How much to exercise your husky

If you have a husky or you are thinking of getting a husky then you’re probably wondering how much exercise it should be getting.

So, how much exercise do huskies need? Huskies are a breed that require a lot of exercise. Vets will typically recommend that you give your husky at least one hour of exercise per day and the American Kennel Club recommends that they get at least 2 hours of exercise daily. 

Huskies are a breed that was bred to drag sleighs for hours daily in freezing temperatures. With that being the case, they require a lot of exercise to be properly stimulated. You’ll often find that your husky will be able to handle all the exercise that you can throw at it and still have energy to spare.

Despite that, it’s very important that you make sure that your husky gets lots of exercise on a daily basis. Maybe you won’t be able to get rid of all of its energy but you will still be able to wear it out a bit. And that will go a long way in reducing hyperactive behavior that is caused by not getting enough exercise.

The exact amount of exercise that your husky needs will depend a lot on your husky. Some huskies are less energetic and will only need an hour a day of exercise to be properly stimulated. While others will require a lot more than that and you’ll need to find ways to wear it out quickly.

How to give your husky exercise

There are a lot of ways that you can give your husky exercise. I will try to mention a number of them below.

Walk it

It’s important to make sure to give your husky some constant aerobic exercise for at least 30-45 minutes a day and many vets actually recommend at least an hour a day of prolonged aerobic activity. Walking your husky is a great way to give your husky some aerobic exercise while also helping you to get healthy yourself.

You’ll likely find that a regular walk in and of itself won’t be enough for your husky so it will be necessary to work it out even more. To do this you could try walking it off the leash at a dog park assuming you can reliably get it to come back to you. Alternatively, you could walk it on more demanding terrain where there are lots of uphill parts. You could also put a weighted vest that weighs no more than 10% of its body weight on it.

Related: do huskies need a lot of attention?

Play fetch

One way to get your husky to do a lot of running over a short time period is to play fetch with it. Fetch is a great way to wear your husky out really quickly since it will make it do lots of sprints without much rest in between. It will also help to improve your relationship with your husky since it will get it used to working alongside you and it will help to get it used to responding to you.

It can be difficult to teach your husky to play fetch at first but the rewards are worth it. I have written about how to teach your husky to play fetch here.

Related: When will my husky mellow out?

Walk it with other dogs

Another way to get your husky to wear itself out more quickly is to walk it with other dogs. By walking it with other dogs it will naturally play with the other dogs and wear itself out in the process. But, be aware that huskies don’t always get along well with small dogs due to their prey drive so you might want to avoid walking it with dogs that are small.

Swimming

Another great way to give your husky a lot of exercise in a short amount of time is to get it to do a lot of swimming. When huskies swim they must move their arms and legs a lot to stay afloat so it causes them to wear themselves out more quickly. It’s also beneficial in the summer since the cool water will help your husky to stay cool while getting some much-needed exercise.

Not all huskies take well to water naturally. If your husky doesn’t like to swim then I have written in the past about how you can get your husky to like water.

Tug of war

One way to give your husky some exercise while you are at home would be to play tug of war with it using a rope toy.

But, you should use this in addition to giving your husky sustained aerobic exercise such as by walking it, getting it to swim or pull you along on something.

Have it pull you

Huskies were bred to pull sleighs so an obvious way to get your husky to do a lot of exercise would be to have it pull you along on something. It could be that you get it to pull you along on a skateboard or bike but it would be an efficient way to give your husky exercise since you’ll likely find that it can go a lot faster than you can run.

If you do try to get it to pull you along on something make sure to use a harness instead of a collar.

Toys that wear it out

You could also get it to do some more exercise by giving it some toys that are designed to wear it out. For example, you can get toys that are designed to move around when it starts playing with them.

This can help to give your husky more exercise while around the home but be sure to use it as an addition to proper exercise.

Training

Giving your husky lots of training is another good way to wear it out. By training your husky you will be making it use a lot of energy to not only do the training but to keep its focus onto you and to figure out what it is you want from it. Training it will also help you to keep you husky well behaved and it will help you to improve your relationship with it as it will be looking to you for direction.

Puzzle games

Another way to wear your husky out mentally is to get it to play with puzzle toys. There are many toys that you can buy that are designed to make your husky think about how to get to the treats inside of it. You should try to get one that is a bit more challenging since if your husky is able to figure it out easily it will not wear it out as much.

Toys to chew on

You can also give it lots of toys to play with and to chew on to keep it distracted and mentally stimulated. It won’t be enough in and of itself but it is a good way to keep your husky occupied on something that you want it to be occupied with.

Things to consider

When you’re exercising your husky there are some things to consider.

You might not be able to wear it out

Since huskies are often able to run for hours without wearing themselves out much you’ll likely find that you won’t be able to completely wear your husky out by walking it. If this is the case then try to find ways to wear it out more quickly by getting it to play fetch, pull you along or swim. But, most importantly make sure not to get discouraged and stop giving your husky any exercise. Perhaps your husky will still be a bit hyperactive after a walk but it will be much worse if it doesn’t get any walk and it is not healthy for your husky to not get any exercise.

If it’s a puppy

If your husky is a puppy then it is not recommended that you give it lots of exercise just yet. This is mainly due to how its joints and bones are still developing and lots of exercise could cause them to get damaged. It is generally recommended that you walk it for 5 minutes per month of age. Instead of giving it lots of exercise you could let it play naturally with other puppies or in your backyard instead.

Dog Walker

If you don’t have the time to give your husky exercise daily then consider paying a dog walker to do it for you. There are apps that you can download that will let you pay someone in your local area to walk your dog.

Related questions

How much space does a husky need? Since huskies are a very active breed by nature it is recommended that you give them as much space as you can. This means that ideally, you should have a backyard that’s big enough for it to run around in.