About Siberian Huskies - The Good and The Bad
89I 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 make a great family dog 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 Siberian Husky may chew, dig, and escape to look for adventure elsewhere.
Before getting a Siberian Husky 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.
Siberian Huskies 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.
Siberian Huskies live life to the fullest.
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, Siberian Huskies also love to eat.
Both Lara and Shania will eat and eat and continue to eat more if they can. To keep my Siberian Huskies 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.
Siberian Huskies 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.
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3. Siberian Huskies are clever and independent.
Siberian Huskies 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.
- 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 choke them, shock them, or physically dominate them into submission.
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Siberian Huskies - The Bad
1. Siberian Huskies shed a whole lot.
Siberian Huskies blow their coat about 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 a Siberian 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.
If you or members of your family are allergic to dog fur, it is best not to get a Siberian Husky.
Because they shed so much, try to make brushing and handling fun for your Siberian 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.
Siberian Huskies look wild, like wolves. For this reason, many people think that they make fierce guard dogs.
In truth, however, a Siberian 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.
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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 Siberian Husky go off-leash in a non-enclosed space. If a Siberian Husky 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 Siberian Huskies will have a strong instinct to chase and hunt cats and possibly also small dogs.
4. Siberian Huskies love to pull, pull, pull.
Siberian Huskies were bred to pull sleds, and today, they still love to PULL!
One of the biggest challenges with a Siberian Husky is teaching her how to walk without pulling and/or to only pull on command.
The easiest way to leash train a Siberian Husky is to start when they are 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 Siberian Husky, 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.
Siberian Huskies 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 Siberian 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.
Siberian huskies 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 toys. In addition, they also 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 Siberian 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. Siberian Huskies do best when there are many interesting activities throughout the day and frequent human supervision.
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I Love Siberian Huskies
Siberian Huskies 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 Siberian 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.
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Hello Jad,
Yeah my Sibe also wants to chase small dogs especially if the small dog is moving a lot and running.
One thing that helped when I got a new puppy was that I put the small dog on a leash when she was together with my Sibe. That way I can keep the small dog with me and when my Sibe comes over I can teach her to be gentle and not overwhelm puppy.
Here are some of the other things that I do to help my dogs get along at home -
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a
I also visited several professional trainers when I first got my dogs. A trainer can observe the dogs and see what is triggering particular behaviors - whether the bite is in play or something else.
In terms of my Husky's coat, I don't do too much. I just brush it regularly with a Furminator, and that is enough to remove undercoat and keep it clean. Flaxseed oil or fish oil can also help improve dry or dull coat, but I would do some research on it first and consult with a vet before adding anything to a dog's diet.
Why huskies have diffirrent markings.
As I understand it, a Husky's markings are based on the dog's parents (it is based on genetics). Some breeders may breed for specific types of markings, but the Siberian Husky conformation standard does not require a particular marking pattern (i.e., all markings are acceptable).
In terms of function, I am not sure if there is any. A wolf's coat helps with camouflage, so our domestic dogs have inherited some of that.
"Domestic dogs often display the remnants of countershading, a common natural camouflage pattern."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_(dog)
In terms of health, coloring and markings do not play a big role, if any.
"Color breeding while fascinating and exasperating, is the least important factor in the production of high quality animals. "
can you control how much digging they do? i want a husky so bad but my parents have a pretty good amount of flowers and i dont want to mess it up for them.
Hello Steven,
Yeah, they can be trained to only dig in certain areas. For example, my backyard has a portion that is landscaped with nice grass, and then a back portion that is wild. Both my Huskies are trained not to dig in the nice grass area.
However, the training does require a fair amount of supervision, especially initially. In general, I would stay outside with my Sibe puppy *every time* she goes out. If she tries to dig, I non-mark her and get her to do something else. If she ignores me and tries to dig anyway, she loses her backyard privileges (she has to come back in the house.)
Consistency is key and it takes a fair amount of time and effort because we must "catch them in the act". If we are not there when they are doing the digging, then scolding them afterward will not do anything because they will not know which behavior they are being scolded for.
