If your husky keeps crying at night, you might be wondering why and what you can do about it.
This post will show you a number of reasons why your husky might cry at night and what you can do to get it to stop.
So, why does my husky cry at night? Possible reasons are that it has separation anxiety, it needs to pee, it hears noises that it doesn’t like or you might have inadvertently reinforced the behavior.
There are actually a number of reasons why your husky might be doing it but there are some things that you can consider that will help you figure out the exact cause. Once you have a good idea of the cause, it will become a lot easier to deal with it.
Why your husky cries at night
The different reasons that your husky cries at night will likely come with some clues.
Below, I will mention a number of reasons why your husky might be doing it and what would make them more likely.
Separation anxiety
The reason that your husky cries at night could be that it has separation anxiety. This is where it does not like being left alone and it gets anxious when it is left alone. This would be more likely if it sleeps in a different room than you. It would also be more likely if it starts getting anxious when you would normally leave home.
In this case, it would help to avoid leaving it for extended periods and to periodically check up on it if possible.
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
Scary noises
It might be the case that it hears noises that it does not like at night. This would be more likely if it only cries on certain nights or if it only does it when it is in a certain room.
It needs to pee
It could be the case that it does it because it needs to pee. This would be more likely if it gets you to let it outside when it starts crying at night. In this case, it would help to let it go out to pee shortly before going to bed.
However, if your husky needs to pee a lot during the night and it is not a puppy then it would suggest that it might have an illness. In this case, your best option would be to take it to a vet.
Other animals in the yard
The reason that it does it could be that there are other animals in the backyard and your husky can see or hear them. This would be more likely if you have seen or heard other animals at night or if there are signs of them being in the backyard at night.
You have been reinforcing the behavior
It could be the case that you have been inadvertently training it to cry at night by giving it things that it wants when it does it. If you give it things such as toys, treats or attention when it cries, it will learn that crying will get it things that it wants.
Instead, it would help to avoid rewarding it when it cries at night and to only give it attention when it seems to be crying due to things such as needing to pee.
Things to consider
There are a number of things that you can consider when trying to figure out why your husky cries at night. Below are some things that you can consider that will help you figure out the exact reason.
How old it is
If your husky is still a puppy then it would be likely that it will start to cry less as it gets older. However, it would help to ignore it when it cries at night unless you think that it needs to pee.
If your husky is not a puppy anymore, it would help to consider the two things below. However, it could be the case that an illness is causing it to cry at night so it might be worthwhile for you to take it to a vet especially if it has been showing other signs of illness.
When your husky started crying at night
It would help to consider what happened when your husky first started crying at night since it could be the case that an event caused it to start doing it.
If it started crying at night suddenly, it would make it more likely to be due to things such as illness or injury, it stopped being able to pee just before going to sleep or that you rewarded it for doing it one time.
What is different when it doesn’t cry at night
If your husky doesn’t always cry at night then it would help to consider what is different when it does cry.
Some things that might be different could be:
- It’s windier or there is thunder and lightening on the nights that it cries
- You don’t let it out to pee before bed when it cries
- You give it less exercise on the days that it cries
How to get your husky to stop crying at night
Below are some options that you have in getting your husky to stop crying at night.
Avoid giving it attention
As mentioned above, the reason that it cries at night could be that it wants you to give it attention. It would help to avoid rewarding it with attention when it cries at night so that it learns that crying doesn’t get it attention. That is unless it seems to be crying for a different reason such as to go outside to pee.
Let it go out to pee before bed
Since the reason that it cries at night might be because it wants to pee, it would help to make sure to let it go outside to pee shortly before going to bed. If your husky is a puppy, it is to be expected that it will still need to pee during the night.
Consider crate training
Crate training is where you teach your husky to learn to be comfortable inside of a crate designed for dogs.
If you crate train your husky in the right way it will give it a space where it can feel safe. This will give your husky a space where it will be able to feel secure at night without you being around.
Give it exercise
Huskies are a breed that is meant to get a lot of exercise on a daily basis. When they don’t get much exercise, it can cause them to behave abnormally. Generally, it is recommended for them to get at least an hour of exercise daily. If your husky is not getting that much exercise, it would help to make sure that it does.