with?

4. Also, I'd say watch how he plays with other dogs and see if you can mimic that body language to make yourself more interesting. For example, Diz loves to chase and stalk so, I'll stalk him from the other side of the room and then take off after him. He runs, then I turn around and run away, he chases, then flip and chase him again.

What do you guys think? He's been through all the normal stuff at the vet, so there's no obviously physical issue.

Huh...I seem to have the same friend. I hit all the points you did except #4. I know Ami is turning into old rug once the sun is over the treeline. Not so first thing in the morning, though  

Also - another, somewhat unpleasant thought. This friend posted on here earlier about over-reacting to something and smacking the dog...

I'm guessing friend needs to vary the dog's experiences in the cooler times of the day, different scenery, different kinds of activity. I'm finding with Ami that it's not just exercise, it's not just "people time", it's not just play time...he needs it all to keep his spirit bright  I'm very fortunate - we live at the crossroads in rural area - he does not repeat a morning walk except every 3-5 days, night time is the same, it's the only route with houses on it periodically so I don't feel so isolated (especially on a moonless night). Intersperse that with trips to the gorge, the various rails to trails, ice cream, the airport, visits from my son (whom Mr. Dog adores!).

Also - Ami is very mood sensitive - you can see him get glum when someone gets irritable and he positively glows when I laugh. And since this big goofy boy is always making me laugh, it's really a happy place for Ami.

I wish our friend luck.

Gabby is very similar to this... Being only 5 months old I figured she would be crazy puppy mode but she is very mellow. When we go to the dog park she runs around for 15 minutes or so and then shes done. I think a lot of her issues are the heat and she is also teething at the moment so she doesn't really want to play with toys other then to just chew on them.

I have been telling my girlfriend that we got a broken husky not that I am really complaining all that much. I do wish she was a little more playful at times but it's nice not having her be destructive and crazy all the time.

lepp1892 wrote:

Gabby is very similar to this... Being only 5 months old I figured she would be crazy puppy mode but she is very mellow. When we go to the dog park she runs around for 15 minutes or so and then shes done. I think a lot of her issues are the heat and she is also teething at the moment so she doesn't really want to play with toys other then to just chew on them.

Oh, I should have mentioned - Ami really never has sustained "run like a sled dog for miles and miles" activity. Usually 5-15 minutes of run like the wind, play with the soccar ball etc then flop. Even in the winter. I think he gets bored with the activity after a short time. Also, he is not conditioned like a sled dog. He does, however, become very alert and interested on walks - even up to 5 miles. That, to date, is my physical maximum.

We call Kenzi the anti-husky. She is pretty low energy, not really destructive, and very quiet. While she is much older than the pup in question I attribute her low energy levels to routine as well. We do the same thing every day throughout the day and she is very calm and just goes through the motions, but if we get in the car it's a free for all and she starts bouncing off the walls like we never see the rest of the day. I take her a lot of places in the car so every time we drive out of the driveway it's to something different whether it's the vet, petco, a car show, a race, an auction, or one of the many trails at the park. It keeps her guessing and gets her excited. When we go to the park we never do the same trail two days in a row. She may not be excited to go outside in the 90 degree heat we've been having but even if it's 100 out she's still excited to get in the car. Variety is the spice of life and it sounds like this pup just needs a little spice, to me.

TwisterII wrote:

We call Kenzi the anti-husky. She is pretty low energy, not really destructive, and very quiet. While she is much older than the pup in question I attribute her low energy levels to routine as well. We do the same thing every day throughout the day and she is very calm and just goes through the motions, but if we get in the car it's a free for all and she starts bouncing off the walls like we never see the rest of the day. I take her a lot of places in the car so every time we drive out of the driveway it's to something different whether it's the vet, petco, a car show, a race, an auction, or one of the many trails at the park. It keeps her guessing and gets her excited. When we go to the park we never do the same trail two days in a row. She may not be excited to go outside in the 90 degree heat we've been having but even if it's 100 out she's still excited to get in the car. Variety is the spice of life and it sounds like this pup just needs a little spice, to me.

Excellent advice: Except for the car shows. I've seen enough car shows and air shows to last a lifetime. I've told hubby my limit is now 1 per month - after that hook up with the younger son or go solo! I do like the cars and the planes, but I am a husky at heart: It's all SUN, not a lick of shade  

It is a challenge keeping her cool. I have a swamp vest for her and am looking into getting her shoes to protect her paws from the hot concrete. We have show cars and race cars so I need all of our dogs to be car ready since we do very long events sometimes. I try to keep her engaged in many different things so that if something happens out of the ordinary at one of the events then she is better prepared. Few things catch her by surprise.

It may just be your dog's persona that's really kicking in. Its not 'broken', that's a bit absurd to call a living thing broken. Perhaps its just one of those with a naturally low-energy stride. Nothing really wrong with that, it just means he's totally mellow!

I live in the Philippines where its tropical and a good majority of the time is intensely humid and hot but Lightning (my dog) always seems to be on the go. On some occasions, she openly pushes to go on walks a little after 12noon. She used to be really medium-energy as a puppy but as soon as she hit 9 months, she skyrocketed in her energy level and could just run and run for days on end. Now if only I can get her to eat! Hahahaha