Rough play

[2Huskyfun]

I was wondering if anyone else has had this issue and could suggest how to make it stop.

Theia is constantly grabbing her brother’s throat! (This started after her mouth surgery. I had to take away all their chew toys. I just let them have some of them back today after she started getting really nasty) To the point it is making him cough and gag. This morning he threw up a few times and is doing a lot of mouth smacking and heavy panting. They have always played this way but it has gotten really bad in the last week.

Sometimes she will listen to commands when I yell release. I also threaten to muzzle her. But other times she shacks and tightens her grip.

Morpheus doesn’t yelp or whine when she does it so I never thought anything of it. But today he is showing signs that it is hurting his throat.

Any suggestions?

P.S I did give back some of the toys that I feel she can chew on without ripping her surgical site back open to see if that would help. It didn’t. 

[robke]

If the rough play gets to much here I just tell them to stop and maybe need to step in and they do stop...had to get used to the fact that huskies do tend to play rougher then any other breed we have had in the past...

[2Huskyfun]

Normally I let them just go at it. LOL.

I am not sure if they learned this from when I was taking them to daycare or not but, one will grab the scruff of the other and just drag them across the room. That doesn’t bother me.

I feel lucky that I am able to get in between them without fear of getting nailed when I absolutely have to.

They do play so rough and I am fine with that.

This is something new. It’s different then “normal” play.  

I also have noticed since Saturday that the boy has started humping his sister. Which he hasn’t done since I got him fixed at 4 months. (Yes, young, but it was either that or rehome at that point. Was having serious nasty behavioral issues. It was like a switch went off in him. No aggression, stopped chewing/eating everything, stopped being aggressive, and became a serous love bug.)

They have had so many injuries and knows easy, release, boo boo, and has always been good at listening. But as of late, I just don’t want her crushing his throat.

[Mike Marcel]

We had a rough time getting used to “Husky Play” 

we had a Maltese and a pug. both tiny little rugrats. Our first Siberian husky, a nice sized black/white boy named Henrik (names after Henrik Lunquist the NYR goalie), used to play nice a gentle with the 2 small dogs.

Then we got Stella. a female red/white Siberian Husky. air was a game changer. while Henrik was still gentle with the two little ones, we saw a WHOLE new side of him when he would play with Stella. Playful Growling, howling, and all the makings of 2 wolves fighting in the woods. They would stand on their hind legs and lunge at eachother, but it never got nasty. always playful, and an amazing sight to see such beautiful animals wrestling, raw, as if in the wild for survival, with a little love mixed in. 

MAGIC.....

[2Huskyfun]

This is their normal morning play time.

The issue that I am worried about is she is now clamping down on his throat and you can hear how hard she is doing it along with him coughing and gagging. Then this morning throwing up from it.

 I will try to record it to show the difference the next time they do it. 

 

 

[Mike Marcel]

Yea. I hear you. the videos here are normal. I’m 35 years old, on my 5th Husky. I’ve seen this a million times. Between sibling parent/child huskies. 

With that being said,  the throat grabbing,  is scary. I’ve only seen it a few times, when things were getting out of control. And I had to step in. But that was always over a bone, or treat or food. 

If it persists, I would keep looking into it. I’d love to see the video for a better idea, but I’m not your savior with all the answers. i definitely have a lot more experience with huskys than your average person, other than an actual breeder. 

[2Huskyfun]

They have only gotten into one fit over a toy and I was able to stop it within seconds of it starting. The third video is their norm over toys. I do have to feed them in their crates. The boy can get a little nasty with sister or the cats while he eats.

They have always played rough and she isn’t doing it in a fighting manner. They could either be playing like in the videos or she just walks by him and in a split second she is latched on to the front of his throat baring down as hard as she can and won’t let go. There is no growling or fighting.  Once he starts coughing I jump in. Then while he is coughing and catching his breath she is licking his mouth. He never reacts to it.

I don’t know if she is testing boundaries and I don’t think he would turn on her.

Whenever she makes the slightest noise he stops and licks her face like he is saying sorry. LOL

Luckly it is not all the time. But I’ll have to tape it. 

I have experience with aggressive dogs. This is not coming off as aggression or “Husky” play.

If I cannot get a handle on it soon I will have to get a behaviorist. With it being a hit and miss, I think it would be hard for them to wittiness it.

They are always together. LOL

 

[2Huskyfun]

I spoke to my vet today about this while I was getting my cat checked out.  It concerned her a great deal. 

 I have a behaviorist coming to the house on Monday to get this sorted out.

