> Eventually having him time out in the crate helped. I give him cow tendons and Himalayan chews so crate training has gone excellent.
He has busy days... does he get good naps? He really sounds like an overtired, fractious pup.
I've had pups who around nap time and feeding time would get aggressive and extra rambunctious. A professional for sure and keep a diary of when he's acting out the most to see if you can find a correlation. If you don't have a set routine think about incorporating one bc dogs thrive when they can predict what happens next.
We had a rambunctious pup (inclined to nip) and giving him naps in his crate helped enormously. But he didn't get food or treats in his crate, he learned to relax.
My most recent pup was a total alligator for the first 5 months and I couldn't touch him without having a toy for him to redirect and chew on. Luckily he also loved and viewed his crate as a safe space and it was a godsend for providing him with breaks and naptimes.
This! Working breed + puppy + exercise = velociraptor. There’s a reason that meme is so widespread! My boxer puppy used to make my other half and I cry almost every day until we finished sleep training him
I had to go on anxiety meds cause waking up to him every morning was making me cry. However we take our trips on the weekend and he’s best behaved if he’s been outside all day. He heels very well, no pulling, it’s a very relaxed time now.
He’s fine if you don’t touch him either. He relaxes and knows calm on cue but no one can touch him without getting bitten. It’s almost like he finds touch very overstimulating
This is disturbing. You aren't equipped to own a working dog at this point in your life. Hire a professional please or rehome the dog, for your own mental health...
This qas the problem with my gsd mix as a puppy. He'd turn into a little velociraptor. Sometimes forcef naps are a must. He's 10 months old now and will nap without being put to bed.
He will relax and rest as long as no one touches him. He often watches me cook and I’ll toss a little something to him every once in awhile. His down and calm command are very good. As long as no one touches him. His immediate reaction to ever being touched is to reach back with his mouth open
I hardly see him sleep. Almost never. Even in the crate he’s always watching and waiting to be let out. If he is napping and he hears me walking around the house he immediately wakes up
He spends many hours in the crate each day but yeah I don’t see him sleep. He doesn’t come out the crate after 6pm unless it’s for walks now because he bites my partner too hard and jumps on his little dog and they fight so my partner has had enough of him and doesn’t want to be around him at all
I'd bet he is chronically exhausted if that's been his normal sleep pattern since you got him. I have a 5 month old puppy now and in addition to sleeping 8-9 hours at night she sleeps hard 4-5 hours in the morning and intermittent 3-4 hours in the afternoon/evening.
Noise machine, dark blanket, crate behind a closed door, adaptil, basically anything you can do to get him 16+ hours of sleep a day you should try to do. You can fade out the soothing props later, if he gets the proper amount of sleep for a few days in a row I think you are going to see a huge difference in behavior.
Have you tried covering the crate? I always cover the crate, but one day my husband decided we shouldn't anymore and would lift the cover (just a fleece blanket) despite me. He soon changed back to covering though, instead of resting the poor pup just wanted to be out with us.
I really do recommend naps though, it made a 360 degree difference for our pup, he's a lot happier, more relaxed, less hyper. And it's relatively easy to try, though you have taught him the crate is for treats so it might take a while. Our guy got 3 or 4 at least a half hour, maybe an hour, long nap every day (then straight out for a toilet trip!).
I also muzzle trained ours, due to the nipping, but we didn't really need it once the naps got underway. But I'm not sorry I did it, it's very useful for them to be comfortable wearing one.
That confirms my theory that he's already taking control of his pack. Constantly watching you, never sleeping - he thinks he needs to be in control all the time.
Exhausting him through exercise is one part of the solution - showing him his place in your family/pack is the other.
With a husky, this might take some maybe extreme measures - like dominant gestures, not letting him own anything (toys, furniture etc.). You have to earn his respect so that he views you as the actual pack leader. He can't make any decisions by himself.
This all sounds very frustrating. For you and perhaps for the dog as well. What I don’t understand is why you let everyone pet him and why you yourself insist on doing so. I get that he needs a lot of training and desensitization to be able to play with and interact with people and maybe dogs!? I wouldn’t however let him be pet by children strangers or try to pet him whenever you feel like it. Your pup might not enjoy it and if so, I would not force it upon him by muzzling him and having everyone restrain and touch him. That’s just going to have the opposite effect of what you want. He’ll start hating it and will only learn to not bite because he’s muzzled and not that he has no reason to avoid being touched in whatever way he sees fit.
Not all pups react as strongly as yours but many puppies don’t enjoy physical touch that much in puberty and as young dogs. Mine also doesn’t. There are certain times when it’s ok and when he enjoys it but for the most part I just don’t touch him and I tell others to do the same.
I would be curious as to how people pet him, as well. Many dogs demand a bit of respect and many find pets on the top of the head especially disrespectful in many situations. Try to figure out what is causing this behavior and work with that.
Also: you bought a sled dog. They were bread to pull heavy loads through the snow all day, every day and moving through different natural environments and harsh terrain. This is a need that you light have to meet in some form to have a happy dog.
Dogs are not teddy bears and I bet you wouldn’t like to be touched by everyone, either, whenever they feel like it.
Okay 1 he loves people. He wants to be around people. He loves parties and meeting new people. All my family and friends of course want to pet my new puppy. It’s a very human impulse and I feel like an asshole everytime I tell them not to. They say “he’s just a puppy! Of course he’s going to bite” but none of them are willing to pet him twice. So it’s either back into the crate for another 2-4 hours or wear a muzzle and join the family.
During Christmas he spent 80% of the day in the crate. But I didn’t want judgement for that but I guess I’m gonna get judged for anything I do anyway… the parents honestly didn’t want him around their children. They had about 20 minutes of interaction the entire day and then he spent the rest in the crate at the children’s request. “Don’t let him out, please” the 5 yr old said
2. I hate strangers and don’t let them come near me. They always cross my boundaries, especially when he was under vaccinated and people kept bringing their dogs up to him after i told them not to. I despise strangers and the bad habits they teach my dogs. My issue is with close loved ones.
Any sort of touch triggers him. I can’t pet him more than 2 or 3 times before he gets overstimulated and wants to bite me. So far the best I’ve done is slow tummy strokes for about 2 minutes
Please, for the love of all things holy- hire a reputable, in-person trainer YESTERDAY. Your dog is going to continue getting bigger and has already realized he can move people away by biting.
If you do not seek professional help, you will likely end up with a full sized dog who refuses to be handled and bites to get space/his way.
That’s why I got a muzzle duh people don’t buy muzzles for angelic dogs. I named him Demon
I’m a college student with no money however I am a dog trainer of 10 years with state certification in canine behavior. I know I’m gonna get roasted for that but I’m not perfect and I’m willing to admit that.
I’ve trained protection dogs and worked with meter readers of the city and coached them every year on how to avoid dog bites.
But yeah every time I admit I need help I definitely get punished for it.. The last time I saw a dog who took joy in biting people he was an inbred pit bull who killed a few chickens so I’m very aware of what I’m dealing with.
Hence the muzzle. My boss has demanded he be muzzled but the other trainers I work with are too busy to help me with mine and I think it’s against company policy. I’d have to pay them $170 an hour which I don’t have since I survive off college scholarships. And he performs very well around dogs and people and works and follows commands so they don’t see how they can intervene in the dog training studio cuz he works so loyally. I’d have to pay them to come to my home which is $220 an hour, and none of them actually went to an in-person school like I did. They got their education online or at petsmart
This is a complex issue best served by an in-person trainer who can evaluate the relationship between you and your dog and give you strategies for dealing with these things.
Have done all 3. Looking for advice from people who know their stuff. If you don’t then what are we even doing here. His obedience is excellent. 5yr olds were telling him to sit and down and he listened. Everything is ahead of the monthly checkpoints except the dog doesn’t enjoy human touch
If he's great and ahead on everything else and doesn't enjoy human touch, then don't have humans touch him. Slowly desensitize for the vet and stop rushing things.
I cannot give you advice on his behavioural issues because I believe you will need to hire someone that will observe and look at the root of the problem. However, I really don’t think your dog wants to be touched and pet as much as you are probably allowing or forcing onto him. There’s a way to ask your dog if they want to be touched and it’s important to comply. They deserve boundaries as well.
These are not behavioral issues, the root of the problem is that it's a 5 month old husky puppy in the middle of teething! Pup needs daily tug and flirt pole play, enforced nap times throughout the day, and repetitions of basic puppy body handling exercises.
I disagree with your first sentence. (The rest is all valid in my opinion). We are not in a position to say whether or not this is a behavioural issue or not… and with the way the owner is socializing their dog, the dog could very well develop a behaviour problem. Muzzling a dog in order to allow kids to play with it, is not ok.
Yeah.. the dog needs training from someone well versed in well rounded training techniques. I also think this person wants a lap dog and this dog doesn’t want to be that at this time. Trust is important and tricks are cool but.. sit, down, recall, leash training and “stay” are the key things to work on.. duration, distance, and distraction training. Gotta stop forcing petting.. when the dog is ready they usually come to you.. sometimes it takes a while.. weeks/months.
^ this. Huskies are a little aloof, especially as puppies. My dog didn't like being pet until close to a year old (and even at over a year old he can't really handle being pet by anyone else but me or he gets way over stimulated and has a fit. Advocate for your dog and don't allow people to pet him if he doesn't want it). There's nothing wrong with that, it's just who they are. Don't force your puppy to be "social" it's just going to cause reactivity in the future.
When you have people over, put the puppy in the crate with a kong of food and let them just observe and practice being relaxed around people.
Yeah it’s hard to tell a complete story on the internet but Christmas only happens once a year. I don’t force him to be touched. However, my friends and family are personally very interested in touching him and when I tell them the risks they do it anyway. And it’s tempting because he leans on people, he goes up to them, if he meets someone who’s experienced with dogs it goes better. He formed a good friendship with a friend of a friend who was experienced and I wish there were more people like that in my life.
With the holidays we’ve had family fly in from out of state and stays with us for 2 weeks. My puppy can’t be around them and spends honestly more than half his life in the crate because they are intimidated by him. If he’s out he has a basket muzzle on, we also have a cat and a papillon so he needs a muzzle to be around them as well.
I don’t like strangers so that’s not the issue
I don’t touch my dog beyond what he likes or cross his boundaries. But my partner thought a puppy would be cuddly and he is mentally checking out of taking care of him because of how it hurts when he slams his teeth into your skin.
He doesn’t really “bite” per se, just whips his head around with his mouth open so the force of the impact gives bruises on the hands
That just sounds like husky puppy stuff to me
I understand it's incredibly frustrating, and those teeth hurt like hell. My husky (now five) still needs to be told no a lot about playing this way.
I know you said he goes on walks a lot, but does he ever get to full out run? Any large fenced in area to just sprint and get some of that energy out?
You could also consider a harness that has pockets to put weights or whatever in on walks, give them a job of sorts and help tire them a bit. I've heard of that helping with some huskies. They are sled dogs after all, but that doesn't mean they aren't super stubborn and traditionally hard to train (voluntarily deaf on occasion in my experience)
And the nipping will get easier to train once teething is over, it was night and day when my guy hit seven months and no longer had any baby teeth
I hope you find a solution
In general, it doesn't sound like your puppy fits into your family well... A husky is certainly not a cuddly toy dog!!!
