Siberian Huskies for Hunting??

[Angel]

Has anybody heard of this or have do it? I have a friend who is looking into a pup and wants to try it as a hunting companion but i have my doubts to its natural abilitys to pull of what might be needed? Any thoughts??

[Dukeoflawnchair]

Siberian Huskies are gorgeous dogs...




...but are probably of the absolute most stubborn and difficult to train. I lived with these two this past summer as they belonged to a co-worker. They're very free-willed, very intelligent, and mischievious is an understatement if off leash. On the same hand, very affectionate, very friendly with all people, very social, and incredibly loyal to their owners. The owner of the dogs in these pictures was a sled dog guide / trainer from the time he was 9 to 21. They would follow him decently when hiking, but if they were with him and got bored while he was working (forester...say if he's going too slow throwing plots for their liking), they would just run off, hunt rabbits all day, and meet him at the truck when he started it up.

They're the variety of breed who'll only listen to even the Alpha dog in the family if they see an incentive greater than not listening to (hopefully) your friend. I was considering one personally and am still in the middle of a lot of research...all of which points to me having bucket loads of difficulties in making a hunting partner out of one.

For example, here's a shot of them on the Alaska Highway. Even with their very experienced owner / trainer, no amount of order or commands would get them to stop trying to rush the stone sheep on the road...thus their getting chained to the truck while the ladies ogled and took pictures.







yes, I just wanted an excuse to post pictures of dogs.

[top_gun223]

We had a Sibe for 13 years. She was a great family dog, good with the kids noisy when someone was around the yard. I don't think she was a hunter. I couldn't let her off the leash. If she saw something she wanted she was going to take a look at it 10 yards or 10 miles away. If it was me I would stick with a proven hunting breed.

[kinderdoggin]

In my past life as a dog sled musher I was fortunate enough to meet a great diversity of northern breeds, although we primarily had Alaskan Huskies for racing. If your friend is into mole hunting, a Sibe might work out - we had one that would dig moles out of their holes and eat them - but for actual practical hunting, that seems like a bad idea.

It takes a decent amount of work to properly train a dog that is bred for hunting. When you start out with a very independant breed like a Siberian, you are setting out for endless hours of frustration and failures. Oh, I'm sure it could be done, with the right dog, the right trainer, and all the stars in alignment, but it is an unreasonable expectation for the average person to achieve.

Erin

[steelheadSABO]

they work good for grouse hunting

[Monashee]

I'd say choose another dog that has many generations of breeding to produce a dog that will instinctively react like you want it to , so ask yourself what you are looking for and go from there. Also a good idea to take a young dog out with an older steady experienced dog that it ( and you ! )will learn from

Siberians were bred to run while pulling a sled - that is it.

I like Brittany Spaniels myself , they are gentle , easy to train and natural hunters on birds and sometimes animals , if you want something for larger animals then you have many options.

If you haven't had any experience training dogs then it is worth while hiring a professional dog trainer that will train YOU to train your dog , it will probably be the best money you have ever spent.

[Caveman]

Never had a Husky but have had several Malamutes. Never hunted any of them but the one I had showed a natural instinct for tracking. I had him out cross country skiing and we crossed a cougar track and he wanted to automatically take the track up. Strangely enough we came across a herd of cattle another time and I let walk up to them just to see his reaction. He started a slow methodical lazy "S" pattern behind them as to herd them up. Pure Bred if you're wondering, great family dog, no barking, everyone's friend, just intimidating in size.

[gameslayer]

Buddy had a Sibe, most passive timid dog you ever saw, left it in an acerage with 15 chickens, it slaughterd them all with the exception of a few my slower malumate at the time killed.

Used my malumute to retrieve grouse who was well trained with basic comands. I only got back about half the birds as he would eat them feathers and all (no exageration). I would not recomend a northern breed for hunting unless they are doing all the hunting for them selves dam good at catching rats and field mice/ voles.

[huntergirl2010]

I own a Siberian Husky and there is no way she is even capable of hunting.. she's too curious about what these animals are, let alone being patient enough not to run after one. Siberians are very stubborn and they do as they want. My Siberian is a runner. She gets off her leash and she's gone... until "she" decides to come back!

I have seen very well trained Siberians though, and it may be possible to train it... but I wouldn't advise using it for hunting. There are other beautiful dogs out there that are great for hunting!

[Caveman]

My Siberian is a runner. She gets off her leash and she's gone... until "she" decides to come back!

Reminds me of a time I was hiking with my Mal when we walked up on a snoozing coyote. That coyote jumped so quick and they were off. The coyotes tail tucked between his legs booking it as best he could. It was 20 minutes before my dog came trotting back. My dog weighed somewhere in the 125 lb range, more than the coyote was prepared to deal with