Why does my husky bite itself?

If your husky has been biting itself, you probably want to know how to get it to stop.

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

So, why does my husky bite itself? Possible reasons are that it has fleas, allergies, something stuck in its fur or a rash. It could also be that it has separation anxiety, it does it compulsively or it might have just had an itch if it just did it once.

There are a number of things to consider when trying to understand why your husky has been doing it. Once you have a good idea of the cause, it should become a lot easier to deal with it.

Why your husky bites itself

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

Below are some reasons why it might bite itself and what would make them more likely.

It has fleas

The reason that your husky bites itself could be that it has fleas. This would be more likely if it started biting itself suddenly and if you have been finding fleas around the house.

If fleas are causing your husky to bite itself, it would help to talk to your vet about what you should do to get rid of the flees.

It would also help to eradicate fleas from your home by doing things such as:

• Washing the bedding with hot soapy water
• Vacuuming the carpets and throwing the bad
• Applying an environmental flee control
• Applying a spray, pellet or non-toxic treatment for the yard
• Treating your husky with a monthly preventative

It has a rash or allergies

Allergies or a rash could also be causing your husky to bite itself. Allergies can be caused by things such as shampoo, other dogs, pollen or household chemicals (source).

It would be more likely that allergies or a rash are causing your husky to bite itself if it started doing it after something happened that might have caused it to get allergies or a rash. Examples could be using a different shampoo or a harness that rubs its skin.

Related: Why does my husky bite its paws?

Boredom

Huskies are a breed that are meant to be getting a lot of exercise on a daily basis. When they do not get enough exercise it can cause them to act abnormally.

Generally, it is recommended for them to get at least an hour of exercise per day. If your husky is not getting that much exercise then it would help to make sure that it does.

Related: Why does my husky bite its tail?

Compulsive behavior

It might be the case that it has been biting itself compulsively. This is where it has an irresistible urge to do it and it is not able to stop doing it. This would be more likely if your husky has been causing itself to lose patches of fur, it has been doing it excessively or if it is bleeding.

In this case, the best option would be to take it to a vet.

Look here for more information about compulsive behavior in dogs.

There is something stuck in its fur

It might be the case that it has been doing it because there is something stuck in its fur. This would be more likely if it has been biting at the exact same spot and it has started doing it suddenly.

Injury

An injury could be causing it to do it. This would be more likely if it has been biting at the same spot and if it has been showing other signs of being injured such as limping.

If it does seem like injury could be causing it then the best option would be to take it to a vet.

Separation anxiety

It could be the case that separation anxiety has been causing it to bite itself. This is where your husky does not like being left alone and the prospect of being left alone makes it anxious. This would be more likely to be the reason if it starts showing signs of anxiety when you are about to leave.

In this case, it would help to avoid leaving it alone for long periods and to periodically check up on it if you can.

Also, it would help to train it to be less anxious when you are leaving and when you are away.

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

It’s getting allergies from its diet

It could be the case that its diet is causing it to develop allergies (source). This would be more likely to be the cause if your husky started biting itself at around the same time that you changed its diet.

It was just playing

If it bites itself rarely, it could be the case that it does it because it is just itchy at the time. This would be less likely if it has started biting itself a lot all of a sudden.

Things to consider

When it started to bite itself

It would help to consider the timing of when it first started biting itself since it could be the case that an event triggered it to start doing it.

If it did start doing it suddenly then it could be due to things such as using a different shampoo, changing its diet, fleas, allergies or a rash. It would help to consider what changed when it started doing it.

Whereas, if it has been biting itself for a while then it would be more likely that it does it due to things such as separation anxiety, compulsive behavior or boredom. But, it could still be due to any of the other things mentioned above.

How often it bites itself

It would also help to consider how frequently it does it.

If it has been biting itself a lot then it would be more likely to be due to things such as fleas, a rash, allergies, something stuck in its fur or compulsive behavior.

Whereas, if it does it less frequently then it would be more likely to be due to the other things mentioned above.

When and where it bites itself

The timing and location would be another thing to consider.

If it tends to do it when you are about to leave then it would be more likely to be due to separation anxiety. Whereas, if it seems to do it at random times then it would be more likely to be due to fleas, a rash, allergies or something being stuck in its fur.

How to stop your husky from biting itself

Below are some things that you can do about it.

Take it to a vet

If you cannot figure out why your husky has been biting itself, you cannot get it to stop or it has been doing it excessively then it would help to take it to a vet. By doing so you will be able to get expert advice tailored towards your specific husky.

Remove fleas

It would also help to eradicate fleas from your home by doing things such as:

• Washing the bedding with hot soapy water
• Vacuuming the carpets and throwing the bad
• Applying an environmental flee control
• Applying a spray, pellet or non-toxic treatment for the yard
• Treating your husky with a monthly preventative

Give it exercise

If your husky is not getting much exercise then it would help to make sure that it does. You can exercise it by walking it, playing fetch with it or getting a dog walker to do it for you.

Avoid negative reinforcement

Negative reinforcement is where you inadvertently reinforce bad behaviors by giving it what it wants when it displays them.

Instead of giving your husky things that it wants when it bites itself, try to redirect its focus when it is about to do it and to reward it when it behaves the way that you want it to.