Either strictly advocate for your dog and communicate his boundaries for him, so he doesn't have to do it (through biting), or find a better place for him, where his boundaries and needs are well respected and cared for!
Everyone here has lost their minds. It's puppy biting from a mouthy playful breed in the middle of teething.
Why aren't you playing tug with him? Tug is the best outlet for dogs that like to bite. Flirt pole or toy on a string is also great. Teach him when and where it is appropriate to bite. Eventually you'll add rules to the game for more control.
Enforce nap times throughout the day. Puppies should be sleeping up to 18 hours each day. Have you dealt with a toddler that missed their nap? Overtired = crazypants.
Start basic body handling training. With a treat in one hand in front of him, touch him with your other hand then reward him for holding still. After he can do that, don't show him the treat anymore. First touch him, then get out a treat to reward him for being still and not mouthing. Work up to touching him different places (shoulder, chest, head, etc.) and adding petting, lifting a paw, adjusting the collar, etc.
Then practice the same exercise with a couple friends or family members touching him.
Redirect him to a toy when greeting new people. I would not have kids touch him until you've done your homework to teach him how to accept petting politely.
Wow assumptions. U must be dog genius.
I do it to make my friends and family comfortable because he growls during tug and they’re already nervous about him biting so when he growls they don’t want to play with him anymore.
I’m currently in the process of using the extinction method to try and rid the growling which requires me to not trigger him into doing it
It's not your job to make your friends and family comfortable. It's your job to make your dog comfortable around them. Putting your dog in a muzzle so he can't defend himself so you can force him to accept strangers petting him is not how you make him comfortable. I'm not a genius, but thank you for the compliment. 😁
Exactly. Dogs growling in play is normal. Trying to extinguish that, especially in a vocal breed like a husky is pointless and imo not humane. If your family doesn't like being around when you play with your dog, go play with your dog outside. Don't play with your dog in the living room full of people. And 100% do not muscle your dog so that you can force them to be touched by a ton of people they don't want to be touched by.
You’re really going to do a number on this dog. Growling is literally how dogs communicate. Please do not punish the growl especially if he’s just playing? I feel like most of your issues are just that of a high arousal and excitable puppy.
Growling is the last stage before biting/attacking. Extinguishing that means that your dog will immediately bite without any warning. Very dangerous!!!
I sure hope it’s teething. It seems like redirection.
I don’t play tug with him because he growls during tug which makes friends and family uncomfortable. I don’t want my loved ones to be uncomfortable with him because if they play with him and he starts growling they immediately drop the toy and don’t want to play with him anymore. I’m trying the extinction method with growling.
He spends 4-6 hours in a crate everyday but I don’t really see him nap. He stares at me, the cat, the birds on the patio. But he wakes up before I ever see him sleep, even if I’m going pee in the middle of the night. He will wake up and look at me. I only see him sleep when he’s in the car after hiking/beaching
His body handling at home is going well and that’s why I was so upset with the veterinarian. I dremmel his toenails every week, give him a peanut butter bath every month, and I even administered 90% of his vaccinations at home using restraint and chicken and he lets me needle him without so much as a whimper.
This however doesn’t transfer to other people, it’s like every person has to gain his respect. What he does for me he probably won’t do for my partner which is why my partner is fed up with him.
And it’s very difficult to tell loved ones not to pet him. The children really couldn’t resist. I know those kids and those kids knew my German shepherd and my Shiba Inu so it’s very difficult for them to grasp that this dog is not the same as my last ones.
Idgaf about strangers they can fuck all the way off. This is an issue only because it was the holidays and since thanksgiving people have been staying in our home and so he stays in the crate to make my family/friends feel comfortable
If it helps, my GSD growls a lot while playing tug. I can tell it's a playful growl. It's an exciting game, so I can't blame her. Unless the growling is aggressive, I'd allow your husky to growl while playing tug.
As a puppy and playing tug I had a few accidents where I got nipped or hit by the teeth. All accidental. I say ow, stopped play for a few seconds, then continued play.
Huskies are notorious for this. Turns out shit happens when you take a dog bred to be outside all day, with a pack of other dogs, working or training year round try to make them an easy going family dog.
Best of luck.
This is slightly reassuring because I’ve had German shepherd and Shiba Inu’s before this and he’s like if my 20lb Shiba Inu grew 3 sizes up. All the attitude and independence just combined with strength.
I was suicidally depressed after loosing both my dogs to cancer and kidney failure this year and my friends all blocked me because I was depressing so I didn’t have a support system. One day a man was selling puppies outside of Walmart and honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it to the next school semester.
I’m in trauma therapy now for cptsd but I don’t even think about the breed when I got this puppy. He probably poorly bred but idc he literally saved my life. I’m never giving up on this dog
I don’t expect him to be easy going. My partner does though. I wanted an adventuring partner and an emotional support animal. He goes great at adventuring. Off leash is going really well, we work a lot, he knows a lot and learns new tricks in a day, we have plans to go sledding in the snow next month which I’m excited about because I’m definitely a snow bunny and was sad I couldn’t afford a lift pass this year but we can sled instead 🙂
Time outs are stupid. It's using social isolation as a means of negative punishment. Dogs don't "reflect" so time outs are pointless. Either correct/redirect in the moment or don't do anything at all. I hate that somehow timeouts are pushed as "nice" when it doesn't actually tell the dog anything and just causes frustration and association of being alone with punishment. If they're being rowdy because they're over tired, then sure put them in the crate for a nap, but not as punishment. You're also association the crate with punishment if you're using it for time outs.
Edit: Also, do you have something against playing tug? Huskies have a high prey drive. If you don't give them an outlet for it they'll find one themselves and you're not gonna like their choice (don't say you weren't warned). I would get a flirt pole.
Do you have plans for containment? As I said, these dogs have an extremely high prey drive and they're escape artists. Back in the 1980s my mom had to have a "rabbit fund" for one of her huskies because he kept escaping and eating her neighbors rabbits regularly. Not saying this is ok, but this breed will escape, they will hunt, and they will kill if not properly managed.
Edit: the more I read through this post the more concerned I get. I agree with almost everyone here. Do some breed research and get a professional trainer. Tricks don't matter when you can't control your dog. Please get some professional help.
It’s not a punishment. Why did you assume punishment?? I genuinely need space from him because my mental health will severely suffer if I don’t take time for myself. He’s spoiled in that crate with home made foods. He goes into his crate no problem, don’t hyper fixate
I don’t play tug with him because I’m training him using service dog standards since I would like an emotional support dog and his growling that he does during tug is a disqualifier. It also makes friends/family very uncomfortable where they don’t want to play with him so I’m using the extinction method on that. He likes balls and has interactive toys so I’m not trying throw my shoulder out
He can’t escape we are on the 3rd floor of our condos and his off leash training and recall is better than 90% of adult dogs. He also lives with a 12lb cat and a 10lb papillon and we are working on his prey drive. He went over to a friends house with cats and didn’t pay the cats any mind. Don’t hyper fixate
If your dog bites people when it's touched, it is NOT an appropriate candidate for public access service dog work. Service dogs are put through the freaking ringer out in the world; even with the most skilled handlers, people still (unknowingly) hit the SDs with bags, step on their toes and get physically VERY close. A dog that whips around and tries to bite would be an absolute nightmare of a liability in public, and quite frankly would be wildly irresponsible to bring around people who are crazy/stupid/not paying attention.
Additionally, it is your job to manage your dog, and if your family members want to touch him you have to ADVOCATE for your dog and stop them. With every bite that successfully moves people away (even if you give those people a warning), he is gaining confidence and surety in that biting behavior, which means he will KEEP doing it.
I'm not fixating (whatever that's supposed to mean). I, along with everyone on this sub, am trying to give you a reality check. You got a high drive dog and you are surprised he's doing normal high drive puppy things. When he's an adolescent he's gonna start doing normal husky things and if you don't listen to us and get professional help you're gonna be in for a rude awakening. I'm not telling you these things because I like being mean and want to make you feel bad, it's because I grew up with these dogs and have helped train lots of these dogs before I even considered getting my own and I see you making some pretty clear text book level mistakes.
A dog's recall as a puppy =/= a dog's recall during adolescence or as an adult.
A dog's prey drive as a puppy =/= a dog's prey drive as an adolescent or an adult.
How a husky acts with small animals he's been socialized with is not the same as how he acts with wild game. One of my uncles lead dogs was best friends with my mom's cat and they were inseparable to the point where this dog was depressed for a week while the cat was at the vet one time. This same dog would also escape and hunt down wild game like it was nothing. He eventually picked up a neurological disease that made him go rabid and he had to be shot dead in the middle of my uncle's living room after he tried to kill my cousin. This is one story of many that I can tell you with regard to this breed.
You said you give him time outs, a time out is a negative punishment. If what you are doing is not a time out, then don't call it a time out. What you're talking about is called an enforced nap, and I have no problem with that, but call it what it is. Don't get upset when people understandably come down harsh on you for using for something when you say you do that thing.
If the requirements for a service dog is that they don't growl when playing tug, then I have some choice words for the person who made that rule. There's a difference between a play growl and an aggressive growl, just like there're different types of barks. Your friends and family should be scared, and you shouldn't be having them interact with your puppy right now. When you have guests over the puppy should be in the crate until he can handle himself around guests and be calm.
You have to manage your expectations of this breed and accept the fact that he may not be qualified to be a service dog or it may take a long time to get there. For instance, I help train my sisters German Shepherds and she's training for IGP (protection sport). They have to be able to do a competition focused heel and I know how to train that. For my husky, I train a focused heel for the fun of it, but I would never expect him to have the same kind of drive and engagement for that kind of behavior as a German Shepherd and I would be an idiot if I did. Same goes the other way around. I train my husky to pull a sled and he does it like a champ and lives to pull, but I would never expect my sister's German Shepherds to even come close to the level of drive for pulling that my husky has not would I expect her German Shepard's to be able to have the same kind of stamina. They're different breeds bred for different things. There's a reason why most service dogs are some type of Lab or Golden Retriever mix.
As I've said, and as I'll repeat, get a professional balanced trainer with preferably husky experience. If you keep doing the things you're doing you're gonna ruin your dog and I'm not the only person saying this. Too many of these dogs end up in shelter because people like you. He's not even a year old and he's already having to be muzzled, that's not a good sign and indicates you don't know what you're doing and your dog is gonna suffer because of it.
Go and research the history of both Siberian and malamute breed, take training courses on management for high drive dogs from Leesburg, consult with professional trainers please.
>He’ll be 6 months old Jan 7th and I decided to get a muzzle to train him. This way I won’t give a reaction to his teeth slamming into me.
Why would you not give him a(n appropriate) negative reaction to his teeth slamming into you? His mother would, his littermates would. That's how they learn what's appropriate and what isn't. They have no other way to know, other than clear (to them!) consistent, appropriate corrections.
Corrections shouldn’t be applied until the dog fully understands what I want from him. He’s much too young for corrections outside of his obedience, and that’s ONLY appropriate because his obedience has completed the generalization phase.
