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Siberian Husky Page >

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Maya

aka garbage- disposal

Barked: Tue Jun 16, '09 2:54am PST


	Hello, I just found out about this great site. I got my Husky, Maya in February and am finding it a bit challenging. she is 1 yr 3 months old and a lovely dog and very affectionate but I didn't realise how much hard work huskies are! I also have another dog, a 9 yr old Collie who is very placid. At the moment, Maya is at the bottom of the pack and although knows her place, she is constantly trying to climb up the ladder. The Collie as a rule ignores her effort and only puts her back into her place when she gets really annoying and she accepts that. With me however, she does tend to push things. The other night, I tired to take her raw hide bone off her the other night and she growled at me. I said "BAAH" in a loud voice as my trainer had said and she growled back and actually advanced a couple of steps towards me which kind of freaked me out. So I yelled at her and she backed off and I put her outside for about an hour and then made her sit to come back in. Next time she was chewing her raw hide and I went in the room she left the bone and came and sat next to me, so I thought great... she learnt her lesson. Then the other night she was sleeping next to me and I patted her head and she growled. I said "Baah" and she growled back, so I made her go outside again for an hour and she wasn't allowed back into the room. I think one of the other issue is that I cant let her off leash at the park because she hunts the other dogs and if they run, she chases them and bites them on the back. Or growls and barks at them. Also she won't come when called. I do take her for one hour walks at night and 30 minute walks in the mornings though. but i am not sure that's enough. Things seems to be back to normal and I have made another appointment with my trainer but my questions from experienced husky owners are this: When do they stop challenging your authority? Are all huskies hunters at heart? Does yours try to hunt other dogs? Do you let your dogs run off leash in the park or do you walk them? If you walk them, how long for? How do you train your husky? What methods do you use and how do you correct them? Sorry about rambling post but I really don't know what to expect!! Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

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Nikita

i want to go- outside!

Barked: Tue Jun 16, '09 7:46pm PST


	Hi Maya, Welcome to dogster! I don't know how much help I can be but I'll try. My Niki is only 7 months old so we're still knew to experiencing a husky. I think for the most part they do have a strong prey drive and will hunt unless taught not to at an early age. Niki started stalking and attacking our other dog when she was really young. However, it was all in play. I don't think she has any kill instinct in her at all. At our dog park (which never has any dogs there) off-leash, but on leash anywhere that is not fenced in. She has an OK recall, but it's been said a thousand times to "never trust a husky". So I keep her on leash all the time. I think Huskies are very intelligent, maybe so much so, they don't blindly follow. We took obedience classes, which she did great in, but at home she is sometimes hesitant to obey on command unless she is waiting for something...food, water, to go outside, etc. They say Huskies can be very stubborn, but luckily I haven't had too much of that. I'd suggest reading through some of the Husky forums. I did and there was a lot of info that helped my through her early puppyhood. Hopefully things will get better as you get to know each other better as well. Good luck

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Lacy

If you think- it's yours, its- mine!!

Barked: Tue Jun 16, '09 9:33pm PST


	Souds like you have a healthy and spunky husky I have had Lacy since a young pup, but I am a seasoned husky owner, I was able to establish the alfa role very early. Lacy does challenge my wife, because my wife is inconsistant with her position. You have to stay on your toes, its who they are. The bitting or nipping on the back of the neck on other dogs is a dominant action. So having that said, anytime you need to correct, I would grab Maya on the back of the neck to simulate a dominate action and place her on her side. I do this everytime and all the time everytime I need to correct. Sometimes I even do this when shes being submissive, to show this is my house and my pack. If your having an obsessive problem with your bones, try holding the bone or rawhide while she chews on it and always end up with the bone when shes done, this will show her that the bones are yours and alfa's allways end up with the bones at the end. I havent been able to shake Lacys prey drive, she always comes out of the forrest with snakes, bunnies and birds an a weekly basis. I havent had any problems at the dog park, simply because we have a 65 acre off leach park, and there many larger dogs that have put her in her place. Hope this helps.

