Why Your Husky Ignores You And How To Solve It

Having a husky that is ignoring you can be a frustrating and stressful experience. This post will try to help you to figure out why your husky might be ignoring you and how to get it to stop.

So, why is your husky ignoring you?

There are a number of possible reasons why your husky could be ignoring you. The most probable is that a lack of exercise is causing it to be hyper and to be unable to pay attention easily.

Other possible causes include a lack of training, solely communicating with words, being in a new location, depression, not giving it enough attention and using the wrong training methods.

And, what can you do to get it to pay attention to you?

There are a number of things that you can do. The main ones are to give it lots of exercise and attention, to give it lots of training, to use positive reinforcement instead of punishing the wrong decisions and to train it in multiple different locations.

There are actually a number of possible causes of your husky’s lack of attention. The best way to get your husky to start paying attention to you will be to employ a number of different techniques at the same time and to tailor them based on the cause of your husky’s lack of attention.

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Reasons Why Your Husky Is Ignoring You

It’s important to figure out the possible causes of your husky’s lack of attention before trying to fix it since you’ll be able to correct its behavior more easily once you know.

Below I will list a number of possible causes of your husky’s lack of attention.

Huskies understand actions more than words

The first thing to consider is that huskies don’t understand words in the same way we do. If you try to communicate with your husky solely through words then you’ll have a hard time getting anywhere. Instead, huskies are better at understanding emotions and actions. If you’re trying to teach your husky to sit then it would be easier to lure it into sitting using a treat than to simply try telling it to sit without any other kind of direction.

Related: Why does my husky sit on me?

Lack of training

If you haven’t taken the time to give your husky training then it’s going to be much less responsive to your command. If you haven’t been giving your husky much training then starting to do so would be one of the best options for you to do.

Excitement

The cause could be due to your husky getting overly excited. If something is causing your husky to get overly excited, such as someone being at the front door, then it will be less likely to listen to you. To fix this it’s important to train your husky to be well behaved in these situations and to give it lots of exercise so that it has a chance to expend its energy.

Not enough exercise

Huskies are a breed that was bred specifically to be very active. If you’re not currently giving your husky the chance to get a lot of exercise then it will cause it to become more hyperactive and less responsive to your command. If your husky is currently difficult to control then making sure to give it a lot of exercise should be one of the first things for you to try.

You’re in a different location

If you’re able to get your husky to listen to you in one location but you have trouble getting it to listen to you in another location then be aware that this is not an unusual occurrence. Dogs can, sometimes, have a hard time generalizing training from one location to another. Just because your husky knows that “down” means that it gets rewarded at home doesn’t mean that it knows that the same will apply when it’s at the park. To fix this you can try re-doing the training at the different location. You’ll probably find that it is much easier the second time around.

Lack of trust

It could be that you have tricked your husky in the past and it has caused it to become less responsive to your command. For example, you might have been tapping on its food bowl to get it to come inside when it’s not actually time for its dinner. Overtime doing things like that will teach your husky that doing what you say won’t necessarily be rewarding for it so it doesn’t listen as much. To correct this it’s important to employ lots of positive reinforcement training where you reward it with treats for doing the things that you want it to do.

You’ve been rewarding the behavior

It could also be that you have accidentally taught it to behave the way that it is. For example, it might be that your method for getting your husky to stop acting hyper would be to give it attention or to give it treats. The problem is that doing that will teach it that behaving that way will result in it getting what it wants. Instead, it’s often more effective to ignore it when it’s acting hyper and looking for attention and to reward it when it behaves.

Ruptured eardrum

It could be that your husky has damaged its eardrums and that it can’t hear you so well causing it not to respond to your commands. If you think that this might be the case then the best thing for you to do would be to take it to the vet and to get it checked out.

Depression

Huskies can get depression and it might be what’s causing yours to be less responsive. If your husky has suddenly become unresponsive after an event like losing its friend, changing homes or a change of owner then it could be the cause. Here you can try giving it lots of attention and exercise but you might also want to get help from a vet as well.