Hey, i have a 2 year old sibe husky named Schanook, and well, he suddenly started digging, im guessing its because its winter here in germany, so getting ready for the snow?
It could be.
My Sibes dig even though we don't have snow here. They usually dig a hole and then sit in it.
Most often though, they dig to hunt for earth critters.
My Shiba Inu even digs on the carpet when he wants to find a sleeping spot. It is probably a den instinct/behavior.
Hugs to Schanook. Gotta love huskies!
My 14 week old Siberian husky is so sweet, she loves to play, but she will jump up on me and kick me like crazy and starts biting, I dont think she means any harm but it can hurt when she goes too far. How do I get ger to stop biting? I've tried yelling "ow!!" and pulling hands away etc. But it doesn't work, I've tried sternly saying "no!!" still nothing.. Please help
I meant lick not kick haha
Hello Stephanie,
In general, when my puppy bites, I try to stay calm and not move around too much. Motion is very exciting to a puppy, so fast hand movement will likely get puppy even more hyper.
With my puppy Lara, I first started with bite inhibition training. This trains a dog to control the force of her bites which is a very useful skill.
http://shibashake.com/dog/bite-inhibition
Then, after Lara has good bite inhibition, I train her stop biting. When she bites, I non-mark her (No or Ack, ack) and get her to do something else (e.g. bite on a toy or do some other command).
If she ignores me and continues, then I withdraw my attention by standing by, folding my arms, and turning away from her.
If she stops biting, then I reward her by giving her attention again. If she does not stop, and keeps jumping and biting at my clothes, then I say timeout and take her to a quiet timeout area for a short amount of time.
Here are a couple of articles on my puppy biting experiences-
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop
http://shibashake.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/How-to-st
Congratulations on your new Sibe puppy! Both my Sibes also love to lick faces and do chin nibbling. :D
Thank you so much:) I love her so much she is so loving and a ton of fun so it's great but the biting needs to stop. It's great to get advice from another sibe owner. Much appreciated, take care
im a new owner of sibes she's just 3 months old. and im having problem with her because he poops inside our house and when i want to walk with her she's not going after me is that a sign of lazy or what help me plss...
and by the way this site helps a lot for a new owner of sibes like me thnx to you. you give a lot of information about sibes.....
After good training and a plenty of monitored time outside, do sibes do well indoors? Are they happy/comfortable inside?
Hello Roldan,
"he poops inside our house and when i want to walk with her she's not going after me"
Here are some of my potty training experiences-
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-potty-training-facts
I would also consider taking her to the vet for her vaccination shots and a quick exam to make sure she is physically healthy.
It may take a while before puppy understands the routine in the house and what is expected of her. After some reward training and good quality time spent together, she will soon be following you around. :)
Congratulations on your new Siberian Husky puppy!
Hello CShea,
"do sibes do well indoors? Are they happy/comfortable inside?"
It depends to some degree on age of the Sibe, individual temperament, temperature, as well as type and length of activity.
My Sibes are not as active in the summer time, and like being in the house when it is hot outside. During the winter, they enjoy being outside more of the time.
Also, Sibe puppies are a lot more active and will require more activity, play time, and off-lead time in an enclosed space.
With my current Sibe puppy Lara, she usually comes in the house to play with my other dogs. She will also sleep in the house for a few hours after our daily walk. At night, she sleeps in the house for about 8 hours. Other than that, she likes being outside prowling around, digging, etc.
My adult Sibe (over 4 years old) stays in the house for much longer periods of time. After our morning walk, she is happy to rest and relax in the house until afternoon time.
The key thing is that Siberians do love to run. With my Sibes, as long as they get enough running time in an enclosed space, as well as their on-leash daily walk, they are happy to be inside the house.
hi. im 15 and we are 95% getting a husky in january (after the busy christmas period) we havnt the biggest garden, its not small but im worried do huskys need a lot of space ? we live in a very safe neighbourhood and we would bring the dog for at the least two long walks a day, will this be enough for the husky? me my brother and sister would walk her at every chance we get.
