People buying or intending to buy huskies usually take huskies as great guard dogs due to their appearance, as they grow up into huge dogs with blue eyes and very heavy and furry coats. As huskies have a wolf-like appearance, people usually confuse them with guard dogs. So, are huskies good guard dogs? Let’s discuss this in detail below.
Probably, for the beginning, what you need to know is that huskies are very friendly and have a very cool temper, thus, they don’t really make a good guard dog (reference: https://www.shca.org/the-siberian-husky). Anybody who has a little knowledge about dogs can be a good friend with a husky; this is why they are not suitable for guarding, per say, homes or yards.
Does this mean that huskies could not be guard dogs? Well, not really. As huskies are having quite a different character from other dogs, their training is also quite different – say it for making them guard dogs or just obedient canine friends. They are stubborn dogs that don’t easily follow commands due to their playful and persistent character. Thus, this is one of the reasons why it is not possible to train them as guard dogs apart from a few others we will discuss below.
But worry not, if huskies cannot be guards of homes, they can be great watchdogs in a very minimum training period from the time they are puppies. Once you have trained your husky, for instance, you can easily leave your kids alone with the husky for hours.
Below, in this article, we would help you understand the reasons why you should not consider huskies as guard dogs, but at the same time what they certainly CAN be considered as apart from being amazing and most energetic lifetime friends! 🙂
Let’s start with reviewing the reasons why dog owners would want to have guard dogs and by doing so – what are they looking for in them.
What Are The Basic Things That A Dog Owner Needs In A Guard Dog?
- If an owner is getting a guard dog, they need the dog to be alert in all situations, and a breed that can act patiently can go well for a guard dog. Other features of a guard dog are focused nature, responsiveness to different situations, and great energy levels. People usually choose a dog that is easy to train for training them as a professional guard.
- A dog on which the owner can rely to protect the family members during the time of requirement can be a guard dog. It is important for the dog to attack the order of their leader and must act responsibly if their owner is in a problem. But huskies are the opposite, as they are dramatic dogs and can also get scared after seeing a situation like a robbery.
- Dogs that are easy to train and can understand a command instantly are usually considered guard dogs. Choosing a stubborn dog such as a husky as a guard dog is a big mistake because they don’t follow the command of their owners several times due to their independent nature. On the other hand, a protective dog would always follow the command of its owner and protect them at any cost. This is why you should go for dogs like Rottweiler and German shepherd.
Why Are Huskies Not Considered Good As Guard Dogs?
Undoubtedly huskies have a high energy level, and they also have a huge body side required for a guard dog. But even after having all the basic health and height requirements, they cannot serve the purpose of guard dogs; the reasons for that are given below:
- They Are Friendly And Playful By Nature
Siberian huskies are considered the breed that is playful and friendly by nature. Huskies are listed under the breed that loves to play all day long with their owners and want to spend good quality time. They are the funniest and lovable creatures, and they do not prefer anything else than playing with their owners and other humans. A husky’s behavior makes it suitable for a pet dog for a family with kids, but due to this nature, they are completely inappropriate as guard dogs.
While any stranger enters your house, your husky may start giving them a warm welcome instead of scaring them. Usually, it is seen that huskies try to interact with new human beings and show great love and affection towards the stranger. A guard dog must have an aggressive personality, and a husky is the complete opposite of it. Even if they attack somebody, the attack is only because of their high energy and not their aggression.
- It Is Difficult To Train Huskies – (P.S. well maybe not difficult, but certainly not easy!)
Huskies are cool-tempered and independent personality dogs; therefore, it is really difficult to train these dogs. If they are not willing to do something, they would oppose your commands and ignore them. According to the psychologist also, huskies are not considered very obedient to breed. Their performance in obeying their master is average, and you can see why it is hard to train them.
Dogs that are obedient and intelligent can be trained easily; Huskies are intelligent but not as obedient. They are also very curious and a child by heart, that’s why they get distracted easily. They can easily lose their attention in training just by a little noise or a small squirrel nearby. It is hard to make a husky attack on the stranger, and it is equally hard to stop the husky from attacking the intruder.
- Huskies Can Be Destructive
Huskies are highly playful dogs, and that’s why they could not be left alone at home. Studies have shown that they can be destructive when they get bored or frustrated. Their destruction could be of any level as they are high-energy dogs; they can harm things and harm themself. It is not recommended to leave them alone in a house for more than 5 to 6 hours. Many husky owners have experienced great destruction in their living room after leaving a husky alone.
Experts recommend giving them a huge exercise before leaving them alone to rest in the meantime. Unfortunately, it is usually not possible for the owner to give them a daily dose of the exercise, and thus they cannot leave them alone. Even after giving proper exercises, huskies can show occasional destructive behavior; this is why owners keep them in a pen whenever they go out. As they are stuck in a pen, they cannot react or attack a stranger.
