How to Discipline your Husky

[RayRay]

Edit: This is a topic to discuss methods for dealing with unwanted behaviour

This is why I'm asking for methods:

I have a 9 month husky. She is exceptional in just about every way. She is obedient in that she will often do tricks without any treats, she adores praise. I trust her in my open backyard without a leash.

Yes I understand huskies, I did my research before buying her. I know huskies should not be trusted off leash, I know they are stubborn, I know they have a high prey drive, I know they should not be left alone for long periods of time.

What gets me about her is her prey drive. Everytime I walk her and see a small dog being walked she tries to bolt for her; It surprises the owner and embarrasses me. Often she will squeal, and lunge with such ferocity that I just can't tame her.

I tried to teach her that if she wanted to socialize with other dogs she needs to be calm and approachable; I put her in her crate when I had company with two small dogs. She whinnied like a pony, and let out blood-curdling cries that would make people wonder if she was getting ax-murdered. She kept scratching at the crate, biting herself, and stuffing her nose between the bars of her crate. I was hoping that the problem would cure itself and she would eventually cease, but it was not the case at all.

I frequently told her to "be quiet", and she would, for about 3 seconds. I tried to spray her with water, but nothing worked. For 45 minutes she continued, and I had enough. I opened her crate, grabbed a hold of her scruff firmly and gave it a sudden yank. She yelped. I pulled her out of the crate; She had full fixation on the small dogs, I had to continue to hold her scruff to prevent her from suddenly bolting at the small dogs. Her feet would often defy her upper body, resulting in some sickly, pathetic looking walk. I decided to move her to my room, to her bed. There was no more noise from her. When I checked on her later, she had her head on the floor in a clam, restful state. I was so angry that she couldn't do that in sight of the small dogs. But since she was calm, I allowed her to see one small dog.

I picked the small dog up and she suddenly bolted right back up. She wasn't making noise this time, but it really upset me because she was needlessly in my way as I was trying to walk. When I told her to sit of lay down, she would over amplify the command and it was almost as if she were attacking the floor. The force at which she slammed her body down made me wonder if she could hurt herself that way. I slowly brought the small dog close to her, and my dog sniffed her. My dog wouldn't allow the small dog to smell her though. Often my dog would try to initiate play with the play stance; The small dog didn't want anything to do with her. I felt a small success because they were actually being together, but I was still deeply disappointed in her because the point was to get her to calm down in the sight of what's making her excited.

These two dogs come over from time to time. And her behaviour has remained the same: erratic, uncontrollable, and obnoxious.

Edited September 22, 2012 by RayRay
clarify

[Christine0925]

It was her first time with a small dog, no? Jeesh- give the poor baby a break, it takes time and lots of patience but you can correct the behavior

[Cherrie-Nanook-Indy]

My eldest is nearly 2 and she still goes mental when she sees another dog, we have 2 so it's not like she doesn't see other dogs, also she has been well socialised since she was a puppy.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

[simhauu]

I hope I don't come off as mean or offensive but this is... a guidance how people should discipline a dog or you want help, or...? I'm a little puzzled here.

Mine is 10 months, I don't blame him for being excited, he too tries to bolt a few times but usually at the older dogs, only occasionally he wants to go after the small ones. I do think he sees them as prey, so what do I do? I try to get his attention with treats or make him sit and we wait till the dog is out of way.

She was at home, if you're afraid she'll hurt the dog, just give her a muzzle. I doubt yours will calm down if you don't allow her near what she wants. It's just like with kids, if you deprive them something,they'll want it ever much more... Just let her near them more, she'll calm by herself.

[RayRay]

Christine, no this wasn't her first time seeing a small dog. I don't really appreciate the accusation. As if I'm keeping her from socializing or as if I'm expecting her to be perfect the very first time she experiences something new. She has been to the dog park, and she has seen a 4 month old shih tzu / terrier, a 4 year old maltese, and my mother has 4 chihuahuas which occasionally come over, also my neighbor has a puggle, and another neighbor whose yard is right next to ours has two small dogs shih tzu/maltese I believe.

