Why doesn’t my husky like me?

If your husky has been acting like it doesn’t like you this post will show you why it might be doing it and what you can do about it.

So, why doesn’t my husky like me? It is likely to be the case that it does like you but it shows affection in ways that you don’t expect. It could also be the case that it needs more exercise, it’s ill or injured, previous owners mistreated it, fear, or something causing it to be depressed.

There are actually a number of reasons why it might seem like it doesn’t like you and it could be a combination of multiple factors. There are some things you can consider which will help in figuring out the exact reason. Once you have a good idea of the cause, it will become a lot easier to deal with it.

Why your husky does not like you

There will likely be some clues that come with each of the different reasons why your husky seems like it doesn’t like you.

Below, I will show you a number of possible reasons and what would make them more likely.

It does actually like you

It is likely that your husky does actually like you but that it shows affection in ways that you are not expecting. Some ways your Siberian husky might show that it does like you could be that it stays at your pace when on walks, it wags its tail when you come home or it comes when you call it.

You haven’t given it exercise

Huskies are a breed that is meant to get a lot of exercise daily. When they do not get a lot of exercise it can cause them to start behaving abnormally and it could be why it seems like yours does not like you.

It is recommended for them to get at least an hour of exercise per day when they are adults. If your husky is not getting that much exercise it would help to make sure that it does.

Illness or injury

It could be the case that an illness or injury has been causing it to behave differently. This would be more likely if your husky has started behaving differently suddenly and if it has been showing signs of illness or injury such as fatigue, limping or vomiting. If it does seem like illness or injury could be the cause the best option would be to take it to a vet.

Previous owners

It might be the case that previous owners mistreated it so it does not show affection as much now. This would be more likely if you adopted your husky from a shelter.

If you recently adopted it from a shelter, it might begin to show more affection towards you over the course of weeks and months. However, you could help by giving it lots of exercise, attention and training. If it doesn’t improve over the course of a few months consider consulting with a vet or dog behaviorist.

Fear

It might be the case that someone or something has been causing your husky to become fearful.

There are many things that could cause a husky to be fearful but some examples could include:

• A certain person, that it does not like, being around
• Another dog, that it does not like, being around
• Fireworks, sirens or thunderstorms
• Being in a new location
• Having been mistreated by someone or something recently

If your husky did not previously seem to dislike you but it suddenly started to then it could be the case that it is frightened of something. It would help to consider what happened recently that might cause it to feel that way.

Lack of socialization as a puppy

When huskies are puppies they will learn a lot about who they can trust and how they cannot. If your husky did not get much socialization as a puppy it might have learned not to give people as much attention as normal.

Depression

Huskies can become depressed like people can and it might be the cause of it seeming to not like you. This would be more likely to be the reason if your husky suddenly started acting differently after something might have caused it to become depressed such as someone moving away or another dog passing away.

How to get your husky to like you more

Below are some options you have when getting your Siberian husky to like you more. It will likely be the case that the best option will be a combination of the tips below.

Give it exercise

As mentioned above, it is important to make sure that your husky is getting exercise on a daily basis. If your husky is not getting much exercise you can give it exercise either by walking it yourself or by getting a dog walker to do it for you.

Make sure that you are feeding it correctly

It could be the case that there is an issue with its diet especially if your husky started behaving differently when its diet changed. You can look here to see what you should and should not be feeding your husky.

Give it training

If your husky won’t listen to you it would be very helpful to give it lots of training by starting with the basics such as to train it to sit or to stay.

By training your husky you will be able to get it to become more responsive to your command, it will behave in the way that you want it to and it will look at you more as the leader. This will help to reduce any bad behavior.

I have written more about how to train your husky here.

Avoid negative reinforcement

Negative reinforcement is where you reinforce bad behaviors by rewarding your husky when it displays them. If you have been rewarding your husky when it shows that it does not like you, it could be contributing to the behavior.

Instead, it would help to reward your husky when it behaves the way you want it to and to give it lots of training so that it learns how you want it to behave.

Get help

If you can’t figure out why your husky has been behaving that way or you cannot get it to stop it would help to get the advice of a vet and a dog behaviorist. By doing so you will be able to get expert advice tailored towards your particular husky.

Things to consider

When it first started acting that way

It would help to consider when your husky first started behaving like it doesn’t like you since it could be the case that there was an event that caused it to start doing.

If it started behaving that way suddenly it would help to consider what else changed at around the same time that it started doing it. If it was sudden, causes such as a change in its diet, something causing it to be fearful or illness or injury would become more likely.

If it seems to like you more at other times

It would also help to consider whether or not it shows affection at certain times. If it does show more affection at certain times it could be the case that the timing has something to do with it.

For example, if it seems to be more responsive to you when it has gotten exercise then it might be that it is not usually getting enough.