I currently share my life with two Siberian Huskies – puppy Lara (7 months old) and Shania (3.5 years old). Both of them are very silly, and very energetic. They love to play, explore, and hunt for earth critters.
Siberian Huskies are beautiful dogs who love people and love life. They can be great family dogs if properly trained. However, because of their high energy and high prey drive, they require a lot of daily exercise and are not to be trusted off leash. When bored, a Husky may chew, dig, and escape to look for adventure elsewhere.
Before getting a Sibe puppy, find out all you can about the wonderful nature of Siberian Huskies – the good, the bad, and the quirky.
Siberian Huskies – The Good
1. Siberian Huskies are love bugs.
Sibes are very affectionate dogs. They are especially friendly with people, even strangers.
Husky Shania has very many friends in our neighborhood and she enjoys going to say hello to them every day. Her most favorite friend in the world is the Awesome Cookie Guy. Whenever we pass his house, Shania always stops and waits. When her Cookie friend spots her and comes out, he comes bearing gifts – a yummy low-fat cookie for Shania!
Shania also comes to me when I am sad or upset. She will lie down next to me or lay her head on my lap and give me licks.
The people trusting nature of Siberian Huskies make it easy to find caretakers for them when I get busy, or when I need to leave on emergencies or vacations.
2. Siberian Huskies are athletic and have a strong zest for life.
Lara and Shania are frequently on the go. They enjoy re-landscaping our backyard, attacking bushes, pulling down trees, running, jumping, and digging. They both enjoy playing chasing games and are always ready to go out for a walk and explore. They get very excited whenever anybody comes to visit and enjoy spending play-time and rest-time with their pack.
As part of their zesty life program, Huskies also love to eat.
Both Lara and Shania will eat and eat and continue to eat more if they can. To keep them healthy and slim, I set up a fixed eating schedule and only give them their allotted amount of food. If I give them treats, then I reduce their regular meals a bit so that they keep a fairly constant caloric intake.
Sibes are not shy about stealing food or begging for food. Both Lara and Shania will steal each other’s food if they can. They will also steal from my other dog, Shiba Inu Sephy.
I always supervise them closely during meal-times. Food stealing can encourage food aggression, so I train my dogs not to steal and teach them that if there is any stealing, I will handle the situation.
Siberian Huskies can also get impatient about food and may get slightly overzealous when taking food out of your hand. Bite inhibition training is a must.
3. Siberian Huskies are clever and independent.
Reward Training
Sibes are smart and will quickly learn new commands and figure out interactive toy puzzles; especially when food is on the line.
Lara learned how to Sit on command as soon as we got her home (8 weeks old). In fact, if we use positive reinforcement techniques, we can start obedience training puppies as early as 6 weeks old. However, puppies should not be removed from the litter until they are at least 8 weeks old.
With clever and independent dogs like the Siberian Husky, it is most effective to use reward training techniques. I teach my Huskies that the best way to get what they want is to do what I want first. Here is more on how I trained my Husky puppy.
- If they want to go play in the backyard, they must first do a simple Sit next to the door.
- If they want their food toy, they must first do a Handshake.
- If they dig where they are not supposed to in the backyard then they lose their backyard privileges.
Since we control all of our dog’s resources, we can encourage good behaviors and discourage bad behaviors by tying those behaviors to our dog’s most desired resources.
With reward training my Sibes are always motivated to work. They are never hand-shy and love being with people. Siberian Huskies have a wonderful independent spirit, so we should not shock them, choke them, or physically dominate them into submission.
Siberian Huskies – The Bad
1. Siberian Huskies shed a whole lot.
Sibes blow their coat once or twice a year. During this time they will shed most of their undercoat and replace it with new fur. Frequent brushing will help to control some of this shedding and keep our Husky comfortable and clean.
