Why does my husky put its paw on me?

If your husky has a habit of putting its paw on you, this post 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 put its paw on me? Possible reasons are that it wants attention, food or exercise, it might have learned that putting its paw on you gets it rewards or it could do it when it is feeling insecure.

There are a number of things that you can consider when trying to understand why your husky might be doing it. Once you have a good idea of the cause, it will become much easier for you to deal with it.

Why your husky puts its paw on you

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 a number of possible reasons that it puts its paw on you and what would make them more likely.

It wants attention

The reason that your husky has been putting its paw on you could be that it wants attention from you. This would be more likely if it does it more when you have not been giving it much attention and if you tend to give it more attention when it does it.

Instead of rewarding it with attention for putting its paw on you, try to give it attention throughout the day by exercising it, playing with it and training it.

It wants food

The reason that it does it might be that it wants food. This would be more likely if it does it while you are eating, if you tend to give it food when it does it or if it does it at the same time that you would normally feed it.

It wants exercise

Huskies are a breed that is supposed to get a lot of exercise on a daily basis. When they do not get enough exercise they can start to behave abnormally. Generally, it is recommended for them to get an hour of exercise per day. If your husky is not getting that much then it might be why it puts its paw on you especially if it does it at the same time that you would normally walk it.

It has learned that it gets rewards

It could be the case that you have inadvertently trained it to put its paw on you by giving it things that it wants when it does it. Instead of giving it things that it wants when it puts its paw on you, try to use positive reinforcement training to teach it not to do it.

It is feeling insecure

The reason that it does it might be that it is feeling insecure. This would be more likely if it does it at times where it might be feeling insecure such as when there is thunder and lightning, sirens or construction works.

Things to consider

Below are a couple of things to consider in order to help figure out why your husky might put its paw on you.

When it started doing it

It would help to consider when your husky first started putting its paw on you since it could be the case that there was an event that caused it to start doing it.

If it started doing it suddenly then it would help to consider things such as:

• If someone moved away
• If it started when you moved home
• If another pet died
• If your schedule changed

When and where it puts its paw on you

The timing of when it puts its paw on you would also be something to consider.

If it does it when you are eating, it would be very likely that it does it because it wants you to give it some of your food especially if you have done so in the past. Whereas, if it does it when you are sitting down not eating, it would be more likely that it is looking for attention, exercise or to get fed.

How to get your husky to stop putting its paw on you

Below are some options that you have when getting your husky to stop putting its paw on you.

Positive reinforcement training

Positive reinforcement training is where you train your husky to behave in a certain way by rewarding it when it displays the behaviors that you want to see and not rewarding it when it doesn’t.

To use positive reinforcement training to get it to stop giving you its paw, you would:

1. Stop giving it attention when it puts its paw on you leaving the room temporarily if necessary
2. After waiting for a few moments start giving it attention and a treat if it doesn’t paw you when it normally would
3. If it does paw you then stop giving it attention again
4. Repeat the above until it learns not to put its paw on you

Avoid negative reinforcement training

As mentioned above, it could be the case that you have inadvertently trained it to do it. Instead of giving it rewards when it does it, try to reward it when it does not do it and to use positive reinforcement training.

Give it attention

It would also help to give it attention throughout the day so that it does not feel the need as much to get it from you.

You can give it attention by training it, exercising it and playing with it.

Exercise it

As mentioned above, it is important to give your husky lots of exercise. You can do so by walking it or getting a dog walker to do it for you.

A particularly good way to wear it out quickly would be to train it to play fetch.

Be consistent

When training your husky it is important to be consistent. It is unlikely that you will be able to see drastic results with just one training session. However, if you are consistent with the training, you will be able to see much better results over the course of weeks and months.