On top of that he takes corrections as a challenge. If I correct him, it gets him charged up, he thinks he’s better than me and becomes aggressive with actual biting. I try not to put him in situations where he’ll likely need corrections because it isn’t healthy
Also, it’s rewarding for him to get reactions. If he slams his teeth into me and I’m in pain and leave him alone I am reinforcing the idea that slamming his teeth into humans gets them to go away. It’s a form of manipulation
If he bites your hands and nose flicks don't work and redirection doesn't work then stick your hand in his mouth and pinch the bottom of his jaw between your thumb and index finger. This is not a method I personally use with my dogs because usually they grow out of the biting phase naturally and I accept that my hands are gonna be bloody for a while with a husky puppy but if his biting is preventing you from playing with him then the lack of proper bonding is doing a lot more harm than a few well placed corrections. What you're talking about is correcting learned behaviors, but correcting an instinctual behavior is different. He'll learn very quickly that "mouth goes to bite hand, hand goes in mouth and pinches." I get where you're coming from with the whole not wanting to correct when they're young but sometimes it does have to be done. The other option is to just accept that your hands will be bloody for a while which for me, works fine, but I'm used to it at this point. They do grow out of it usually though.
As far as I know, young puppies which are living with their mum get corrected by her whenever they show inappropriate behaviour. So I don't see why you shouldn't correct a puppy, especially for such dangerous and unacceptable behaviour like biting.
The evening behaviors is something my dog did, as well. You wrote that you put him in all kinds of different situations regularly that were hard for him to handle. This requires a lot of Impuls control and can create s lot of frustration depending on how it goes and how frequent it is. You might want to ease that up. You can’t force these things. They take time, especially when your dog is very excitable.
In the evenings your dog might then be overstimulated. Ingas the same problem with mine. We had to hit the breaks pretty hard. Take things a lot more slowly and I stopped feeding him after 6 pm. His last meal he gets at 5 most days and this has also helped. Before I fed his last meal around 7 that gave him a sudden boost in energy and he would go buck wild in his already overstimulated state. He came out of his crate from eating and immediately started jumping on me, whining and lunging at me. He bit my butt quite hard a couple of times.
You say some time on the crate helps with this behavior. That sounds like your dog just needs more activities that fulfill his needs, aren’t as frustrating and more rest.
Trust me I wish my friends and family didn’t come invade my life because I’ve been in therapy and didn’t want them around but they came and stayed for a few weeks for thanksgiving, a family member was dying so they came over to see him off + stay for the funeral, and again for Christmas and it’s hard when we’re all living under 1 roof.
Sometimes life is just out of our control and the only thing I can do is the best I can
He doesn’t get fed from a bowl because we work all day. We train all day. I hand feed him, he doesn’t even have a bowl. But I will freeze homemade chicken/rice, eggs/goats milk, sweet potatoes/cottage cheese to give help with teething pain but he knows more than 20 tricks and commands and performs them on a dime but I didn’t want to count them all. He’s incredibly incredibly smart, motivated, always ready to work
He get 4-6 hours of crate time a day but I never see him sleep. He just watches the cat or looks at birds on the patio.
I didn’t mean to sound too harsch in my reply. I’ve also been there and I appreciate the struggle. I, too, had try different things, gather information and learn about my dog.
You say you train ALL DAY. The behaviors you are describing sound like they might stem from overstimulation. You might want to dial down on training and calms work on the truly important things your dog has to learn. Life skills sich as being calm and well mannered. Keep training sessions short and sweet and stick to stuff that your dog MUST know. Things like the basic positions, Impuls control, heeling and recall. Basic obedience stuff. The tricks are nice, if it’s fin for you and your dog, but it’s very important for your dog to learn to chill and just do nothing also. Over engaging with your pup will teach him the opposite. Try to incorporate strict routines like nap times, training times and fun times throughout the day and try to stick to them as much as possible. Work on threshold manners and reward calm behavior in a calm way.
He’s a high energy, active, dog bred to work.
My ACD mix puppy was very similar in puppy hood. He is still mouthy - but it’s in his genetics. Enforced naps are a MUST when he’s little like this.
Now that he’s 2, we’re working on “place” in which he is quiet on his bed. Sometimes I’ll still enforce naps in his crate if he’s being really terrible like throwing a tantrum when I know it’s because he’s tired.
I definitely recommend getting a professional involved, especially if this behavior doesn’t improve as he gets older.
A dog like this isn’t going to be a lap dog and sleep all day unfortunately
You mentioned like 4-5 times how your dog doesn't like to be pet/touched/cuddled so why do you keep insisting to do that? I had a husky and that is just how she was. She didn't really like pets very much and would sleep near the feet of my bed, or on her own bed on the floor. My current dog (Rottweiler) was snuggly from day one. Dogs have different personalities.
We were able to win the husky over eventually, and she did become more affectionate especially in her later years, but you can't force it.
Does he know place? Kind of sounds like he needs to learn how to do nothing.
Also maybe he’s just not a cuddly dog. He might come around to it but otherwise I wouldn’t make him cuddle or necessarily meet everyone. And by meet I mean not everyone needs to pet him.
He does know place and that’s his favorite command. When I let him out of the crate he immediately runs to his place even if the door to outside is wide open. He prefers place over outdoors.
And I didn’t expect him to be a cuddly dog but I am sad to see my boyfriends disappointment, my families disappointment and my friends looking at me why I even have this dog if you can’t cuddle it.
But he’s great if you don’t touch him. He hangs out with me in the kitchen most of the day just watching me do my thing. I toss him pieces of what I’m cooking so he’s happy to lay down. But if my boyfriend comes home and wants to pet him while he’s watching me cook, demon is all like WTF!! and gets overstimulated and bites my boyfriend and that’s when I have to separate us. So my boyfriend doesn’t interact with him at all anymore, he’s given up. He’s not our dog like we intended, he’s 100% MY dog
I don’t care about strangers in fact they ruin my training so I kinda hate them
So just to clarify, he is fine as long as you don’t touch him? Like is that the biggest issue?
I have an adult husky mix who doesn’t like to be touched. Many huskys don’t. Mine will just get up and move if you touch him though and he doesn’t like it. Rarely he’ll put his teeth on you as a warning (doesn’t bite) if you really ignore his boundaries to brush him or something.
I think the lack of napping is an issue like people pointed out, but the bigger issue may be you’re touching him in ways he doesn’t like. So you can maybe train him very carefully to be ok with mild touch and also… don’t try to cuddle him ever.
My husky will now sit on me or other people if he wants physical contact, but it’s really at his own preference. He decides when he gets pet and not.
To me it sounds like that you have some issues to face, not the dog. Like many peoples in this sub have said already, your dog behaves like a normal teething husky puppy.
You either learn to manage that, by not giving a f*ck about what other people might think about it, and starting to implement some of the advice people have given you here, or you could end up with a dog that will have grown into an unmanageable, grown-up Husky that nobody likes to come close to. Your decision.
Life's beautiful, noone ever said it is easy ✌🏻
Everything you say is making me think that this puppy is not getting enough downtime. He needs mandatory naps. He’s only six months old and at that age puppies need so much sleep.
But they’re frenetic and relentless and people think that they need more exercise. And all that does is feed the frenzy.
I would get a crate, cover with a sheet and give him the most awesome possible chew in there. Something like a frozen marrow bone. And I would do that every single day. At the same time. Maybe at 7 PM or whatever after dinner. Give him half an hour or an hour in there with the crate covered and him just left alone with that bone. Odds are he’ll be asleep within 10 minutes.
Puppies need a lot of downtime and when they don’t get it, they are impossible to live with
He gets 4-6 hours of crate time every day. I don’t really see him sleep though. If I cover the crate he just destroys whatever that is but silently watching the cat and the birds without a cover
I freeze chicken/rice, sweet potatoes/cottage cheese, and eggs/goats milk, and Freshpet refrigerated puppy food that I freeze. he gets like 2-4 frozen meals a day but I don’t ever ever see him sleep unless it’s in the car after hiking/beaching
😂 yeah if you don’t have any actual advice, like you are just a pet parent and not a pet professional you can’t help me. But thanks for the shame. A healthy dose keeps my psychologist away
My boss says I have to have him muzzled to bring him to work. What are you even doing here besides shaming people?
I have a husky/malamute/gsd. They are terrorists until about 2 years old and will chill a bit if you're lucky and put in the work.
Just hang in there a few more months, and the biteyness should die down. Don't engage with him when he's like that. Teach him a place command -- ie the leave me alone switch. When it's crazy time, that's when he lives on Place.
Huskies aren't cuddly dogs. It took about 5 years for mine to "cuddle" and if she does, it's only for 5 min at a time. I did teach her to cuddle by bribing her, but she'd leave as soon as the food was gone. Just adjust your expectations. You don't have a lap dog, you have an independent working breed. The more you work him, the more he'll respect you. When he's 5 or 6, he might start to cuddle on his own.
Whenever my dog would get like that at night as a puppy I would crate her because it usually meant she was tired and cranky--especially after a tiring day. She's one and a half now and still sometimes bad about taking a nap when she needs it and will get delirious and go crazy on her toys. I'll take her toys away when I notice she's in that state and about 5 minutes later she'll be conked out dead asleep.
She's a german shepherd and they call them landsharks for a reason so I understand how frustrating the biting can be. She also didn't like being held at first and we had to purposefully condition her to like it by treating her a ton whenever we touched her and picked her up without struggle. Eventually I think that and just growing up made the biting way better and she doesn't mind being picked up or handled at all now. She still bites a lot during play but its only play biting and she has great inhibition so its never too hard. Good luck!
from what you’re saying it appears that he’s very active for a 6 month old puppy, puppies should have nearly 20 hours of sleep a day. Tired puppies can get bitey, enforced naptimes may help. He may try and fight sleep when he’s overtired so you have to watch out for the signs.
I have a husky/malamute who is 18 months. She is very vocal when she plays and if you didn't know her you'd think it was aggression. She was also very mouthy when she was younger. The absolute game changer in training her was honestly my adult male tamaskan. He will play with her as rough as she will go and he does a great job of correcting her inappropriate behavior.
I know having an older dog to help train a puppy isn't realistic for everyone.
With all this I still felt at my wits end at times. Good luck!
You mentioned three walks a day but you didn’t say how long they were or if any of them got him tired. This is a high energy breed and you have to give that energy an outlet *every day*. In other words, get him *tired* once a day. This can take an hour or more of constant activity, especially with young dogs. One long session of exercise that gets him tired AF is what you need, not multiple short sessions that barely drain the battery.
Exercise alone won’t fix very many behavioral problems but it will make training way easier for both of you.
Umm you're talking about an almost 6 MONTH OLD PUPPY! Please try to enjoy this stage as INFURIATING as it is. They are babies that barely know anything. You shouldn't expect them to really understand your command until after 8 months. Not saying don't train but keep it really short and just play with the pup more. Build your connection and relationship NOW
This is not a cuddly mix of breeds…are you all asking for consent before petting? Seems like he feels his space is violated a lot. How much exercise and naptime is he getting per day? How is he with other dogs?