Even though they may only blow their coat twice a year, Sibes actually shed all year round. There is Sibe fur everywhere in our house, including carpets, tile floor, counters, tables, chairs, blankets, and beds. Hair can also get onto kitchen utensils, food, and drinks.
Another issue to consider is pet allergies. Many people are allergic to dog or cat hair. Although Siberian Huskies have little doggy smell and are not one of the most allergy-causing breeds, a serious pet dander allergy of a family member should have you reconsidering a dog for your choice of pet.
~~[Siberian Husky Club of Canada]
Because they shed so much, try to make brushing and handling fun for your Husky. I always pair brushing sessions with food so that it becomes a fun and rewarding experience. I start with a soft brush and slowly switch over to using the Furminator which is awesome at getting out a dog’s undercoat.
2. Siberian Huskies are awful guard dogs.
Sibes look wild, like wolves. For this reason, many people think that they make fierce guard dogs.
In truth, however, a Husky is more likely to invite strangers into your home with open paws and give them many licks.
Siberian Huskies are happy, goofy, and naturally trust all the people that they see.
My Siberians may sometimes make a fuss when people are at the door, but it is out of excitement rather than a warning cry.
Also, my Siberians will happily follow anyone home as long as they have some yummy pieces of food.
3. Siberian Huskies have very high prey drive.
Husky Shania is a very accomplished huntress.
When we first got our backyard landscaped, we had a big Earth Critter Attack. There are a fair number of rodents including gophers, voles, and mice that live in our area and they decided to throw a big party on our newly planted grass. Holes were appearing everywhere and the organic scent-based pest control we used did not seem to have much of an effect.
We were worried that our yard would not even last the year but then huntress Shania went into action. After a few days of hunting and marking, we noticed that the Rodent Gang had moved their party location somewhere else!
However, this high prey drive also makes it extremely risky to let a Sibe go off-leash in a non-enclosed space. If she spots a deer or squirrel, she will be gone and away before you can shout Stop. Siberian Huskies are very athletic and can cover large distances in a fairly short amount of time.
High prey drive also means that a Husky will have a strong instinct to chase and hunt cats and possibly also small dogs.
4. Siberian Huskies love to pull, pull, pull.
Sibes were bred to pull sleds, and today, they still love to PULL!
One of the biggest challenge with my Huskies is teaching them how to walk without pulling and/or to only pull on command.
The easiest way to leash train a Husky, is to start when she is young and still small. I have tried a variety of techniques with my dogs and what has worked best are the red-light,green-light technique and the 180-turn-around technique.
I started leash training puppy Lara almost as soon as we got her. First I trained her in our backyard. After she was fully vaccinated, I started leash training her around our neighborhood.
While leash training a Sibe, it is very important to be totally consistent. I stop as soon as puppy Lara starts to pull and if she pulls too much, I turn around and walk in the opposite direction. This teaches her that the fastest way to get to where she wants to go is to walk along with me at a measured pace.
5. Siberian Huskies love to sing.
Sibes have a great singing voice. However, neighbors may not particularly enjoy it when Siberians decide to sing or howl to the moon.
Husky Lara is a very vocal dog. She barks when excited, frustrated, scared, and sometimes when other dogs are barking. I have to spend more time and effort training her to stay quiet because her natural instinct is to vocalize.
Husky Shania is a more quiet dog. She almost never barks and the only time she vocalizes is when she is playing with my other dogs. She also sings beautifully when she hears a squeaky toy.
My Husky breeder tells me that there are some Sibe bloodlines that are more noisy than others. Lara’s mother, for example, comes from a more vocal bloodline.
6. Siberian Huskies are a big time commitment.
Sibes are very energetic and affectionate. They like being with people and they also need something to do. Otherwise, they will get bored and get into at least 10 kinds of trouble.
All my dogs work for all of their food, either through obedience exercises, grooming sessions, play sessions, or through interactive food toys. In addition, they go for 1.5 hour daily walks and wrestle with each other several times a day. Sometimes, I join in on the fun and play flirt pole or the water hose game with them.