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

I would get a house lead in her and every time she goes to grab him grab the lead remove her from the room for a few minutes let her calm down and let her back in , if she does it again she's straight back out so she learns that that behaviour gets her isolated for a period of time and is not accepted , a firm no/ leave /ahah noise when u go to remove her and lots of praise when she plays nicely

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[chelseafan]

My two grab each other by the throat when they’re playing but it doesn’t get out of hand. Some of this is natural behaviour, practising their skills for catching prey, husky’s play rough and can look aggressive when it isn’t. One of my neighbours likes to watch my 2 from her bedroom window and asked me if I’m scared when they’re fighting, I had to tell her that they were playing! I’d use distraction techniques or use a word they know that means they’ll receive something they like just to stop it before it gets out of hand. Humping is also a dominance ‘thing’ it sounds as tho your female is the boss and she’s putting your boy in his place.


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[2Huskyfun]

His thyroid gland is swollen. 😖

The behavioralist came by yesterday. She suggested an E collar..... I am going to try a different route. LOL Plus, I am putting them strictly in harnesses. (Freemotion for hiking and training and then an everyday harness. No more collars of any kind.

I am thinking this is due to them being on lock down for so long. 

Got them new cool toys, upping their exercise, and they are going back to daycare on the days I cannot work them. Being watched very closely.

 I really hope that works.

 

 

[Mike Marcel]

Yea. Personally not a fan of  the e collar. we tried it with  2 huskies for about 6 months. it sucked. they don’t need that. I just feel like they are not the breed those things were made for. they’re free spirited Pack dogs that need to hunt and run and play rough and exercise constantly. I’m not saying it’s easy, but I’m sure you can find another route. stick with your plan as is, and try the e collar as a last resort. at least, that’s my opinion.

what did they do in the 70s when the shock collars didn’t exist.....

My point exactly. go with your gut. good luck 

[2Huskyfun]

She had 3 GSD all on E collars. Sure they were on point and was happy to please.

I am not against E collars, I just don’t think it is ideal for mine.

I don’t want Robots! That is why I choose Huskies. 

I have had nothing but nasty over trained dogs that sure were great inside my home but they never left the house because they were labeled. 

I wanted funny personality, lovable, friendly so I can take them places, and a partnership, along with a distance runner for hubby. 

I will not do anything to break their spirits or not let them be them. I just need to find away to keep the damage to his thyroid/throat from continuing.

 

[Mike Marcel]

I’m with you. 100%. and I sincerely hope it all works out. they are the most ridiculously amazing creatures on earth. and they deserve the freedom they crave. 

[Luna-tic]

I know this probably a daft idea but could he not wear a protective sleeve round his neck so that if she grabs him she can’t bite hard enough to do any damage? Maybe Kevlar or similar, light but tough?


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[2Huskyfun]

10 minutes ago, Luna-tic said:

I know this probably a daft idea but could he not wear a protective sleeve round his neck so that if she grabs him she can’t bite hard enough to do any damage? Maybe Kevlar or similar, light but tough?


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My vet recommended that. So you are right on. LOL

I am having an issue finding something that he can wear that is strong enough to protect him but also allows him to bend his neck to drink.

Took them to daycare for a few hours and when I picked them up both were coughing. So unfortunately I think there is a dog or two there that has taught her and does it to them. 😤. So “they” need something they can wear and other dogs don’t get tangled up on it. “Like a collar”

Even looked at the big leather collars, vet cone, and a throat sleeve. Loved the throat sleeve however, it is just soft material. The leather collars has buckles that can tangle up the other dog, and the vet cone... he would be so pissed at me he would pee everywhere. LOL (his new teenage thing he does when he gets mad at me. At least he does it in the tub. 🤔) Why there? LOL  at least easy to clean.

[Shepsky5]

This is probably not helpful...but if it were my dogs, I would try keeping a short house lead on them.
When one goes for the other one's neck, I would say "Eh! Eh!" or "No!"
If they did not stop, I take the end of the leash and physically pull the dog away and keep it with me until he/she calms down.
Then release, and let them go back to playing.
Over time, I would hope that at the sound of "eh! eh!", the dog will hesitate and stop the behavior.

The e-collar would function on the same principle, only person doesn't physically have to walk over.
But yea, I don't like them either and I'm not confident I could use one correctly. 

However (big disclaimer!) my dog is part GSD so I don't know how a REAL husky would react.

And I would tell the doggy daycare staff that I was worried about the neck-gripping...



 

[2Huskyfun]

2 hours ago, Shepsky5 said:

This is probably not helpful...but if it were my dogs, I would try keeping a short house lead on them.
When one goes for the other one's neck, I would say "Eh! Eh!" or "No!"
If they did not stop, I take the end of the leash and physically pull the dog away and keep it with me until he/she calms down.
Then release, and let them go back to playing.
Over time, I would hope that at the sound of "eh! eh!", the dog will hesitate and stop the behavior.

The e-collar would function on the same principle, only person doesn't physically have to walk over.
But yea, I don't like them either and I'm not confident I could use one correctly. 

However (big disclaimer!) my dog is part GSD so I don't know how a REAL husky would react.

And I would tell the doggy daycare staff that I was worried about the neck-gripping...



 

I did leash her to me for a few today. They both acted depressed. 