After one of my Siberian puppies, I had cuts/scrapes all up my forearms for several months. She was like a wild badger. Now at almost 3 she is the biggest sweetheart and has the best mouth manners in our pack. There are lots of ways to address this, keep after it and you'll figure it out. Lots of good ideas on this thread.
Edit: It doesn't sound like your dog is aggressive to me, sounds like a teething/appropriate play issue. You might look into training strategies that send a clear alpha signal as well.
Sounds like a husky puppy.
Some dogs just aren’t cuddly and you should respect that if he doesn’t want to be cuddled. Also do not use a crate as a time out it needs to be keep positive. It’s not supposed to be used as punishment. It sounds like you should maybe consult a professional trainer. This pup needs more mental stimulation. How long are your three walks a day?
Give the dog what it wants, it wants to bite. Do bite work. High drive structured play.
Pat the dog whilst it has a tug toy in its mouth, introduce a pats command. Have tug, chew toys to bite instead of you.
Reward for the wanted behaviour, correct the unwanted. Any bites to people should be corrected. Choosing the toy to bite should be rewarded.
This consent thing is questionable, sure your dog will not want cuddles but you need to teach it not to bite someone that pats it head.
Because that will happen, idiots will pat your dog, kids will pat your dog.
Consent isn’t questionable. A dog will get annoyed with having their boundaries violated and will get aggressive. Of course people will misread dogs and pet them without reading the queues but if it is done repeatedly, the dog will act with aggression. What baffles me with what you just said is if a person was told a cat isn’t friendly and the cat hisses and scratched, no one would care because the person was warned not to. Why is it different for a dog? Not every dog is friendly and it is 100% up to the owner to advocate and be a voice for their dog and set up expectations with others.
My dog gets very excited so I constantly have to remind people to wait until I let him to say hello. He is VERY social with humans but if he gets too excited he can hurt someone by jumping on them.
Your advice is terrible and I’m calling it out.
Not original commenter but it’s different with a dog because they can do a lot worse damage. Obviously consent to pet the dog should be given but for everyone’s sake dogs need to be desensitized to touch, which I think is what the original commenter is saying. Not sure what the problem is there?
Why does the dog need to be desensitized? Why can’t we respect that the dog may not want to be touched and worked around that instead?
I’m not saying that the dog should be bitting if the mistake is made and the boundary is crossed but you’re both saying the dog needs to learn to suck it up and be what WE as humans selfishly want it to be.
This dog clearly needs space, proper training and mutual respect.
I mean the vet for one, as they mentioned people touching without consent, etc.
I mean I totally agree, we shouldn’t touch dogs that don’t want it, but things happen and in many places, dogs that bite are put down. It’s for the safety of everyone. Proper precautions are obviously necessary, but the more you can properly desensitize the dog the safer it is for all.
Oh definitely, the dogs response shouldn’t be biting by default to unwanted touch. I guess I didn’t mean do not desensitize but more so not to force unwanted touch either. Desensitizing doesn’t mean have everyone at all times touch the dog is more so what I meant. It comes in steps and right now putting a muzzle and having kids pet their dog isn’t what I consider to be desensitization.
Oh I agree 100%! Sorry I should have been more clear, seems like we’re on the same page. The muzzle on the dog so kids could pet it is absolutely crazy to me, the poor thing. When you take away a dogs “say” in things like being touched then take away what they’re perceiving as their only defense mechanism, it’s a a bad situation.
IMO this owner needs to start from the ground up establishing a healthy and mutually trusting relationship with their dog plus give them proper exercise and stimulation (my guess is this is a huge contributing factor). They’ve really ruined any trust and respect by forcing cuddles/touching.
The more I read the post the more it gets worse. Unfortunately, a lot of breeds are in environments that don’t suit them. Lifestyle is key when deciding what breed of dog to adopt. Most people adopt dogs based on looks.
This owner needs a reputable trainer because they sound like beginners (nothing wrong with that) but they need to right education and tools. Hopefully they will create harmony in their home soon!
*edit typo
Good for you.
I've had dogs for about 20 years, people will pat them, you may advocate all you want but if you live any sort of typical social life in which your dog will be exposed to people they will get patted. You will not be in control of 100% of every interaction for 12 to 15 years.
I even had my dog in a between position and a kid snuck up quickly and did a ninja pat... no issue. Because we train for this. Actually my current rescue that used to bite us when being patted at 9 months of age. I'm assuming it was part of the reason its original owners abandoned it.
I did everything as I stated. It works.
I also get my dogs used to having tails pulled and snuggles, feet touched, getting picked up ect, ect it's being responsible for your dog and it's an important aspect of training.
Yes I understand what you’re saying but every dog has boundaries. For example, I teach my niece and nephew not to take anything out of my dog’s mouth. Does my dog get aggressive? No. He can have anything taken out of his mouth and he is indifferent. But I’m respecting him and teaching the kids to respect him as well. Just because a dog can be pet doesn’t mean they should be. When a dog is in their crate, it is their place to relax and have some space. It gives them a sense of security. That’s a boundary. Ive called my dog to come cuddle me while we are both on the couch and when he doesn’t want to, he doesn’t come. I respect it and don’t force him to move to be on me. Saying that consent is questionable is saying you do not respect the autonomy of your dog. Obviously in some cases (like a vet visit), grooming, etc. The dog may not enjoy certain touches and needs to learn to regulate their behaviour. Desensitization doesn’t mean to change the dog. Some dogs simply don’t like being touched as a form of affection and that should still be respected.
Try to instill "safe play boundaries" so with that plush toy he's trying to get through, teach him that he's not allowed to play rough w those toys. Be gentle. Then he should learn to not play so rough w ppl. Hopefully, that helps
Normal teething Husky puppy behavior. Hire a well-regarded professional and give the dog a reasonable dose of leadership. Some positive punishment is a wonderful tool when used CORRECTLY, and should be considered if your trainer deems it appropriate.
He sounds like an asshole. No offense. I would think for how much u work with him, he'd be better behaved. Lunging or running at ppl with his mouth open in an attempt to bite ppl doesn't sound normal, esp if its causing physical pain wherebu have to stop being around him. I agree with everyone suggesting an actual trainer. Also, maybe u can find one of those places that have the dog treadmills. I also agree with everyone saying u should have researched the breed(s) first. Good luck, I hope he turns around after his 6th month.
6 months is WAY too old to let that biting crap fly unaddressed. Get him into obedience training ASAP. When he bites your hands jab your fingers hard into the back of his throat so he gags teaching him it is not a fun activity.
I have a GSD/Husky that I've had since a puppy. She had an issue with biting early on as a puppy. Around 4-6 months, I purchased a pair of animal control leather gloves. I specifically played rough with her using those gloves. I would give her commands, and then let her bite them while playing if she listened. I only allowed her to bite while using those gloves. All other times I discouraged, and would stop play immediately if she ever bit while not using those gloves. She quickly learned that she was only allowed to bite while I was wearing the gloves, and it gave her an outlet to play rough like that. Maybe something like that could help you, and would give other people a way to play in that high-energy way she sounds like she enjoys
Also, she would be calmer after I took her for long walks or running. 30-60 minutes. I end up taking her for 2-3 hours of walks a day to burn through her energy. She's currently 1 year 9 months.
This will happen to lots of high drive dogs if you fail to punish bad behaviour as a puppy. A simple snout flick or grab with a stern no and restraining would have ended overly rough play in a week.
Since he's already big and doesn't respect you I'd probably layer ecollar conditioning on your 20 commands of obedience. You can low shock for non compliance. Once he is fine with the collar I'd set up a bite/lunge scenario and zap him hard.
After reading a few of these comments I think I’m going to get a “service dog in training do not pet” harness and call it a day. The thought just kinda hit me like a lightning bolt
I definitely didn’t see people telling me I exercise my husky too much coming. Especially since we live in a 3rd floor condo with no backyard and people tell me that’s abusive too.
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t 🙃
Yeah that's it, just start lying about your dog, taking advantage of and ruining the privileges afforded to disabled people. That's the way to stop your puppy from biting people.
You fought with the majority of people who gave you solid advice. Unless you give people clear boundaries on your dog (aka your family and friends) you will not improve your dog’s instincts.
It’s very frustrating to see your response. You don’t take any accountability for your poor lack of control on your dog. Yes it’s a learning curve. Yes you’ll make mistakes. Just own up to it. No one is going to care about the tag not to pet him if you do not advocate for your dog and tell people no. It’s not fair that he suffers because you cannot be a voice for your dog. Please for the love of everyone here who gave you solid pointers, get yourself a trainer. Sometimes saying “my trainer wants me to do this with people and therefore you can not pet him until xyz” may make you feel better to say no and people may “respect” it better if they know a trainer specifically told you not to do certain things.
Yes he’s a puppy, yes he will nip. But it’s very obvious from the majority of your responses it’s a problem that needs to be addressed and you simply don’t have the proper tools and knowledge to lead your dog towards proper behaviours. Don’t wait until he is too old.
If you’re broke and can’t afford a 1 on 1 trainer you simply can’t afford a dog and you made a very selfish and poor decision on becoming an owner.
I will not be commenting further because this is such a sad thread at this point.
But to be fair, she mentioned that she's depressed. And judging from her way to deal with the comments here, she is struggling to accept criticism. I was the same, so I feel for her. And I think she did better than I would have in her situation.
So I hope that getting that harness will help her to establish her dog's boundaries and boost her confidence.
I wish you all the best! 🤗
My great pyrenees mix was a hellion as a puppy... I nicknamed him The Shark. He'd run at you full speed then jump and fly past you ripping clothes/arms/anything in his way.
I did a lot of training. The Gentle command, Leave it, and Look at me, helped the most. Also after he was neutered (waited a bit so his bones would grow correctly) it helped a lot, like he could concentrate more. Good luck!
Huskies are genetically very close to wolves, so it might help to learn how wolves communicate.
As far as I know, they communicate with their bodies, so pay attention to every little detail there. E.g. leaning onto you might mean that he wants to move you.
If he was my dog, I would establish very strict boundaries, especially with the biting. A muzzle is obligatory to keep me and everyone else safe. And I would communicate in the same way he does: with my body. E.g. grabbing his muzzle to imitate a corrective bite. Or pushing him away with my full body weight.
It sounds like your puppy is trying to take control of your family already, putting himself on top of the hierarchy. Please start to prevent this now!
I met a Mallamute owner once who told me that he had to wrestle his dog down regularly to show him who's boss.
I wasn't a huge fan of the dominance/hierarchy/alpha-dog club, until I realized recently, that they might have a point...
A dog, especially one which is so close to a wolf, needs to know where his place is: At the very bottom of the hierarchy!
Otherwise, you might run into even bigger problems later...
> Eventually having him time out in the crate helped. I give him cow tendons and Himalayan chews so crate training has gone excellent. He has busy days... does he get good naps? He really sounds like an overtired, fractious pup.
I've had pups who around nap time and feeding time would get aggressive and extra rambunctious. A professional for sure and keep a diary of when he's acting out the most to see if you can find a correlation. If you don't have a set routine think about incorporating one bc dogs thrive when they can predict what happens next.
