Training your Husky According to your rules.

[Chewbacca_&_me]

wow, Ive really been slacking havent I?? lol.

Im sorry everyone, Im running quite slow lately it seems.

The leash nipping thing is quite common actually, and not too hard to break, most of the time.

Achilles did this at over a year old, and when I got him I had to get him to stop. Really there is

only a few things to be done, and for this not everyone will agree with my remedy, but this is

how I did it.

As soon as he would get ready to grab the leash in his mouth and chew, Id give him a tug, and then

reel him in. then he was made to sit quietly for a minute or two. Im by no means saying to strangle

your dog or anything its not supposed to be an excessive tug that frightens them, just a quick

tug to say "hey you, stop it." you should not tug so hard as to cause a panick.

for your puppy skip the tug part unless he/she is more than 8 months old, but you should definitely reel

him/her in close to you and have them sit quietly til they calm down. If need be place your hand around

the section of leash they are trying to chew. when the pupster calms down, let them up. If they do it again

then do the same exercise again.

[Chewbacca_&_me]

Testing Your Dog to Always Be At their BEST.

Part of being an owner, or puppy parent to a husky, is testing them to see what they have learned.

You must at some point take a step back and allow them some room, to see if they are prepared

to behave the way youve asked them to.

I could go through all the things to test, and possible outcomes, and what to do next, but instead....

Id like to see if anyone wants to ask how to test for certain forms of training. (ie. potty training/ leash

training, obedience training, behaving with children, etc)

[Danielle-Ste]

What a great post! This is the best topic ive seen across the whole net and i have done some serious 'sifting' to say the least lol. Shadow and Nishka know commands such as sit, down, drop, roll over, stay (Shadow now lies down to this command when out on a walk and hes been off the lead where as nishka will just stand still, most of the time!) I say most of the time because what happened this weekend is the reason i have stumbled across this topic.......

I really thought i was getting there with them walking them off the lead (usually on a golf course after dusk and occasionally in woodland i know well and down a farm track where the only areas that arnt fenced off are empty fields) but this weekend was a disaster, friday shadow picked up a chicken that had escaped from a chicken pen in the woods (why you would put a chicken pen in the middle of the woods i dont know but anyway....) virtually killing it and would not let go, i even hit him a few times for him to drop but he was having none of it he did eventually drop it after me shaking him, you may notice i put above he knows the command drop (LOL), well, this is the first time he has ever not obeyed this command since being trained it and he has picked up a dead bird before although nowhere near as big as a chicken. So that was friday.....

Saturday, walking on the farm track that i have had them off the lead that many times i have lost count Nishka has got over a fence (which has been bent due to i presume someone recently climbing over it) and chased a herd of around 30 sheep, by the time i and a friend had struggled accross the fence she was half way accross the field and still sprinting at full speed, to cut along story short by the time i caught up with her (3 fields away) she had took down a sheep, mauled both its ears and one of its legs, i felf sorry for the poor sheep but was infact more concerned about my dog coming into contact with the farmers shotgun, we fled the scene as quickly as possible and around 20 minute later heard a gun shot which we think was the farmer shooting the sheep as the following day i heard thats what had happened.

I have contacted a gun dog trainer in my local area who is going to help me with this problem and hopefully achieve my desired recall and obedience and i think from now on untill i see some big changes with the training we'll stick to running and walking ON the lead hopefully nothing like this will ever happen again.

Any input on this matter and off lead training will be much appreciated

[Chewbacca_&_me]

wow guys!! 7 pages!! thats fab, way to go for keeping it going while I was away. I think I will be adding some very good vids very soon.

Im getting a cute little GSD puppy in 12 days, so I will have a pupil for my vids lol

[Chewbacca_&_me]

What a great post! This is the best topic ive seen across the whole net and i have done some serious 'sifting' to say the least lol. Shadow and Nishka know commands such as sit, down, drop, roll over, stay (Shadow now lies down to this command when out on a walk and hes been off the lead where as nishka will just stand still, most of the time!) I say most of the time because what happened this weekend is the reason i have stumbled across this topic.......