She also socializes with bigger dogs. I allow her to greet older dogs when we go on our walks because she can be trusted with that. She is friends with our neighbor's lab, there is a german pointer that roams around our neighborhood off leash. She's also played with a german shepherd at my boyfriend's mothers house. Any bigger dog she gets along with quite well. She is calm, approachable and alert to my commands. She doesn't lunge, which is also fantastic.

[RayRay]

Simhauu, this topic is for anyone who has advice for how to correct/discipline a husky. Sorry about the confusion.

As for the muzzle, yeah that would work nice if she were a biter, but she isn't. She bulldozes the small dogs and acts as if playing with them is the same as when playing with a big dog. But that isn't my concern. It's her lack of listening when she sees a small dog. The horrible blood-curdling cries, the lunging, the whining, yipping, scratching at the ground. She has no composure. All I expect from her is to calmly sit on command when she sees a small dog, so then she can be allowed to socialize if she continues to approach calmly.

[Removed #5]

@RayRay - at the chance of also seeming to be accusatory - I'm not sure how to understand what you're saying.

You made a statement about how you disciplined your dog that I think most of us here would cringe over. There are times are dogs make us want to pull our hair out - and there are times we do things we'd rather not have done, I think that is what you're saying, but I'm not sure.

I don't know enough about you or your situation to know what to say honestly. You don't say where you're from, so we don't even have a clue whether English is your native language or not. If not you might be having difficulty putting what you want to say into words.

I have no choice but to accept what you said in your first post - which really isn't a good introduction to a bunch of people who would do almost anything rather than see their dogs hurt. Are you angry, upset, frustrated - all of the above - none of the above?? You presented a bad situation - a pup who seems to really need some work on socialization, but didn't ask any questions that might suggest you're looking for help.

Speaking only for myself, I'm kinda lost --- I don't know what you want or need or ....

edit: and of course you post the explanation as I'm typing mine ... one of these days I'll either learn to type faster or less ... and before anyone else beats me to it "Yeh, fat chance!!!"

Edited September 22, 2012 by Al Jones

[RayRay]

Cheerie Nanook, Oh man that really sucks. I know exactly what you mean. I'm trying to tell my boyfriend that getting a cat would be a huge no-no. We spent the entire Summer going to his mum's and they have two cats. She had to be tethered by leash or else she would completely go mad and chase the cats down. She once knocked right into the dining set (she gets into tunnel mode, and runs from point A to and got caught in a foldable chair.

The chihuahuas I mentioned, yeah they have been here overnight for two days, this morning when I let my dog out of her sleeping crate she booked it for the dog with no hesitation. She will also got completely insane if I pet the chihuahuas or give them any sort of affection. I don't know if it's jealousy or if she just wants the dog because it's now out of reach.

[RayRay]

Al Jones, hah yeah I was just going to type a rebuttal, then I noticed your edit.

Yeah for the record I am English, Canadian. Excuse me for not really giving a proper introduction, I'm used to Yahoo answers. I figured people wouldn't really care too much for my background to be honest, it never occurred to me that anyone would want to know.

And to clarify, for anyone new, I'm looking for advice on how to discipline your husky, or correct unwanted behaviours. The story I told illustrates my frustration. And I know I was completely out of line when I got fed up and yanked her scruff. That's why I'm looking for alternatives to handle this type of situation and reach out to people who have dealt with the same thing.

[Removed #1]

I'd wager she's only being a crackhead because she's excited, and your commands and praise and such just aren't more oooh shiny than playing with a new little dog. I'd actually recommend desensitizing her to being around small dogs. This isn't a matter of socialization if I'm reading correctly...your dog is insanely eager to get paws on with your little visitors, and as long as they're in her line of site not being able to do so has her voicing her objections to not being allowed to do so.

