Huskies are undeniably one of the cutest and most popular dog breeds around the world. If you’re considering adding a Siberian Husky to your family, you may be wondering whether they can protect you and your loved ones.
While Huskies are not naturally protective dogs, they can exhibit some level of protectiveness towards their owners. However, this protectiveness is much less compared to other naturally protective breeds. The good news is that with proper training, positive reinforcement, obedience training, affection, and close supervision, Huskies can be trained to be protective.
It’s important to note that Huskies are generally friendly, even with strangers. However, knowing how to train them to be excellent guard dogs can be extremely beneficial for you and your family.
In our upcoming discussion, we’ll explore the ways to train your Husky to be more protective and provide tips for creating a safe and secure environment for your furry friend. Don’t miss out on this informative conversation!
Siberian huskies’ personality. Can they really protect their owners and family?
I have visited more than 10 huskies so far. The funny thing is when I meet them for the first time as a complete stranger, no one has tried to growl at me.
I mean, they are super, super friendliest dog breed. Moreover, huskies are so much affectionate breed.
Usually, they require tons of attention from you and are very close to their families.
To be honest, Siberian huskies make terrible guard dogs. If an intruder arrives at your home, they are more likely to lick him and wag the tail.
So, most of their personalities are somewhat negative, right? But with proper training from an early age, they can become good guard dogs.
Since Siberian Huskies are not natural protectors, they need some specific training in order to protect their owners and families.
I mean, when we look at good guard dogs such as German shepherds, Rottweilers, Dobermans, they can protect their territory even without any specific training.
Why? Because they are naturally guarding dogs.
Keep reading, and let’s understand how to train your husky to become good guard dogs.
By the way, Read this to understand whether huskies are dangerous dogs.
Can Siberian huskies be trained to be protective?
Obviously yes. The Siberian huskies can be trained to protect you and your family. As I mentioned above, it really requires proper training and guidance.
But first, we need to decide what kind of dog we want. I mean, about a watchdog or a guard dog.
To be honest, if you train them with proper planning, they can make good guard dogs or watchdogs.
Is there any difference between a guard dog and a watchdog?
Most people think that these two terms have the same meaning. But it’s not so.
A watchdog
Generally, people call them “Alarm dogs”. When these dogs feel something is going wrong, they immediately alert their owners.
In fact, watchdogs tend to bark a lot. But they do not try to engage with the threat in any kind of way.
When we consider the sizes of Watchdogs, we can see them in each size category. But the high strength, courage, size are not mainly required for a watchdog.
A guard dog
In general, guard dogs alert their owners the same way as watchdogs do. The specialty is guard dogs are more likely to engage with the treat.
In fact, they can make some serious damages to the threat.
When we consider Siberian Huskies, they are ranked in the highest position in dog breeds with the highest bite forces.
Suggested Reading: Here is why huskies talk.
How Siberian huskies qualify to be excellent guard dogs
Even though Guard dogs can alert their owners the same way as watchdogs do, Every watchdog cannot become a guard dog. I mean, it requires several qualifications.
The list of qualifications.
- Energetic
- Loyalty
- Size
- Intelligence
Energetic
The Siberian Huskies are extremely energetic dog breeds. Because they are sled dogs, and obviously they can pull and run with carts even in freezing temperatures.
Loyalty
Siberian Huskies are one of the most loyalist dog breeds to their owners. They extremely love their families and wanna spend more time with them.
So, no more concerns about their level of loyalty. Right?
Size
To be honest, this qualification is one of the major qualifications of an excellent protector.
We know that huskies are large dog breeds, and they can easily take down a man without any problem.
In fact, if he bites someone, the injury can be serious. His bark is easy enough to scare the robbers or other unwanted people.
Intelligence
The Siberian Huskies are slightly intelligent more than the average dog breed. If they are trained well, Their level of intelligence is sufficient to identify problematic situations and act on them.