Hello Cian,
It sounds good to me. With my Sibes, as long as they get regular walks and play time they are pretty happy. I take them out for about 1.5-2 hours daily.
Be aware though that puppies are susceptible to diseases that may be passed through dog poop, other animal poop, contaminated water, etc. I only started walking my puppy Lara around the neighborhood after she was fully vaccinated. Before that I did leash training with her in the backyard and also in puppy class.
Also, both my Sibes really love to dig, so if you have prize plants or prize roses in the backyard, they may need to be fenced up. :)
Where are you planning to get your Husky from?
Thanks for the advice.. my sibes has already a complete vaccine.. and what is the proper feeding for a 3 months sibes???? up to 1yr old???? thanks again by the way im from the philippines...
how many times do i have to feed her??? 2 times a day or 3.? and how many grams do i have to give to my sibes every meal time??? thank you...
Hello Roldan,
The amount I feed my Sibe is based on the type of food, age, and also on weight. Usually, I use the amount it says on the kibble/food packaging as a general guideline.
As for frequency of feeding, I distribute my Sibe puppy's food throughout the day for obedience exercises, grooming, playing, etc. What is left over I make into frozen Kongs - which are very useful for getting my Sibe puppy to calm down before taking a nap.
From talking to my breeder, she recommends feeding puppies at least 3 times a day. Once puppy grows up, this can be reduced to 2 times a day - which is what I do with my adult dogs.
Hey I am planing on getting a husky but how do I know if they are full breed puppy's thanks
my parents are thinking about getting a husky, we have a big backyard that it can play in but is one walk every day or every other day enough?
Hello Richard,
A good way to get a pure-bred Siberian Husky is to go to a registered AKC breeder.
http://thedoginc.com/siberian-husky-puppies
Here is the Siberian Husky breeder referral list from the Siberian Husky Club of America -
Hello Haley,
"is one walk every day or every other day enough?"
I take my Sibes out every day for at least 1.5 hours. At home, they play with each other, play with me, and get some nice digging action in the backyard.
They get more active in colder weather and are more lazy in the summer. However, they really want/need to go out every day.
Hello Shibashake, I am on my 4th Siberian. My 1st two were brothers, six months apart. The 1st (Kinzan) died at 12 yrs old of spleenic sarcoma. My second, Sasha, died in my arms at 15 1/2 - It was his time. I was trying to take him to the vet and I didn't make it. My 3rd, Layla (my only female), I had to put down at about 10-11 years old in Feb 2010. I think she had a stroke over Xmas 2009. The vet wanted to put her down right away and I held off for two months. Layla's blue eyes were gorgeous. Very sweet temperment. I've had Dosha since Labor Day 2010 - he might have some mix in him, but he's almost all white with 1 blue and 1 brown eye. I rescued him from someone who had to move into an apt. I really liked the fact that she had a 4 year old boy. So Dosha (now 3 yrs old) has grown up with kids, which I wanted. Loves people, I call him my doorbell. Tells me every night between 9 pm and Midnight that it's walk time. When I need to calm him down for whatever reason, I just pick him up (all 60 lbs) and he just settles down in my arms for a minute. Whenever anyone comes over (and since I work from home, I get a lot), he's there to greet everyone. I just need to get him from jumping up on everyone and saying hi.
To anyone considering a Siberian - great family dog, relatively clean (except for the shedding - Hi my name is Shedding Dog); best antidepressant I could ever come up with - be aware of the negative - needs exercise, large backyard, lousy guard dog, hates cats - but their zest for life holds no bounds; you won't go wrong.
i wish i knew all of this before i got eddie lol and i got him from the worst place i got him from a pet store i know i know but i felt like i saved him because he was in a tiny little cage and he was 4 months old, but hes been great and the love that he gives us its as he if knows. but in the beginning the first time i left him alone (i dont believe in cages, so he roamed about)he tore my couch apart, but hes come a long way from that. i feel like huskies are so smart but they are so stobborn that we sometimes dont notice. they are sneeks too i cant tell you what i found under his blanket lol he hate being brushed and i couldnt find it and sure enough the little jerk face hid it on me.