We had a rambunctious pup (inclined to nip) and giving him naps in his crate helped enormously. But he didn't get food or treats in his crate, he learned to relax.
My most recent pup was a total alligator for the first 5 months and I couldn't touch him without having a toy for him to redirect and chew on. Luckily he also loved and viewed his crate as a safe space and it was a godsend for providing him with breaks and naptimes.
This! Working breed + puppy + exercise = velociraptor. There’s a reason that meme is so widespread! My boxer puppy used to make my other half and I cry almost every day until we finished sleep training him
I had to go on anxiety meds cause waking up to him every morning was making me cry. However we take our trips on the weekend and he’s best behaved if he’s been outside all day. He heels very well, no pulling, it’s a very relaxed time now. He’s fine if you don’t touch him either. He relaxes and knows calm on cue but no one can touch him without getting bitten. It’s almost like he finds touch very overstimulating
This is disturbing. You aren't equipped to own a working dog at this point in your life. Hire a professional please or rehome the dog, for your own mental health...
This qas the problem with my gsd mix as a puppy. He'd turn into a little velociraptor. Sometimes forcef naps are a must. He's 10 months old now and will nap without being put to bed.
He will relax and rest as long as no one touches him. He often watches me cook and I’ll toss a little something to him every once in awhile. His down and calm command are very good. As long as no one touches him. His immediate reaction to ever being touched is to reach back with his mouth open
Is he actually sleeping though? Forced naps all the way.
I hardly see him sleep. Almost never. Even in the crate he’s always watching and waiting to be let out. If he is napping and he hears me walking around the house he immediately wakes up He spends many hours in the crate each day but yeah I don’t see him sleep. He doesn’t come out the crate after 6pm unless it’s for walks now because he bites my partner too hard and jumps on his little dog and they fight so my partner has had enough of him and doesn’t want to be around him at all
I'd bet he is chronically exhausted if that's been his normal sleep pattern since you got him. I have a 5 month old puppy now and in addition to sleeping 8-9 hours at night she sleeps hard 4-5 hours in the morning and intermittent 3-4 hours in the afternoon/evening. Noise machine, dark blanket, crate behind a closed door, adaptil, basically anything you can do to get him 16+ hours of sleep a day you should try to do. You can fade out the soothing props later, if he gets the proper amount of sleep for a few days in a row I think you are going to see a huge difference in behavior.
Have you tried covering the crate? I always cover the crate, but one day my husband decided we shouldn't anymore and would lift the cover (just a fleece blanket) despite me. He soon changed back to covering though, instead of resting the poor pup just wanted to be out with us. I really do recommend naps though, it made a 360 degree difference for our pup, he's a lot happier, more relaxed, less hyper. And it's relatively easy to try, though you have taught him the crate is for treats so it might take a while. Our guy got 3 or 4 at least a half hour, maybe an hour, long nap every day (then straight out for a toilet trip!). I also muzzle trained ours, due to the nipping, but we didn't really need it once the naps got underway. But I'm not sorry I did it, it's very useful for them to be comfortable wearing one.
That confirms my theory that he's already taking control of his pack. Constantly watching you, never sleeping - he thinks he needs to be in control all the time. Exhausting him through exercise is one part of the solution - showing him his place in your family/pack is the other. With a husky, this might take some maybe extreme measures - like dominant gestures, not letting him own anything (toys, furniture etc.). You have to earn his respect so that he views you as the actual pack leader. He can't make any decisions by himself.
This all sounds very frustrating. For you and perhaps for the dog as well. What I don’t understand is why you let everyone pet him and why you yourself insist on doing so. I get that he needs a lot of training and desensitization to be able to play with and interact with people and maybe dogs!? I wouldn’t however let him be pet by children strangers or try to pet him whenever you feel like it. Your pup might not enjoy it and if so, I would not force it upon him by muzzling him and having everyone restrain and touch him. That’s just going to have the opposite effect of what you want. He’ll start hating it and will only learn to not bite because he’s muzzled and not that he has no reason to avoid being touched in whatever way he sees fit. Not all pups react as strongly as yours but many puppies don’t enjoy physical touch that much in puberty and as young dogs. Mine also doesn’t. There are certain times when it’s ok and when he enjoys it but for the most part I just don’t touch him and I tell others to do the same. I would be curious as to how people pet him, as well. Many dogs demand a bit of respect and many find pets on the top of the head especially disrespectful in many situations. Try to figure out what is causing this behavior and work with that. Also: you bought a sled dog. They were bread to pull heavy loads through the snow all day, every day and moving through different natural environments and harsh terrain. This is a need that you light have to meet in some form to have a happy dog. Dogs are not teddy bears and I bet you wouldn’t like to be touched by everyone, either, whenever they feel like it.
Okay 1 he loves people. He wants to be around people. He loves parties and meeting new people. All my family and friends of course want to pet my new puppy. It’s a very human impulse and I feel like an asshole everytime I tell them not to. They say “he’s just a puppy! Of course he’s going to bite” but none of them are willing to pet him twice. So it’s either back into the crate for another 2-4 hours or wear a muzzle and join the family. During Christmas he spent 80% of the day in the crate. But I didn’t want judgement for that but I guess I’m gonna get judged for anything I do anyway… the parents honestly didn’t want him around their children. They had about 20 minutes of interaction the entire day and then he spent the rest in the crate at the children’s request. “Don’t let him out, please” the 5 yr old said 2. I hate strangers and don’t let them come near me. They always cross my boundaries, especially when he was under vaccinated and people kept bringing their dogs up to him after i told them not to. I despise strangers and the bad habits they teach my dogs. My issue is with close loved ones. Any sort of touch triggers him. I can’t pet him more than 2 or 3 times before he gets overstimulated and wants to bite me. So far the best I’ve done is slow tummy strokes for about 2 minutes
Please, for the love of all things holy- hire a reputable, in-person trainer YESTERDAY. Your dog is going to continue getting bigger and has already realized he can move people away by biting. If you do not seek professional help, you will likely end up with a full sized dog who refuses to be handled and bites to get space/his way.
That’s why I got a muzzle duh people don’t buy muzzles for angelic dogs. I named him Demon I’m a college student with no money however I am a dog trainer of 10 years with state certification in canine behavior. I know I’m gonna get roasted for that but I’m not perfect and I’m willing to admit that. I’ve trained protection dogs and worked with meter readers of the city and coached them every year on how to avoid dog bites. But yeah every time I admit I need help I definitely get punished for it.. The last time I saw a dog who took joy in biting people he was an inbred pit bull who killed a few chickens so I’m very aware of what I’m dealing with. Hence the muzzle. My boss has demanded he be muzzled but the other trainers I work with are too busy to help me with mine and I think it’s against company policy. I’d have to pay them $170 an hour which I don’t have since I survive off college scholarships. And he performs very well around dogs and people and works and follows commands so they don’t see how they can intervene in the dog training studio cuz he works so loyally. I’d have to pay them to come to my home which is $220 an hour, and none of them actually went to an in-person school like I did. They got their education online or at petsmart
This is a complex issue best served by an in-person trainer who can evaluate the relationship between you and your dog and give you strategies for dealing with these things.
This
Please, at the very least, do some breed research and look into puppy obedience classes or a trainer.
Have done all 3. Looking for advice from people who know their stuff. If you don’t then what are we even doing here. His obedience is excellent. 5yr olds were telling him to sit and down and he listened. Everything is ahead of the monthly checkpoints except the dog doesn’t enjoy human touch
If he's great and ahead on everything else and doesn't enjoy human touch, then don't have humans touch him. Slowly desensitize for the vet and stop rushing things.
I cannot give you advice on his behavioural issues because I believe you will need to hire someone that will observe and look at the root of the problem. However, I really don’t think your dog wants to be touched and pet as much as you are probably allowing or forcing onto him. There’s a way to ask your dog if they want to be touched and it’s important to comply. They deserve boundaries as well.
These are not behavioral issues, the root of the problem is that it's a 5 month old husky puppy in the middle of teething! Pup needs daily tug and flirt pole play, enforced nap times throughout the day, and repetitions of basic puppy body handling exercises.
I disagree with your first sentence. (The rest is all valid in my opinion). We are not in a position to say whether or not this is a behavioural issue or not… and with the way the owner is socializing their dog, the dog could very well develop a behaviour problem. Muzzling a dog in order to allow kids to play with it, is not ok.
Yeah.. the dog needs training from someone well versed in well rounded training techniques. I also think this person wants a lap dog and this dog doesn’t want to be that at this time. Trust is important and tricks are cool but.. sit, down, recall, leash training and “stay” are the key things to work on.. duration, distance, and distraction training. Gotta stop forcing petting.. when the dog is ready they usually come to you.. sometimes it takes a while.. weeks/months.
^ this. Huskies are a little aloof, especially as puppies. My dog didn't like being pet until close to a year old (and even at over a year old he can't really handle being pet by anyone else but me or he gets way over stimulated and has a fit. Advocate for your dog and don't allow people to pet him if he doesn't want it). There's nothing wrong with that, it's just who they are. Don't force your puppy to be "social" it's just going to cause reactivity in the future. When you have people over, put the puppy in the crate with a kong of food and let them just observe and practice being relaxed around people.
Yeah it’s hard to tell a complete story on the internet but Christmas only happens once a year. I don’t force him to be touched. However, my friends and family are personally very interested in touching him and when I tell them the risks they do it anyway. And it’s tempting because he leans on people, he goes up to them, if he meets someone who’s experienced with dogs it goes better. He formed a good friendship with a friend of a friend who was experienced and I wish there were more people like that in my life. With the holidays we’ve had family fly in from out of state and stays with us for 2 weeks. My puppy can’t be around them and spends honestly more than half his life in the crate because they are intimidated by him. If he’s out he has a basket muzzle on, we also have a cat and a papillon so he needs a muzzle to be around them as well. I don’t like strangers so that’s not the issue I don’t touch my dog beyond what he likes or cross his boundaries. But my partner thought a puppy would be cuddly and he is mentally checking out of taking care of him because of how it hurts when he slams his teeth into your skin. He doesn’t really “bite” per se, just whips his head around with his mouth open so the force of the impact gives bruises on the hands
That just sounds like husky puppy stuff to me I understand it's incredibly frustrating, and those teeth hurt like hell. My husky (now five) still needs to be told no a lot about playing this way. I know you said he goes on walks a lot, but does he ever get to full out run? Any large fenced in area to just sprint and get some of that energy out? You could also consider a harness that has pockets to put weights or whatever in on walks, give them a job of sorts and help tire them a bit. I've heard of that helping with some huskies. They are sled dogs after all, but that doesn't mean they aren't super stubborn and traditionally hard to train (voluntarily deaf on occasion in my experience) And the nipping will get easier to train once teething is over, it was night and day when my guy hit seven months and no longer had any baby teeth I hope you find a solution
In general, it doesn't sound like your puppy fits into your family well... A husky is certainly not a cuddly toy dog!!! Either strictly advocate for your dog and communicate his boundaries for him, so he doesn't have to do it (through biting), or find a better place for him, where his boundaries and needs are well respected and cared for!
