Training Huskies

Obedience and agility trials are a lot of fun and certainly require good dog training skills, but training is about more than competing for prizes in the ring.  Training can help a dog become a happy, confident and well-mannered family pet, instead of a destructive, antisocial noisemaker whose behaviour ultimately becomes too difficult to deal with.  Both adult huskies and puppies are equally in need of training and no dog is ever too old to learn new skills!

SHCNSW recommends using only positive, dog-friendly

training methods, and promotes this as the official position

for all events held by the club.

What are Dog-Friendly Methods?

Using dog-friendly training methods means rewarding desirable behaviours, ignoring undesirable behaviours, and otherwise preventing behaviours that can't be ignored.

Rewarding a behaviour, e.g. by giving a food treat, will make that behaviour stronger whilst behaviours that go unrewarded will get weaker.

This is in contrast to training methods that use physical dominance, coercion or punishment to correct a dog for wrong action or try to force a dog to comply.

Methods based on punishment are sometimes been seen by owners as "more effective" than positive reinforcement, however studies indicate that the opposite is in fact true and reward-based training results in higher levels of obedience and lower levels of problem side-effect behaviours. ^{Houpt, 2004}

For more information on what "dog-friendly" training means, visit the APDT web site.

About Dominance and Punishment

The term Dominance applies to the use of force or aggression by human beings to make dogs submit or defer, in an attempt to establish 'hierarchy'.

Dominance Theory is the outdated idea that this kind of force or aggression is necessary in training. 

Intimidation, physical force and aggressive acts like "Alpha Rolls" are inappropriate training methods, and can actually be dangerous.

Read the AVSAB Position Statement on Dominance Theory for more on why the need for dominance in training is a myth.

Punishment is the use of force, coercion, aversives or physical correction in order to change a dog's behaviour.  Equipment used often includes choke chains, pinch collars or electronic shock collars.

Punishment has a number of serious drawbacks that make it an undesirable method:

   ► Using it with a reactive dog can be physically dangerous

   ► Punishment increases other behaviour problems in the dog

   ► If applied inexpertly it can escalate to abuse when behaviours don't change

   ► The trust and good relationship most dog owners are after is quickly eroded by punishment

Read the AVSAB Position Statement on Punishment for more on the negative consequences of using punishment in dog training.

Training for Huskies

The same dog-friendly training methods will work as effectively to train a Siberian Husky as they will with any other breed, large or small.

It's a myth that Siberian Huskies are "related to wolves".  They are a purebred dog breed that is no more closely related to wolves than Poodles or Chihuahuas.

Siberian Huskies are intelligent and physically very capable and often more in need of training than other breeds so that small problem behaviours don't grow into big ones.  Behaviours that can perhaps be tolerated in toy breeds often become completely unacceptable when done by a dog as large and active a husky.

Most training groups and organisations that promote preferential use of reward-based training are suitable for Siberian Huskies, and information on how to select a trainer can be found on the APDT web site.

Getting Started

   ► Get help with behaviour. 

       Talk to an accredited instructor from www.deltasociety.com.au

       for help solving any behavioural problems.

   ► Find a trainer or club in your area.

       Visit www.apdt.com.au or consult your local council or vet

         to find trainers or training clubs that use dog-friendly methods.

   ► Check out the recommended resources.

        Visit the Training Links page for details.

   ► Talk to Husky Rescue

        For referrals and further information on specific problem behaviours.