Now that you own a Siberian Husky puppy, it’s time to take care of training. Most owners don’t realize that training your dog to obey, listen and behave is important key in proper dog care. In reality though, teaching your Husky puppy how to behave around people is the best thing you can do for your dog.
Dogs like things as simple as possible, most of us would probably agree with them there. They want to know what is allowed and what isn’t. Have you ever caught your Siberian Husky hesitating before jumping on the couch or stopping to look at you before they finish their meal? When they do that, they are looking for any signals that will confirm their actions.
Simply put, these dogs want to make their owners happy but they are not always sure if what they doing is right. So instead they look at you to see what you have to say about it. This is why training a Siberian Husky puppy is so important. Through training, they learn what is acceptable and what isn’t. That means less time to worry about things, and more time enjoying their puppy days.
Continue Learning >> Siberian Husky Training
When to start training
First thing you must understand about training Siberian Huskies is that there are different types of training. I’ll cover the three important categories so you have a better understanding of each.
Behavior Training – This category includes everything that has to do with a Huskies obedience. Stopping destructive chewing, barking housebreaking all falls into here. You should start training your puppy to behave right away. The earlier they learn these rules, the less mess there will be for you to clean up.
Continue Learning >> Siberian Husky Behavior 101
Socializing - This is when you train the puppy to behave around other people or animals. Puppies are a lot more open to learning so I suggest you socialize your dog while he is still young. Invite some friends over to play with the puppy, take your husky out on a walk to the park or take him around your block to meet the neighbors.
Trick Training – Training tricks is not necessary but it helps with your dog’s obedience. While the Husky is still a puppy, you can start teaching him basic tricks like sit and come. Once he reaches around 5-6 months of age you can start training tricks like fetch, rollover and play dead.
Continue Learning >> Siberian Husky Trick Training
Puppy training tips
Here are some additional Husky puppy training tips that will help you get started:
- Always be consistent. Your dog will learn things a lot quicker if you are consistent with your commands. For example – don’t substitute “sit” for “sit down” and vice versa.
- Husky puppies are a lot like children, so treat them like a child. Think about how children learn things and use that in your training. For example, be positive and excited when your puppy does something right.
- Training sessions with a Siberian Husky puppy should be short. Keep the no longer than 14 minutes. You can have multiple training sessions during the day, but give your puppy plenty of breaks in between.
Training a husky new trick isn’t as difficult as one might think. Siberian huskies are really intelligent dogs and catch on to things fairly quickly. As long as you follow the tips below, you should have no trouble training your husky new tricks.
Use Positive Reinforcement
Remember that your husky has no way of knowing what is exactly you expect of him, so punishing him or scolding him for not understanding you is about as useless as it is cruel.
Instead you should reward correct behavior either through treats or with praise. This is the best way to encourage a husky pup to learn and give him confidence while you trying to teach him new tricks.
Keep Training Sessions Short
A lot of owners think that more training will only guarantee better results, but that’s actually quite the opposite with huskies.
Siberian Huskies tend to get bored quickly and forcing your dog to do something over and over for a long period of time will just make him hate it until he decides to completely ignore that command.
Instead you should keep each trick training session 10-15 minutes, and no longer. It’s alright to have more than one training session per day, as long as you give your dog breaks in between.
Break Up The Trick Into Small Parts
You can’t expect your Husky to know that you want him to jump through 5 hoops, fetch your newspaper and bring you the remote control all in one go. Break each trick that you are trying to teach to your husky into smaller parts that are much easier to show and do.
For example if you are teaching your dog to play dead, don’t expect him to stay playing dead from the first try.
Instead introduce to him the position in which he is “playing dead” and then start working on him staying in that position.
Get Rid of Distractions
When training Husky new tricks, you must have his full attention. You want his whole focus on you, or he won’t be learning anything.
The best way to do this is by eliminating anything that could present itself as a distraction. Any toys, chew and unnecessary objects that can get in the way of training should be put away.
Pick Your Location
This goes hand in hand with the last point, pick a location with as little distractions as possible.
If you start training new tricks in a public place with a lot of people, your husky will constantly be distracted and will lose focus of the task that you give him.
Instead pick a quiet and familiar place with as little distractions as you possibly can.
Have Fun
Huskies are very playful dogs and love to spend time with their owners and having fun, so use the training time to do just that!
Try not to get stressed over little things. If your husky isn’t learning the trick then try another approach or try again at a later time.
Keep the training fun and get your husky excited about completing tasks. You want him to feel rewarded and confident during training, not stressed out and scared.
If you plan to own a Husky dog then you should be prepared for the responsibilities that come with them.
As a responsible Husky owner, you must take care of grooming, good diet, exercise and regular veterinary checkups if you want your Husky to stay healthy and happy.
Neglecting these things to your dog will just leave them unhappy and can also lead to problematic health problems, so make sure you are ready for a Siberian Husky before you bring one home.
Grooming
Keeping your Husky clean is the best way to avoid unnecessary visits to the vet.
You will have to take care of things like bathing, nail clipping, ear cleaning, brushing, dental hygiene and more.
When grooming your Husky, make sure you only use pet safe products because using human products on animals is a big No-no. The chemicals used in human shampoos and soaps are far too rough for pet use.
