I recently purchashed a 1 year old Husky, she's very sweet,and
suprisingly enough she actually listens to me. But she is terrified of
my boyfriend for no reason, her previous owner (male) kept her in a
cage all day and never socialized her, when I walk her she doesn't care
too much for other humans, a bit shy, but shows fear of my boyfriend.
I used to breed German Shepherds, so Husky is a change for me, they are
much different. Any ideas on how she can get used to him? (He walks
her a lot, sometimes feeds her, tries to play with her..giving her, her
own space.. nothing works)

Also, I'm well aware that Huskies are not guard dogs, but, are there
any training methods I can work with her on to make her not so "shy"
around humans, I would like to try and teach her to respect humans but
protect her "pack" if need be. Probably an almost impossible task, but
other than her shyness I believe she has the potential.

I recently got a Siberian Husky puppy from a breeder, the most lovable dog I
ever had. OBE (Old Blue Eyes) seems to be very easy to train, but the
breeder did warn me that I must start immediately, she said that when it
comes to Huskies, the old adage "you cant teach an old dog new tricks" was
written by a Husky owner.

I spoke to her again after reading your post; she said it will be difficult
put not impossible.

As for the boy friend, she said that he should spend as much time as
possible with her; and that he should reward her for every good thing she
does. But NEVER discipline her, she has a bad taste in her mouth from her
previous owner and she must get over that.

Good luck with your new family member


"Amishka" wrote in message
oups.com...
|I recently purchashed a 1 year old Husky, she's very sweet,and
| suprisingly enough she actually listens to me. But she is terrified of
| my boyfriend for no reason, her previous owner (male) kept her in a
| cage all day and never socialized her, when I walk her she doesn't care
| too much for other humans, a bit shy, but shows fear of my boyfriend.
| I used to breed German Shepherds, so Husky is a change for me, they are
| much different. Any ideas on how she can get used to him? (He walks
| her a lot, sometimes feeds her, tries to play with her..giving her, her
| own space.. nothing works)
|
| Also, I'm well aware that Huskies are not guard dogs, but, are there
| any training methods I can work with her on to make her not so "shy"
| around humans, I would like to try and teach her to respect humans but
| protect her "pack" if need be. Probably an almost impossible task, but
| other than her shyness I believe she has the potential.
|

Amishka wrote:
But she is terrified of
my boyfriend for no reason,

What exactly does she do in his presence? Does this extend to all men,
all people, kids?

(He walks
her a lot, sometimes feeds her, tries to play with her..giving her, her
own space.. nothing works)

What needs to happen is that he must be the keeper of all good things.
If possible, have him take over the walks and the feeding. He may have
to start off by hand feeding her if she accepts it. If not, he can just
roll her kibble to her, one at a time (no quick arm/body movements), and
slowly work towards having her accept it from his hands. If her
reaction to him is not so severe that she has a meltdown in his
presence, he should also take over obedience training her (find a class
that uses mostly positive methods). Regardless of whether he is able to
train her, she should be in classes, as training work helps build
confidence in a dog. Your BF should also take care not to loom over the
dog, and in her presence, must make an effort to be as non-threatening
as possible (sit down on the floor and make himself small, pet underneat
her chin, slowly working towards the top of her head, use mellow, even
tones, no raised voices, no staring or direct eye contact, etc.). Don't
push himself on her if she is not ready for it, and don't coddle her and
confirm her fears either. You may benefit from reading Patricia
McConnell's *excellent* 'The Cautious Canine'.

If her fear extends to people she meets out and about, she will also
require extensive socialization.

Also, I'm well aware that Huskies are not guard dogs,

They are anything but.

any training methods I can work with her on to make her not so "shy"
around humans, I would like to try and teach her to respect humans but
protect her "pack" if need be.

Do not try to turn your Husky into a guard dog. It could be potentially
disastrous. The last thing you need is an unpredictable dog on your hands.

Suja

On Thu, 23 Dec 2004 10:35:52 -0500, Suja wrote:

Suja, that is a fabulous response! I think you touched practically every
base.

I've been working with a tiny Shetland Sheep Dog I got from the shelter.
In these four months, Laddy has made fabulous progress, but we're
nowhere close to where I wish we were. It took a month before he would
come into the same room with me, my Sheltie puppy, Angus, and my Chow
Chow.

Now he comes to my bed and snuggles until I doze off. Angus, my sheltie
puppy, while snoozing on his back recently got his foot caught in a low
wire shelf. There was no physical injury, but he became very
frightened. His yelping caused a major setback for Laddy. It has taken
four days for Laddy to start coming back out of his shell. My point is
that it takes vast amounts of time to undo certain damage. I don't know
if Laddy will ever be as out going as Angus.

I see a lot of introverted Huskies at the shelter. In the time allotted,
they usually open up a bit; but most of them leave the shelter, in need
of much confidence building. I like to believe there is always hope for
them.

Michael
Zildjian: world class cymbal of excellence.

Joseph Ferraro wrote:
I recently got a Siberian Husky puppy from a breeder, the most
lovable dog I
ever had. OBE (Old Blue Eyes) seems to be very easy to train, but
the
breeder did warn me that I must start immediately, she said that when
it
comes to Huskies, the old adage "you cant teach an old dog new
tricks" was
written by a Husky owner.

I spoke to her again after reading your post; she said it will be
difficult
put not impossible.

As for the boy friend, she said that he should spend as much time as
possible with her; and that he should reward her for every good thing
she
does. But NEVER discipline her, she has a bad taste in her mouth from
her
previous owner and she must get over that.

Good luck with your new family member




Thanks for the advice... she has blue eyes too, beautiful... I've had 4
people stop me in the street and ask me if she was for sale.

"Amishka" wrote in message
oups.com...
|I recently purchashed a 1 year old Husky, she's very sweet,and
| suprisingly enough she actually listens to me. But she is
terrified of
| my boyfriend for no reason, her previous owner (male) kept her in a
| cage all day and never socialized her, when I walk her she doesn't
care
| too much for other humans, a bit shy, but shows fear of my
boyfriend.
| I used to breed German Shepherds, so Husky is a change for me, they
are
| much different. Any ideas on how she can get used to him? (He
walks
| her a lot, sometimes feeds her, tries to play with her..giving her,
her
| own space.. nothing works)
|
| Also, I'm well aware that Huskies are not guard dogs, but, are
there
| any training methods I can work with her on to make her not so
"shy"
| around humans, I would like to try and teach her to respect humans
but
| protect her "pack" if need be. Probably an almost impossible task,
but
| other than her shyness I believe she has the potential.
|

When he comes home from work, she ducks her head, and just watches him
very closely, doesn't go near him, and when he leaves the room she will
stare at the door until he comes back out. When I took her to PetsMart
she didn't seem to mind humans, had no interest in them, a little shy
but she wasn't afraid... when my aunt came over with her dog, she
kissed her almost to death.
Thanks a lot for the information you've provided for me. ;-)