Woof and Hello! Human. I’m Fritz, a Siberian Husky. It seems a new member is joining your family. I hope your Husky pup will grow to be a very loyal, smart, playful, and happy boy just like me. But first and foremost, you will have to train it well.
Training Husky puppies can be a bit harder than teaching other breeds, not because of our intelligence but our stubborn independent nature. However, you can train your Husky to be a good-mannered boy if you consistently follow these training steps without lashing out at your dog when he isn’t obeying commands.
Training Philosophy
Philosophy is such a big word for a dog like me to bark on a blog, but I’m a Husky, and we’re an intelligent and independent breed, originally bred to be working Dogs! For a good husky like me, you should use the Positive reinforcement-based training method.
When using this method, you are only praising or rewarding your dog for the behavior and actions he gets correct. Treats, pets, toys, and generous belly-rubs are accepted gladly.
Whenever your canine makes mistakes, it’s ok to show him, but don’t punish or reprimand him. Instead, simply use the rewards for the next time he gets it right. And he will probably get it right next time.
Why Does the Positive Reinforcement Method Work Best for Huskies?
We Huskies love our owners. We just want to make you smile and get extra belly rubs. Every time you show us affection when we get a training phase correct, we build an association between our action and your attention and love.
Remember, you should never get frustrated when you show your pet the right way because your pet receives everything! A dog breed has no idea what is right or wrong until he has been shown it several times.
Is Teaching Huskies Hard?
Sometimes, we huskies are known to be stubborn and defiant which could be challenging for you, but these traits come in a package with our high intelligence and independent personality.
On the other paw, there are good-mannered pups like me too. We need a firm and patient owner who gives a lot of guidance.
Therefore, training us isn’t difficult. It just requires consistency and time. Owners should always start with this correct attitude.
Some Tips for Teaching Husky Pups.
Teaching your Husky puppy can be a rewarding experience for both you and your pet if you’re gentle yet firm and know how your actions affect the dog’s habits. These teaching tips aren’t just supposed to be used when you’re teaching your pet a new command or trick you should always use opportunities to reinforce good habits by praising or rewarding your animal.
Establish your position as a good leader.
Husky puppies can sometimes have an established hierarchy order to the way they see other people around them. They challenge owners who fail to enforce rules. It is why it’s important to establish yourself as a leader early on. Always have a calm demeanor, be firm but always keep your cool. Never lash out at your husky.
Lashing out makes us Huskies more stubborn and willful. When your canine is doing something wrong, instead of lashing out, ignore him for some time and heavily verbally praise him when he gets it right next time.
Engage in Basic Obedience Teaching
All my good-mannered husky friends have owners who understood and trained their pups on all regular commands. The dog learns the usual commands of sit, stay, down, and leave- the basics.
Keep your sessions short, or we will get bored. Always reward the behavior that you want your husky to repeat.
Since all puppies have a learning curve, you have to set simple goals and wait patiently until your canine has mastered a command before moving on to another one.
If you want to train a potential best bud of mine that I hope to play with one day, below is the best teaching procedure for all the basic commands. Remember, with Husky puppies, consistency and guidance go a long way.
Instruction Procedures
Teach Your Husky how to “Sit”. An easy and important command your canine needs to learn early on!
- Hold a treat in your hand and let him know you have it there
- Sit in front of your canine and hold your hand in front of his nose
- Once he is sniffing, raise your hand higher than him
- Use the command “SIT”
- If the pet does not sit, use the opposite hand to guide his hindquarters down
- As he is seated, repeat the word “SIT” once again
- This is the part where you unleash the treats and pets. Repeat this set of instructions a few times daily.
Teach your Husky how to Stay
We huskies can be a mischievous and stubborn animal that’s why you will need this handy command for many situations.
- While you are standing, command your pet to sit
- Open your empty palm
- Take a single step back, and as you do say, “STAY” keep your stop palm gesture firm.
- If your pet stays, go back to him and reward him with a treat and praise
- Keep repeating this but increase the distance that you are creating between you and your animal each time.
- Set them up for success, and in the beginning, do not make them stay for a lot of time. Increase the time once they are more advanced.
Teach “Leave It” to Your Pet
There are numerous occasions where your pet will want something that is not permitted. For your dog to obey, this simple command will help a lot along the way.
- You need two different treats; one should be very enticing, and the other should be bland. One treat should be a more exciting treat like a tiny piece of turkey or flavored dog treat.
- Have the boring treat located in one hand and the exciting treat placed in the other hand. Place both hands behind your back and make fists.
- Have your Husky sit down in front of you with his attention on you.
- While you keep your fist closed, present the hand that contains the boring treat out in front of you. Keep the exciting treat behind your back.
- Let the dog smell your fist when your hand is placed in front of you.
