Why does my husky bark at strangers?

If your husky keeps barking at strangers, you probably want to get it to stop.

This post will show you a number of reasons why it might be doing it and what you can do to get it to stop.

So, why does my husky bark at strangers? Possible reasons are that it’s being protective, it didn’t socialize much as a puppy, a lack of training or that it was mistreated by people that it didn’t know in the past.

There are a number of options that you have when getting your husky to stop doing barking at strangers. It will also be a lot easier to get it to stop once you have a good idea of the cause.

Why your husky barks at strangers

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

Below, I will mention a number of reasons why it might bark at strangers and what would make them more likely.

It’s protecting its territory or owner

The reason why it does it could be that it is being protective. This would be especially likely if it does it when people it does not know are in its home.

If it does it when you are walking it then it could still be the case that it is being protective but it could also be that it sees them as a threat.

Related: Why does my husky bark at me?

A lack of socialization

When huskies are young they learn who and what to trust and who not to. The reason why your husky barks at strangers could be that it didn’t get to interact with many people when it was a puppy. This would be more likely if you adopted your husky from a shelter.

Related: Why does my husky bark at other dogs?

A lack of training

If you have not spent much time training your husky then it will not know how it is meant to behave and it will behave the way that it wants to. The way that it wants to behave is not likely to be the way that you want it to.

This is why it is important to spend time training your husky to behave the way that you want. If you have not already done so then it would be best to start with the basics such as to sit and then build up from there.

Mistreatment

The reason why it barks at strangers could be that it was mistreated by people that it didn’t know when it was a puppy. If it was then it could be the case that it sees strangers as a threat or that it is worried that a similar thing will happen to it as happened in the past. This would be more likely if it is adopted from a shelter.

Reinforcing the behavior

It might be the case that you have inadvertently trained it to bark at strangers by giving it things that it wants when it does it.

Instead of giving your husky things such as treats when it barks at strangers try to recognize when it is about to start barking and to redirect its focus.

How to stop your Husky from barking at strangers

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

Teach it to associate other people with rewards

One option you have is to train it to associate people with rewards. To do this you would give your husky special treats when you are approaching other people on a walk and then stop when it starts barking. By repeating this process your husky will be able to learn that barking at people causes it to stop getting treats.

Desensitize it to other people

Another option would be to socialize it with other people in a controlled environment. To teach it to stop barking you would reward it when it does not bark and stop rewarding it when it does bark.

Teach it to listen to your command

If you have not spent much time training your husky then it would help to do so. By training it you will be able to get it to listen to your command and it will be easier to control your husky when it misbehaves. A useful thing to teach it would be to come to you on command.

Avoid negative reinforcement

As mentioned above, it could be the case that you have been inadvertently training your husky to bark at strangers. Instead of giving it things that it wants, when it barks, try recognizing when it is about to bark and to redirect its focus onto you.

Try a growl class

If your area has one, you could take your husky to a growl class. This is where dogs are trained to not bark at other people and other dogs.

Get help from a dog behaviorist

If you cannot figure out why your husky barks at strangers, you can’t get it to stop or it becomes aggressive around them, consider getting the help of a dog behaviorist who will be able to show you what to do about it in a safe way.

Things to consider

When it barks at strangers

It would help to consider if it always barks at strangers or if it only does it sometimes.

If it does only do it sometimes then it would help to consider what is different when it does it. If you notice that it only barks when strangers are around the house then it would be more likely that it is being protective.

Whereas, if it always does it then it would be more likely that it sees them as a threat, a lack of training and not socializing with many people as a puppy.

When it first started barking at strangers

If it did not always bark at strangers then it would help to consider what else happened at around the same time that it started doing it.

If it did start doing it suddenly then it could be because someone mistreated it or because you inadvertently rewarded it for barking.

Be consistent

It is unlikely that you will be able to achieve dramatic results with just one training session. However, if you are consistent with the training then it will be possible to achieve much more noticeable results over the course of weeks and months.