Training a Husky can be difficult, but if you use the right training method and follow best practices, you can achieve some impressive results.
In this guide, you will learn some best practices, effective training methods, and common mistakes to avoid when training your Husky.
The more of these training tips you can incorporate into your training, the better results you will get.
Husky Training Tips
Here are some best practices and general training tips to use when training your Husky.
After you read through these tips, keep reading for some common training mistakes people make with their Huskies.
Train in Different Environments
Asking your Husky to sit at home is different than asking it to sit at a park, at the Vet, or in a crowded street.
When you train your Husky to listen to a command, you need to remember that the context matters.
Your Husky may perfectly obey your commands at home, but in different contexts, they may suddenly ‘forget’ all of their training.
To overcome this problem, you need to train your Husky to obey your commands in any context.
This is done using proofing as explained later.
Understand Your Husky’s Triggers and Thresholds
Husky owners are often confused when their Husky seems to go wild and completely ignore them.
While some people mistakenly write this behavior off as normal for a Husky, you’ll get better results if you learn about triggers and thresholds.
A trigger is something that increases your Husky’s excitement or arousal level.
When you arrive home, that’s a trigger for your Husky. Another dog barking during a walk is a trigger. Your Husky seeing you pick up a leash is a trigger.
Some triggers only slightly raise a Husky’s excitement levels, while others can raise the excitement dramatically.
A threshold is an excitement or arousal level that when crossed, can completely change your Husky’s behavior.
For many Huskies, you walking in the front door is a big enough trigger to cross a threshold and set your Husky off on the zoomies.
A single dog barking is a trigger that may not break a threshold in your Husky, but a series of dogs barking during a walk can add up and cross a threshold.
Once you learn how to understand your Husky’s triggers and thresholds, you’ll find it easier to deal with behavior changes.
Rewards are Not Bribes
Some dog owners think that rewards are bribes and should not be used.
This is a big mistake.
Rewards are training tools you can use to keep your Husky focused and help them understand when they have done something good.
While it is possible to train a dog without using any rewards, it’s not an optimal training strategy.
You can definitely use a variety of rewards as training tools. What is important is that you eventually phase out rewards so your Husky learns to obey commands even when they aren’t rewarded.
This is called fading and is an important training principle.