- When they start to smell your closed fist, instruct him to “leave it” and tell your pet to back away. As we always know when you have a better treat in the other hand, he will be able to tell that this treat is the less enticing one. So, while sniffing, he’ll be increasingly likely to step back from the boring treat.
- When they step backward and stays back for several seconds, praise him. Then give him the high-value treat as his reward that you’ve kept behind your back the whole time.
Teach your Husky How to go “Down”
This trick might be difficult for us to learn because we can be stubborn sometimes. This command can help us feel calm in stressful or busy environments.
- Hold a treat in your hand
- Hold your hand in front of your pupper’s nose until he smells it
- Lower your hand to the floor
- Let him follow your hand and encourage him to get “Down”
- Encourage him with your other hand on his backside
- Keep repeating the command “Down”
- When he is in the prone/down position, reward and give him praise
- Repeat every day with generous pets and belly rubs along the way.
Get The Right Collar
Collars are an important aspect of instructing Huskies. However, some people select choke or pinch collars because of their stubborn traits. It isn’t advisable for inexperienced owners due to the risk of hurting your Husky.
The best training collar even for stubborn breeds like huskies is the Martingale Collar. It sits comfortably on your husky’s neck and only tightens when you tug at it.
Train Your Husky to Potty Outside
Huskies can prove difficult to Housebreak, but you must train your pet to potty outside because inside potty training isn’t recommended for this pet type.
First, you have to try to watch out for signs that your pet is uncomfortable. For example, they may be whining, circling, and sniffing. Always take your pupper out once they have peed inside. Every time your canine does their business outside, remember to praise and reward them.
Crate Training
Unfortunately, you can’t allow your pet to roam the house without supervision. Even with a puppy-proofed household, a Husky can do a lot of damage to your home. That’s why you will need a crate for them to sleep in.
Start crate training slowly so that they become comfortable with sleeping around or inside it. Then you can start with closing the door and leaving your husky alone for a few minutes.
People think crates are a cruel practice, but Huskies can come to love them. It fulfills our natural desire for a den. Crates also help with potty training because we avoid spoiling our dens.
Correct Unwanted Behavior
Being the little rascal your dog is, he will eventually do something that you don’t like or even try and test the boundaries of the rules you’ve established. Never punish your dog physically. It will just make matters worse often.
Instead, use a firm ‘No’ or ‘Stop’ to let your pet know that he’s doing something they shouldn’t.
This might be hard to do but ignore them whenever he’s refusing to obey your commands or leave them alone for a few minutes until he is ready to cooperate.
Handling Training Difficulties
One of the most common difficulties people face in teaching their husky is getting them to come when called. Here is how you should train your pet to come when called.
- You will need an incentive, food or toy. Once you show us the incentive, then we are hooked.
- Run away a couple of paces and say ‘come’ in a nice friendly tone. Get low on your knees to encourage us to come.
- When they come to you, gently hold the collar and feed/pet him or let him play with the item in your hand.
- Gradually increase the distance you walk away until you can call from another room or inside the house.
- Sometimes, we get dogs so excited about the treats and won’t wait for any call from you to come. You can address this by having a friend gently hold their collars when you walk away only releasing after you say ‘Come’
- Once your dog learns this well, you can even use it as a recall for when playing off-leash outside.
Only use this call when you are going to pet them or get some treats. When you use this call to tell your canine off, they won’t be too keen on returning next time.
When they are playing outside, don’t use your recall only to leash him at the end of a nice day out playing. Call him back to show some love randomly. This way they are thinking about the last pet he got when he heard your call.
Always remember to carry treats or toys with you when using call commands. This way, you’ll be reinforcing the lesson with every use.
The other difficulty in teaching Husky puppies comes with biting. Husky puppies can be bite machines, especially when they are teething. They will take to biting anything in sight to soothe their boredom or the pain of their new incoming teeth.
You can stop this behavior by redirecting your pet’s bite tome something more appropriate such as a chew toy.
In addition, say a loud ‘NO’ or ‘OUCH’ when they take to testing his gnashers against your socks. Ignore your dog for a couple of minutes to make them more aware of what they’d done.
Prevent Them from Running Away
For us Huskies, the world is such a big fun place, and we can cover so much ground because we’re so fast. We also have such a strong prey drive, which means we will try to chase that little squirrel to the end of the world and back. It is why you should never leave your canine off-leash until he’s mastered the ‘Come’ command.
Especially when we are bored, full of energy, and have the zoomies we may bolt in a second. That’s why you should try and keep your dog mentally and physically stimulated and try and obscure their sight if there are little animals around. If we don’t see, we won’t be tempted to chase.
As I said, we can be a bit stubborn and mischievous because of our breeding, but we can also be loyal companions if trained and cared for with patience and consistency.
Huskies aren’t recommended for first-time owners because of their personality, and if you are having trouble with yours, consider a Dog training class near you.