Then I tried leashing both. That was a hot mess. 🥴

But may have helped. Now when I say enough, they stop and each goes to their own spots and pout for awhile. 

I want them to play. Poor pups. 

The first daycare I took them to when they were only 4 months put a shock collar on the boy WITHOUT TELLING OR ASKING me! He hid for a few days and had massive diarrhea. I didn’t know this until I pressed charges against them for slicing his leg open. But always knew something had to have happened to make him act like that. 

I think mine are too  temperamental. 

I did but, they had 43 dogs so I don’t trust they can catch it every time. Hubby wants them going more. I only take them once every few weeks, he wants them going two to three times a weeks.

I ordered him a new everyday harness and got them car crates, so I think I am just going to start taking them everywhere.

*they passed a law that dogs have to be restrained by seatbelts or crates. Mine  would chew through the seatbelt. Plus I feel crates are safer.

[Shepsky5]

12 hours ago, 2Huskyfun said:

I

But may have helped. Now when I say enough, they stop and each goes to their own spots and pout for awhile. 

I want them to play. Poor pups. 

They will play again! 🙂 
They just have to learn that they can play...as long as one doesn't have the other one by the neck!
Hmm, so somehow the "eh eh" or "No" has to be very targeted...right when she has him by the neck.
Not that you are forbidding all play!  Maybe you should smile & praise when they are playing "nicely" without neck-grabbing...

But the fun and games has to have rules, because he is coughing and his neck is getting injured, so I think that's important.
You are the boss and you only intervene when the play is actually hurting your dog's neck.
So it's not that you're being Mean...the discipline has a very good reason...
Sorry I sound like a mom. 🙂 
Actually I am a mom. hmm.

that is really terrible about putting a shock collar on your dog without telling you! His reaction is not unusual. If a dog does not understand the reason for the shock, they become scared and just "shut down". That's why they have to be used very carefully, with training. The dog always has to know WHY and what he did, to get the shock. An example is, he knows the command COME but he ignores it. But if you just randomly administered shocks, of course he would become anxious and confused and afraid. I would, too! so - horrible that they did that. they did not teach him WHY this was happening to him, poor guy.

[Mike Marcel]

That’s awful. we installed the electric fence. And it took MONTHS of slow steady and PATIENT training to get them to understand the concept of approaching an invisible border with audible beeping, progressing to a light physical shock correction. i mean MONTHS.

So to me, throwing a collar on, that they have never experienced with a sudden electrocution, just seems wrong to me. I wouldn’t do it to a pitbull, let alone a husky. god bless and good luck with the training

[2Huskyfun]

It was a day were they had 30 pups all in the same play area and through toys in there. 🥴.

This was before I got him fixed and he was VERY  possessive aggressive. But he passed the “friendly” evaluation. And why would you throw 3 or 4 toys in with 30 pups??? I remember her stating they had an aggressive issue with him over a toy. My response was.... ya, he does that but I was advised there were no toys given and I even stated to not give toys because he is flagged for eating toys! She didn’t say anything else to me. Went home and he was such a different pup for awhile. Never said anything about putting a shock collar on him. But from what I found out later is that every time he acted “aggressive” they shocked him. Without giving any commands first to give him a chance.

Broke my heart! 

I only had to intervene once this morning. So YAY!

Once I get his everyday harness tomorrow I am going to start the umbilical cord training. Tried it yesterday but he only has his Canicross harness and it was too much. LOL

I put all the collars I had for them in a box and will be donating them.

I had dreams all night about different training techniques and stuff. How funny....

[Luna-tic]

Had a think and wondered if you could use one of those inflatable collars, like a tyre inner tube? They are the alternative to the plastic cones for wound protection. If both dogs wore one they could play but couldn’t get close enough for any biting contact ? Yes they’d look daft but they wouldn’t know that lol. Might only need to be for a couple of months or however long it took for her to forget her rather bad habit? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Inflatable-Collar-Dog-Cat-Soft-E-Collar-Pet-Puppy-Medical-Protection-Head-Cone/273130060830?hash=item3f97d1fc1e:m:m90fTKLxotzsa7cl0vwYS6A

As for the daycare, that is appallling and they deserve to be shut down. Does anyone inspect them, do they need a licence?


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[2Huskyfun]

The inflatable was popped in less then a minute. LOL

But she has gotten a little better since I have been intervening.

I cited them and reported them to BBB. They do have to be licensed and if they get enough complaints they will be shut down. Unfortunately, others have complained on Facebook but don’t follow through with the BBB or Animal Control to get their ratings down far enough to close them.

 

[corteggy]

I know this probably a daft idea but could he not wear a protective sleeve round his neck so that if she grabs him she can’t bite hard enough to do any damage? Maybe Kevlar or similar, light but tough?


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This would happen with my huskies and noticed it when my male huskies 2' leather collar was all chewed up!! Luckily that thick collar protected his neck.

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