If your husky has been acting jealous you might want to know why and what you can do about it.
This post will show you a number of reasons why it might be acting jealous and what you can do to stop it.
So, why is my husky acting jealous? Possible reasons are that it wants attention, it’s being dominant, it’s being overly protective or you might have been inadvertently rewarding it.
There are multiple reasons why your Siberian husky could be acting jealous and it could be a combination of multiple reasons. However, there are some things you can consider which will help you figure out the exact reason. Once you have a good idea of the cause, it will become easier for you to get it to stop.
Why your husky is jealous
Each of the different reasons why your husky has been acting jealous will likely come with a number of clues.
Below are some reasons why it might be doing it and what would make them more likely.
It wants attention
The reason it gets jealous could be that it is looking for attention. This would be more likely if it starts being jealous when you have not been giving it much attention and if you tend to give it more attention when it does it.
Instead, it would help to give it attention throughout the day in the form of training, exercise and by walking it but to avoid rewarding it with attention when it’s jealous unless necessary.
It is being dominant
It could be the case that it is actually being dominating. This would be more likely if it is also reluctant to listen to your command and if it is aggressive towards your other pets as well. In this case, it would help to train it to leave your other pets alone using the tips in this post.
It is being protective
It might be the case that it does it because it is actually being protective. This would be more likely if it does it more when you are around other people or animals. In this case, it would help to use the tips mentioned in this blog post.
You have been reinforcing it
It might be the case that you have been reinforcing the behavior by giving it things it wants when it does it. If you tend to give it things such as treats, toys or attention when it gets jealous it might have learned to do it more in order to get those things.
Instead, it would help to reward it when it is behaving the way you want and to try to redirect its focus before it starts being jealous.
You got new pets
If your husky started acting jealous when you got new pets it is likely that it feels left out. In this case, it would help to give it attention and rewards when it is being well behaved. You can also look here to see how to get it to behave better around your new pets.
How to get your husky to be less jealous
Below are a number of options you have when getting your Siberian husky to stop acting jealous.
Exercise
Huskies are a breed that needs a lot of exercise in order to be fully stimulated. Generally, it is recommended for them to get at least an hour of exercise daily. If your husky is not getting that much it would help to give it exercise by walking it yourself or by getting a dog walker to do it for you.
Give it attention
It would also help to give it attention throughout the day so that it does not feel the need to get it from you. Ways to give it attention would be to train it, exercise it or to play with it.
Give it training
If you have not given your Siberian husky much training then it would help to make sure to do so. By giving your husky training you will be able to get it to listen to your command and to be better behaved.
When training your husky it would help to start out by training it easy things such as the down command in an environment without many distractions. Then, once it can do it, you would start to include the object of jealousy and train it to do the command then as well.
Avoid rewarding it
As mentioned above, it could be the case that it has learned that being jealous results in it getting things it wants. Instead of giving it rewards when it is being jealous, try to give it training as mentioned above and to redirect its focus when it seems like it is about to be jealous.
Things to consider
When it started being jealous
It would help to consider when your husky first started being jealous since it could be the case that there was an event that caused it to start doing it.
If it started being jealous suddenly it would make it more likely to be due to things such as getting a new pet, rewarding the behavior or you stopped giving it as much attention. It would help to consider what else changed when it started being jealous.
When it becomes jealous
It would also help to consider the timing of when it starts to be jealous. If it starts being more jealous at a certain time it would be likely that the timing has something to do with it.
For example, if it only seems to get jealous when you have not been giving it much attention then it could be that it wants attention from you. Whereas, if it seems to be jealous when you are feeding it then it could be dominating behavior.