Bad Habits and Solutions of Siberian Huskies
Siberian Huskies have always been associated to sleigh pulling and called a worker dog. However, off late there appears to be a surge in the demand for these dogs to be kept as pet as they are considered friendly and easily adaptable.
The first and foremost difficulty faced by a Siberian Husky’s owner is with regards to the willfulness present in this dog. These dogs are independent thinkers and will not obey the commands until and unless they are convinced and are desirous of doing the task. The only way to ensure that these dogs obey the commands is to issue the commands in calm and firm manner. The owner should be able to establish himself as the alpha dog or the head of the pack. This is because these dogs look at their family as the pack. Subsequently, they will only obey the person that they look at as the leader.
Another bad habit of a Siberian Husky is its preying instincts which make this dog attack smaller animals. If the owner owns other smaller pets, the best thing to do would be gradually introduce these pets to the Husky so that they can familiarize with each other.
Siberian Huskies are also known to be avid runners. They were used as worker dogs used to pull loads, and this instinct remains ingrained in them. Therefore, the moment these dogs are let off leash, they will run and might not come back if something interesting grabs their attention. The only way to counter this bad habit is to keep them tightly on leash and set them free in enclosed spaces alone.
The predecessors of Siberian Huskies were said to dig holes in snow in order to sleep. Irrespective of the location, Siberian Huskies are said to enjoy digging holes. In order to curb these dogs from digging holes all over the place, the only option is to assign them a specific area in the yard where they can dig to their hearts’ content. In its absence, a sand box with treats hidden in it can be set up so that the Huskies can focus on digging in the sand box alone.
Siberian huskies are prone to howling rather than barking. And the frequency of the howling increases when they are bored. In order to ensure that these dogs do not howl and keep the neighborhood up, a good idea would be to keep them engaged. However if the howling continues, ignore the howling and reward the Huskies once they stop howling. If howling persists, the owner can use a squirt gun to spray water when the dog howls. This way, the dog will relate to howling as an activity that will result in disciplining.
As mentioned earlier, training Siberian Huskies will require time and patience, but will help in having a disciplined dog which is friendly and loving.