If your husky becomes anxious when you leave you might be wondering why and what you can do about it.
In this post, I will show you a number of possible causes and what you can do to get it to be calmer when you leave.
So, why does my husky become anxious when I leave? It is likely to be because it has separation anxiety. However, it could also be that you have been inadvertently rewarding the behavior, it might want to pee or eat before having to wait for you to come back or something might be causing it to be fearful.
There are actually many reasons why your husky might be becoming noisy when you leave and it could be a combination of factors. However, there are some things you can consider when figuring out the exact reason. Once you have a good idea of the cause it should become easier to get it to stop.
Why your husky barks, howls and cries when you leave
Each of the different reasons why your husky does it will likely come with some clues.
Below are a number of possible causes and what would make them more likely.
Separation anxiety
It would be likely to be the case that it has some separation anxiety. This is where it does not like being left alone and it becomes anxious when it is alone.
This would be more likely to be the reason if it shows signs of being anxious when you are about to leave by doing things such as pacing, becoming destructive, whining and barking, howling or crying.
It would also be more likely if it behaves abnormally while you are away by doing things such as become destructive, crying or continuing to be anxious the whole time you are gone.
You have inadvertently rewarded the behavior
It might be the case that you have encouraged it to do it by rewarding it when it becomes noisy when you’re leaving. If you give it things such as extra attention, toys or treats when it does it then your husky might have learned to do it more in order to get those things.
Instead, it would help to reward it when it is well behaved and to follow the other tips mentioned below.
It wants to pee or eat
The cause could be that it doesn’t get to pee or eat before you leave and it doesn’t want to have to wait for you to come back in order to pee or eat. If you don’t currently let your husky out to pee just before leaving then it would help to do so. It could also help to feed it before leaving instead of after.
Fear
The cause might be that something is causing it to be afraid when you are not around. Things that might make it afraid could include noises like construction works or possibly someone else or another pet being around that it does not like.
If it does seem to be fear that is the cause, it would help to try and figure out what it might be afraid of and to remove it from its environment if possible. Other options would be to have your husky stay in a different area or to do desensitization training.
Boredom
Siberian huskies are a breed that are meant to get a lot of exercise on a daily basis. When they don’t get enough exercise it can cause them to start behaving abnormally.
It is normally recommended for Siberian huskies to get at least an hour of exercise per day. If your husky is healthy and it is not getting that much then it would help to make sure that it does.
Things to consider
When it first started doing it
If your husky did not always do it then it would help to consider what else happened when it first started doing it since it could be the case that there was an event that caused it to start.
If it did start doing it suddenly it would make it more likely to be due to things such as suddenly leaving it for long periods, not feeding it before leaving or not letting it out to pee before leaving.
If your husky has always been noisy when you leave, it would make it a lot more likely that it is due to separation anxiety. However, it could still be the case that you inadvertently trained it to do it from an early age.
When it seems to do it more
It would also help to consider if there is a time that your husky tends to make more noises when you are leaving since it could be the case that the timing has something to do with it.
If there is a certain time that it tends to do it more then it would help to consider what is different at those times. It could be that there is a certain person around or that you tend to leave it for a longer period at that time.
How to get your husky to stop barking, howling and crying when you leave
Below are a number of options you have when getting your Siberian husky to stop doing it. You will likely find that using a combination of them will work best.
Deal with its separation anxiety
It would help to take measures to reduce how anxious is becomes when you are leaving.
To do this you could do as follows:
- Make it seem like you are about to leave by doing something such as picking up your keys
- Reward your husky for not being anxious and repeat these two steps a few times
- Make more moves towards actually leaving such as by picking up the keys and putting your hand on the door handle
- Reward your husky for not being anxious and repeat the process a few times
- Actually open the door and go outside for a few moments then come back and reward your husky
- Repeat the above, each time staying outside for slightly longer
You can also watch the video below for more tips.
Make sure to let it out to pee before leaving
It would also help to let it out to pee or to feed it before you leave so that it does not have to feel uncomfortable while you are away.
Make its environment comfortable while you are away
It would also help to make its environment more relaxing for it when you are gone. You can do so by ensuring that it can stay in a cool room and that it has an area to lay down.
Crate training
Crate training is where you train your husky to learn to feel secure in a crate designed for dogs. When done properly it will give your husky an area to feel secure while you are away.
Give it exercise before leaving
It is important to make sure that your husky is able to get lots of exercise daily. If it is not currently getting much exercise it would help to make sure that it does by walking it yourself or by getting a dog walker to do it for you when you cannot.
Give it distractions
In addition to the things mentioned above, you could also give it things to be distracted with while you are away such as bones or toys. However, try to give them to it before it starts becoming noisy so that you don’t reinforce the behavior.
Get help from a dog behaviorist
If you cannot figure out why your husky has been doing it or you can’t get it to stop then it would help to get the advice of a dog behaviorist. By doing so you will be able to get expert advice tailored towards your particular husky.