Also don’t go overboard with grooming. Washing your Husky too often will wash essential oils and minerals in their coats and leave their fur looking dry and pale. You should only really bathe your husky once every three to six months.
Exercise
As you probably already know, huskies are working dogs and love to run around, play and exercise.
Taking your dog outside on short walks three times a day is not enough for him to stretch out his legs and give his legs a decent work out.
If possible, take your Husky out to the park on a regular basis where he can run around and get some activity. If you have a large enough fenced backyard, you can just let him run around and stretch his legs there, but keep in mind that exploring new territory is much more exciting for your dog than it is to run around in the yard.
If you go jogging, take your dog with you. Not only will he love the exercise that he gets, but he will also enjoy the extra time he gets to spend with his owner.
Lack of physical activity for a Husky can leave him anxious and nervous. It will also keep him restless at night when he should be sleeping so make sure you give your Siberian Husky plenty of exercise and keep him active.
Diet
The food that you feed your Husky is one of the most important factors when it comes to his health and lifespan.
Giving him food filled with fillers and very little vitamins will only keep his immune system weak and open to various range of health problems.
Instead you should feed your Husky only top quality food which is filled with the vitamins he needs to stay healthy and live a long happy life.
Vet
A regular visits to your dog’s veterinarian is the best way prevent health problems and detect any existing problems early.
Waiting too long or letting an illness progress will only make it harder to cure and will require more drastic measures to keep it under control.
So make sure you schedule regular checkup visits with your vet and get all the necessary shots on time.
Siberian Huskies are wonderful family pets but they certainly are not for everyone. If you are considering bringing home a Siberian Husky and are wondering if this particular breed is right for you then read the Husky 101 guide below for a quick glance of the breed and its needs and requirements.
Make Great Family Pets
Huskies are very social dogs and bond very well with their human family members. They do very well with kids and will enjoy playing and having fun with children.
They don’t like to be left home alone all day and tend to get a little mischievous when bored.
Siberian Huskies Love Activity
Huskies are not the type of dogs that like to lie on the couches and be lazy all day. These energetic dogs are always ready to run around and play.
Lack of exercise and activity will quickly lead to boredom which will force them to find other ways, like destructive chewing and howling for example, to keep themselves busy.
Grooming
Siberian Huskies have very thick fur and are fairly good at keeping themselves clean for long periods of time. They still need to take a bath, but that’s only once every 4-6 months.
Also because of their fur they tend to shed quite a bit, especially during spring time. It’s highly recommended that you brush them on a weekly basis to keep extra hair off their back and your furniture.
Training
Huskies are very intelligent dogs and quickly pick up on training, if you know what you’re doing that is.
They can get stubborn at times, but as long as you keep training sessions short and fun, you will have no problems training your Siberian husky new tricks.
Their Dislikes
As stated previous, Huskies hate being bored. If they don’t feel stimulated either mentally or physically then they tend to develop some nasty habits so make sure you keep them busy and entertained.
They also don’t do well in really hot weather but have no problems with winter and can handle even its harshest colds.
Tough bad behavior doesn’t appear overnight. This is why it’s important to start behavior and obedience training early on with Huskies.
Of course not all bad behavior is learned, some is just lack of training (housebreaking is a perfect example of that example).
If you are having problems with your Siberian Husky and want to put an end to bad behavior then you must take certain steps before you can expect to see results.
Identify The Cause of the Problem
This might sound obvious at first, but you will be surprised at how many owners do this step incorrectly, or completely forget it.
You must find the real root of the problem and not a symptom or you will be just wasting your time.
For example if your husky goes potty indoors only when you’re out or at work, it doesn’t mean that he isn’t house trained. It’s more likely that he pees inside because he is unable to hold it in for such a long time.
So praising your dog for going potty outdoors and going through housetraining all over again won’t really cure the problem. Adjusting the times you walk your dog or getting someone else to walk your dog for you while you’re gone will solve the problem.
It’s important that you locate the real cause of the problem before you try to correct it.
Correct Bad Behavior
When I talk about correction of bad behavior, I don’t mean punishing your dog by slapping him or yelling at him for something he did.
When I say “correct bad behavior” I’m talking about stopping your husky in his tracks whenever you catch him “in the act” and fixing what he is doing wrong.
If your husky bites your hands while you are playing with him, stop playing and give him a chew toy to bite on instead of your hand.
Don’t let your husky’s bad behavior flourish. Stop it whenever you catch him in the act and correct his actions if possible. Otherwise he think you approve of his actions.
Reward Good Behavior
Positive reinforcement is the best learning tool you can have when dealing with a husky that has developed bad behavior.
For example, if your husky still isn’t housetrained you can use positive reinforcement to help him learn quicker that going potty outside is what you want him to do.
So whenever you take him out on a walk and he does his doggy business where he is supposed to, reward him with for it with a treat and some praise!
Remember that you don’t have to give out treats all the time. Sometimes just praise and a pat on the head is more than enough.
Prevent Bad Husky Behavior From Happening
The best cure for bad behavior is preventing it from happening in the first place.
Don’t let small bad instances turn into hard to get rid of behavior problems.