When bored or lonely, a Husky will figure out her own activities, which may lead to property damage or escape expeditions.
Do not get a dog, especially a Siberian Husky, unless you have a lot of free time to spend with her. If you must work long hours, consider dog daycare or hiring a dog walker. Sibes do best when there are many interesting activities throughout the day and frequent human supervision.
I Love Siberian Huskies
Sibes are awesome dogs. They are always ready of adventure, and they will be there to give you licks and support when you need it, or even when you don’t.
I got my Huskies through the breeder list from the Siberian Husky Club of America. I also considered adopting from my local Siberian Husky rescue, but did not find one that fit well with my Shiba Inu.
It is best to avoid backyard breeders, pet stores, and online pet stores. Such establishments almost always sell unhealthy puppies with poor temperaments.
Source: Siberian Husky Pictures.
Hi, i just took my siberian husky Mya (9months) to the dog beach and when we got there she attacked a small blackish dog and wouldn’t let go, i think it bled. She has never done anything like this before and I’m really quite frightened. the owner of the other dog smacked her and pushed her off and I hit her on the nose and we left the beach almost immediately. I ignored her the whole way home and placed her in the garden and locked the gate, closing all the blinds so that she couldn’t see me. i know that they are a very dominant dog and that i must remain calm, i just don’t know what to do? she goes to dog day care once a week in order to get trained and socialise with other dogs? please help? do i let her back in and act normal or continue ignoring her? Thanks so much xx
My Shiba Inu (Sephy) was also pretty reactive to other dogs when he was young. Some things that helped with my Shiba-
1. Management is key.
Small, structured, and well supervised play groups work best for Sephy. In this way, I can throw in many play breaks, have clear play rules, and properly manage his excitement level. In the beginning, I took Sephy to enclosed dog parks, but that turned out to be a big mistake for us because he ended up learning a lot of bad behaviors from his time there. Here are some of our dog park experiences.
With daycare, it depends a lot on on whether they properly group the dogs, how well supervised the play groups are, how good the trainers are, and what training methods they use. It also depends on the temperament of the dog.
2. Pick his friends.
I also am careful about picking Sephy’s playmates. He does well with larger playful dogs. Small dogs usually become afraid of him because he likes to wrestle and do high speed chasing. He also does not do well with dogs who challenge him, because he will not back down.
Husky Shania is a lot more flexible and does well with a larger range of dogs. However, I make sure to protect her from overly exuberant dogs who can overwhelm her.
3. Positive socialization and desensitization exercises.
What helped Sephy most is to make sure that his social experiences with other dogs are positive, or at worst neutral. Positive socialization is important, because it helps him to associate other dogs with happy experiences, and he learns good behaviors during interactions.
More on dog-to-dog desensitization.
More on positive socialization.
Consulting with a good professional trainer can also be helpful.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
i thunk thats a little harsh you should let her back in.
Hello! I just found your site and so far love it. I have a Husky boy that I got last June, he is now almost 18 months old. We live on a farm. I love him so much. He is sweet and wonderful. I’ve wanted a Siberian Husky for as long as I can remember. Well, he got loose once and had a taste of chickens. I know they have a predatory instinct and I figure there probably isn’t much I can do about that. My husband thinks I need to sell him, fearing that if he gets loose he will kill our cows and pigs, too.
My first question is that I would just like to see if you have any thoughts on that…do you think huskies would kill that kind of livestock?
My second question is what type of fencing/housing would be the best for a husky? I cannot allow him to get loose and kill any of our animals, or our neighbors for that matter. Is it wrong to keep him outside with proper housing?
My teenage son is going to hate me if I sell him, and I love the husky so much as well. I just am torn over what to do.
Any feedback would be welcomed.
Thank You,
Lauren
Both my Huskies will chase after deer, and they are always very interested in the goats that come by the hiking trails. I would *not* leave a Husky alone with livestock.