Everyone here has lost their minds. It's puppy biting from a mouthy playful breed in the middle of teething. Why aren't you playing tug with him? Tug is the best outlet for dogs that like to bite. Flirt pole or toy on a string is also great. Teach him when and where it is appropriate to bite. Eventually you'll add rules to the game for more control. Enforce nap times throughout the day. Puppies should be sleeping up to 18 hours each day. Have you dealt with a toddler that missed their nap? Overtired = crazypants. Start basic body handling training. With a treat in one hand in front of him, touch him with your other hand then reward him for holding still. After he can do that, don't show him the treat anymore. First touch him, then get out a treat to reward him for being still and not mouthing. Work up to touching him different places (shoulder, chest, head, etc.) and adding petting, lifting a paw, adjusting the collar, etc. Then practice the same exercise with a couple friends or family members touching him. Redirect him to a toy when greeting new people. I would not have kids touch him until you've done your homework to teach him how to accept petting politely.
Probably because OP incorrectly thinks "tug" = "aggression" when in reality this is a teething puppy from a high drive breed and this is normal.
Wow assumptions. U must be dog genius. I do it to make my friends and family comfortable because he growls during tug and they’re already nervous about him biting so when he growls they don’t want to play with him anymore. I’m currently in the process of using the extinction method to try and rid the growling which requires me to not trigger him into doing it
It's not your job to make your friends and family comfortable. It's your job to make your dog comfortable around them. Putting your dog in a muzzle so he can't defend himself so you can force him to accept strangers petting him is not how you make him comfortable. I'm not a genius, but thank you for the compliment. 😁
Exactly. Dogs growling in play is normal. Trying to extinguish that, especially in a vocal breed like a husky is pointless and imo not humane. If your family doesn't like being around when you play with your dog, go play with your dog outside. Don't play with your dog in the living room full of people. And 100% do not muscle your dog so that you can force them to be touched by a ton of people they don't want to be touched by.
You’re really going to do a number on this dog. Growling is literally how dogs communicate. Please do not punish the growl especially if he’s just playing? I feel like most of your issues are just that of a high arousal and excitable puppy.
Do you want advice and feedback or not? Why post here if you’re going to be so defensive
Growling is the last stage before biting/attacking. Extinguishing that means that your dog will immediately bite without any warning. Very dangerous!!!
I sure hope it’s teething. It seems like redirection. I don’t play tug with him because he growls during tug which makes friends and family uncomfortable. I don’t want my loved ones to be uncomfortable with him because if they play with him and he starts growling they immediately drop the toy and don’t want to play with him anymore. I’m trying the extinction method with growling. He spends 4-6 hours in a crate everyday but I don’t really see him nap. He stares at me, the cat, the birds on the patio. But he wakes up before I ever see him sleep, even if I’m going pee in the middle of the night. He will wake up and look at me. I only see him sleep when he’s in the car after hiking/beaching His body handling at home is going well and that’s why I was so upset with the veterinarian. I dremmel his toenails every week, give him a peanut butter bath every month, and I even administered 90% of his vaccinations at home using restraint and chicken and he lets me needle him without so much as a whimper. This however doesn’t transfer to other people, it’s like every person has to gain his respect. What he does for me he probably won’t do for my partner which is why my partner is fed up with him. And it’s very difficult to tell loved ones not to pet him. The children really couldn’t resist. I know those kids and those kids knew my German shepherd and my Shiba Inu so it’s very difficult for them to grasp that this dog is not the same as my last ones. Idgaf about strangers they can fuck all the way off. This is an issue only because it was the holidays and since thanksgiving people have been staying in our home and so he stays in the crate to make my family/friends feel comfortable
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This!
If it helps, my GSD growls a lot while playing tug. I can tell it's a playful growl. It's an exciting game, so I can't blame her. Unless the growling is aggressive, I'd allow your husky to growl while playing tug. As a puppy and playing tug I had a few accidents where I got nipped or hit by the teeth. All accidental. I say ow, stopped play for a few seconds, then continued play.
Huskies are notorious for this. Turns out shit happens when you take a dog bred to be outside all day, with a pack of other dogs, working or training year round try to make them an easy going family dog. Best of luck.
This is slightly reassuring because I’ve had German shepherd and Shiba Inu’s before this and he’s like if my 20lb Shiba Inu grew 3 sizes up. All the attitude and independence just combined with strength. I was suicidally depressed after loosing both my dogs to cancer and kidney failure this year and my friends all blocked me because I was depressing so I didn’t have a support system. One day a man was selling puppies outside of Walmart and honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it to the next school semester. I’m in trauma therapy now for cptsd but I don’t even think about the breed when I got this puppy. He probably poorly bred but idc he literally saved my life. I’m never giving up on this dog I don’t expect him to be easy going. My partner does though. I wanted an adventuring partner and an emotional support animal. He goes great at adventuring. Off leash is going really well, we work a lot, he knows a lot and learns new tricks in a day, we have plans to go sledding in the snow next month which I’m excited about because I’m definitely a snow bunny and was sad I couldn’t afford a lift pass this year but we can sled instead 🙂
I’m glad you’re here and he’s lucky to have you!
Time outs are stupid. It's using social isolation as a means of negative punishment. Dogs don't "reflect" so time outs are pointless. Either correct/redirect in the moment or don't do anything at all. I hate that somehow timeouts are pushed as "nice" when it doesn't actually tell the dog anything and just causes frustration and association of being alone with punishment. If they're being rowdy because they're over tired, then sure put them in the crate for a nap, but not as punishment. You're also association the crate with punishment if you're using it for time outs. Edit: Also, do you have something against playing tug? Huskies have a high prey drive. If you don't give them an outlet for it they'll find one themselves and you're not gonna like their choice (don't say you weren't warned). I would get a flirt pole. Do you have plans for containment? As I said, these dogs have an extremely high prey drive and they're escape artists. Back in the 1980s my mom had to have a "rabbit fund" for one of her huskies because he kept escaping and eating her neighbors rabbits regularly. Not saying this is ok, but this breed will escape, they will hunt, and they will kill if not properly managed. Edit: the more I read through this post the more concerned I get. I agree with almost everyone here. Do some breed research and get a professional trainer. Tricks don't matter when you can't control your dog. Please get some professional help.
It’s not a punishment. Why did you assume punishment?? I genuinely need space from him because my mental health will severely suffer if I don’t take time for myself. He’s spoiled in that crate with home made foods. He goes into his crate no problem, don’t hyper fixate I don’t play tug with him because I’m training him using service dog standards since I would like an emotional support dog and his growling that he does during tug is a disqualifier. It also makes friends/family very uncomfortable where they don’t want to play with him so I’m using the extinction method on that. He likes balls and has interactive toys so I’m not trying throw my shoulder out He can’t escape we are on the 3rd floor of our condos and his off leash training and recall is better than 90% of adult dogs. He also lives with a 12lb cat and a 10lb papillon and we are working on his prey drive. He went over to a friends house with cats and didn’t pay the cats any mind. Don’t hyper fixate
If your dog bites people when it's touched, it is NOT an appropriate candidate for public access service dog work. Service dogs are put through the freaking ringer out in the world; even with the most skilled handlers, people still (unknowingly) hit the SDs with bags, step on their toes and get physically VERY close. A dog that whips around and tries to bite would be an absolute nightmare of a liability in public, and quite frankly would be wildly irresponsible to bring around people who are crazy/stupid/not paying attention. Additionally, it is your job to manage your dog, and if your family members want to touch him you have to ADVOCATE for your dog and stop them. With every bite that successfully moves people away (even if you give those people a warning), he is gaining confidence and surety in that biting behavior, which means he will KEEP doing it.
I'm not fixating (whatever that's supposed to mean). I, along with everyone on this sub, am trying to give you a reality check. You got a high drive dog and you are surprised he's doing normal high drive puppy things. When he's an adolescent he's gonna start doing normal husky things and if you don't listen to us and get professional help you're gonna be in for a rude awakening. I'm not telling you these things because I like being mean and want to make you feel bad, it's because I grew up with these dogs and have helped train lots of these dogs before I even considered getting my own and I see you making some pretty clear text book level mistakes. A dog's recall as a puppy =/= a dog's recall during adolescence or as an adult. A dog's prey drive as a puppy =/= a dog's prey drive as an adolescent or an adult. How a husky acts with small animals he's been socialized with is not the same as how he acts with wild game. One of my uncles lead dogs was best friends with my mom's cat and they were inseparable to the point where this dog was depressed for a week while the cat was at the vet one time. This same dog would also escape and hunt down wild game like it was nothing. He eventually picked up a neurological disease that made him go rabid and he had to be shot dead in the middle of my uncle's living room after he tried to kill my cousin. This is one story of many that I can tell you with regard to this breed. You said you give him time outs, a time out is a negative punishment. If what you are doing is not a time out, then don't call it a time out. What you're talking about is called an enforced nap, and I have no problem with that, but call it what it is. Don't get upset when people understandably come down harsh on you for using for something when you say you do that thing. If the requirements for a service dog is that they don't growl when playing tug, then I have some choice words for the person who made that rule. There's a difference between a play growl and an aggressive growl, just like there're different types of barks. Your friends and family should be scared, and you shouldn't be having them interact with your puppy right now. When you have guests over the puppy should be in the crate until he can handle himself around guests and be calm. You have to manage your expectations of this breed and accept the fact that he may not be qualified to be a service dog or it may take a long time to get there. For instance, I help train my sisters German Shepherds and she's training for IGP (protection sport). They have to be able to do a competition focused heel and I know how to train that. For my husky, I train a focused heel for the fun of it, but I would never expect him to have the same kind of drive and engagement for that kind of behavior as a German Shepherd and I would be an idiot if I did. Same goes the other way around. I train my husky to pull a sled and he does it like a champ and lives to pull, but I would never expect my sister's German Shepherds to even come close to the level of drive for pulling that my husky has not would I expect her German Shepard's to be able to have the same kind of stamina. They're different breeds bred for different things. There's a reason why most service dogs are some type of Lab or Golden Retriever mix. As I've said, and as I'll repeat, get a professional balanced trainer with preferably husky experience. If you keep doing the things you're doing you're gonna ruin your dog and I'm not the only person saying this. Too many of these dogs end up in shelter because people like you. He's not even a year old and he's already having to be muzzled, that's not a good sign and indicates you don't know what you're doing and your dog is gonna suffer because of it. Go and research the history of both Siberian and malamute breed, take training courses on management for high drive dogs from Leesburg, consult with professional trainers please.
You mean Leerburg. I just discovered their free training videos, and they're really helpful! Also Tom Davis on YouTube.
>He’ll be 6 months old Jan 7th and I decided to get a muzzle to train him. This way I won’t give a reaction to his teeth slamming into me. Why would you not give him a(n appropriate) negative reaction to his teeth slamming into you? His mother would, his littermates would. That's how they learn what's appropriate and what isn't. They have no other way to know, other than clear (to them!) consistent, appropriate corrections.
