Why is my husky so hard to train?

If your husky has been difficult to train you might want to know why and what you can do about it.

This post will show you a number of reasons why your Siberian husky might be hard to train and what you can do to train it more effectively.

So, why is my husky hard to train? Possible reasons are that you have been training it in distracting environments too soon in its training, you haven’t been training it in small steps, your training method is inappropriate, it could be an issue with its diet or it might need to get more exercise.

There are many reasons why your husky might be proving difficult to train and it could be a combination of multiple factors. There are some things you can consider that will help you in figuring out the exact reason. Once you have a good idea of the cause it should become a lot easier to train it.

Why your husky is so hard to train

The different reasons why your Siberian husky is hard to train will likely come with a number of clues in the way that it is hard to train.

Below, I will show you a number of possible reasons why it might be hard to train and what would make them more likely.

You have been training it in a distracting environment

The reason why it is hard to train could be that the environment you have been training it has too many distractions. If you train it in an environment with lots of distractions too soon, your husky will struggle to keep its focus on you. When training your husky it would help to start out by training it in an environment without many distractions and then to build up to one that has them.

You haven’t been training it in small steps

The reason why it has been hard to train could also be that you have been asking too much of it too soon. If you ask it to do difficult tasks before it has learned easier tasks it will be unlikely to know what you want it to do. This is why it would help to start out by training it to do easy things and then to build up to getting it to do more challenging tasks.

You have been using the wrong training method

The reason that it is difficult to train might be that you have not been training your husky in an effective way.

The training method that I would recommend would be positive reinforcement training. This is where you gradually build up to training it to do difficult things by rewarding your Siberian husky each time it does a task correctly.

Diet

It could also be the case that there is an issue with its diet that is causing it to struggle to keep its attention on you. This would be especially likely if it has started behaving differently after you changed its diet.

You can look here to see what you should and should not be feeding your husky. If you’re unsure if its diet is causing issues then it would help to consult with your vet.

A lack of exercise

Huskies are a breed that is meant to get a lot of exercise on a daily basis. If your husky is not getting a lot of exercise it could be causing it to have a lot of excess energy and to be unable to keep its focus on you easily when training it.

Generally, it is recommended for them to get at least an hour of exercise per day. If your husky is not getting that much exercise it would help to make sure that it does by walking it yourself or by getting a dog walker to do it for you.

The training needs to be consistent

If you train your husky occasionally it is unlikely that you will be able to get your husky to form new habits. When training your husky it is important to be consistent with the training.

It is unlikely that you will be able to get drastic results with just one training session but if you train it consistently you will be able to get better results over the course of weeks and months.

How to train your husky

Below are a number of options you have when training your husky. You will likely find that the most effective solution will be to make use of multiple of the tips below.

Train it in small steps

When training your husky it would help to avoid asking too much of it too soon. If you do ask too much of it then your husky will be more likely to fail the task and it won’t learn anything.

Instead, it would help to start out with an easy task in an environment without distractions and then to build up to training it more difficult trasks in a more distracting environment.

As an example, I have written about how you can use positive reinforcement training to train your husky to stay here.

Give it exercise

As mentioned above, it is important to make sure that your husky is getting sufficient exercise. You can give it exercise by walking it yourself, getting a dog walker to do it for you and by training it to play fetch.

Avoid negative reinforcement training

Negative reinforcement training is where you train your husky to do things you don’t want it to do by giving it rewards when it does them. If you have been rewarding your husky when it does not listen to you it could be encouraging it not to listen to you even more.

Instead, it would help to use positive reinforcement training and to train it using small steps so that you are able to give your husky rewards for doing things correctly. It would also help to avoid rewarding it when it does not do it correctly so that you avoid encouraging the behavior.

Avoid punishment

It might be tempting to punish your husky for not doing things correctly. However, it would be advised that you avoid doing so. If you do punish it then it will likely not know what you are punishing it for and it will be less likely to listen to you.

Get help

If you cannot figure out why your husky is hard to train or everything that you try doesn’t work, consider getting the help of a certified dog trainer or behaviorist in your area. By doing so you will be able to get expert advice tailored to your particular husky.

Things to consider

Below are some things you can consider when trying to figure out why your husky is hard to train.

When it started being hard to train

It would help to consider when your husky first started being difficult to train since it could be the case that there was an event that caused it to start being hard to train.

If it did start being difficult to train suddenly it would help to consider what else happened at around the same time. It would also make it more likely to be due to things such as rewarding it for not listening to you, illness or a change in its diet.

How old it is

It would also help to consider the age of your husky. If your husky is still young it would make it more likely to be the case that it won’t be as easy to get it to keep its focus on you since it will be full of energy.

You can make things easier by training it after giving it exercise and using treats to keep its attention on you (while making sure not to reward it when it does it wrong).

If your husky is older it would be more likely that you have been rewarding it for not listening to you but it could also be due to some of the other things mentioned above. In this case, it would help to start training it basic things using positive reinforcement training and then to build up to training it to do more challenging things.

When it is easier to train

If your husky is easier to train at certain times it would also help to consider what is different when it is easier to train.

For example, if it is easier to train after it has gotten exercise it would make it more likely to be the case that it needs more exercise.