HuskyMom09 wrote:

I feel, if it hasn't already been mentioned, that exercising your Siberian will grow as the pup does. You don't want to over do it when they are young so the general rule for structured exercise (walks) should be kept to 5min per month they are old- Their joints and growth plates are delicate and inadvertently you can create long term problems by trying to do too much too soon. For pulling/running type dog sports like bikejoring, carting/sledding, etc it is not suggested they start any strenuous harness work until they are at least 1 year, 15-18 months being a little safer once they have the majority of their growth-

Also when they are puppies you have to be careful about taking them to areas where there are a lot of other dogs. There are some pretty scary diseases they can get before their vaccinations are complete. Parvo is especially deadly and easy to catch.

AMB wrote:

Wow okay no retractable leads then! Do you think I should maybe just get two leashes? One shorter one for walks and stuff, and then a longer one for playing out at a field or something like that? I think I could find a good long one either way...

I made mine. Got 50' of seat belt material and a heavy duty clasp at the hardware store. You have to a good strong knot if you got this route though. I used a bolin. It's a sailing knot that will tighten the harder it's pulled.

@HuskyMom09: Okay so if I take home a 2 month old puppy, then the walks are no more than 10 minutes per day? Then 3 months 15 min, 4 months 20 min etc? Then I don't start any harder stuff like runs, bikes, and hikes until at least a year? I'll keep that in mind thanks!

@wpskier222: Okay I'll wait until he gets all his vaccinations before socializing him too much with other dogs, any idea on how long that might take? Also I'm not too crafty with making things so I think I'll just find a good strong 50-75ft leash because if I made my own I'd just mess it up.

Once again, thanks for all the responses guys!

I saw there was no mention of the Flexi Giant retractable lead that is 26 ft long. It is not a cord like most retractable leads and make of a thicker, stronger material that is almost tape-like. Several husky owners on another site recommended it to me and I'm glad they did. My current foster, Archon, who shoots off like a bullet and jerks me like a train hitting me when he sees a squirrel, can't even break it. I normally use 50ft nylon leashes that I got off amazon, however if I am only taking one dog on a hike I will go ahead and use the flexi giant as its a lot easier to handle. Everyone else gave great tips.

Hmm interesting I'll check it out, thanks!

I was thinking skating with him, so he tires faster and i don't hurt my legs from running every day (shin splints ugh). I dont know how to skateboard but with him pulling i dont think i'll need much learning.

Maybe I should look into that as well. The only problem is that over here our roads are practically professional skating parks lol (and by that I mean we have so many steep up and down hills that it's not even funny xD )

Although I've always wanted to learn how to skateboard...

When i was in my teenage years in california one of my buddies had two huskies and we would have them pull us to the skate park on our boards... i would not recommend doing this. the slightest crack in the sidewalk/street or the smallest pebble can lead to disaster (as i found out the hard way.... MANY times, and have the scars to prove it lol). i would highly suggest sticking to roller blades or a bike, they are much safer as you have more control over them, or even a scooter designed to be pulled (they can be bought online for relatively cheap).

riding a skateboard isn't too hard, just plant your feet on them and keep your balance, however you'll need to find out how your footed, some people are what they call (or use to anyway) "right footed" or "goofy footed", knowing which you are helps when learning how to properly stand on them in-order to keep your balance.

Well, I'm one of the few pro-retractable people. I have loose leash trained my sibe on a retractable leash, it can be done. I have also used a retractable leash for multiple walks a day everyday for the entire 6 years I've had my sibe. And he has pulled and hit the end full force too many times to count and I've never had my retractables fail on me.

hmm interesting stories. I'll probably skip learning how to skateboard as getting a dog would already be almost too much to handle without proper information and experience. Oh well at least I've got my trusty bike and heelys.

As for the retractable leash thing, which brand did you use? I'm trying to gather as much info as possible on this subject to see if I can find a retractable leash that would work.

I use the largest heavy duty Flexis. I have two, both are all tape and rated for 110 lbs. One is 16 ft and the other is 26 ft. I almost exclusively use the 26 footer for the past 3 years or so though.

Ah okay thanks I'll look into it!

AMB wrote:

Maybe I should look into that as well. The only problem is that over here our roads are practically professional skating parks lol (and by that I mean we have so many steep up and down hills that it's not even funny xD )

Although I've always wanted to learn how to skateboard...

Clm wrote:

When i was in my teenage years in california one of my buddies had two huskies and we would have them pull us to the skate park on our boards... i would not recommend doing this. the slightest crack in the sidewalk/street or the smallest pebble can lead to disaster (as i found out the hard way.... MANY times, and have the scars to prove it lol). i would highly suggest sticking to roller blades or a bike, they are much safer as you have more control over them, or even a scooter designed to be pulled (they can be bought online for relatively cheap).

riding a skateboard isn't too hard, just plant your feet on them and keep your balance, however you'll need to find out how your footed, some people are what they call (or use to anyway) "right footed" or "goofy footed", knowing which you are helps when learning how to properly stand on them in-order to keep your balance.

Hooner Sled-dog has Mountain boards with a break set up Huskies can pull up hill without a thought when conditioned

ROLLERBLADES + HUSKY = EXERCISE
PS. HARNESS, NOT COLLAR
PSS. HOLD ON!

Air Wolf is right, If you do anything with pulling, you will want a harness not a collar! I am using a collar on Loki right now but I am just doing training, Not having him pull hard til my harness gets here. I am ordering the Hooner Sled-dog hybrid harness.

Okay I'll keep that in mind, thanks!

Although I really don't have any extra money right now I might be able to do something like that several years down the road...

I'd suggest getting one of these :

http://www.amazon.com/Mountainsmith-Dog-Pack-Medium-Heritage/dp/B003VUREM8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367158238&sr=8-1&keywords=mountainsmith+dog+pack

They're easy, fast & effective !

just give him something to carry, and he'll get tired in half the time of a regular walk.

just keep in mind the weather, and give him plenty of water on the go.

Hey that's not a bad idea and it looks pretty affordable too thanks! I think I'll get one of those since I've already thought of several things I could use them for which size do you recommend, medium?

How old is your husky ? male? female ?

Hehe I actually don't own a husky yet, I'm just collecting info for when I do get one. I plan on finding a male puppy from a responsible breeder though if that helps...

Well i have an 9 month old male, and i'm suppose to get the medium 2morrow so I can tell you how it fits

Okay if you could let me know how it fits that would be great, thanks a bunch! ^_^

No problem at all )

So sorry it took me so long to get back to you ! but leo has walked several times with the harness, and i can say that the medium size looks good, and will probably fit better as he grows (he's only 10 months now).

But listen, i just bought new K2 inline skates, because i could see that the amount of exercise from the harness is just not enough.. and HANDS DOWN, this is the best thing i ever did to exercise my husky !! it's portable, fast, less time consuming, a good sport for you as well, and while i don't sweat too much, my husky is running like hell !! :)so i can definitely say it's by far the best method i found to exercise my husky ! if you can rollerblade, and you don't have much spare time, this is the best way to go !

Just always remember to check the weather conditions, and provide plenty of water and rest in between.

GOOD LUCK !

Ah okay, thanks for the tips! Rollerblading does sound like a good way to get a ton of exercise done and even better it sounds like an insane amount of fun, however I'm not sure if our roads would be good for such an activity (they're paved but rugged and cracked with lots of hills and fast moving cars that don't slow down...) Regardless I'm glad that the backpack works I was thinking about getting one from ruff wear, but this seems cheaper and since you gave it a good review I'm willing to try it out in order to save some money. Thanks again!