- Huskies Are Loving But Not Overprotective
A quality that differentiates husky from guard dogs is their carefree and independent nature. But guard dogs need to be careful and protective of their property and their owner. Whenever a guard dog sees that somebody is entering their house, they start chasing them and threaten them by barking or howling. Several people think that huskies a loving, and that’s why they are also possessive by nature; yes, they are possessive but not overprotective.
If the owner of a husky is giving more attention to somebody else, they can get jealous and can be destructive sometimes, but they are never aggressive due to this reason. There is a huge difference between being possessive and being protective of the family. They usually don’t show any aggressive behavior toward the person who visits their house. So, are huskies good guard dogs? probably not 🙂
Though, that’s not all. Huskies can definitely make great watchdogs due to their alert nature as well as the energy they possess. Let’s dive deep into this as well below.
What Are The Qualities That Make Husky A Great Watchdog?
As discussed above, it is clear that huskies could not serve the use of a guard dog, but it is also wrong to consider them useless when it comes to home safety. Their personality and curiosity can make them a suitable watchdog, as they are intelligent and can easily warn their owner about the condition. Check out the reasons why huskies are considered the best watchdogs-
- Their Curiosity
Huskies are curious by nature which can help you in finding anything from something that looks completely ordinary. Sometimes you can experience that a garden is completely excavated by your husky searching for something or just by following a smell. They could not resist themselves at the same place for too long, as everything on the other side seemed more appealing to them.
Curiosity in its nature can help in watching out your house easily, and they can tell you about anything inappropriate near the house. You only need to keep them safely in the yard for noticing some changes or knowing about anything that comes near your house. Just a minimum of training is enough for making them a good watchdog for your house that would help a lot in noticing any upcoming threat.
- Threatening Look
Their personality and looks do not match at all, as they look threatening due to their blue eyes and huge shape. They have a wolf-like appearance. This is why they look a little wild and their furry coat ad-in the wild appearance. Normally National geography has not concluded husky into a dog that resembles a wolf in their nature, but they can be threatening for people who don’t know about their personality.
Owners keeping husky in their house only to threaten any burglar or thief can get a husky. Their appearance makes them a suitable watchdog because most people do not enter the house only due to their appearance. The barking and howling sound of huskies are also very high-pitched that can easily threaten a person.
- Vocal Behavior Of Husky
After providing proper training to your husky, they usually don’t bark without any reason. But they have a very vocal personality, and they can vocalize in different ways, such as by howling, whining, or moaning. Once you develop a friendly relationship with your husky, you can easily get to know what they are trying to tell you by being vocal.
Over time, you would start understanding that either they are asking for food or making you aware of any threat. Their speed, their pitch, and their different range of vocalization can be a great help for you in knowing the points that they are willing to hit. As they are intelligent dogs, therefore, as soon as they find something appropriate, they will let you know by any means.
- Intelligence
Huskies are counted under the most intelligent breed of dogs, and they can easily understand several commands once they have recognized them. Once you have taught a command to your husky properly, they will not forget it for a lifetime. Elderly age huskies can easily remember 15 to 20 direct commands of their owners. This way, they can watch the house and make the owner aware of any situation they may notice in the house.
Not only this, but several husky owners have also noticed that they can even understand the commands which they have never got before. Only their intelligence is responsible for this kind of strange behavior; they can easily relate a new command with all the old commands they have learned in their life. They need training throughout their lives, as they can understand new things at every stage of their life.
How To Train A Husky To Become A Great Watchdog?
The specific thing that you need to understand for the training of dogs is that the training of different dogs is done differently. For example, a husky usually express danger or a stranger by howling or barking loud, but there should be intelligence enough to differentiate between harmful strangers and harmless visitors. Therefore, it is important to provide your husky with proper training so that they can get quiet as soon as you ask them.
Teach You’re Husky to Get Quiet On Your Command
This is the first step for making your husky a great watchdog; first of all, they should start obeying you instantly. Once you have taught basic commands to your husky, such as barking, chasing, sit and standing. You can easily shift on the advanced commands such as the “hush” command for making them quiet. Hair is a guide for you to teach quiet commands to your husky:
- Identify Things That Make Your Husky Bark – First of all; you need to identify all the triggers that make your husky bark, howl, or make it vocal. This could be anything such as the sound of vehicles on the road, guests coming at your house, babies crying, and a high volume of television and can also howl along with music beats. It could even be due to some other dog for a particular human being.
- Place The Trigger In Front Of Your Dog – After identifying the things that make him bark, you should start their training. Put the things in front of him and teach them the quiet command. You can start by saying “hush” formally by looking into his eyes; just make sure that you are audible to your husky.
