Why does my husky bark at other dogs?

If your husky keeps barking at other dogs, you might be wondering what you can do about it and why it does it.

In this post, I will show you a number of reasons why your husky might be doing it and what you can do to stop it.

So, why does my husky bark at other dogs? Possible reasons are that it is being protective, it didn’t socialize with other dogs much as a puppy, it’s being dominating or that it does it as overly enthusiastic play.

There are actually a number of options that you have when trying to get your husky to stop doing it. There are also many things that you can consider to help you in getting it to stop.

Why your husky barks at other dogs

Each of the different reasons that your husky barks at other dogs will likely come with a number of clues in the way that it does it.

Below, I will mention a number of reasons why your husky might bark at other dogs and what would make them more likely.

Protection

The reason that your husky barks at other dogs could be that it is being protective. This would be more likely if it barks at people that it doesn’t know sometimes as well.

In this case, it would help to train it to associate other people with rewards as mentioned below.

Related: Why does my husky bark at strangers?

Fear/anxiety

The reason that it does it might be because something is causing it to become fearful around them. It could be the case that it is because other dogs mistreated it in the past. This would be more likely if it shows signs of being submissive such as by hiding its tail.

Related: Why does my husky growl at me?

A lack of exposure to other dogs

The reason why it barks at other dogs could be that it didn’t get much exposure to other dogs as a puppy. This would be more likely if you adopted it from a shelter.

Huskies will, naturally, explore their environment a lot as puppies and it is when they will learn about the world. Not getting a lot of exposure to other dogs when young could mean that your husky sees other dogs as a threat.

Dominance

It could be the case that your husky does it because it is being dominating. This would be more likely if it is unresponsive to your own command and it tries to position itself to be in higher positions than you.

In this case, it would help to give your husky lots of training so that it sees you as the leader and to train it to associate being well behaved around other dogs with rewards.

Overly enthusiastic play

It might be the case that your husky gets overly excited when it is around other dogs. This would be more likely if it shows signs of excitement such as by waging its tail and it doesn’t show signs of aggression.

Encouraging the behavior

It could be the case that you have been inadvertently training it to bark at other dogs by giving it things that it wants when it barks at them.

Instead of giving it things like treats when it barks at other dogs, try to recognize when it is about to start barking and to redirect its focus.

How to get your husky to stop barking at other dogs

Below are a number of options that you have when trying to get your husky to stop barking at other dogs.

Teach it to associate other dogs with rewards

One option you have is to train your husky to associate other dogs with rewards.

To do this you would start giving your husky special treats when you are approaching other dogs with it and stop when your husky begins to bark. By doing this it will learn that barking around other dogs results in it not getting rewards.

Desensitize it to other dogs

Another option would be to let it be around other dogs in a controlled environment. When doing so you would reward it when it is not barking and stop rewarding it when it starts to bark. If it starts being well behaved again then you would reward it. This will teach it that being well-behaved results in it getting rewards.

Train it to listen to your command

It would also help to train your husky to listen to your command. By doing so it will make it much easier to control your husky when it starts misbehaving. A useful thing to train it to do would be to come to you on command which I have written about here.

Try a growl class

One option that you might have would be to take it to a growl class if there is one in your area. Growl classes are special classes for dogs that have a habit of barking that are designed to get them to learn not to bark around other people and dogs.

Take it to a dog behaviorist

If you cannot get your husky to stop barking at other dogs or you can’t figure out why it does it then consider taking it to a dog behaviorist. By doing so you will be able to get expert advice on how to train your husky to be well behaved around other dogs.

Things to consider

Be consistent

It is unlikely that you will be able to get your husky to change its habits with just one training session. However, if you are consistent with the training then you will be able to get much better results over the course of weeks and months.

When it started

It would help to consider when your husky first started barking at other dogs.

If it started doing it suddenly then it would be more likely to be due to things such as being mistreated by another dog or because you inadvertently rewarded the behavior one time.

If it has always barked at other dogs then it would be more likely that it didn’t get much exposure to other dogs as a puppy, it sees them as a threat or that it is being overly dominating.