If your husky is overly protective of you this post will show you a number of reasons why it might be the case and what you can do about it.
So, why is my husky overly protective of me? Possible reasons are that it has been trained to be that way either intentionally or inadvertently, it didn’t socialize much as a puppy so it is not trusting of other people and pets or that it is naturally overly protective.
There are actually a number of reasons why your husky might get too protective around other people. However, there are also a number of things that you can consider that will help you in figuring out the exact reason.
Why your husky is so protective of you
Each of the different reasons that your husky is protective will likely come with some signs in the way that it does it.
Below, I will show you why your husky might be doing it and what would make each of the reasons more likely.
It thinks you’re in danger
The reason why your husky is so protective of you could be that it thinks you are in danger. This would be more likely if it becomes more protective when you are talking to people that it has not met before, when someone else is on your property or if it does it when someone touches you.
In this case, it would help to train it to listen to your command, to train it using positive reinforcement training and to avoid negative reinforcement. Each of which will be discussed below.
It was mistreated when younger
It could be the case that it was mistreated when it was younger and it is not trusting of other people or animals anymore. This would be more likely if you adopted your husky from a shelter.
In this case, it would help to train your husky to associate other people with rewards and to use the training tips mentioned below.
Nature
It could be the case that your husky is protective by nature. This would be more likely if it becomes a lot more protective around the home and it has always been overly protective.
Even if it is naturally protective it will still be possible for you to get your husky to be better behaved around other people and dogs by training it. I will show you some things that you can do below.
It has been rewarded
It might be the case that you have inadvertently trained your husky to be protective by giving it things that it wants when it becomes protective.
Instead of giving it things such as treats when it does it, try to recognize when it is about to start being overly protective and to redirect its focus.
As puppies huskies will naturally explore the world a lot and learn about what they should and should not trust. If your husky was not able to get much exposure to other people and dogs as a puppy, it might never have learned that they can usually be trusted.
Things to consider
Below are some things that you can consider in order to help figure out why your husky does it.
When it does it
It would help to consider the timing of when your husky becomes protective.
It is normal for a husky to be more protective when someone it does not know is in its home. However, it could still be the case that you have been contributing to it by giving it things that it wants when it does it.
Whereas, if it does it when you are walking past other people on walks, it would be more likely to be due to things such as it being reinforced, not getting to socialize as a puppy or not being trained to be well behaved. This would be a more serious issue and something that will be necessary to stop.
When it first started doing it
If your husky was not always protective it would help to consider what else happened when it started being protective.
If it was not always very protective but it suddenly started to be then it could be that someone mistreated it or you inadvertently rewarded the behavior. Whereas, if it has always been that way it could be that it is naturally protective but it could also be that it didn’t get a chance to meet other dogs.
How to get your husky to stop being so protective
Below are a number of options that you have when getting your husky to be less protective of you.
Train it to associate other people and dogs with rewards
One option you have is to train your husky to associate other dogs with rewards.
To do this you would start giving your husky special treats when you are approaching other dogs with it and stop when your husky begins to start being aggressive at them. By doing this it will learn that being aggressive around other dogs results in it not getting rewards.
Train it to listen to your command
It would also be important to train it to listen to your command in general so that it learns how it is meant to behave and so that it does what you want when you need it to.
If you have not given it much training, it would help to start with the basics by doing things such as to train it to stay.
Avoid negative reinforcement
Negative reinforcement is where you train your husky to misbehave by rewarding it when it does it.
Instead of giving your husky treats or toys when it is overly protective, try to redirect its attention before it starts doing it and to train it to associate other people with rewards.
Get help from a dog behaviorist
If you cannot get your husky to stop being overly protective, consider getting the help of a dog behaviorist in your area. By doing so you will be able to get expert guidance on how to train your husky in a safe and reliable way.