My grandson at the moment is nattering for a husky dog ,he his 12 years old ,i have brought up differant dogs in my lifetime,and taking them for walks morning and night,how friendly are these dogs and can you let them off the lead when out ,i do know some dogs you can,t ,and do their need a lot of walking

                                         mrs s radcliffe

The short answers to your questions are generally No they cannot be let off lead unless in a securely enclosed area, they have a very high prey drive.
And as regards exercise, they are a sled dog so do require lots of exercise and mental stimulation. They are very people friendly as a breed.
If you have a look at this website for the siberian husky club you can get a good idea of the work etc involved in owning one of these breeds. Look particularly at the sections "about huskies" and "husky damage" listed on the left hand side of that page.
Hope that helps :)

As with my God son who wnated a Boxer, you may find getting a similar looking, but maybe smaller or easier to mangar breed will satisfy him and his family at the same time.

My God son ended up with my help getting a Boston Terrier, similar look but a lot less ahrd for his disabled Dad, adn very tiny dog inexpereinced Mum to handle.  Max is now a spoiled 8 1/2 year old  with god son at Uiversity and parents love him to bits.

What your grandson has to rember is that in all likelihood it will be Mum and Dad looking after the dog when he leaves home in a few years time, or loses interest in dogs.

siberians should not be let off the lead unless in fully enclosed areas, and by this i mean 6ft fences. they do have a very high prey drive and will usually kill cats , birds, livestock etc etc.
they are very friendly dogs with people and other dogs but do need a great deal of exercise to keep them happy. they really need worked in harness.

they also loose vast amounts of hair twice a year or more and love digging up gardens. they are full of life and mischief.
to read more about them visit the scottish siberian husky club or the siberian husky club of great britain websites. they have lots more info.

I'd tell him he can have a husky when he gets his own house. They are nowhere near suitable as a pet for a 12 year old - they are a beautiful breed of dog but they are too much work for most families/situations. My friend and her husband have several and are very experienced dog owners. They ended up having to move because their huskies howling annoyed the neighbours (they had 3 at the time). They've moved to a 5 acre plot in the middle of nowhere, now have 8 and show/race them. They have a 12 year old boy who was all keen on the dogs at first and swears several of the dogs are his, but now has discovered girls and lost interest - he never actually took part in looking after the dogs anyway as any dog is too much of a responsibility for a child and needs a responsible adult to supervise.

Too much of a commitment. Funnily enough I wanted a husky when I was 12 and about a decade afterwards. Wouldn't even attempt one now as I know what's involved to keep a dog like that happy.

I agree with all the advice given above. If your grandson (and all the rest of the family is in total agreement) decides he genuinely wants a dog, there are a number of other (smaller) Spitz breeds which would be more suitable: Buhunds, Elkhounds, Shibas, Keeshonds to name but a few. All the Spitz breeds need really firm handling & consistent training, but not many are as challenging as the Husky. :)