In terms of fencing, I have a 6 foot fence around my property, together with concrete blocks at the bottom. Huskies love to dig and they can really move dirt, so it is necessary to make the bottom of the fence secure so that they cannot dig out.
Some people use chicken wire, but it did not work out as well for me as the concrete blocks. We can also bury the fence.
How high the fencing needs to be also depends on whether there is any elevation on the property. I make sure there isn’t anything around the fence line that my Huskies can climb up, and use to get over the fence.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-escape-why-dogs-run-away
HI,
I need some advice on my 1 year old husky. We usually have thunderstorms every day and sometimes hael. This weekend we had a down pour of rain and it has been raining non stop for 2 days. My husky has a dog house outside to shelter him from the rain, but he just doesn’t want to sleep in it at all! I have given up trying to place a cushion or blanket in the house, because he tears the cushions and plays with the blankets! So, the dog house is there just to get out of the rain because usally he likes to sleep on the grass. I even opened the house for him, tried to get him inside with a treat but he grabbed the treat and ran outside again. When he eventually came in and lay down, i tried to dry him off with a blanket but once again he jumped up and ran outside. He always looks like he is feeling so sorry for himself in the rain but he doesn’t want to take shelter or get in the house. Is there anything i can do or should i just let him be?
That is interesting. One of my Huskies, Shania, was like that when she was young. She liked staying outside in the rain because I think the water brings out the smell of her surroundings. Here is a picture of her sitting on her bed in the rain. 😀
Shania got a hotspot on her leg though, from lying on wet surfaces. After that I made sure to bring her inside. I do a lot of recall training with her, so that was very helpful in getting her to come when called. Here is a list of recall training techniques from the ASPCA.
If she does not come, I will go out and fetch her. I put on a leash if necessary. However, she is usually happy to come because I play her favorite games with her, give her affection, and some tasty food when we are inside. In this way, she learns that being inside is a lot more fun than being outside, even when it is raining. 😀
Daily walks also helped a lot with Shania. When she gets to go on long walks in the neighborhood or hiking trails, she is less interested in staying out in the backyard.
Big hugs to your Husky boy!
OK so this is a way different question then all the other topics but I hope you can help me. I have a 8yr old husky that won’t run or pull and I’m wondering what it could be. I also have a Springer spaniel and a Beagle/Shepard mix. We just recently started running at night (like a actual sled team) but Mya won’t run she only jogs and only because half the time her brothers are pulling/dragging her along. I have tried switching up the team like putting her as the lead dog, putting her hext to her brother and even putting her behind her brothers. Even when she is running solo she only jogs. Im not sure what to do with her. I’ve heard of arthritis and other stuff but she is in perfect health. Always playing and wrestling with her brothers and when she gets out if the house unintentionally she has no problem running from us. Do you have any suguesstions. And yes they all are on special pulling harnesses I even tried her without her harness same problem. Some times she will even just stop running completely and said down while on the team.
My husband and I have a 3 1/2 year old pure bred Siberian Husky who is wonderful. Extremely loving and gentle for the most part. She lets you take food and water from her dish while she is eating with no problem. We can take toys from her and bones but when it comes to squeaky toys, she gets aggressive where she snaps and will not let us take the toy. We aren’t sure if she thinks it’s a small animal and we have found that we avoid giving her toys like these. She also if bored or ignored, will find things that she shouldn’t have such as socks or paper and we have learned from obedience classes with her, that we should trade her a better item such as a piece of cheese or another toy that way she learns that giving up that item results in getting something better. She knows commands and does well with people. She loves going to doggy daycare and although she does well with the dogs there, when we go for walks with her we tend to avoid coming in contact with other dogs because she starts to get anxious. My question is does anyone else experience these issues with their huskies?