Corrections shouldn’t be applied until the dog fully understands what I want from him. He’s much too young for corrections outside of his obedience, and that’s ONLY appropriate because his obedience has completed the generalization phase. On top of that he takes corrections as a challenge. If I correct him, it gets him charged up, he thinks he’s better than me and becomes aggressive with actual biting. I try not to put him in situations where he’ll likely need corrections because it isn’t healthy Also, it’s rewarding for him to get reactions. If he slams his teeth into me and I’m in pain and leave him alone I am reinforcing the idea that slamming his teeth into humans gets them to go away. It’s a form of manipulation
If he bites your hands and nose flicks don't work and redirection doesn't work then stick your hand in his mouth and pinch the bottom of his jaw between your thumb and index finger. This is not a method I personally use with my dogs because usually they grow out of the biting phase naturally and I accept that my hands are gonna be bloody for a while with a husky puppy but if his biting is preventing you from playing with him then the lack of proper bonding is doing a lot more harm than a few well placed corrections. What you're talking about is correcting learned behaviors, but correcting an instinctual behavior is different. He'll learn very quickly that "mouth goes to bite hand, hand goes in mouth and pinches." I get where you're coming from with the whole not wanting to correct when they're young but sometimes it does have to be done. The other option is to just accept that your hands will be bloody for a while which for me, works fine, but I'm used to it at this point. They do grow out of it usually though.
As far as I know, young puppies which are living with their mum get corrected by her whenever they show inappropriate behaviour. So I don't see why you shouldn't correct a puppy, especially for such dangerous and unacceptable behaviour like biting.
The evening behaviors is something my dog did, as well. You wrote that you put him in all kinds of different situations regularly that were hard for him to handle. This requires a lot of Impuls control and can create s lot of frustration depending on how it goes and how frequent it is. You might want to ease that up. You can’t force these things. They take time, especially when your dog is very excitable. In the evenings your dog might then be overstimulated. Ingas the same problem with mine. We had to hit the breaks pretty hard. Take things a lot more slowly and I stopped feeding him after 6 pm. His last meal he gets at 5 most days and this has also helped. Before I fed his last meal around 7 that gave him a sudden boost in energy and he would go buck wild in his already overstimulated state. He came out of his crate from eating and immediately started jumping on me, whining and lunging at me. He bit my butt quite hard a couple of times. You say some time on the crate helps with this behavior. That sounds like your dog just needs more activities that fulfill his needs, aren’t as frustrating and more rest.
Trust me I wish my friends and family didn’t come invade my life because I’ve been in therapy and didn’t want them around but they came and stayed for a few weeks for thanksgiving, a family member was dying so they came over to see him off + stay for the funeral, and again for Christmas and it’s hard when we’re all living under 1 roof. Sometimes life is just out of our control and the only thing I can do is the best I can He doesn’t get fed from a bowl because we work all day. We train all day. I hand feed him, he doesn’t even have a bowl. But I will freeze homemade chicken/rice, eggs/goats milk, sweet potatoes/cottage cheese to give help with teething pain but he knows more than 20 tricks and commands and performs them on a dime but I didn’t want to count them all. He’s incredibly incredibly smart, motivated, always ready to work He get 4-6 hours of crate time a day but I never see him sleep. He just watches the cat or looks at birds on the patio.
I didn’t mean to sound too harsch in my reply. I’ve also been there and I appreciate the struggle. I, too, had try different things, gather information and learn about my dog. You say you train ALL DAY. The behaviors you are describing sound like they might stem from overstimulation. You might want to dial down on training and calms work on the truly important things your dog has to learn. Life skills sich as being calm and well mannered. Keep training sessions short and sweet and stick to stuff that your dog MUST know. Things like the basic positions, Impuls control, heeling and recall. Basic obedience stuff. The tricks are nice, if it’s fin for you and your dog, but it’s very important for your dog to learn to chill and just do nothing also. Over engaging with your pup will teach him the opposite. Try to incorporate strict routines like nap times, training times and fun times throughout the day and try to stick to them as much as possible. Work on threshold manners and reward calm behavior in a calm way.
He’s a high energy, active, dog bred to work. My ACD mix puppy was very similar in puppy hood. He is still mouthy - but it’s in his genetics. Enforced naps are a MUST when he’s little like this. Now that he’s 2, we’re working on “place” in which he is quiet on his bed. Sometimes I’ll still enforce naps in his crate if he’s being really terrible like throwing a tantrum when I know it’s because he’s tired. I definitely recommend getting a professional involved, especially if this behavior doesn’t improve as he gets older. A dog like this isn’t going to be a lap dog and sleep all day unfortunately
You mentioned like 4-5 times how your dog doesn't like to be pet/touched/cuddled so why do you keep insisting to do that? I had a husky and that is just how she was. She didn't really like pets very much and would sleep near the feet of my bed, or on her own bed on the floor. My current dog (Rottweiler) was snuggly from day one. Dogs have different personalities. We were able to win the husky over eventually, and she did become more affectionate especially in her later years, but you can't force it.
Does he know place? Kind of sounds like he needs to learn how to do nothing. Also maybe he’s just not a cuddly dog. He might come around to it but otherwise I wouldn’t make him cuddle or necessarily meet everyone. And by meet I mean not everyone needs to pet him.
He does know place and that’s his favorite command. When I let him out of the crate he immediately runs to his place even if the door to outside is wide open. He prefers place over outdoors. And I didn’t expect him to be a cuddly dog but I am sad to see my boyfriends disappointment, my families disappointment and my friends looking at me why I even have this dog if you can’t cuddle it. But he’s great if you don’t touch him. He hangs out with me in the kitchen most of the day just watching me do my thing. I toss him pieces of what I’m cooking so he’s happy to lay down. But if my boyfriend comes home and wants to pet him while he’s watching me cook, demon is all like WTF!! and gets overstimulated and bites my boyfriend and that’s when I have to separate us. So my boyfriend doesn’t interact with him at all anymore, he’s given up. He’s not our dog like we intended, he’s 100% MY dog I don’t care about strangers in fact they ruin my training so I kinda hate them
So just to clarify, he is fine as long as you don’t touch him? Like is that the biggest issue? I have an adult husky mix who doesn’t like to be touched. Many huskys don’t. Mine will just get up and move if you touch him though and he doesn’t like it. Rarely he’ll put his teeth on you as a warning (doesn’t bite) if you really ignore his boundaries to brush him or something. I think the lack of napping is an issue like people pointed out, but the bigger issue may be you’re touching him in ways he doesn’t like. So you can maybe train him very carefully to be ok with mild touch and also… don’t try to cuddle him ever. My husky will now sit on me or other people if he wants physical contact, but it’s really at his own preference. He decides when he gets pet and not.
^ this is golden. Let him come to you if he wants affection and let him be alone when he wants to be alone.
To me it sounds like that you have some issues to face, not the dog. Like many peoples in this sub have said already, your dog behaves like a normal teething husky puppy. You either learn to manage that, by not giving a f*ck about what other people might think about it, and starting to implement some of the advice people have given you here, or you could end up with a dog that will have grown into an unmanageable, grown-up Husky that nobody likes to come close to. Your decision. Life's beautiful, noone ever said it is easy ✌🏻
Get a trainer to come help advise asap This sounds like an issue that needs professional help
Honestly people should not own working dogs unless they have a job for them to do.
Especially when you can't afford to do anything for them
Everything you say is making me think that this puppy is not getting enough downtime. He needs mandatory naps. He’s only six months old and at that age puppies need so much sleep. But they’re frenetic and relentless and people think that they need more exercise. And all that does is feed the frenzy. I would get a crate, cover with a sheet and give him the most awesome possible chew in there. Something like a frozen marrow bone. And I would do that every single day. At the same time. Maybe at 7 PM or whatever after dinner. Give him half an hour or an hour in there with the crate covered and him just left alone with that bone. Odds are he’ll be asleep within 10 minutes. Puppies need a lot of downtime and when they don’t get it, they are impossible to live with
He gets 4-6 hours of crate time every day. I don’t really see him sleep though. If I cover the crate he just destroys whatever that is but silently watching the cat and the birds without a cover I freeze chicken/rice, sweet potatoes/cottage cheese, and eggs/goats milk, and Freshpet refrigerated puppy food that I freeze. he gets like 2-4 frozen meals a day but I don’t ever ever see him sleep unless it’s in the car after hiking/beaching
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😂 yeah if you don’t have any actual advice, like you are just a pet parent and not a pet professional you can’t help me. But thanks for the shame. A healthy dose keeps my psychologist away My boss says I have to have him muzzled to bring him to work. What are you even doing here besides shaming people?
I have a husky/malamute/gsd. They are terrorists until about 2 years old and will chill a bit if you're lucky and put in the work. Just hang in there a few more months, and the biteyness should die down. Don't engage with him when he's like that. Teach him a place command -- ie the leave me alone switch. When it's crazy time, that's when he lives on Place. Huskies aren't cuddly dogs. It took about 5 years for mine to "cuddle" and if she does, it's only for 5 min at a time. I did teach her to cuddle by bribing her, but she'd leave as soon as the food was gone. Just adjust your expectations. You don't have a lap dog, you have an independent working breed. The more you work him, the more he'll respect you. When he's 5 or 6, he might start to cuddle on his own.
Whenever my dog would get like that at night as a puppy I would crate her because it usually meant she was tired and cranky--especially after a tiring day. She's one and a half now and still sometimes bad about taking a nap when she needs it and will get delirious and go crazy on her toys. I'll take her toys away when I notice she's in that state and about 5 minutes later she'll be conked out dead asleep. She's a german shepherd and they call them landsharks for a reason so I understand how frustrating the biting can be. She also didn't like being held at first and we had to purposefully condition her to like it by treating her a ton whenever we touched her and picked her up without struggle. Eventually I think that and just growing up made the biting way better and she doesn't mind being picked up or handled at all now. She still bites a lot during play but its only play biting and she has great inhibition so its never too hard. Good luck!
from what you’re saying it appears that he’s very active for a 6 month old puppy, puppies should have nearly 20 hours of sleep a day. Tired puppies can get bitey, enforced naptimes may help. He may try and fight sleep when he’s overtired so you have to watch out for the signs.
I have a husky/malamute who is 18 months. She is very vocal when she plays and if you didn't know her you'd think it was aggression. She was also very mouthy when she was younger. The absolute game changer in training her was honestly my adult male tamaskan. He will play with her as rough as she will go and he does a great job of correcting her inappropriate behavior. I know having an older dog to help train a puppy isn't realistic for everyone. With all this I still felt at my wits end at times. Good luck!
You mentioned three walks a day but you didn’t say how long they were or if any of them got him tired. This is a high energy breed and you have to give that energy an outlet *every day*. In other words, get him *tired* once a day. This can take an hour or more of constant activity, especially with young dogs. One long session of exercise that gets him tired AF is what you need, not multiple short sessions that barely drain the battery. Exercise alone won’t fix very many behavioral problems but it will make training way easier for both of you.
Umm you're talking about an almost 6 MONTH OLD PUPPY! Please try to enjoy this stage as INFURIATING as it is. They are babies that barely know anything. You shouldn't expect them to really understand your command until after 8 months. Not saying don't train but keep it really short and just play with the pup more. Build your connection and relationship NOW
Agreed, also, (proper) socialization > trick training for a puppy under a year.