Have you considered leashing her for a few visits? That way if she's engaging in unwanted behavior you're right there and can correct her immediately. Or maybe going with this visitor on like a twenty minute walk outside the house before comming in? I know with mine once we're on walks, it's walkin time and like another dog or excited to play with another dog...when it's time to walk it's time to walk. This gives them a bit of time to be around one another before they're getting a bit closer.

I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions. Good luck and hang in there.

[Staceybob]

The discipline here is entirely wrong, you can't just stick a dog in a cage and flood them with small dogs and expect that to be ok. You need to seek proper professional help from a trainer and you need to do some serious training alterations. Where abouts are you based? I'm England based and travel across England helping to train people.

Stacey xxx

[Removed #1]

@Stacybob I believe he said he's in Canada. I don't know what part though. Since you have experience with this, and he may not have someone with the experience you do availible in his local area, what are some things he can do to help his dog the right way so that both dog and person don't feel as if they don't understand how to get the other to do what they want?

[Removed #1]

ugh can't find the edit button. [MENTION=2703]Staceybob[/MENTION] rather than ya know the misspelled version

[Staceybob]

In my opinion the owner would need to set up situations of meeting small dogs from a distance and rewarding the dog for any calm behaviours, gradually decreasing the distance, any lunging or silly behaviour and turning and walking in the opposite direction. It's going to take time and patience.

Stacey xxx

[RayRay]

I'd wager she's only being a crackhead because she's excited, and your commands and praise and such just aren't more oooh shiny than playing with a new little dog. I'd actually recommend desensitizing her to being around small dogs. This isn't a matter of socialization if I'm reading correctly...your dog is insanely eager to get paws on with your little visitors, and as long as they're in her line of site not being able to do so has her voicing her objections to not being allowed to do so.

Have you considered leashing her for a few visits? That way if she's engaging in unwanted behavior you're right there and can correct her immediately. Or maybe going with this visitor on like a twenty minute walk outside the house before comming in? I know with mine once we're on walks, it's walkin time and like another dog or excited to play with another dog...when it's time to walk it's time to walk. This gives them a bit of time to be around one another before they're getting a bit closer.

I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions. Good luck and hang in there.

Yeah the whole walking to tire her out thing doesn't phase her. She may be exhausted by a long walk initially, but she will pounce right back up at the sight of a small dog, or a small cat. It's like she lives for this stuff.

However I never thought of walking her with a small dog, I just never had the opportunity before. And when I did she spooked the other dog with her yipping and lunging that the owner decided to walk with her dog alone. I suppose it's worth a try.

As for leashing her for visits, I have. I had to do that when she was exposed to the cats, and the maltese. And it honestly doesn't correct the problem it's just a quick fix. Because we all know that as soon as she's off leash she will lunge for whatever it is she wants.

[RayRay]

@Stacybob I believe he said he's in Canada. I don't know what part though. Since you have experience with this, and he may not have someone with the experience you do availible in his local area, what are some things he can do to help his dog the right way so that both dog and person don't feel as if they don't understand how to get the other to do what they want?

I'm a girl.

[RayRay]

The discipline here is entirely wrong, you can't just stick a dog in a cage and flood them with small dogs and expect that to be ok. You need to seek proper professional help from a trainer and you need to do some serious training alterations. Where abouts are you based? I'm England based and travel across England helping to train people.

Stacey xxx

The point is to desensitize her to small dogs, and to get her to calm down. It's a method I tested, and it failed. I'm not asking for criticism I'm asking for alternatives.

btw, I'm in Canada. And yes I agree that professional dog training could possibly be useful. However I need the small dog interaction, and the desensitization to them. I would rather not just throw my dog into a training session or even a dog park and let my dog spook everyone's pets. I would rather work with my mom's dogs since they all know each other, my mom is aware of the situation, and because they are the dogs I see on a usual basis.

