Siberian Husky Training and Care What you should know and expect

[Sarah]

This dog breed has potential to be a very good house pet, however, its owner requires a great deal of patience for this to be possible. Siberian Husky training and exercising entails a generous amount of time, because these dogs do have a mind of their own, and owners have to find creative ways to get their points across. A Siberian Husky will seldom bark, however it is known to be a very vocal creature, in its special way. Sometimes it might sing along a siren, and other times it will howl like theres no tomorrow just because youve asked your Siberian Husky to sit during a training session.

Do not be fooled into thinking your dog doesnt know what youre asking it to do; chances are it knows very well, but it will still complain while doing only half of what youve asked it to. If sometimes you ask your Siberian Husky to perform a task too harshly, he will have a lot to tell you about that. When I was training my Siberian Husky, I had to listen to a couple of complaints and speeches from him. ;-) If such public display of discontentment embarrasses you, you might not want to own this dog, if you dont think you can handle training a Siberian Husky.

A Siberian Husky bonds easily to human companions, but like the majority of northern breeds, it does not like to shower its owner mindlessly with affection. The breed itself is friendly with pretty much everyone. Some Siberian Huskies are shy and avoid people they do not know; their nature makes them unsuitable as guarding dogs. Siberians are not very successful in obedience contests, especially at higher levels, because they get bored very fast with repetition in training, and they also lack precision in their work.

This does not mean they never like to do as they are told, when youre trying to train them, they just like do things on their own terms. A Siberian Husky has a pretty short attention span; it will probably perform a command almost right, and come back to its owner when called only when theres not something else more interesting to captivate its attention (like a wandering cat, or a playful squirrel). This is the reason why a Siberian Husky owner has to be very dedicated and patient with his pet if he wants to obtain consistent and good results or more.

Unfortunately, a Siberian Husky dog does have some bad habits which can drive an owner crazy, whether he expects such things to happen or not. Siberians enjoy exercising and are very curious. This combination makes them prone to running away, wandering, because it is ingrained in their DNA. It is hard to trust a Siberian Husky dog off-leash, and it is also time consuming to always keep an eye on what it is doing. This dog is very intelligent and quite creative at finding ways to escape from your backyard. Not only this, but it is also a very good jumper and digger.

Siberian Husky ancestors used to dig nests in the snow to sleep in, and todays Huskies still possess this instinct. This being said, it is recommended you invest in a strong fence that will stand no less than 6 feet, after you have buried the bottom part, one or two feet into the ground, if you do not want your Siberian Husky to wander away. Try to keep you pet busy; Huskies are known the get destructive when bored, so dont give them a chance to ruin your stuff. Siberians also seem to have a penchant for stealing food, especially during the colder months of the year, so if you do not want your dog to further develop this aspect, try not to let it unsupervised in the kitchen.

Consider sterilizing your pets to prevent the spread of bad genes, unwanted litters, and the increase of the dog population, especially in the case of Siberian Huskies who are known to escape and wander. Careless breeding has produced health and temperament problems which are uncommon to the breed standard. Avoid buying a puppy from a pet store or puppy mill; if that puppy has temperament or personality issues, you might find it is more difficult than it should to train it overall.

Siberian Huskies are considered to be relatively healthy dogs, however, some problems are known to plague this breed. These diseases are: thyroid deficiency, zinc deficiency, progressive retinal atrophy, cataracts, corneal disorders and hip dysplasia. All this ties back in with the fact you should try to avoid pet stores and greedy / irresponsible breeders who are only selling puppies for profit. These places will try to lure you to buy their puppies with AKC registration papers and even a health guarantee. The problem with this is that it has no value if the parents of the puppies were not screened and tested for hip dysplasia, thyroid issues and progressive retinal atrophy. Be careful of such places.

Other than these minor inconveniences, a Siberian Husky is not a difficult to care for breed. It requires daily brushing if the owner does not want to have dog hair all over the place, especially during the time periods when a Husky is shedding abundantly, usually once a year. This is a process that generally takes two to three weeks and you can help it somewhat by giving your Siberian Husky dog a warm bath; that should help loosen the hair so you can get rid of more when youre brushing it. Like any other dog living indoors all year long, a Siberian Husky will most likely shed his coat throughout the year, especially if living in a drier climate.