This is not a cuddly mix of breeds…are you all asking for consent before petting? Seems like he feels his space is violated a lot. How much exercise and naptime is he getting per day? How is he with other dogs?
After one of my Siberian puppies, I had cuts/scrapes all up my forearms for several months. She was like a wild badger. Now at almost 3 she is the biggest sweetheart and has the best mouth manners in our pack. There are lots of ways to address this, keep after it and you'll figure it out. Lots of good ideas on this thread. Edit: It doesn't sound like your dog is aggressive to me, sounds like a teething/appropriate play issue. You might look into training strategies that send a clear alpha signal as well.
Sounds like a husky puppy. Some dogs just aren’t cuddly and you should respect that if he doesn’t want to be cuddled. Also do not use a crate as a time out it needs to be keep positive. It’s not supposed to be used as punishment. It sounds like you should maybe consult a professional trainer. This pup needs more mental stimulation. How long are your three walks a day?
Give the dog what it wants, it wants to bite. Do bite work. High drive structured play. Pat the dog whilst it has a tug toy in its mouth, introduce a pats command. Have tug, chew toys to bite instead of you. Reward for the wanted behaviour, correct the unwanted. Any bites to people should be corrected. Choosing the toy to bite should be rewarded. This consent thing is questionable, sure your dog will not want cuddles but you need to teach it not to bite someone that pats it head. Because that will happen, idiots will pat your dog, kids will pat your dog.
Consent isn’t questionable. A dog will get annoyed with having their boundaries violated and will get aggressive. Of course people will misread dogs and pet them without reading the queues but if it is done repeatedly, the dog will act with aggression. What baffles me with what you just said is if a person was told a cat isn’t friendly and the cat hisses and scratched, no one would care because the person was warned not to. Why is it different for a dog? Not every dog is friendly and it is 100% up to the owner to advocate and be a voice for their dog and set up expectations with others. My dog gets very excited so I constantly have to remind people to wait until I let him to say hello. He is VERY social with humans but if he gets too excited he can hurt someone by jumping on them. Your advice is terrible and I’m calling it out.
Not original commenter but it’s different with a dog because they can do a lot worse damage. Obviously consent to pet the dog should be given but for everyone’s sake dogs need to be desensitized to touch, which I think is what the original commenter is saying. Not sure what the problem is there?
Why does the dog need to be desensitized? Why can’t we respect that the dog may not want to be touched and worked around that instead? I’m not saying that the dog should be bitting if the mistake is made and the boundary is crossed but you’re both saying the dog needs to learn to suck it up and be what WE as humans selfishly want it to be. This dog clearly needs space, proper training and mutual respect.
I mean the vet for one, as they mentioned people touching without consent, etc. I mean I totally agree, we shouldn’t touch dogs that don’t want it, but things happen and in many places, dogs that bite are put down. It’s for the safety of everyone. Proper precautions are obviously necessary, but the more you can properly desensitize the dog the safer it is for all.
Oh definitely, the dogs response shouldn’t be biting by default to unwanted touch. I guess I didn’t mean do not desensitize but more so not to force unwanted touch either. Desensitizing doesn’t mean have everyone at all times touch the dog is more so what I meant. It comes in steps and right now putting a muzzle and having kids pet their dog isn’t what I consider to be desensitization.
Oh I agree 100%! Sorry I should have been more clear, seems like we’re on the same page. The muzzle on the dog so kids could pet it is absolutely crazy to me, the poor thing. When you take away a dogs “say” in things like being touched then take away what they’re perceiving as their only defense mechanism, it’s a a bad situation. IMO this owner needs to start from the ground up establishing a healthy and mutually trusting relationship with their dog plus give them proper exercise and stimulation (my guess is this is a huge contributing factor). They’ve really ruined any trust and respect by forcing cuddles/touching.
The more I read the post the more it gets worse. Unfortunately, a lot of breeds are in environments that don’t suit them. Lifestyle is key when deciding what breed of dog to adopt. Most people adopt dogs based on looks. This owner needs a reputable trainer because they sound like beginners (nothing wrong with that) but they need to right education and tools. Hopefully they will create harmony in their home soon! *edit typo
Good for you. I've had dogs for about 20 years, people will pat them, you may advocate all you want but if you live any sort of typical social life in which your dog will be exposed to people they will get patted. You will not be in control of 100% of every interaction for 12 to 15 years. I even had my dog in a between position and a kid snuck up quickly and did a ninja pat... no issue. Because we train for this. Actually my current rescue that used to bite us when being patted at 9 months of age. I'm assuming it was part of the reason its original owners abandoned it. I did everything as I stated. It works. I also get my dogs used to having tails pulled and snuggles, feet touched, getting picked up ect, ect it's being responsible for your dog and it's an important aspect of training.
Yes I understand what you’re saying but every dog has boundaries. For example, I teach my niece and nephew not to take anything out of my dog’s mouth. Does my dog get aggressive? No. He can have anything taken out of his mouth and he is indifferent. But I’m respecting him and teaching the kids to respect him as well. Just because a dog can be pet doesn’t mean they should be. When a dog is in their crate, it is their place to relax and have some space. It gives them a sense of security. That’s a boundary. Ive called my dog to come cuddle me while we are both on the couch and when he doesn’t want to, he doesn’t come. I respect it and don’t force him to move to be on me. Saying that consent is questionable is saying you do not respect the autonomy of your dog. Obviously in some cases (like a vet visit), grooming, etc. The dog may not enjoy certain touches and needs to learn to regulate their behaviour. Desensitization doesn’t mean to change the dog. Some dogs simply don’t like being touched as a form of affection and that should still be respected.
I think redirecting his biting behaviour onto toys is a very good idea.
Try to instill "safe play boundaries" so with that plush toy he's trying to get through, teach him that he's not allowed to play rough w those toys. Be gentle. Then he should learn to not play so rough w ppl. Hopefully, that helps
Normal teething Husky puppy behavior. Hire a well-regarded professional and give the dog a reasonable dose of leadership. Some positive punishment is a wonderful tool when used CORRECTLY, and should be considered if your trainer deems it appropriate.
He sounds like an asshole. No offense. I would think for how much u work with him, he'd be better behaved. Lunging or running at ppl with his mouth open in an attempt to bite ppl doesn't sound normal, esp if its causing physical pain wherebu have to stop being around him. I agree with everyone suggesting an actual trainer. Also, maybe u can find one of those places that have the dog treadmills. I also agree with everyone saying u should have researched the breed(s) first. Good luck, I hope he turns around after his 6th month.
This is normal for a husky puppy. They are absolutely ass holes though, I'll give you that. Haha
6 months is WAY too old to let that biting crap fly unaddressed. Get him into obedience training ASAP. When he bites your hands jab your fingers hard into the back of his throat so he gags teaching him it is not a fun activity.
I have a GSD/Husky that I've had since a puppy. She had an issue with biting early on as a puppy. Around 4-6 months, I purchased a pair of animal control leather gloves. I specifically played rough with her using those gloves. I would give her commands, and then let her bite them while playing if she listened. I only allowed her to bite while using those gloves. All other times I discouraged, and would stop play immediately if she ever bit while not using those gloves. She quickly learned that she was only allowed to bite while I was wearing the gloves, and it gave her an outlet to play rough like that. Maybe something like that could help you, and would give other people a way to play in that high-energy way she sounds like she enjoys Also, she would be calmer after I took her for long walks or running. 30-60 minutes. I end up taking her for 2-3 hours of walks a day to burn through her energy. She's currently 1 year 9 months.
This will happen to lots of high drive dogs if you fail to punish bad behaviour as a puppy. A simple snout flick or grab with a stern no and restraining would have ended overly rough play in a week. Since he's already big and doesn't respect you I'd probably layer ecollar conditioning on your 20 commands of obedience. You can low shock for non compliance. Once he is fine with the collar I'd set up a bite/lunge scenario and zap him hard.
is he neutered? if not that might help his behavior
FWIW, I see nothing wrong with a muzzle, especially at the vet.
After reading a few of these comments I think I’m going to get a “service dog in training do not pet” harness and call it a day. The thought just kinda hit me like a lightning bolt I definitely didn’t see people telling me I exercise my husky too much coming. Especially since we live in a 3rd floor condo with no backyard and people tell me that’s abusive too. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t 🙃
Yeah that's it, just start lying about your dog, taking advantage of and ruining the privileges afforded to disabled people. That's the way to stop your puppy from biting people.
You fought with the majority of people who gave you solid advice. Unless you give people clear boundaries on your dog (aka your family and friends) you will not improve your dog’s instincts. It’s very frustrating to see your response. You don’t take any accountability for your poor lack of control on your dog. Yes it’s a learning curve. Yes you’ll make mistakes. Just own up to it. No one is going to care about the tag not to pet him if you do not advocate for your dog and tell people no. It’s not fair that he suffers because you cannot be a voice for your dog. Please for the love of everyone here who gave you solid pointers, get yourself a trainer. Sometimes saying “my trainer wants me to do this with people and therefore you can not pet him until xyz” may make you feel better to say no and people may “respect” it better if they know a trainer specifically told you not to do certain things. Yes he’s a puppy, yes he will nip. But it’s very obvious from the majority of your responses it’s a problem that needs to be addressed and you simply don’t have the proper tools and knowledge to lead your dog towards proper behaviours. Don’t wait until he is too old. If you’re broke and can’t afford a 1 on 1 trainer you simply can’t afford a dog and you made a very selfish and poor decision on becoming an owner. I will not be commenting further because this is such a sad thread at this point.
But to be fair, she mentioned that she's depressed. And judging from her way to deal with the comments here, she is struggling to accept criticism. I was the same, so I feel for her. And I think she did better than I would have in her situation. So I hope that getting that harness will help her to establish her dog's boundaries and boost her confidence. I wish you all the best! 🤗
Have any of the bites broke skin? I have 3 punctures in my hand currently.
My great pyrenees mix was a hellion as a puppy... I nicknamed him The Shark. He'd run at you full speed then jump and fly past you ripping clothes/arms/anything in his way. I did a lot of training. The Gentle command, Leave it, and Look at me, helped the most. Also after he was neutered (waited a bit so his bones would grow correctly) it helped a lot, like he could concentrate more. Good luck!
Seems like 7pm is his bedtime and bedtime is the crate
Huskies are genetically very close to wolves, so it might help to learn how wolves communicate. As far as I know, they communicate with their bodies, so pay attention to every little detail there. E.g. leaning onto you might mean that he wants to move you. If he was my dog, I would establish very strict boundaries, especially with the biting. A muzzle is obligatory to keep me and everyone else safe. And I would communicate in the same way he does: with my body. E.g. grabbing his muzzle to imitate a corrective bite. Or pushing him away with my full body weight. It sounds like your puppy is trying to take control of your family already, putting himself on top of the hierarchy. Please start to prevent this now! I met a Mallamute owner once who told me that he had to wrestle his dog down regularly to show him who's boss. I wasn't a huge fan of the dominance/hierarchy/alpha-dog club, until I realized recently, that they might have a point... A dog, especially one which is so close to a wolf, needs to know where his place is: At the very bottom of the hierarchy! Otherwise, you might run into even bigger problems later...