Good sports and activities for Siberian Husky dogs

The Siberian Husky is one of the most distinctive and instantly recognisable dog breeds in the world, and as well as their distinctive appearance, most dog lovers could also name some of the other main Husky traits too: Boundless energy, lots of endurance, and the ability to run and run for hours without tiring. In many areas of the world, the Husky is still kept mainly as a working dog, a role that they excel at and thrive within. It can in fact be difficult to keep the Siberian Husky as a domestic pet, unless plenty of time and attention is paid to ensuring that their needs for exercise and mental stimulation can be met.

Siberian Husky ownership is not a task to be undertaken lightly, and every potential Husky owner should ensure that they fully understand the breed’s unique needs and are able to fulfil them. You should already have a very active, outdoors lifestyle and have plenty of time to devote to keeping your dog entertained, and have a good plan of exactly how you intend to meet all of their exercise requirements! If you love to keep busy and are fairly athletic yourself, the Husky can make for a great partner. As lively, active dogs that are also very intelligent, they can turn their paws to a wide range of skills and canine sports, and if you wish to get involved in this, the Husky might be a great choice.

In this article, we will look at some of the best sports and activities to undertake with your Siberian Husky, to help to give you some ideas on what to do! Read on to learn more.

Sleigh pulling and mushing

In the UK, Husky owners are unlikely to have access to the right type of conditions to get their dogs trained up for sleigh work, which is one of their most important working roles in other countries. However, come the snowy weather, you might want to take your Husky out tobogganing with you, and train them to pull your sled up and down hills, something that they heartily enjoy and can manage with ease!

You can also train and teach your dog to be able to run and pull other items, such as small carts and wheeled platforms. This can be highly entertaining to undertake, and also very rewarding for both dog and owner.

Running and racing

While the Greyhound is the breed that we most associate with high speed running, the Siberian Husky beats them hands down in terms of endurance and the types of distances that they can cover. Organised sports and events for sled dogs such as CaniCross, which is cross-country running with one or more dogs controlled by leashes attached to a belt at your waist, is excellent for the fit dog owner and also, all types of dogs that have superior endurance and like to be on the move.

CaniCross events are often organised as competitions and timed and scored, but there is no reason why you cannot have a go at CaniCross with your own dog non-competitively, if you so choose!

Training off the lead

Siberian Huskies really do love to run, and are matched only by the Border Collie in terms of their combined speed and endurance. The Siberian Husky has something of a reputation for being an escape artist and potentially exhibiting poor recall when off the lead, choosing instead to develop selective deafness and take themselves off for some exercise!

This trait is exacerbated by the breed’s strong prey drive, which makes them formidable hunters, and potentially risky to wildlife and small domestic pets.

Off-lead training for your Husky can be challenging, but used as a dual purpose training session and a chance to let your dog run around and let off some steam, can provide a valuable experience fro both dog and owner within a safely fenced in environment.

Agility

Agility is a canine sport that suits smart, fast, lively dogs that like to keep active, and this described the Siberian Husky to a tee! Huskies are not only smart but very agile and sure-footed, and can be trained to precision work such as agility with relative ease, which also helps with their off the lead recall and working with the handler remotely.

Hiking

While Huskies love to run more than more or less anything else, hiking over varied terrain is also an excellent sport for both Husky and owner, and a day out hiking at a reasonably steady pace will delight your dog and hopefully, finally wear them out by the time you get home!

Taking in new areas and varying your route will provide added stimulus for your dog, but remember to keep your Husky on the lead when in a strange environment. You can also use your Husky as a pack dog with a correctly fitted harness, and when loaded up correctly with the weight properly distributed, your husky may be able to carry as much as 25lb of kit for you!