I really thought i was getting there with them walking them off the lead (usually on a golf course after dusk and occasionally in woodland i know well and down a farm track where the only areas that arnt fenced off are empty fields) but this weekend was a disaster, friday shadow picked up a chicken that had escaped from a chicken pen in the woods (why you would put a chicken pen in the middle of the woods i dont know but anyway....) virtually killing it and would not let go, i even hit him a few times for him to drop but he was having none of it he did eventually drop it after me shaking him, you may notice i put above he knows the command drop (LOL), well, this is the first time he has ever not obeyed this command since being trained it and he has picked up a dead bird before although nowhere near as big as a chicken. So that was friday.....

Saturday, walking on the farm track that i have had them off the lead that many times i have lost count Nishka has got over a fence (which has been bent due to i presume someone recently climbing over it) and chased a herd of around 30 sheep, by the time i and a friend had struggled accross the fence she was half way accross the field and still sprinting at full speed, to cut along story short by the time i caught up with her (3 fields away) she had took down a sheep, mauled both its ears and one of its legs, i felf sorry for the poor sheep but was infact more concerned about my dog coming into contact with the farmers shotgun, we fled the scene as quickly as possible and around 20 minute later heard a gun shot which we think was the farmer shooting the sheep as the following day i heard thats what had happened.

I have contacted a gun dog trainer in my local area who is going to help me with this problem and hopefully achieve my desired recall and obedience and i think from now on untill i see some big changes with the training we'll stick to running and walking ON the lead hopefully nothing like this will ever happen again.

Any input on this matter and off lead training will be much appreciated

I cannot help you in this department, I never walk my dogs off-lead, huskies are too clever and too fast, so not even going to try it with mine.

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

ur getting ANOTHER dog!? lol awesome

[Chewbacca_&_me]

Hahahaha, lol, yep Im getting a german shepherd, and hes soooo cute and chubby. We are soooo excited lol.

[Lauren]

Hey Chewbacca_&_me,

I will be getting a 2yr old husky mix from our local animal shelter. They said that she came in as a stray so we are I am assuming she has had no previous training. We are planing on having her mostly in the backyard but plan on allowing her to come indoors when we give her permission. Are the ways that you have suggested be the best way to train her (leash training)?

[Kodiak's Mum]

May I just say I think this thread is excellent!! I made alot of mistakes when I first had Kodi, and am paying for them now. But, I have started training him properly now, and although he is stubborn and does answer me back at times, he is improving.

We never had a problem toilet training, and his signal to go to bed is either or both of us putting our coats on (but he seems to know if only one of us puts our coat on, the other is staying and he doesn't need to), he also knows that he will not get a treat until he has gone into his bed, and will "go to bed" when asked. He has always done this relatively well.

The mistake I made was allowing him to run ahead of me on the lead instead of leading him, so he thinks he is boss when he is on the lead. I have been training him on the lead for two weeks, ad=hoc so he never knows when he's going to be trained, and it is getting better. Last week he walked all round the park next to me, then I let him run on his long lead, but even then he is not pulling me half as much. He also sits at the curb now. I have managed to stop him jumping up, and he has learned the signal that tells him it is ok for him to jump (as have all my family, so that they know not to do it!). He doesn't nip or snap as much now, we are continuing to work on it. And he sat lovely this afternoon to wait for his tea.

I have employed some of the methods in this thread Erika, and I must say they work well, so thank you for starting the thread, and for all your advice.

Keep up the good work!

Cat x

[Guntar]

Some interesting information about Huskies training ( how to be the Leader for your Husky) you can find in: LINK REMOVED BY MODERATOR

Hope it'll help to someone!

[Bec]

Some interesting information about Huskies training ( how to be the Leader for your Husky) you can find in:LINK REMOVED BY ADMIN LOL

Hope it'll help to someone!

I wonder who wrote that article. Most of the content is very outdated IMO...

[Phenix Husky]

Hello Erika,

Thank you for offering so much help info here! I spent the last 3 hours carefully going through this thread and learned so much! Here I have a question for you:

I have a 6-mo husky pup. We got him when he was ~ 11 weeks old. He learned within 3 weeks that he should go "outside" for pee and poo, and he did use the dog door to go outside most of the time. However, from time to time he would intentionally pee (mark) in front of us just like he's testing if he can push our bottom line. Finally, last night my husband got upset by the pup's challenging us and kicked him on the bottom. Now the pup looks quite scared, and no matter what command I gave him (he knows "come, sit, down, up, shake hands", etc), he would not follow the commend but go outside to pee instead. Even if he has just emptied his bladder, he would go to the backyard and get to the peeing pose.

