Nor'West News: August 30, 2016

16
Tuesday August 30 2016
News
NOR’WEST NEWS
Owning a husky requires dedication
Scott Bamford
is the host of
CTV’s Rural
New Zealand.
Watch Rural
New Zealand,
brought to you
by Carrfields, Wednesdays
at 7.30pm on CTV Freeview
channel 40, live and on
demand at ctv.co.nz
• By Scott Bamford
THIS WINTER, at least one
husky a week is arriving at the
West Melton branch of Husky
Rescue NZ, the company
re-homing abandoned or
unwanted huskies.
This season is shaping up to
be the worst in the company’s
seven-year history.
Although many of the
unwanted dogs come from
Auckland, Husky Rescue NZ has
experienced an influx of huskies
from Christchurch.
“We do always have dogs from
Christchurch … it’s pretty much
one dog a week from Canterbury,”
Husky Rescue NZ founder
Michelle Attwood said.
“It’s the worst winter we’ve
ever had.”
The siberian husky is known to
be a hands-on breed.
Ms Attwood said a minimum
exercise routine of 5km a day is
needed to keep them healthy.
“In summer, that means [running
or walking] very late at
night, or early in the morning,
to avoid those 20 deg C temperatures.”
Huskies also require seasonally
intense fur maintenance, a
lot of entertainment and a firm
WALKIES. A Husky Rescue NZ dog out for a dry-land scooter
journey. ​
understanding of who sets the
rules, she said.
“If the owner fails to establish
their position as leader, the
husky, with its strong pack
mentality, will become the pack
leader instead and be almost
impossible to control,” Ms Attwood
said.
Many people will purchase a
husky before understanding the
dog’s needs and then give up
when the job becomes too hard,
she said.
“[Owners] say: ‘Oh well, it
jumped a six-foot fence, it ate
the neighbour’s cat and it won’t
come back when it’s called’ …
those are all just standard husky
traits.”
Ms Attwood reported reoccurring
problems from irresponsible
breeders.
“We’ve had over 12 dogs from
CHILLING. Christos Merentitis and his husky Max enjoying some
down time.
just one backyard breeder …
time and time again we are seeing
the same problem dogs from
the same problem breeders,” she
said.
The rescue centre caters to
huskies through a combination
of pack-like living arrangements
and dry-land scootering and
sledding.
“They do really well at the
sport and they love it, getting
them to stop running is the
hardest part,” Ms Attwood said.
Husky owner Christos Merentitis
adopted his pet Max about
three years ago.
Strict training and constant
exercise is what helped Max
become a beloved member of the
family.
“I got Max when he was
10-months-old. A lot of trainers
said that was too late to correct
bad habits, but you’ve just got
to keep on top of it and actually
want to see a change in your dog
. . . take them for a huge run, and
then do 10 minutes of training
– when they are too tired to be
cheeky or disagree with you,” he
said.