Yeah, squeaky toys are also higher priority for my dogs. The sound makes the toy more interesting, gets them more excited, and may sometimes trigger prey drive. During training exercises, I always start my dog off on very low priority items first, and then we very slowly work my way up into medium level items, and then higher level stuff.
The priority of items is also different for different dogs. Both my Huskies are very food focused, so the food toys (especially smelly chews) are most high priority for them. My Shiba likes new toys or things that he doesn’t usually get. When we first gave him a Greenie, he got really stressed, and ran around trying to find a place to hide it. 😀
Following the Nothing in Life is Free program also helps a lot with my dogs.
In terms of other dogs, it depends a lot on the situation. Being on a leash can cause anxiety with some dogs, because that limits their freedom and ability to flee, if necessary. The actions and energy of the other dog, the other owner, and myself are also very important. If I am worried, my dog will pick up on that, and start to get worried and anxious as well. Past experiences also matter. Shania and I have been charged by several large dogs before, so now both of us are more wary of those areas/houses.
I find that doing dog-to-dog desensitization exercises helps my dog to build confidence and teaches him to be more calm while in the presence of another dog.
Big hugs to your Husky girl!
I have to husky they are bothers. I am having a hard time with potty training. the boys are 5 months old, some night they do great and than they start peeing and pooping in the house. I started with crate training but now there are to big to both be in crate. I really didn’t want to crate them at night. they have been chewing more so i need to get them out more. they are lovable but LOTS of WORK.
Lia
Here are some things that I did to potty train my Huskies.
I have a 2 month old Siberian Husky who is amazing. Ive had him for only 3 days and he uses the pad 90% of the time and has shown great bladder control as I have taken him for a few long drives. What shampoo and food would you recommend for him. He has been eating some food the pet store gave us however he has been gagging and I want to switch his food to see if it stops.
Congratulations on your Husky puppy!
Here are some things that I look out for when picking food for my dogs-
http://shibashake.com/dog/feeding-your-dog-a-healthy-diet#dry_food
I used puppy formula kibble until my Husky was about 1 year old, then I switched to the adult formula.
I don’t bathe my Huskies much. Here is more on what I do with respect to bathing my dog.
Hi, I have a Siberian husky puppy who is about 10 weeks old. He really likes to bite and whenever I play with him he will try to bite my hands, feet, clothes, etc.. I know he is just playing but I don’t want this to become a habit for him. How can I stop it effectively and humanely?
Congratulations on your Husky puppy!
This is what I did to redirect my Husky puppy from biting on me-
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-i-trained-my-husky-puppy#bite-training
I also do bite inhibition training with all of my dogs.
Huskies like to do what is called “mouthing” and a lot of people shy away from the breed because they think that they are bad about biting and this isn’t the case, it is just something that Huskies do; it is just one of their quirky traits, I mean, if I didn’t have opposable thumbs I would probably get creative at holding onto things too Mine is just over a year old and has all but stopped doing it because when she tries I don’t jerk my hand away, I didn’t want her thinking it was a game, so instead I would lightly grab her lower jaw (basically my hand would be in her mouth) and do to her what she was doing to me, just grabbing, not doing it to cause discomfort or pain, after a few seconds she would throw up a paw to push my hand away and she would start licking my hand instead. Not saying that this would work for every Husky, but it did for ours. Ours isn’t crate trained, nor does she go into a crate (not against it, just never got around to shelling out the cash for one when she was younger). She has been phenomenal about staying in the backyard with a 4 foot chain link fence (which she could easily clear), though, the neighbor behind us refuses to keep his dog in his yard, and I do not want a litter of mix-breed pups. Currently I am a full-time student and we have 3 kids so affection is never a problem in this household. All in all, Huskies are amazing, and you really do have to have the right mentality and personality to have one in your life. Not all of the behavioral change should be on their part. Sometimes I will just stop what I am doing to roll on the floor for a bit with ours, not really rough play because the house in not the place for that, more so just showing affection and showing her that I don’t always expect her to come up to my level.