[Removed #1]

[MENTION=7622]RayRay[/MENTION], sorry for the gender mix up.

Try not to take anything said her personally, I don't know how much looking around the forums you've done, but the group here is very helpful. The community on these forums aren't here for money or breeding or well anything more than the love of the breed. If people are comming off strongly it's not that they're attacking you personally, it's just that they care so much and it's so hard sometimes to convey that in a text based medium with no facial expressions or body language. Staceybob is good peoples, and she knows what she's talking about.

My dogs too are crackheads when they see little dogs, and I'm not in the fortunate position you are of having someone (your mum) who I can work with on this issue regularly, but I have tucked her suggestions away for later and when I get the opportunity, you'd better believe that I'll be using them.

Another thing to take into consideration is definately the pay off for desired behavior. This is a very intelligent breed of dog, and if what you're offering isn't better than the satisfaction she's getting at being a crackhead, the behavior is going to continue no matter what it is. Again, I wish you the best of luck. I know we've a couple members in Canada, but I'm not sure where they're located. I know Canada is a bit like the states as far as locations go. Ahhh you're in Canada is sort of the same as...Aaah you're in America. With such a huge geographical area you may have a harder time getting in touch with your fellow husky owners on a local level.

[simhauu]

[MENTION=7622]RayRay[/MENTION] Ask somebody from your area or family, since they have small dogs to, to assist you in the training. I believe you know huskies play rough. I'm generally afraid to let Ghost near them because of that, and he likes to provoke them due to one dog in our building. This lady I met outside persuaded me to let Ghost off leash, and as he wanted to play with a beagle, after his couple tries, the beagle showed Ghost he doesn't appreciate his behaviour. Of course if Ghost goes too far I take him on leash. Oh and thank you for the clear up.

Training classes are meant to teach you and your dog what to do. You can look for a trainer who would work one-on-one or two-on-one with you that you bring your mom's dogs. You could ask the trainer if they have a small dog or know someone willing to help because I think a stranger would be better since your dog already knows your mother and her dogs.

Anyway, this forum is a little personal, people here like meeting new people and even more their dogs (we love pictures) and their names. Personal information like where you live is sometimes good, as you could find people here who live in your area and who would themselves be willing to help other members.

[jmscott]

It sounds to me like she is acting like a 9 month old Sib. She is still very much so a puppy. I would see a professional trainer that uses positive methods of training. Don't worry about disrupting the class, if the trainer feels the other animals are not getting what they should out of the class, the trainer should have no problem discussing private sessions or putting you in a class with a small dog that knows how to handle bigger dogs with no canine manners.

[Bec]

I trust her in my open backyard without a leash.

Even if a small dog walked past?

What gets me about her is her prey drive. Everytime I walk her and see a small dog being walked she tries to bolt for her; It surprises the owner and embarrasses me. Often she will squeal, and lunge with such ferocity that I just can't tame her.

Does she only ever act this way walking past small dogs? Does she get excited walking past any other dogs? If she's not biting them and is trying to play with them as you mentioned above, I'm not sure that it is prey drive.

I tried to teach her that if she wanted to socialize with other dogs she needs to be calm and approachable; I put her in her crate when I had company with two small dogs. She whinnied like a pony, and let out blood-curdling cries that would make people wonder if she was getting ax-murdered. She kept scratching at the crate, biting herself, and stuffing her nose between the bars of her crate. I was hoping that the problem would cure itself and she would eventually cease, but it was not the case at all.

I frequently told her to "be quiet", and she would, for about 3 seconds. I tried to spray her with water, but nothing worked. For 45 minutes she continued, and I had enough. I opened her crate, grabbed a hold of her scruff firmly and gave it a sudden yank. She yelped. I pulled her out of the crate; She had full fixation on the small dogs, I had to continue to hold her scruff to prevent her from suddenly bolting at the small dogs. Her feet would often defy her upper body, resulting in some sickly, pathetic looking walk. I decided to move her to my room, to her bed. There was no more noise from her. When I checked on her later, she had her head on the floor in a clam, restful state. I was so angry that she couldn't do that in sight of the small dogs. But since she was calm, I allowed her to see one small dog.