- Praise Him By Giving Treats – Every time he follows your command and gets quiet, you need to praise him by giving some treats. It gives them a hint that they are in the right direction and have to behave in the same manner again. This would also make their action rapid, and they would start responding just with your command.
- Repeat The Command Several Times – You can repeat the giving command and praise him every time he follows your command. By repeating the command, again and again, they can gain perfection in it and would get quite instantly. You must repeat the command until he responds to your “hush” command immediately and gets quiet.
- Try The Hush Command In Different Situations – Once your dog has mastered understanding the command in front of the trigger; you can try these commands in several other fields. Such as, if your dog starts barking after noticing a squirrel in the garden, you can try silencing them by giving the hushed command. They would slowly understand that Hush means quiet and would follow it if they were given regular rewards in starting days.
- Stop The Rewards Over Time- You need not reward your husky for a long period; you can stop until it becomes their habit to get quiet on your hush command.
These are some of the steps that can help you train your husky, but you need to work patiently. Don’t expect sudden results in just one or two days; it takes time to teach them a command. Just carry on your efforts with patience, good training, love, and care.
How To Make Your Husky Alert For A Stranger?
It is really important to teach your husky the way to treat strangers in your house. For example, if you want your husky to be a watchdog, then it is crucial to stop using the hush command instantly whenever someone enters your house. Instead, you need to teach your husky barking and howling along with the quote command for serving great as a watchdog. When owners start using quiet commands, again and again, it can have adverse effects on your dog.
It can make them shy, and they would rarely alert a stranger, which is bad for the training process as a watchdog. Instead, you can teach them the way of welcoming visitors and behaving with strangers. For example, once your husky starts howling or barking after noticing a stranger, you can only consider giving them the quiet command after welcoming your guest.
But still, I know you want to ask – Can You Train Your Husky To Be A Guard Dog?
Normally huskies are not considered guard dogs, but several people try to convert them into guard dogs by providing them appropriate training. An owner trying to train their husky into a guard dog can be an obedient and well-behaved dog, but it is really difficult to rely on them when you require the guard dog. Most experienced dog owners advise avoiding getting husky as their first pet because they require a lot of effort to get managed.
It can take a very long time to train a husky to be a suitable guard dog, but you can never rely on them due to their stubborn nature. During training them as guard dogs, you are trying to change the natural behavior that they have achieved through their DNA. They are naturally lovable and playful dogs, and you are trying to make them aggressive; therefore, backfires are also possible. If you succeed in training your dog as a guard dog, you would even notice several other changes in their behavior that are not preferred.
What Are The Different Breeds That Can Be A Good Guard Dog?
If you are searching for a guard dog, you should go for some other breed rather than husky. Many excellent breeds are loyal, fearless, and can easily protect your house from a stranger. You can count the below-given breeds under the category of guard dogs.
- Doberman pinscher
- Bullmastiff
- Rottweiler
- German shepherd
- Boxer
These are some of the dogs that can serve as the best guard dogs because they have all the qualities of a guard dog, including high energy and great patience. In addition, their owner can easily train them, and they are also social animals with great confidence and alertness.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Are There Any Chances Of Husky Protecting Your House?
Normally Siberian husky is a breed of playful and lovable dogs, they can watch out for your house, but a husky can’t protect your house. So getting a husky and depending on it for the protection of your house is not recommended at all.
- Are Huskies Loyal And Protective Dogs?
Huskies are very lovable and loyal to their masters, and also they are possessive towards their owners. But if you are talking about being protective, they are not as protective as some other guard dogs because they are friendly and independent by nature.
- Does A Husky Get Jealous?
The answer is yes! Huskies can easily get jealous if they are not getting proper attention from their owner. They require their time with their owner in which they can play and can have fun with them. The divided attention of their owner can make them frustrated out of jealousy.
- Are Female Huskies More Aggressive Than Male Huskies?
Several husky owners have noticed that male huskies have a stronger attitude as compared to female huskies. This is because they love to spend more time with their owners and thus develop a better bond. In addition, male huskies have aggression in their behavior; on the other hand, female huskies are usually introverted.
Ending Lines
So, let’s summarize it here – are huskies good guard dogs? certainly not, but they are amazing friends with full and amusing energies to make your life brighter as a dog owner. Huskies are extremely smart canines.
This is all you need to know about huskies, and their personality to decide whether you want them before getting them as your pet. It is strongly recommended to buy another breed if you are looking for a dog only for the home guard. Huskies are very playful and childish by nature; therefore, you could not trust them for guarding your house, but you can be sure they can be your loving and trustful companion throughout their life.
If you decide to buy or adopt husky, this article will be super useful to know what to expect – Buying A Siberian Husky Puppy: What You Need to Know
