My friend Sheila recently adopted an adorable husky puppy. As an ardent dog lover and trainer by profession, I was thrilled to meet little Juliet and spend time.
Sheila was surprised at how much of an attention seeker and happy goofball Juliet is. She enquired if all huskies are this affectionate and encouraging. This is quite a frequently asked question from most husky owners while training their dog or over-showering affection.
Let us understand why huskies like to cuddle!
Huskies love to cuddle with their owners and be petted. They are a very happy and social breed of dog and enjoy human interaction. As I mentioned earlier, this affectionate behavior stems from their heritage, with huskies being the working dogs for humans for generations leading to the development of a close association with humans, which got inherited since.
Even though showing affection can feel very adoring, huskies need a firm owner to lead them to show the alpha. The training needs to start for husky puppies very early. Proper socialization training will help your Husky know you as the leader.
Huskies have inherited the pack mentality due to the breed lineage. Hence, irrespective of independent thinking, they follow the command of the alpha. So they must recognize their owners as the pack leader. This leads to huskies protecting their owner like a family member like they would protect their alpha. Actions like sitting near you and cuddling are some ways of providing and seeking protection.
Huskies cuddle to seek warmth and comfort. But there is something to notice here in case your pet does not cuddle generally. Then the cuddle can be a sign of illness or physical pain. If the odd behavior continues, please do contact a vet.
From my years of experience, I have concluded husky cuddles on their own terms. An excellent strategy to get them more comfortable to cuddle you is to initially not cuddle them from your side and resort to stroking ears, patting their head, or scratching bellies. Once your dog feels more attached to you, they will come to you for cuddles.
Your smell plays a crucial role in making your dog feel comfortable. It makes them aware of your presence and provides a calm environment. This also helps in reducing separation anxiety. An easy technique to provide a piece of clothing to your dog when you are not around. It acts as a comfort blanket.
Just like humans, physical touch provides a steady social bonding between your furry friend and you. Cuddling increases the production of oxytocin in their body, making them feel safe and secure and thus develop a strong bond of familiarity.
Affection also increases dopamine production, which helps your husky if they experience separation anxiety. It also helps husky owners and their pets by reducing the chances of depression. Cuddling also helps in reducing cortisol levels, thus decreasing stress levels in dogs along with humans. A hug can therefore help in alleviating anxiety.
A simple reason to cuddle is just to feel loved. A simple physical touch like your hand touching your husky’s paw or your dog nudging you with their nose constitutes cuddling. A hug now and then makes your pet feel they are from the same pack.
As a husky owner, you might want to understand how your furry buddy shows affection to you.
There are a few tell-a-tell signs that huskies do without showering love to you:
As a trainer, my first advice is to get a clearer idea about your pet’s breed, understand the physical and characteristic traits and train your goofy fluffball accordingly.
Huskies are sled dogs from the polar regions. They are a very energetic and athletic, and highly loyal breed. A husky puppy will make a fantastic companion and great family dog if given proper training. Their high energy and prey drive needs to be balanced with regular exercising and activities.
Before becoming a Husky owner or beginning to train the dog, a good understanding of the breed’s nature gives an upper hand. As a trainer with years of experience, I have acknowledged the unique personality of every pet. Thus there can be differences in the behavior of your pet from the general traits seen. But with proper training, your husky can be trained to have better communication with you.
Why Get A Siberian Husky?
Siberian Huskies are very affectionate by nature. They enjoy belly rubs and cuddling their owners. They also are very emotionally intelligent and understand if you are happy or sad. They might come and lie down next to you or lick you if they sense you upset to cheer you up!
Siberian Huskies are very playful by nature. They enjoy running around landscaping the space to explore, jump and dig, play chasing, and catch, and catch, and catch, and catch games. Their outdoorsy nature makes them always ready for a walk or play-time.
Huskies are pretty clever and independent in comparison to other dogs. They are intelligent and are quick to pick up new commands. Reward training techniques work most effectively with husky puppies. Obedience training can use positive reinforcement and can be started from as early as six weeks.
Huskies are also major foodies and can be slightly impatient and overzealous about food intake. It is good to keep close supervision during meal times to avoid overeating or food stealing. Bite inhibition training is a must for a husky puppy.
Huskies shed a lot all around the year. As husky owners, you have to keep in mind to blow their coat once or twice a year. This can be accompanied by frequent brushing to control the shedding and also keeps the fur clean. A good hack to make the brushing activity fun for both of you is to pair it with some other playful session or make it a rewarding experience using tasty snacks.
A Husky is typically very goofy and naturally trusts everyone they see around. I have noticed most huskies who make a fuss when people are at the door generally do it out of excitement rather than a warning. So even though they resemble fierce wolf-like features, they are not great guard dogs.
Huskies have a very high prey drive. They have a strong hunting instinct, so it is hazardous to let a husky go off-leash in an open space. Huskies require a slight dominance when it comes to staying put commands; otherwise, their strong instinct to chase and athletic persona will get them on a run before even you can scream stop.
Because huskies are originally sled driving dog breed, they have an innate tendency to pull on things. The easiest way to deal with this is to leash train a husky using the red-light, green-light technique, or a 180-turn-around technique.
If your husky puppy starts pulling too much during the training, then an effective way to stop it is to turn around and start walking in the opposite direction. This teaches them the fastest way to walk at a measured pace with the owner.
A Husky is an affectionate dog. They like human companionship, and being working dogs make them constantly crave to do something. They need to be kept in activities because they get into trouble if bored. A Husky will figure out their activities if they feel lonely, leading to property damage or escape expeditions.
There can be quite a few generic instances where your husky will want to spend more time exercising and playing than cuddling because of their hyperactive nature. They do need a daily dose of training to get their energy exhausted. Lack of physical activities can make them aggressive or aloof. An excellent way to avoid this is by providing them toys to chew, play fetch, get them out for a walk or teach them to swim.
Another significant reason can be past experiences. Rescued huskies who have spent some time in an animal shelter with other huskies or dogs might have some traumatic experience, making them uncomfortable with cuddling.
It is always better to give them an adjusting period and course to settle down. It might also be that the current owner did not raise the husky since he/she was a pup. Even as a young one, training a husky is a task, and so patience is vital.
Huskies are also very temperamental. If you try to cuddle them when they are in between an activity, they might feel disturbed by that. This can cause anxiety and aggression and lead to your husky not letting their guard down around you. That will indeed affect the bond between you and them.
A very effective way is to let affectionate moments automatically happen like a quick hug or small scratch behind the ears. Another great way to encourage them to initiate hugs is by associating cuddling with some delicious treat.
Scratching tummies and even just playing with them are great ways to get them comfortable around you and get them more affectionate.
Be sure not to punish them inappropriately or overdoing it. This will lead to confusion in them and cause fear. Also, try not to avoid affection from them or ignore them as it reverses their attention-seeking tendencies.
If you have a husky, there is a good chance they will like to cuddle with you.
In case the situation does not turn out that way, do not get worried.
It can be due to poor socialization or mistreatment faced when they were young. you can always use various training techniques to initiate such affectionate behavior from your beloved pet.
As time goes, they will learn that affection has rewards.