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Kiona CGC

The Prettiest- Princess

Barked: Thu Jun 18, '09 11:11am PST


	Please do not alpha roll your Siberian. It is not going to do anything except make her fear your or not respect you. The above poster suggest alpha rolling your dog even when they are being submissive??? This is just bullying your dog and I would never, ever recommend following that advice. She is NOT "challenging" you. You are dealing with a very young, immature dog who sounds like she is a good girl. She is not trying to be dominant, she is trying to communicate with you. You need to let her know what you want. Note that putting her outside does not teach her anything. All she knows is that you put her outside every once and while - I can assure you she does not know she is outside because you were upset with her about something. Siberians need to have alot of exercise, they need structure, and they need you to be gentle with them. All of my Siberians, including my 1 year, 3 month old sassy female foster Siberian, do beautifully with positive reinforcement training, and that is what I recommend. Next time Maya has a rawhide that you want to take away, offer her a treat in exchange for it. If all you ever do is take away her fun things I would growl, too! She needs to learn that she will not just be expected to give up a yummy treat for nothing. Also, at her age, she NEEDS to chew and to chew a lot - provide her with a wide array of chewing outlets. As for the growling when you pet her - you never, ever want to discourage a dog from growling. A dog's growl is its warning system, and take that away and you are left with a dog that will give no warning before biting. That being said, remember Siberians are a vocal breed and many have a low growl threshold. Kiona growls/grumbles all the time and has never bitten. Maybe Maya is the same - you have to learn about your dog. Get her enough exercise. Get it out of your head that she is trying to be "dominant" and that you need to "assert" yourself over her - do NOT ALPHA ROLL HER! Just be patient, consistent, kind, and gentle, and you will have a lovely Siberian girl, I promise. ETA: Your questions! When do they stop challenging your authority? They never start. They are just an intelligent, independent breed whose respect you need to earn, not demand. Are all huskies hunters at heart? Does yours try to hunt other dogs? Many SIberians have a vry high prey drive, which means they will hunt down and try to kill small non-canine animal. Prey drive is NOT the same thing as aggression and does not mean Siberians are prone to harm other dogs or humans. A Siberian that hunts other dogs is dog aggressive, which is not a breed trait, and should be handled very carefully. Do you let your dogs run off leash in the park or do you walk them? If you walk them, how long for? We do both. We go to a lovely 45 acre park where they run offleash, and we walk. We do not let the foster offleash, though. How do you train your husky? What methods do you use and how do you correct them? Positive reinforcement only. NO alpha rolls, NO prongs/chokes, etc. I reward the good behavior and ignore the bad, and redirect from unsuitable to suitable outlets for behaviors. #1 rule with Siberians: Get 'em enough exercise! Edited by author Thu Jun 18, '09 11:17am PST

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Maya

aka garbage- disposal

Barked: Fri Jun 19, '09 12:22am PST


	Thanks for your posts and advise everyone. Really appreciate it. As I said I am very new to owning a huskey and all the information I have read up on the breed suggested really dominant dogs that will cosntantly try to climb up the hierarchy ladder. I like the idea of positive re-enforecement and will see how that goes. I don't think I will let her off the leash though but will get my trainer to work with me on improving the recall and see how she goes. She does have a huge backyard to run around in and my older dog does play with her, so I think with the 1.5 hrs walking a day, that should be sufficient...I hope! Thank you again for all your advise. It's great to know this forum is here. Cheers Ps- it's funny about the alpha roll though. At the moment, my older dog is the alpha over the puppy. Last week, she was chewing on a raw hide that she'd buried and had dug up. The Collie went over to take it off her and they got into a bit of a scuffle and I went to make sure it wasn nothing serious and the Collie was standing over Maya and Maya was on her back. Neither of them were saying anything and as soon as Maya stopped trying to push the collie off, he moved away from her (with the raw hide) and that was that... I gave Maya another raw hide though, which she promptly took and buried under the rose bushes

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Lacy

If you think- it's yours, its- mine!!

Barked: Mon Jun 22, '09 2:38pm PST


	I have to say that owning a Husky is a learning process, they can also test your nerves because of their persistance. Obviously people have their own opinions and there is always more than one approach, I just take what is usefull and apply it to my style. Good luck.

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Gracie

Tricks ? - You can't be- serious.....

Barked: Thu Jul 2, '09 9:42am PST


	I agree very much a learning process, and I also agree you have to do what your are comfortable with to establish some dominance especially with any food aggression or possesiveness! My two ahre a huge food bowl - even when we did seperate bowls in the beginning, they always just ate together out of one. Every once in awhile, Gracie will get a little nippy with Kelly and push him away from the food. When she does that I tell her "no" and I will put my hands in the food bowl and pretend to take stuff out and move the food around. When I move away, they will both start eating again without further incident. Now my husband will not do that at all!! But he will take chewies away if they are fighting over them and put them on top of the fridge. They stop fighting immediately and usually when he gives them back they do not start up again. Lots of behavior techniques - and every day's a new training opportunity!

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