Hello KINZAN91,
Thanks for sharing your Sibe stories with us.
"When I need to calm him down for whatever reason, I just pick him up (all 60 lbs) and he just settles down in my arms for a minute."
That just sounds adorable. Definitely take a picture and share it with us! :D
Hugs to Dosha. He sounds like a very awesome dog.
"he hate being brushed and i couldnt find it and sure enough the little jerk face hid it on me."
LOL! Gotta love dogs.
If you really want an extremely sneaky dog that is stubborn beyond belief, check out the Shiba Inu.
My Sibes are pretty stubborn, but they usually give up the ghost when they see that it is not getting them anywhere. Shiba knows no surrender and will fight till the bitter end! :D
shiba inu's are beautiful dogs, my neighbor has one and hes says the same as you. in his words dont trust the pretty face lol.
"in his words dont trust the pretty face"
LOL! I'm a sucker for pretty faces, especially the furry kind. :D
I can not decide ... :-( Shiba Inu or Husky? XD
my sibe's is 3months old and she bites a little bit crazy for what so ever reason. how can i get read for her crazy bite on me???
Hello Niviam,
Both breeds have their pros and cons. Here are some of my observations of my Shiba and Siberians.
Hello Pinky12,
Here are some of my experiences on how to stop puppy biting-
I'll be trading some motorcycle gears for a 3-year old sibe, I dunno how that will turn out, but our family has had dogs almost as long as we owned houses...good thing I found this site...really helped a lot. next purchase: cross-training shoes
"next purchase: cross-training shoes"
LOL. Yeah Sibes are great dogs and an awesome way to get in-shape. :D
Congratulations on your new Sibe.
My family is interested in getting a husky and I was wondering, how long can Sibes unsupervised? As in, do they need constant supervision while at home? Or can you off and do your own thing for a bit? And I was also wondering what the maximum time frame would be to keep one unsupervised, as well as some ideas to help keep him busy when unaccompanied?
I currently got a 7 week old Siberian. She is about 9 weeks now and you are very correct about commands she learned them in the first 5 tries with reward and now she does them without reward. I have a concern with eating. I have a weimeraner and I use to have another one and he ate too fast and his stomach flipped and he passed away, because of how energetic he was. Also he would growl at us if we came near him while eating. When I got my second one we played in her food when she was a puppy while eating and now she is very relaxed and calm about us in and near her food. My concern is with my Siberian. I try to play in her food but she gets nippy. and if I'm in her food or not she eats incredibly fast and then wants to play after. From bad expierence this scares me, I can control playing after but how do I control the eating so aggressively? I also have cats and if they did that we just put large rocks in the food bowl that couldnt be swallowed and that worked.. is there any technique to help with a dog though?
how to teach a Siberian to give paw? what gestures should I do and when should I reward?
Hello Jennifer,
"As in, do they need constant supervision while at home? Or can you off and do your own thing for a bit?"
With Shania and Lara, I can definitely do my own thing. As long as they get a nice walk every day (I am currently walking them for about 1.5 hours), they are pretty good about keeping themselves occupied for most of the day. During puppy-hood though, I had to keep a much closer eye on them.
http://shibashake.com/dog/a-new-puppy-first-10-day
I have a section in the backyard that is not landscaped, and they dig there for earth critters. They also play chasing games with each other, and sometimes I throw some kibble for them and they have fun searching for it in bushes, etc. They also have chew toys outside, and they will also pull down branches from trees and bushes to chew on.
I am usually home, so I look in on them from time to time. Sometimes they catch a mouse or bird, and I don't really want them eating it. Otherwise, I have left them home alone for about 2-3 hours at a time. I did not do this until puppy Lara got a bit older, bigger, and a bit calmer.