I picked the small dog up and she suddenly bolted right back up. She wasn't making noise this time, but it really upset me because she was needlessly in my way as I was trying to walk. When I told her to sit of lay down, she would over amplify the command and it was almost as if she were attacking the floor. The force at which she slammed her body down made me wonder if she could hurt herself that way. I slowly brought the small dog close to her, and my dog sniffed her. My dog wouldn't allow the small dog to smell her though. Often my dog would try to initiate play with the play stance; The small dog didn't want anything to do with her. I felt a small success because they were actually being together, but I was still deeply disappointed in her because the point was to get her to calm down in the sight of what's making her excited.

These two dogs come over from time to time. And her behaviour has remained the same: erratic, uncontrollable, and obnoxious.

Reading the above it sounds like you are really quite mad and frustrated with her, she's not doing this to intentionally upset you, she hasn't been taught how to behave otherwise. Don't be disappointed in her - she doesn't know what else to do Dog training is progressive and it takes time and knowledge to get it right. I know you said you don't think getting training would help, but I strongly advise getting professional help. A good behaviourist will help explain to you the behaviour from the dog's perspective and will teach you how to teach her what behaviour you want to see her display around small dogs. As I said previously I'm not convinced this is prey drive related. It could be and it could also be a number of different things, which is why having a professional assessment will be the best step for you to take.

[RayRay]

[MENTION=107]Bec[/MENTION]

Yes I trust her in the backyard. The way it is set up is that the little dogs our neighbors have is on the other side of the fence, the part that is open to the fence has nothing of interest for her. She is very consistant about coming back inside when called because I intentionally use that moment to practice positive reenforcement ( I always give her a treat or play with her when she comes inside).

Does she act what way when walking past small dogs? Like she's a crackhead? Yeah. It's worse when she's in a crate or on a leash. But it's an out-of-sight-out-of-mind attitude. As soon as we walk past the dog and she can't see it anymore she couldn't care less.

"I know you said you don't think getting training would help, but I strongly advise getting professional help"

I never said that, I actually think it would be good. What I did say was that I would want that training to involve small dog desensitization.

[Removed #5]

[MENTION=7622]RayRay[/MENTION], I took a step back to let other get in. Often here, if one person is carrying the conversations others sorta set back and read.

As [MENTION=107]Bec[/MENTION] said, and your note describes - you're frustrated! How's that for an understatement?

If you haven't already, you might check out our member map, we do have several people from Canada on the forum; Seems to be heavy on each coast: AB, BC, NB, NS, PE. If you can find someone within reasonable driving distance you all might be able to arrange a "play date" and give him a chance to play with dogs who are more his size / activity level.

In my opinion the owner would need to set up situations of meeting small dogs from a distance and rewarding the dog for any calm behaviours, gradually decreasing the distance, any lunging or silly behaviour and turning and walking in the opposite direction. It's going to take time and patience.

Stacey xxx

Stacey is ( I'm told by those in the UK ) really good with helping out their dogs. I have to agree that this is what you need to do ... but ... you've got a dog who is "out of control" and you want it fixed now. Bad news time - it isn't going to happen now. You do have a little monster on your hands and it's going to take a lot of your time and effort to get him to the point you want.

Getting frustrated - I can tell you from experience - isn't going to work. Oh, you can get a subdued dog, but it'll be obvious that the poor guy has been browbeaten into submission - I'm sure you don't want that!