You’re command nagging

It could be that you’re asking too much of it. This is known as command nagging to pet trainers where you keep telling it to do something that it has not been taught to do. Such as telling it to sit repeatedly instead of going back to the start and teaching it to sit from the beginning.

It’s important to remember that your husky can only respond to you the way that you want it to if it knows that’s what you want and that it will get it what it wants. This is why it’s important not to make large jumps in what you ask of it when you’re training it and to take it in small steps instead.

It’s distracted

Huskies are a breed that is known for having a strong prey drive. If it is being distracted by things such as cats or squirrels then it will be a lot harder to get it to listen to you. To rectify this it’s important to train it as often as you can and in as many different situations as you can so that you can keep it’s attention when things are distracting it.

Not using positive reinforcement

An effective way to get your husky to listen to you is with the use of positive reinforcement. This is where you reward your husky when it does things that you want it to do. This is why many trainers like to train their dogs by giving them treats or access to a toy when it does the training exercise the right way.

Punishing bad behavior

There are times when it is necessary to intervene with your husky to get it to stop what it is doing. Examples would be when it’s trying to bolt out of the front door or when it’s destroying something. However, a more effective method to prevent that behavior is to encourage it to act the way that you want it to and to reward it for doing so. For example, another way to get it to stop running out the door would be to train it not to by rewarding it for remaining calm when you’re at the door like in the video below.

You’re not giving it enough attention

One possible reason that your husky has stopped paying attention to you is that you have been neglecting to pay attention to it yourself. For example, it could be that you have recently got a new dog, have had a baby or you might have been extra busy lately and have not been able to give your husky much attention. When this happens, sometimes, the response from the dog is to stop paying attention to you. To rectify this it’s important to spend more time with your husky and to do activities with it such as training or exercise.

How to get your husky to pay attention to you

There are a number of things that you can do to get your husky to start to pay attention to you. The most effective thing for you to do will depend on the cause of your husky ignoring you and applying multiple approaches at the same time will often be more effective.

Exercise

One of the first things that you should do is to make sure that your husky is getting as much exercise as it needs. If you have a hyperactive husky then you’ll likely find that your husky will need a lot of exercise to be properly stimulated. When your husky has not been properly stimulated it can be a lot harder to get it to listen to you since it will be feeling a lot more energetic.

A good way to give your husky a lot of exercise without needing to wear yourself out is to teach it to play fetch. By doing this you will be able to get your husky to do a lot of running in a short period of time which will help you wear it out more quickly. It will also help to get it to pay more attention to you since playing fetch with it will help it to associate you with good things. I have written about how to teach your husky how to play fetch in the past here.

Another way to give your husky a lot of exercise is to walk it with other dogs. You’ll usually find that they will expend a lot of energy when they are playing together so by doing this you’ll be able to wear your husky out more.

Give it training

A good way to get your husky to listen to you more is to spend more time training it. By doing this you will not only be able to teach it to listen to you in certain situations but you’ll also get it used to listening to your command which will make it more likely to stop what it’s doing when you tell it to.

Regain trust

If you have been trying to trick your husky into behaving the way that you want it to in the past then it would be a good idea to change your approach. Instead of tricking it you’ll likely find that it is much more effective to train it in small increments using positive reinforcement.

Seek professional help

If everything that you have tried hasn’t been able to get your husky to start paying attention to you then it would likely be worthwhile for you to get the help of a certified dog behaviorist. By doing this you will be able to get advice tailored to your specific husky.

Things to consider

Don’t expect sudden changes

When you’re training your husky to be more responsive to you it’s important to take a long-term approach. Getting your husky to change its habits is not something that will happen overnight so it’s important not to get frustrated when things don’t change quickly and to stick with it over the long run.

Be consistent

It’s also important to be consistent with your training. It’s not enough to just train your husky for a week and then forget about it. You need to do it on a regular basis and to avoid taking long breaks from training your husky otherwise, it will forget what you have been training it to.