Why does my husky sit on my chest?

If your husky has been sitting on your chest, you might be wondering why and what you can do about it.

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

So, why does my husky sit on my chest? Possible reasons are that it has separation anxiety, it wants attention, you have inadvertently reinforced the behavior, it’s being dominant or that it is just being affectionate.

There are actually a number of reasons that your husky might be doing it. There are also a number of things that you can consider that will help in figuring out why it has been doing it.

Why your husky sits on your chest

The different reasons that your husky has been doing it will likely come with some clues. Below, I will show you a number of possible reasons why it does it and what would make them more likely.

Separation anxiety

The reason that it sits on your chest might be that it has separation anxiety. This is where it does not like it when you leave it alone and the prospect of being left alone makes it become anxious. This would be more likely if your husky sits on you before you normally leave the home and if it becomes anxious when you are leaving 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

Wanting attention

It could be the case that it does it because it is looking for attention. This would be more likely if it sits on your chest when you have not been giving it much attention and if you tend to give it more attention when it does it.

If you do not want it to sit on your chest, it would help to give it attention throughout the day by playing with it, training it and exercising it but not to reward it with attention when it sits on your chest.

Wanting exercise

The reason that your husky does it might be that it is trying to get you to give it exercise. This would be more likely if it sits on your chest at around the same time that you would normally exercise it.

Huskies are a breed that is meant to get a lot of exercise on a daily basis. Generally, it is recommended for them to get an hour of exercise daily. If your husky is not getting that much it would help to make sure that it does.

Reinforcing it

It could be the case that you have been inadvertently reinforcing the behavior by giving it things that it wants when it lays on your chest. This would be more likely if you tend to give it things such as toys, treats or attention when it does it.

Instead, try to notice when it is about to sit on your chest and to redirect its focus when it is about to do it.

Dominance

One way that dogs would assert their dominance over each other in the wild would be to raise their elevation above the rest of the pack. If your husky is trying to assert its dominance over you then it might be doing this by sitting on your chest or laying down in higher positions than you.

This is something that you’ll need to prevent from happening so that your husky continues to see you as its leader. This will help to make it easier to control and reduce disobedience.

It’s just being affectionate

It could be the case that your husky does it because it is being affectionate. This would be more likely if it tries to get you to do things such as to rub its belly when it does it.

Spreading its scent

It could be that your husky is trying to spread its scent onto you so that other dogs can smell it. This is its way of saying that you belong to it so that other dogs will steer clear of you.

To prevent this you’ll need to spend time training it to sit and lay down in certain places. Then you can discourage it from sitting on your chest by telling it to sit or lay somewhere else.

Things to consider

Below are some things to consider when trying to figure out why your husky has been doing it.

When your husky started sitting on your chest

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

Some things to consider would be:

• If you moved home
• If someone else moved away
• If its schedule changed
• If you started working different hours

When it does it

It would also help to consider the timing of when your husky sits on your chest. If it seems to do it at certain times then it could be the case that the timing of it will tell you a lot about the cause.

For example, if it seems to do it most just before you leave for work, it would make it more likely to be due to separation anxiety.

How to stop your husky from sitting on your chest

Below are some options that you have when getting it to stop doing it.

Train it to sit or lay somewhere else

One option you have is to learn to recognize when it is about to do it and to train it to lay or sit somewhere else. That way you can redirect its focus to sitting or laying somewhere else when it is about to sit on you.

I have written about how you can teach it the down command here.

Give it attention throughout the day

It would also help to give it attention throughout the day so that it is less likely to want to seek attention from you. Ways to give it attention would be to play with it, train it or to exercise it.

Avoid giving it negative reinforcement training

As mentioned above, it could be the case that you have inadvertently reinforced the behavior. Instead of giving it things that it wants when it does it, try to redirect its behavior before it gets a chance to sit on you. When it does sit on you, get up, tell it to sit somewhere else after training it and then sit back down.