If your husky keeps standing in front of 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 stand in front of me? Possible reasons are that it wants attention, you have inadvertently reinforced the behavior, it doesn’t realize that it is in the way or that it has separation anxiety.
The most likely reason that your husky stands in front of you will depend a lot on the context of how it does it. There are also a number of things that you can consider that will help you figure out exactly why it has been doing it.
Why your husky stands in front of you
Each of the different reasons that your husky stands in front of you will likely come with some clues in the way that it does it.
Below are a number of reasons why it might stand in front of you and what would make them more likely.
It wants attention
The reason that it stands in front of you could be that it is looking for attention. This would be more likely if it does 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 attention throughout the day by training it, playing with it and giving it exercise. It would also help to avoid rewarding it with attention when it stands in front of you unless it is necessary.
It has separation anxiety
The reason that it stands in front of you could be that it has separation anxiety. This is where it does not like being left alone and it becomes anxious when you leave it alone. This would be more likely if your husky tends to stand there when you are about to leave and if it becomes anxious when you are leaving.
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
It’s being protective
The reason that it does it could be that it is being protective. This would be more likely if it tends to stand in front of you when you are around other people or animals.
You have inadvertently rewarded it
It could be the case that you have inadvertently trained it to stand in front of you by giving it things that it wants when it does it. If you give it things such as toys, treats or attention when it stands in front of you, it will do it more since it results in it getting things that it wants.
Instead, it would help to use positive reinforcement training to get it to behave the way that you want and to reward it only when it is behaving the way that you want.
Nervousness
Your husky might stand in front of you because it gets nervous. This would be more likely if it only does it when things happen that would cause it to become nervous. Examples could be when there is lightning, sirens outside or someone being around that it doesn’t like.
Things to consider
Below are some things that you can consider in order to help figure out exactly why it does it.
When it first started doing it
If your husky started standing in front of you suddenly, it would help to consider what else happened at around the same time that it started doing it since it could be the case that there was an event that triggered it to start.
Some things that might have happened could include:
- You rewarded it one time when it did stand in front of you
- You moved home
- Your schedule changed
When it does it
It would also help to consider the timing of when your husky stands in front of you.
If it stands in front of you at certain times it could be because it wants you to feed it, give it a walk or because it is anxious.
Whereas, if it does it at random times it would be more likely that it either doesn’t realize it is in the way or that it does it because it wants to get rewards.
How to get your husky to stop standing in front of you
Below are some options that you have when training your husky to stop standing in front of you.
Positive reinforcement training
Positive reinforcement training is where you get your husky to behave in a certain way by giving it things that it wants when it behaves that way and not rewarding it when it does not.
To use positive reinforcement training to get it to stop standing in front of you, you could do as follows:
- Reward it before it stands in front of you
- Stop rewarding it when it stands in front of you
- Get it to stop standing in front of you and avoid giving it attention until it doesn’t try to get stand in front of you
- Reward it each time it does not try to stand in front of you
Avoid negative reinforcement training
As mentioned above, it could be the case that you have inadvertently trained it to stand in front of you by giving it things that it wants when it does it.
Instead, try to reward it when it is behaving the way that you want, to redirect its behavior when it is about to stand in front of you and to use positive reinforcement training.
Avoid punishing it
It might be tempting to punish your husky when it stands in front of you but you should avoid doing so. If you punish it, your husky might not know why it is being punished and it could cause it to feel resentful.