You mentioned in the middle of this thread that you planned to talk about how to deal with a scared pup. Can you give me some tips on how to ease the fear (i'm the care taker for our dog)? And how do you handle a pup who challenges you, when the words and body language simply do not work? Although I prefer to use praise and pat when my pup does things correctly, I don't know what to do when the positive training methods stop working. Besides the marking issue, my pup tears things apart when we are not home, and barks loudly for attention. I always praise and treat him if he doesn't make a mess at home, or stops barking before we play; yet he seems to have no intention to change his behavior yet. Thanks a ton Erika!

[Megan Hutchison]

So much great information on here - hope no one minds my jumping in, my pup Clover is a husky mix - mixed with who knows what - a very good girl over all, very calm on a whole too, but does exhibit some of that husky independence and ability to ignore.... ready to start applying a lot of the advice on here! But would love so more tips specifically on fearful behavior.... We got her from a rescue at 4 months old, she had been there since she was 7 or 8 weeks (couldn't leave until she was fully vaccinated due to one of her litter mates dying of probably Parvo at 9 weeks old), and during that time had socialization limited to just the woman running the rescue, and a very limited number of older vaccinated dogs.

That said, she did well with us from the start, but was always slow to warm up to anyone else new, and very shy of other dogs. Then to make matters worse - we have brought her to work with us 5 days a week from the beginning - and our well meaning co workers, who were used to a 2 pound poodle in the office.... - seeing a large 20 pound puppy thought nothing of "playing" with her, jumping at her etc. She is now 8 months old. She is still very shy of anyone in the office who she hasn't gotten to know outside of the office - and even outside of the office, she takes a very long time to warm up to anyone new, won't even look at a tasty treat. About 2 weeks after we brought her home, we began taking her to the dog park, and she would do just like Chewie, follow us around, hide under our chair etc. It has taken up till about a month ago for her to take less than 10 minutes to warm up when we arrive at the park. but even now - any dog not considerably smaller than her (she is up to 70 pounds now) she takes at least 5 minutes to accept them and even CONSIDER playing. She doesn't growl or nip at any of these dogs, but is in an almost perpertual state of hackles raised and flight mode. She loves to play with dogs she gets to know, but at home is very territorial against any dogs that come sniffing around (we are out in the country, so a lot of dogs wander by)

i'm sure there is more, but I've already rambled on too long, sorry about that - and appreciate any suggestions.

~Megan

[snssewell]

Hi Megan,

Sounds like you are doing what you can! WOW 70lbs at 8 mth old..... she is going to be huge Dog parks are great. If she tries to hide between your feet just walk away from her. Zihna used to be really shy at the dog park also when she was little. I started taking her to Doggy Day Care. Not sure if you have that where you live. She goes every Wednesday for a few hours. Now when I take her to the dog park she runs off towards the other dogs and forgets all about me. It definitely helped Zihna a lot to be around different dogs without me being there for her to hide under. LOL.

You said you don't know what she is mixed with, so it could be that whatever other breed she is, may be a breed that likes to guard the home? I don't know its just a thought. Maybe thats why she acts like that at home when other dogs come around.

[Megan Hutchison]

Thanks for the reply! and yeah the dog park is great (and we are fortunate to have a dog beach here as well), and she is finally totally fine there now, like you said runs away and forgets about us for the most part more and more. It's outside the park and people I am more concerned about than other dogs. Even at the park the will duck away from most of the people if they look at her or try to pet her. That's where she doesn't seem to be making much progress? Hmm like you say it could be the other breeds with a lot of the stuff. I don't know how much it's to be trusted, but we got a dna test thing done just for fun, and it came back with plenty of Husky, which we knew, and Vizsla, with "mixed breed" ancestor possibilities being Weimaraner, and american bulldog and a few others.

Thank you for the moral support, we will keep plugging along with her!

[Chewbacca_&_me]

totally awesome, way to go folks for keeping this going.

Sadly I did see that there hasnt been a new posting since august of 2011, so I suppose I should get a move on then huh?

lol.

Anyone have a question to ask??