So very true.
Yeah my Huskies love that too. They are very interactive dogs. 😀
I have a 14 month old husky named scout. My husband and I decided on a husky for my at the time 1 year old son and 4 year old doggy son Max…..Needless to say I did not do as much research and ask enough questions. BIG MISTAKE! As a puppy Scout was amazing but as soon as testosterone hit he became the menace of my mind and any energy I had. Shedding was the least of my worry’s due to the fact we have a great groomer for cheap. But the problem is the chewing the diaper grabbing out of the trash (even if we put it in the cupboard) if we leave he will destroy the living room and dump the water dish he chews my sons toys up. I mean we hid everything…But even though he is our butt head I’m here to tell you there is HOPE. With simple love and proper punishment of bad behavior we have come a LONG way in just weeks. At night we no longer cage him, we decided to give our son a twin size bed and give scout his baby bed with sheets and a crappy pillow now we no longer wake up and deal with pee on the outside of the cage or the caged pulled in trapping his head at 3 am he sleeps comfortably with a fan on his body ALL NIGHT LONG! Before we leave now we do still pick up everything we love or need…shoes gaming devices, blankets, socks, toys ect, and then we sit the two big dogs down give them a treat and tell them both NO BAD BOY DESTROYING and we say it in a very stern tone and we come home now to a lot less damage which in turn either gets him a treat if there was no damage or out door on a leash for 20 mins for bad boy destroying. I have learned that which each dog the same punishment does not work as good with all dogs. For example My Chihuahua we have to cage her for bad behavior my older dog max simple gets told hes a bad boy and that pretty much does the trick and hides under the desk until daddy calls him over and scout gets put on a leash for 20 mins and the reason why its so terrible for him is because he has a short leash where he can only walk a short distance and look at the half acre yard he cant play in and when the 20 mins is over he has to come inside. IT works JUST FIND WHAT WORKS FOR YOU ITS HARD REALLY HARD but I’m doing it and I have a two year old 3 dogs 2 cats a husband my elderly grandma and a baby on the way it will work just take your time and you will see improvements. Good luck!
How did you get him to be ok with cats? I’m bringing home a 6mo old husky soon and I have 2 cats they love to play they are not mean cats. But they do run around the house like crazy how do I get the husky to not eat them
I have a beautiful (very vocal) 7 month old sibe named Kaido. I am getting worried though, It has been a horribly hot summer so the fleas have been bad but I have controlled that. My problem is that he is not only a picky eater but he doesnt seem to be gaining weight. To get him to eat his dry food, I mix wet food in with it. I do this two times a day and he fills out after meals but the next morning he looks too skinny again. Could this be because he is growing? I have checked every time he poops to make sure there are no worms, and there arent. He isnt showing any signs of decreased activity but he pants alot even in the AC. Should I be worried? this is my first husky so I dont know if they are normally thin dogs or if there is somthing wrong?
Hmmm, what brand of dry and wet food are you currently using? Does he get treats and other food in addition? How much total does he eat per day?
For comparison, here are some pictures of my Husky Lara (she is the grey colored one) at around 6-7 months of age.
http://shibashake.com/dog/shiba-pictures/dog-days-of-summer
Here are some pictures of my Husky Shania at around 7 months of age.
http://shibashake.com/dog/shiba-pictures/lazy-summer-days-jul-sept-2008
Yeah, worms can sometimes be difficult to detect because they do not come out with every poop, and sometimes they are not on the surface. I usually look over a period of at least several days, and I look inside the poop as well. Sibes are especially susceptible to tapeworms because they like hunting for rodents and other earth critters. Our vet told us that now, even birds are carrying the infected fleas.
Yeah, both my Huskies heat up pretty quickly during hot weather. Here are some things that I do to help them cool down.
If there are health concerns, I also give my vet a call and ask them my questions. They are usually helpful, have good suggestions, and can tell me what to look out for.