It seems to me as if you're trying to tackle all his problems at once and that's going to frustrate both of you to the max.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest an order and you can see what you think:

1. Only you and him ( and I *really* do hope this is a male - cause I'm not changing all my comments! ) work on general obedience. Sit, stay, come (hah!) reward each correct response heavily! You want him to see that good responses get good rewards.
   
2. Start working with the crate - he probably has an adverse reaction to it that you're going to need to overcome. For starters, just toss a treat into the crate; be cool, no big deal; after he stays in the crate to munch on the treat, shut the door for a few seconds - if he's okay with that give him another treat or two. You want to to see that the crate isn't really such a threat.
   
3. Go ahead and get to the point that you can do things around him whiles he's in is crate with the door shut. Again, it's working on the idea that the crate is an okay place to be. (( desirably, the crate should be his safe place, his den, where he can crash ))
   
4. Now comes the difficult part and I'm of mixed emotions. I think I'd suggest taking him for walks with another dog who is under control. A little sniff and tickle, expect that, but no rough play ... maybe no play at all if he won't keep it calm. Again, reward the behaviour that you want from him and control the behaviour you don't. If he jumps, bring him back to sit and stay - if he won't sit, quit! The idea is to get him to accept that he can be around another dog if he behaves if he doesn't then the "punishment" should be to just stop the meeting.
   
5. If / when you can get him to the point that they'll walk together without him being all hyper then - and only then - give them a chance to play. With luck and a lot of patience, you and he will have reached a point where he can play without it being rude!
   
6. 
   

I think the thing I'm emphasizing most is that you have to control his access to everything (( look up "Nothing in life is free" )) he doesn't get one step beyond what you want until he behaves at this level, then you move it up a notch.

I'm going to stop now ... in the first place I'm on solar power and my batteries are flickering on me and I do want to post this. [MENTION=2703]Staceybob[/MENTION] I'd appreciate your comments here .... and anyone else who feels like commenting.

[RayRay]

@ Al Jones my dog is a girl. I said this in my first comment.

Look I don't even know what the point is in all of this. Everyone in this forum seems to misunderstand me or twist my words. No one is fully reading what I'm posting and all I'm doing here is coming back and correcting or clarifying what I said.

[Bec]

@Bec

Yes I trust her in the backyard. The way it is set up is that the little dogs our neighbors have is on the other side of the fence, the part that is open to the fence has nothing of interest for her. She is very consistant about coming back inside when called because I intentionally use that moment to practice positive reenforcement ( I always give her a treat or play with her when she comes inside).

Does she act what way when walking past small dogs? Like she's a crackhead? Yeah. It's worse when she's in a crate or on a leash. But it's an out-of-sight-out-of-mind attitude. As soon as we walk past the dog and she can't see it anymore she couldn't care less.

"I know you said you don't think getting training would help, but I strongly advise getting professional help"

I never said that, I actually think it would be good. What I did say was that I would want that training to involve small dog desensitization.

Ok, sorry for misunderstanding you - but you didn't read my question properly either Does she ever act this way when walking past other dogs, not just small dogs?

The sight of the other dogs triggers her behaviour, so it makes sense that once the trigger is removed she calms down because what causes her to act this way (be it excitement or prey drive or something else) is no longer present. Dogs live in the moment, their actions are instinctive, they don't plan ahead or sit around thinking back on things that happened to them previously.

What crating her when the other dogs were at your house demonstrates is that she has a very long extinction curve, that means that when she gets in a state like that it takes a long time for her to give up trying to use this behaviour to get the reward (the other dogs). Waiting her out is dangerous because 1) as you were concerned, she could potentially hurt herself trying to get out of the crate and 2) if she keeps going and you give in that behaviour (whining, barking, scratching, lunging) is being reinforced. A professional will be able to show you how to read her behaviour so that you can work with her before she gets to that level of arousal, they will also be able to show you what to do if and when she does get to that point. They will teach you how to change her emotional state around other dogs so she's not just complying with your commands but the sight of other dogs triggers her to be calm rather than excited.