Im happy to help in any way that I can but please keep in mind that you must be willing to put good advice to use, otherwise

you have no chance of it working.

I can get creative on quite a few common training issues so that with any luck we can find something that works for your husky.

Remember, a little commitment goes a long way.

[mitch]

I have had a bit of battle of wills with my pup today:oops:

I was given some advice from a dog trainer that came to the house recently(feed supplier). He came in and asked why the pup was asleep on the sofa and not in her bed. Well firstly I had only purchased a bed the day before. We had tried crate training but she just used it for a toilet as the door was open all day. This was no good as toilet training was going brilliantly ,we had found her spot and would go with me and when asked to go would:). When she would get caught short or I missed that she needed the toilet she would go in the crate. My next plan was to get her a bed and get her used to it and get myself a full size crate and put her bed in it.

I am not bothered in the slightest that she sleeps on the sofa or floor. Ive been sleeping downstairs to ensure she is supervised should she wake, atm she wakes we go out and she goes back to sleep until 4.30/5am when we get up.

The advice I was given....1. .under no circumstance should the dog sleep where the pack leader sleeps. So I am not to allow her upstairs and I should not be on the sofa sleeping. 2. She is not to go on the sofa unless I ask her on......and I should make her sleep in her bed at all times.

So yesterday I dis allowed the sofa and persevered with the bed. She was really good....spending all night in her bed and with me on the sofa.

We have always had a great relationship,she listens to everything I say and does it no arguing.

Today she has been defiant....Ive asked her to go to bed and she refuses. laying down on the floor. I have had to keep at her and she has got fed up of it Im sure, she then refused to do the toilet routien....to be honest its just been a battle of wills.....to the point of her snapping at me when I went to get her collar to which I taped her nose and yelled NO. She has then come into the living room and slept anywhere but her bed...even behind the sofa:(.

Im truely gutted and dont want to loose our bond!!!..........I dont know a thing about training, but I want to get it right....but so much is conflicting advice. I am happy for her to sleep on the floor/sofa/crate/her bed. I do understand the importance of getting her to use her bed so that it goes in the crate and is safe when I go to bed, and I will persevier and hopefully she will be fine as I see her maturing and loosing the upset of being left alone.

I dont want to be to soft. Is the adviice I recieved right? Do I just insist she sleeps only in her bed?

[Elyse]

I have had a bit of battle of wills with my pup today:oops:

I was given some advice from a dog trainer that came to the house recently(feed supplier). He came in and asked why the pup was asleep on the sofa and not in her bed. Well firstly I had only purchased a bed the day before. We had tried crate training but she just used it for a toilet as the door was open all day. This was no good as toilet training was going brilliantly ,we had found her spot and would go with me and when asked to go would:). When she would get caught short or I missed that she needed the toilet she would go in the crate. My next plan was to get her a bed and get her used to it and get myself a full size crate and put her bed in it.

I am not bothered in the slightest that she sleeps on the sofa or floor. Ive been sleeping downstairs to ensure she is supervised should she wake, atm she wakes we go out and she goes back to sleep until 4.30/5am when we get up.

The advice I was given....1. .under no circumstance should the dog sleep where the pack leader sleeps. So I am not to allow her upstairs and I should not be on the sofa sleeping. 2. She is not to go on the sofa unless I ask her on......and I should make her sleep in her bed at all times.

So yesterday I dis allowed the sofa and persevered with the bed. She was really good....spending all night in her bed and with me on the sofa.

We have always had a great relationship,she listens to everything I say and does it no arguing.

Today she has been defiant....Ive asked her to go to bed and she refuses. laying down on the floor. I have had to keep at her and she has got fed up of it Im sure, she then refused to do the toilet routien....to be honest its just been a battle of wills.....to the point of her snapping at me when I went to get her collar to which I taped her nose and yelled NO. She has then come into the living room and slept anywhere but her bed...even behind the sofa:(.

Im truely gutted and dont want to loose our bond!!!..........I dont know a thing about training, but I want to get it right....but so much is conflicting advice. I am happy for her to sleep on the floor/sofa/crate/her bed. I do understand the importance of getting her to use her bed so that it goes in the crate and is safe when I go to bed, and I will persevier and hopefully she will be fine as I see her maturing and loosing the upset of being left alone.

