hi i am new to to the forums , have been reading around for a couple days and decided to make an account.

My friend has a siberian husky that recently bolted out the front door (she opened the door to get the mail and the dog just ran never to be seen again, there was no way she could have caught him). her husky was very calm inside but always drags outside and is really excited. I have a lab that is also very calm inside and outside on leash he is pretty good usually walking loose lead and only gets a bit excited in the rain but i am worried she may one day follow the same paths as my friends husky. She told me not to worry because the husky breed is known to be very eager and bolt at instance no matter how bonded they are and labs would not just dash down the street for no reason given. I think the only reason by boy would bolt if he was to get scared. Am i too worried , is husky really a breed like no other (spitz) and tend to bolt more then say labradors and golden retrievers. I'm just really worried because i am not always home and my 15 year old son takes him out for walks and for potty breaks but is real clumsy. Is it true that spitz type breeds are the only ones that would dash into the distance for no apparent reason? thank you all , i hope you understand what i am trying to ask

cheers , Jainee

I have on afew occasions lost my dog when i opened the door ( now, if it's a stranger he goes in the kitchen or if it's a friend or family member i ask him to sit and stay but make sure i can block the way if he decides to take himself for a walk). Luckily he only runs onto the grass at the side of our house but i still don't allow it as small children play there and theres always the worry of cars about. As far as i am concerned it's a normal reaction the world outside must be far more exciting than the home where a dog spends most of it's time, i am sure some people would disagree, but i would just aware be of where your dog is when you go to open the door as we are the ones to blame :). I don't think the breed makes a difference in this scenario as last year we found a choccy lab in the middle of the road luckily my husband didn't hit her and she was chipped so the owner was found, but when we spoke to them they said the kids must have left the garden gate open, so i think with even the most welbehaved dog curiosity would get the better of them.

There are breed specific reasons why huskys shouldn't go off-lead but to be honest, I wouldn't trust any breed of dog to be absolutely reliable if the opportunity presents itself. I never open the porch door without checking that my dog is behind the front door although he's generally very reliable about not bolting anywhere.  I've not forgotten the heart-stopping moment I had with my old cocker spaniel who, as he got older and fatter, got increasingly lazy about how far he wanted to walk and increasingly crafty about making sure he only walked as far as he wanted! One day I was out in the fields behind the house with him happily ambling along in the long grass behind me and the next minute he'd vanished. After rushing around like an eejit calling him I retraced my steps and found him sat on the back doorstep waiting for me. But his journey had involved an unaccompanied saunter along the lane and he could easily have sauntered into the path of a car. I don't think Bob understood the meaning of the word "bolt" but he'd still managed to go missing under my very nose!

Thanks for the replies , i know my lab toby would like to explore and go crazy with trotting around on his own and sniffing if he got out  but my friend said spitz are the only breed that will bolt on an instant into the distance because of instincts. I know that curiosity gets the best of all breeds but she said she'd never seen anything like that with her older dogs , the husky just got up from the couch slowly and bolt nonstop for probably miles. She told me most dogs wouldn't run widely for miles like a spitz type dog would. Most would probably wander around slowly which wouldn't be as bad becuse the dog could still be caught without being put in much danger as just wildely bolting off into the distance never to be seen again.

I never let my lab off lead because i know how curious he is but i'm just afraid that one day she'll bolt off into the distance if given the chance , but i am not as worried now as i know they dont have the type of hunting instinct as persay a husky. Knowing toby he'd trot along to his pee spot and just sniff around for scraps of food lol :)

Jainee