Knowing the strong views held by many members of this site I write with some trepidation - but also with  genuine interest.  I live in a large city and have noticed in our two local 'dog parks' an increasing number of huskies.   These poor dogs are always on leashes (straining like mad) but not released for obvious reasons.  It may be that there are dog sledding opportunities in Brum that I'm not aware of but the two people I've spoken to both said they bought the dogs basically for looks. 

They are stunningly attractive dogs and I understand they make excellent housedogs (although not guardians) but what about their needs?  Surely they are a very active and sturdy breed; to be condemned to a daily leashed walk or two round the local park seems totally inadequate - not to mention wearying for the walker, whose arm is permanently at 45 degrees to their body.  Is this yet another breed which is going to suffer for its looks?  Or am I misguided? I await enlightenment.

The fault lies in the breeders who allowed these pups to go to homes where the requirements of the breed were not taken into consideration I think

Huskies should not be allowed off lead in parks etc as they run straight rather than circle. However, MOST good Sibe owners will make sure that they have ample opportunity to excercise their dogs either at rallies and/or with the help of a bike and a good track. Also, the dogs *can* actually learn to walk withot pulling ;)

HTH

Both my Sibes have learnt to walk without pulling me although I do have the Salisbury Plain to walk them for miles on. My family are from London and occasionally we take the dogs up there to see them. When I was walking the dogs through the local park a man asked me where I got them. I explained they were both from different breeders and that I had to travel quite far for the older boy. He asked if I had any numbers of breeders which he could maybe ring. I asked him what he wanted from the breed and his reply was that he liked the look of them and that his children's favourite film was Snow Dogs. I told him (politely) to properly research the breed as clearly a husky is not the dog for him.

Even if I had given him a number of the breeder's that I know then thankfully they wouldn't have allowed their pups to go to a home where people are wanting them for the looks. But, I have noticed the growing increase in the suburbs of S-E London of Siberian Huskies which is always slightly worrying to me.

its a bit like designer lap dogs! they fall into the wrong hands all too often.i have a 10wk husky pup and live on the edge of the south downs.she is a familiy dog and i am very active.i do have an 11 month old baby which slows me down,but not so much that it would affect my husky(or any of my other pets) i plan to go to shows,training,agility,flyball etc and take her to my horses with me.i did alot of research on the breed beforehand.i would not of got a husky if i didnt live in the countryside.

Actually living in the country is not the relevant thing here.  In fact living in town can actually be easier to find dog walking areas be it free running or lead walking.

Unless you ahve your own land in the country then you are far worse off often for waliking dogs.  No pavements on busy country roads, fileds full of livestock, even if there is public access, and no actual purely recreational green areas.

i have no problem where to walk my dogs.i have miles and miles of the south downs,designated footpaths,quiet country lanes,woodland areas and goodwood trundle.places such as london etc only have certain areas,parks etc.ive lived in london and personally,i dont think its that dog-walking friendly in most areas,especially city centre.

There is a basic misunderstanding here. Just because a breed was originally bred for a certain purpose, it does not mean that it is cruel or irresponsible for an owner not to allow their dog to carry out that original purpose. If that was the case, then every Siberian owner in the UK would be guilty. After all, the breed was developed by Siberian tribes to work day after day, pulling a lightly loaded sled, in arctic conditions for up to 100 miles a day. As far as I am aware, no-one in the UK is currently doing this (VBG).  If border collie owners don't let their dogs herd sheep - are they also irresponsible? ....and what about the breeds originally bred for fighting - are owners irresponsible for not allowing their dogs to fight?
Indeed, apart from the odd purpose-bred companion dog, were'nt all dogs originally from rural areas?
I for one, would much rather have my puppies placed with a loving family (whether rural or urban) who can give it regular loving attention, than in a "racing" kennel where there are 20+ dogs kept in kennels for the whole time except for their weekly or bi-weekly training/race. The dogs described by the original poster, if they are walked every day, probably get more actual exercise than do some of the racing dogs  whose owners we are encouraged to emulate.
We live in London and have 6 or 7 large parks within a 1 mile radiius. This is not unusual for urban areas. As to Huskies pulling on the lead, this is simply a matter of training. Our dogs know that if they are on a collar and lead, they walk nicely - if they are wearing a harness, they are expected to pull. It's not rocket science, but part of the problem is that many husky owners are brainwashed into thinking that their dogs are manic pulling machines who can't be trained out of it - nonsense.
Siberian Huskies are an athletic breed and can take a lot of exercise, but they don't actually NEED a huge amount. After all, none of us can guarantee to run them for 100 miles a day during an arctic winter, so what are we arguing about. As long as they are exercised enough to be fit and healthy and have plenty of human attention, they are quite happy.
Having said all that, like all breeds, sometimes people get them for the wrong reasons and it is the responsibility of the breeders to ensure that anyone buying a puppy has a full understanding of the nature of the breed. Unfortunately, this does not always happen and problems occur. But please do not confuse the issue and automatically assume that rural=good and urban=bad - that is a simplistic and naive mistake.

I was born in South London and lived in Clapham until I was 24 years old.  Within easy reach I had clapham Common, Tooting Common and Womledon Common nto that far away, and in addition lots and lots of safe wide pavements to walk a dog along.

I now live in Bristol and am within easy walking distance of two very large country Parks, numerous playing fields and an old Railwayline turned in a cycle walkway.

I have several freinds who live in the country who a-part from thei own land have very little safe dog walking without a car ride.  they would have to road walk along country lanes with no pavement at constant risk of passign traffic, usually going too fast.  My dogs (norwegian Elkhounds) all get plenty of fre running, sadly their cannot, mainlky due to the risk of being shot with do much livestock around.

mm well me personally wouldnt be without my 2 huskies (with a 3rd on the way 2morr too ;-) ) who never get let off the lead they can walk great on the lead but.. they do pull especially when they see another dog/ a squirrel/ a cat/ a rabbit etc etc i do however attach them to a walky belt which is a godsend to stop aching arms and getting pulled from their sockets lol

however at the moment  they get the majority of their exercise  on their walks but i do have a fully fenced garden which they have they the run of and love to run free in there :-D

i do plan on getting a rig and a scooter  as soon as i can and get them running for just pure fun and excercise  on them which i cant wait but...................... in saying all that i dont believe that they are unhappy at where they have ended up living and being a much loved part of our family the smiles and love they happily show day in and day out tell me they are happy here and i am giving them what they 1st and foremost need a  forever home and unconditional love

i would advise all people looking to get a Siberian Husky to DO THEIR HOMEWORK ON THE BREED!! they may look stunning but they do need a lot of undestanding of what is needed to succesfully have them as part of your family :-D