Why does my husky circle me?

If your husky keeps circling you this post will show you why it might be doing it and what you can do about it.

So, why does my husky circle me? Possible reasons are that it is excited, being dominating or that it is looking for attention.

There are multiple reasons why your husky might circle you but there are some things you can consider when trying to figure out the exact reason. Once you have a good idea of the cause it should become easier to decide on what to do about it.

Why your husky circles you

Each of the 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.

It’s excited

The cause could be that it is excited. This would be more likely if it does it in situations such as when you come home or when you are about to take it for a walk. In this case, it could be that it is trying to show its excitement or that it wants to get you to exercise it sooner.

It is being dominating

The cause might be that it is being dominating. This would be more likely if it does it in a way that prevents you from being able to go somewhere or to leave the room.

To stop this it would be important to give your husky lots of training so that it learns to see you as its leader and so that it learns how it should behave.

It wants attention

It might be the case that it does it because it knows that it will get attention for it. This would be more likely if it tends to do it when you have not been giving it much attention and if you tend to give it more attention when it does it.

In this case, it would help to give it more attention throughout the day in the form of training, exercise and by playing with it. But it would help to avoid rewarding it with attention when it circles and to try to recognize when it is about to do it and to redirect its behavior before it starts.

It’s a herding instinct

The reason why your husky does it could be that it is a herding instinct. This would be more likely if it does it a lot more when you are walking it and if it does it to other people as well. To prevent this kind of circling, try walking in the opposite direction that it circles you especially if it tries to move you.

Things to consider

When it started doing it

It would help to consider when your husky first started circling you. If it started doing it suddenly it could be the case that there was an event that caused it to start doing it.

If it did start doing it suddenly it would be more likely to be because it realized that it would result in it getting attention. But it would help to consider if anything else changed when it started doing it.

If it has always done it then it would be more likely to be due to being a herding instinct.

When and where it tends to do it more

It would also help to consider if there is a certain time that it does it more. If there is, it could be the case that the timing has something to do with it.

For example, if it does it more when you are about to take it for a walk, it would be more likely that it does it due to excitement. Whereas, if it does it more when you are about to leave home it might be a sign that it has separation anxiety.

What to do about your husky circling you

Below are some 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.

Avoid negative reinforcement

Negative reinforcement is where you reinforce behaviors that you don’t want to see by giving your husky things that it wants when it sees them.

Instead of giving your husky things it wants when it circles you, try to reward it when it doesn’t do it and to recognize when it is about to start circling and to redirect its focus onto something else.

Walk in the opposite direction to it

If it does it when you are walking it then try to walk in the opposite direction to it since this will force it to stop and to see you as the leader.

Give it lots of training

Huskies are a very energetic breed and it is important to give them lots of training so that they learn how they should behave. If you have not given your husky much training, it would help to start by teaching it the basics and then building up from there. I have written about how you can teach it to come here and how you can train it to stay here.