I am probably more on the "helicopter-parent" side though. :D Part of this is because Shania is a three legged dog so I want to make sure the other two dogs do not overwhelm her.
Hello Nadia,
Congratulations on your new Sibe puppy!
In terms of the eating, what seems to work well with all my dogs is to make them work for all of their food. I use their regular kibble rations for obedience training, grooming, play, and socialization. If there is food left over, I put them in interactive toys so they have to work for that too.
Interactive toys are great because it not only exercises a dog mentally, but it also controls the speed at which they can eat the food.
Here are some of my experiences with interactive food toys-
http://shibashake.com/dog/best-dog-toys
Frozen Kongs are good, and I also like the Premier Busy Buddy toys. Always be careful to supervise and make sure the toy is safe and not a choking hazard.
Add: In terms of the nippiness, what has worked with my Sibes is bite inhibition training.
"how to teach a Siberian to give paw? what gestures should I do and when should I reward?"
With puppy Lara I first got her to do a Sit. Then, I just said "Paw" and then lifted her paw. Then I praise and treat. I repeat this a few times.
Then I say "Paw" and just put my hand there next to her paw, but I don't lift it. If she lifts the paw on her own, I make a really really big deal out of it, and give her a big bonus reward. Then I repeat a few more times and do something else before she gets bored.
If she does not lift the paw after a certain duration, then I go back to lifting the paw and reinforcing the behavior with rewards. I make sure to stop before she gets bored so that she is always interested in working and doing commands.
we recently got a Husky puppy. She was six weeks when we got her and we have had her for just over 4 weeks. I have several concerns.
1: I have 3 kids. They are 12, 3, and 6 months. Our puppy Kovey is extremely aggressive with them and us. She constantly bites and to be honest she has drawn blood, even on our 6 month old. I have told her "no" sternly, but she just doesn't stop. My 3 year old is to the point that he is scared of her and I am getting extremely frustrated. We can't even pet her with out her growling and lunging for our faces and hands.
2. She will not get house broken. I understand that we've only had her for a short time and that its not going to happen over night but what I don't understand is, she will be outside playing for a half hour and the minute she comes in she makes a mess. Also, she will go 4 or 5 times in a very short amount of time. She does not attempt to let us know that she has to go and only whines after its done. Once again, I tell her thats naughty and I usually put her back outside but sometimes I put her in her kennel for a few minutes. She does not like to be by herself and I was hoping that she would put the two together.
3: When she is eating, if my kids even go by her, she starts to growl.
I guess what im asking is if I need to worry about my children? I realized that I should've researched Husky dogs but I went off of the word of the person I bought her from. What do we do to stop the biting and how do we get her house trained? Are they normally house trained by 10 weeks? I have no idea what we're doing wrong. When she does go outside I make sure I reward and tell her she what a good dog she is. Also,Im concerned that the bigger she gets the more aggressive she is going to be and the harder she is going to bite. Obviously my kids are my first priority and I need to make sure they are going to be safe. My husband tells she is just being a puppy and she will grow out of it, but im not so sure. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!
Hello Melissa,
1. Biting - What has helped with my Sibe puppies is bite inhibition training. Puppies usually start learning this from their mom and siblings. This is one of the reasons why breeders generally keep puppies together until they are about 8 weeks old.
http://shibashake.com/dog/bite-inhibition
At the same time, I also teach them not to bite on people. Here is what I do -
http://shibashake.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/Train-a-P
2. Potty training
A big part of potty training depends on what the puppy is used to at the breeders house. Some breeders potty train their puppies, some let puppies go on puppy pads, and sometimes, puppies are just left with their business without clean-up. The last group will take more effort to potty train.
With my Sibe puppy Lara, supervision was really very important. I had to supervise her all the time when she is roaming around the house. If I don't have time to supervise, I tether her in the kitchen. As soon as it looks like she is about to go, I take her outside. If she starts to go, I interrupt her and take her outside for her to finish. Then I praise her a lot, treat her, and play a really fun game with her.