I dont want to be to soft. Is the adviice I recieved right? Do I just insist she sleeps only in her bed?

How old is she? She might be approaching the teenager stage and would be testing her boundries and place in the 'pack'.

I know that when I let Suka has naps in my bed, he's usually more defiant...but that may be because he has a dominant personality and if I give him an inch, he'll take a mile! He usually never goes up on my bed without my permission, though, and usually goes to his mat right away. He's not allowed on the couch or any other furniture...never has even tried to go on it.

[mitch]

She is 9wks. I dont mind her on the sofa, being upstairs in bed wouldnt work....we are a family of 6 with 2 cats too lol. But I am happy to allow her to sleep on the sofa and I do want her using her bed:)

[blue bayou]

My dog thorn would go to sleep a lot of places around the house while i was there, but if i were going out would always put him in the kitchen where his bed was and gave him his meals in the kitchen and he would sit on his bed and wait i got him into a routine and it worked.when he has his meals now i point and he goes to his bed. be firm and consistent it will pay off. never allow them to sleep upstair!s once you start you could have problems. i done it a few times! and thorn would cry when i went to bed just had to ignore him it was hard because i wanted to go down to him when he was in the kitchen. she is only 9wks it will take time . if she falls asleep around the house while you are there thats fine but always make sure she knows where she sleeps at night.i didnt put thorn in a crate at night ive never crate trained any of mine. everyone is different. thorn would cry and let me know he wanted the loo and i would get up no matter what time it was! i was knackered it was like having a baby!lol you will get there in the end:)

[Chewbacca_&_me]

I hate to go against the grain but...

In this case I would go with what the trainer says. If she is 9 weeks old and still in "potty training" then she shouldnt be allowed on sofas, beds, or

in bedrooms. too much freedom in the house can sometimes cause defiance with puppies. I have been firm with this with all my dogs since they all became

defiant and would try to ignore me when they were allowed too much freedom. Chewy was difficult in the begining, so I had to lessen the freedoms

for awhile and give them back slowly over time. When I originally began to give him more roaming space inside the house he did ok until night time. he was about 8 or 9 months old at the time and potty training was nearly effortless with him...except when I started to give him more freedom...because then he

wanted it constantly...when I was away shopping or sleeping at night. If i put him back in his room by the back door he would get defiant and pee on the wall by the gate...and throw barking fits when he heard the key turn in the lock when I got home again.

The trick is to find out how much freedom you are willing to give, and then also how much freedom they should really have according to their current training...and as they improve, you give more freedom.

Since your little husky lady is so young, and she still goes potty in the kennel/crate and is still in "potty training" I highly recommend that she be limited to

her crate, her bed, and the floor. If you can be actively supervising, then I see no reason that she cant spend a few minutes on the sofa with you each day, but limit it to a specific amount of time...and only when you are on the sofa.

Also if you wish to allow her to spend time on the sofa with you (like I have with mine) then she MUST be willing to get down on command, so start teaching her these commands now, that way she gets used to this requirement while she is young. The older the husky, the harder it can be to get them to

surrender space on the couch if they havent already learned to...lol

[Gary McLaughlin]

Hi, great post, i recently got a husky off my friend after years off wanting one but i'm having awful trouble potty training her as she's one already i suppose this make it harder, any advice would be greatly appreciated for training her at this age as she is wrecking the place and has gone on the beds a few times now and i'm at my wits end wit her, it's almost like she's trying to say screw you, please help i'm determined to keep her as i'm already really attached to her

[Povodny]

I have had a bit of battle of wills with my pup today:oops:

I was given some advice from a dog trainer that came to the house recently(feed supplier). He came in and asked why the pup was asleep on the sofa and not in her bed. Well firstly I had only purchased a bed the day before. We had tried crate training but she just used it for a toilet as the door was open all day. This was no good as toilet training was going brilliantly ,we had found her spot and would go with me and when asked to go would:). When she would get caught short or I missed that she needed the toilet she would go in the crate. My next plan was to get her a bed and get her used to it and get myself a full size crate and put her bed in it.

I am not bothered in the slightest that she sleeps on the sofa or floor. Ive been sleeping downstairs to ensure she is supervised should she wake, atm she wakes we go out and she goes back to sleep until 4.30/5am when we get up.