Since Siberian Huskies have those qualifications, they can become good guard dogs with proper training and protect their owners and families.
How to train Siberian huskies to protect their owners?
First, you have to understand that every dog has some natural instinct to protect its family.
So what I want to tell here is don’t underestimate your husky.
Here, I will give you an easy 5 step process that will help you make your husky an excellent protector.
Here is the 5 step,
- Socialize #1
- Give basic obedience training #2
- Introduce the boundaries of his territory. #3
- Train him to control barking on your commands #4
- Be consistent #5
Socialize #1
You need to socialize with your Siberian Husky before starting training sessions.
To be honest, The socialization of your dog cannot be done overnight. It really takes some time. In fact, socializing with an adult dog can be somewhat difficult.
That’s why dog behavior specialists recommend that dogs’ socialization should be done at an early age.
Remember: Don’t skip this step. Otherwise, the training process would be useless. I mean, the Siberian huskies must be socialized in order to get the ability to protect their owners.
You can easily socialize your Siberian Husky by making a habit of going to the dog park.
In fact, visiting the neighborhood with him and going for walks on the roads would also be the proper solution.
The purpose of socialization is to train him to get used to normal circumstances that occur in everyday life.
I mean, they should be able to identify the noises around them, to identify normal and abnormal situations that occur in everyday life.
Only then he can able to identify the problematic situations in which you and your family need his help.
Otherwise, they can become so much aggressive in unwanted situations as well.
Give basic obedience training #2
Next, you need to give him obedience training. I’m not telling you to do this after socialization. You can do this in parallel.
To find out a certified puppy obedience class in your area. Then they follow the instructions.
The goal of this class is your Siberian husky should identify you as a leader. Moreover, he will be able to react to basic commands such as sit, sleep, stand, come, etc.
Same as socialization, it’s better to give basic Obedience training by an early age. In fact, Siberian huskies are intelligent and can learn things immediately. So he will learn better.
But remember training should not be limited to class, continue his training at home as well.
It’s better to give him rewards when he does some good things. You can use a puppy treat for this.
Introduce the boundaries of his territory. #3
So, when you are working on this dog guard training with your husky, it’s essential to give him instructions to identify his property boundaries.
I mean, Siberian husks are intelligent, and by doing this, they can identify their territory and respond when needed to protect their owners.
So, let’s understand how to do that. First, your husky should be leashed. Then walk with him around the house. You can possibly do this in the morning and evening.
But I would say the evening could be easy. Because you might be too much busy in the morning.
While walking around the house, spend some time near the boundaries of your land. Let your husky explore the boundaries.
I know, you would think this is nonsense. But believe me, it’s a psychological process.
If you continue to do this, I hope he will gain a proper understanding of the boundaries of his territory.
Train him to control barking on your commands #4
It’s better to give him proper training to control his barking when needed. Otherwise, it can be so much annoying.
You can use specific commands for this purpose. I mean, whenever a stranger comes into your garden, he should be able to bark at him.
But sometimes that person is one of your friends. Your dog must be able to stop barking at your command.
Trust me, if you skip this step, you will have to face many troubles in your day-to-day life.
Here I would like to mention something. If you socialize him properly, he won’t bark at unwonted things at night. Because he can understand if there something goes wrong.
By being consistent, Siberian huskies can be easily trained to protect the owners #5
If you give him guard training, it should be consistent. Dogs can remember things when they are frequent and repeated.
By consistently doing this, Siberian huskies can become good guard dogs, and they will protect their owners by treating it as their primary duty
If you are incapable of doing this, please contact a trainer.
CONCLUSION
If you feel that you need protection, you will definitely buy a guard dog. But if your favorite dog is husky, then the next problem is, “will Siberian huskies protect their owners.”
So in this article, we have discussed if huskies are suitable to adopt as guard dogs. Then we have discussed how to make your Siberian Husky a proper guard dog.
