Why Your Husky Runs Away (And How To Prevent It)

Huskies are known to be great escape artists and it can be very stressful for the owner when they do escape. This post will help you to figure out why your husky runs away and will help you to prevent it from happening in the future.

So, why does your husky run away?

There are a number of reasons why your husky might decide to run away depending on the situation.

Possible reasons include being bred to run so it’s in their nature, trying to get home, wanting to mate, curiosity, distractions such as cats, and wanting attention.

And, what’s the best way to stop your husky from running away?

The best way to stop your husky from running away will depend on the situation.

Possible solutions include having higher fences, using baby gates, getting it neutered, using a long leash, giving it lots of exercise, training it to not run away, giving it distractions such as toys, and crate training.

There are actually a lot of things that you can do to reduce the likelihood of your husky from running away and spending a moment to get to the root cause can make things much easier.

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Possible Reasons Your Husky Runs Away

There are a number of possible reasons that your husky might run away and they will vary depending on the circumstances at play.

They were bred to run

The first thing to consider with huskies is that they were bred to pull on sleighs for hours a day in freezing temperatures. This means that it is in their nature to run so don’t take it personally when it decides to and be mindful that it’s a breed that will require extra effort to keep from running away.

Trying to get home

If you recently moved then it won’t consider it as home for a while which so it will try to escape so that it can go back to its old home. To prevent this from happening make sure to get it used to your new home, to be extra patient and to be extra observant of your husky during your first few months in your new home.

It wants to mate

It could be that it wants to find another husky to mate with. This is especially likely to be the case if it’s a male. To prevent this from happening you should consider getting it neutered.

It wants attention

Huskies are a breed that require a lot of attention. If it currently isn’t getting enough attention then it will find ways to get it. A very easy way for it to get a lot of attention is to run away. To prevent this from happening be sure to give your husky lots and lots of exercise and to spend a lot of time training your husky.

It’s curious

Huskies are very curious dogs. One possible cause of why it wants to run away is that it wants to explore its surroundings. You can try to reduce this by giving it lots of exercise in your local area and to train it to not run away when you open the door using the method in the section below.

It’s distracted

Huskies are dogs that have a high prey drive. If they see a cat or a squirrel running then it won’t hesitate to run after it. This is why it’s important to start training them from an early age and to continue to train them regularly.

How To Stop Your Husky From Running Away

There are a number of measures that you can take to prevent your husky from running away. Some of them are measures designed to prevent your husky from being able to run away and others will teach it to not want to run away.

Prevent it from being able to run away

A quick and easy measure that you can take to prevent your husky from running away is to stop it from being able to run away. It doesn’t do much to get to the core issue of why it wants to run but it is a good thing to do while concurrently teaching your husky not to run. I’ll list the measures that you can take below.

Have high fences
Use baby gates
Make sure the exits are secure
Use a chain lock on the front door so that you can open it without your husky escaping
Teach them crate training
Give it distractions such as toys to play with
Use a long leash so that it can run while you’re still in control

Give it lots of exercise

Huskies are a breed that requires a lot of exercise. If they don’t get enough exercise then they will become hyperactive and will run when given the chance. By giving your husky exercise daily you’ll be able to reduce its urge to run. If you don’t have the time to exercise it then consider using a dog walker.

How to get to stop running away at the door

To do this you’ll need to have taught it to stay when told to already.

Here’s how to do it:

Put a leash and harness on the husky and have some treats that it likes handy
Go to the door for your backyard with your husky
Start by telling it to stay and then just put your hand on the doorknob
If it stays give it a treat
Tell it to stay then turn the door handle
If it stays give it a treat
Tell it to stay then open the door slightly then close it
If it stays give it a treat
Repeat each time opening the door a little further
Repeat. This time, when you open the door, gradually keep it open for longer periods.
Repeat. This time walk away to a small distance
Repeat this time using a toy that it likes start by just putting it just outside then try throwing it.
Continue to do it regularly

You can watch how it’s done in the video below.

Teach it to stay off the leash

The next thing that you’ll want to do is to teach it to stay with you when your walking it.

Take it, with a long lead and some treats, to a park that is fenced if possible
Start by getting it to do things that it already knows such as sit, lay or roll over
Tell it to stay go back and then tell it to do an exercise that it knows like rollover or lay down
Continue to do the above adding more distance
This time tell it to stay then place a toy in front of it
Continue to do step 5 each time making it a bit harder by squeaking the toy or throwing it

Watch the video below to see how

It’s important that you make sure to prioritize these training sessions when it is still young so that you will be able to make waiting for your command a much stronger habit.

Give it lots of attention

By giving your husky regular attention you’ll be able to reduce its urge to do attention seeking things such as running away.

Why to teach your husky to stay

It’s important that you teach your husky not to run away when it gets the chance because it is dangerous. If it runs out when the front door is open then it could get hit by a car or it might escape and get lost. So, make sure to teach your husky to stay from the earliest age that you can and to do it regularly.

Things to consider

There are a couple important things to consider when your husky tries to run away that I’ll mention below.

Don’t punish it

It can be tempting to punish your husky for running away but it doesn’t really work and you’ll be risking causing your husky to become distrustful, scared and it could lead to other emotional issues. A much better method is to teach it to stay and then to reward it for doing so.

Don’t take it personally

Huskies are a breed that are known for running away when given the chance and it’s something that comes naturally to them. With this being the case, if it runs away, it’s not because it’s not happy with you but more due to its nature.