The advice I was given....1. .under no circumstance should the dog sleep where the pack leader sleeps. So I am not to allow her upstairs and I should not be on the sofa sleeping. 2. She is not to go on the sofa unless I ask her on......and I should make her sleep in her bed at all times.

So yesterday I dis allowed the sofa and persevered with the bed. She was really good....spending all night in her bed and with me on the sofa.

We have always had a great relationship,she listens to everything I say and does it no arguing.

Today she has been defiant....Ive asked her to go to bed and she refuses. laying down on the floor. I have had to keep at her and she has got fed up of it Im sure, she then refused to do the toilet routien....to be honest its just been a battle of wills.....to the point of her snapping at me when I went to get her collar to which I taped her nose and yelled NO. She has then come into the living room and slept anywhere but her bed...even behind the sofa:(.

Im truely gutted and dont want to loose our bond!!!..........I dont know a thing about training, but I want to get it right....but so much is conflicting advice. I am happy for her to sleep on the floor/sofa/crate/her bed. I do understand the importance of getting her to use her bed so that it goes in the crate and is safe when I go to bed, and I will persevier and hopefully she will be fine as I see her maturing and loosing the upset of being left alone.

I dont want to be to soft. Is the adviice I recieved right? Do I just insist she sleeps only in her bed?

I'm so sorry you're at sixes an sevens. Advice is exactly that, advice. And you take from it what you feel you need. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to sofas beds and crates. The general consensus is not to allow husky's on the same level as you, they are want to take advantage and try to be boss, but some people do and some don't. Personally I don't allow mine on the sofa or in bedrooms, but that's my choice (except Safi who is ill so was allowed on but has to ask or be invited) I've spent a fortune on beds, they get chewed so mine sleep where they want on the floor but will be directed onto a rug when told. I do however have a crate which they use as a calm space and can go in an out freely unless I purposefully want them in. Personally I don't think what you were doing was wrong as it was working for you. The only thing I would recommend is blocking off half of her crate. If she can get a bed in it an still have room to step out an pee in a corner it's too big at the moment. I filled mine with cardboard boxes when they were small. If you can get a book on training it'll help a lot, you'll have one set of recommendations to refer to. Victoria Stilwell is quite good and if you order it from 'thebookdepository' it's usually cheaper than a shop and free delivery, just search online. Try not to stress and enjoy your little girl

[onlythisgirl]

Hi, great post, i recently got a husky off my friend after years off wanting one but i'm having awful trouble potty training her as she's one already i suppose this make it harder, any advice would be greatly appreciated for training her at this age as she is wrecking the place and has gone on the beds a few times now and i'm at my wits end wit her, it's almost like she's trying to say screw you, please help i'm determined to keep her as i'm already really attached to her

I would go right back to the start. Take her out every 20 mins or so until she goes where you want her to, when she does, treat and praise! As she's a bit older she should have more bladder control, but to make sure she doesn't need to go still take her out regularly. You can associate a word with it too, like 'potty' or 'toilet' so when she gets the hang of it she'll know that's what you want. Don't tell her off if she goes somewhere in the house and you don't see it, she won't know why you're telling her off and it might set her back. Just clean it up well so there is no smell, or she might go there again. If you do see her go in the house give her a firm 'no' or 'ah ah' and take her out to where you want her to go! Everytime she goes outside treat and praise!

[Bec]

I find it bizarre when people tell you that dogs shouldn't sleep with the pack leader. In a pack all the dogs would sleep and lie together. It's perfectly normal for a dog to sleep with or around their people.

I think you are expecting a bit much for a baby puppy, when I was reading your post I thought you were going to say she was 9 months not 9 weeks... the important thing here is deciding what YOU want to do and making those rules clear and consistent to your puppy from day one. I wouldn't expect a baby puppy to 'know' to sleep on her bed or mat without a lot of training and rewards, are you happy for her to sleep on the floor? If so then let her sleep on the floor! My dogs are welcome on the lounge as long as they get off when I say so. I don't have any problems with them behaviour wise.

Also, try not to be so confrontational with her, because you are making her feel defensive. Teach her to come to you when you call her, teach her to go outside on a cue, practice grabbing her collar and giving her a treat when you do so she learns that's not a bad thing.