With puppy Lara, I found that she really needs to pee after short amounts of play-time. I usually take them out after about 10-15 minutes of play. I also take her out when she wakes up. When she has been outside for a while and wants to come in, I usually take her to her potty spot first, and remind her to potty, just in case she needs to. Then she comes in.
Here is more on my potty training experiences-
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-potty-training-fac
3. Food Aggression
It is important to train a puppy not to be food aggressive. My Sibes are very food focused so I did a fair amount of food exercises with them when they were puppies.
http://shibashake.com/dog/stop-food-aggression-sto
Here are a few extra things that helped me a lot while bringing up a puppy-
i have an 10 week old husky it only takes someone to walk past him and he bites you really hard even when we play with him he seems to want to bite us instead of biting his bone or his toy how can i stop him biting
I recently got a husky pup she is now nine weeks old, she loves to play and run around and she is really smart already knowing how to sit lay down and come up on command, she even plays fetch already. I find it kind of difficult to keep her from being rough with my moms dog who is full grown and smaller than Jade. How can I teach her to be gentle with smaller dogs? also, I'm trying to teach her to come when I call, any suggestions?
Congratulations on your new husky puppy!
"How can I teach her to be gentle with smaller dogs?"
Yeah both my Sibes also like to play rough. When I first got puppy Lara, I kept her on a leash (only with flat collar) while she was playing with my other dogs. This helps to keep excitement under control, and it also allowed me to stop her from playing too rough with my tripod dog Shania.
Every time she is too rough, I non-mark her (Ack-ack) and stop play. Then she has to do some obedience commands before play continues.
I still supervise my dogs during play and have lots of small breaks in-between so that things don't get too energetic. Here is more on my experiences with introducing a new dog to my other dogs-
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a
As for recall training, what seems to work with my Sibes is to start small and then reward them really well when they come to me. I make sure they know I have some good food, then I just move one step away, call to them, make a bunch of noise, and move a lot. This will usually get puppy excited and want to move toward me. When she does, I make a big deal of it, and treat her very well. Sometimes I also play a fun game with her.
A common mistake that people make with recall training, is that they will call their dog to them and then punish him, or forcibly put him in his crate. This teaches a dog to stay away rather than come to us.
To get my dogs to come, I try to make sure that the recall command is ~always~ associated with something very positive, fun, and rewarding.
Hugs to Jade!
**HELP PLEASE**: We have two 2 year old Siberian Huskies and have found now two winter's in a row that the more dominant of the two (Max) has pulled off a good portion of the other one (Gemma's)coat. She now only has ~25% of her outer coat on her back. Neither of them are agressive and Max leaves her coat alone in the summer. He tends to do it when they are alone, we very rarely catch him doing it. We have tried sour apray and even cayenne pepper but it hs not stopped him. We are thinking of getting her a dog jacket to cover her back up but deep down we know they will just chew it up. Has anyone else had this experience or heard of it??? Please leave any thoughts - we live in northern NH and she really needs her coat, now it gets matted with snow and she gets cold.
My dogs will sometimes try to groom each other. I find though, if I keep them well brushed especially when they blow their undercoat, that they feel less of a need to do it themselves. Swallowing too much fur can also lead to coughing and discomfort.
Over-grooming can sometimes also be a displacement behavior. Exercise, games, making them work for their food, and obedience exercises can help to keep them occupied.
I adopted a 3 year old female sibe from our local humane society. She doesn't really fit the breed behaviors. She was aggressive with our chocolate lab. She attacked the lab and ripped her side. She seems afraid of people and growls at children. She also isn't very vocal. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can help her feel more secure and how I can help her around children.
Desensitization exercises can help with fear and various anxieties.
Jad 4 months ago
I am 12 years old and I have a husky and a beagle.My husky "Chichi" had a prey drive with my beagle "Chookzy" when they are in a run Chichi bit Chookzy and her eyes swollen. I want to ask a question about how to prevent this again.
I bring them out sometimes after school for maybe 30 min. is that OK for a husky?And my last question, How can you make a husky fur very beautiful?