How to Train a Husky as Guard Dog

The earlier you can start training your Husky, the sooner you will see results. They are most receptive when they are puppies. So start teaching them basic obedience commands, such as ‘down’ and ‘wait’.

You need to encourage any promising behaviors they may need to be a guard dog. That means handing over treats and verbal praise whenever they bark or take an interest in strangers.

It’s also important you take your pup to obedience classes. This is a great place for them to socialize with other pets and people. It is important they learn not to be defensive and bark at everyone.

If they bark at people or pets they know, then you need to react. Take them calmly by the collar and remove them from the situation. It’s important the defensive behavior is controlled and only aimed at strangers.

Don’t punish your Husky when they do something wrong or fail to defend against strangers. Fear could make them aggressive and then dangerous. Positive reinforcements are the most effective way to train a Husky.

Each morning, secure your Husky to a leash and walk them around the perimeter of the area you want them to guard. If you do this each day it will show them where their territory begins and ends. They will naturally want to defend anything within that space.

Do exactly the same thing in the evening. Walk quietly as you go, you want them to concentrate and take in their surroundings. After a couple of weeks, this will soon feel like their space to defend.

In the daytime, secure the dog to a long leash. Make sure they have enough space to roam around the area you want them to guard. Also make sure they have access to water and are given meals.

Whenever a stranger approaches, point, talk and draw their attention to them. It may take a while, but eventually they will catch on. Continue to get them worked up until they bark.

As soon as your Husky barks, hand over a mouth-watering treat and give them some verbal praise. You now just need to repeat this each time, until they naturally get into the habit of barking at strangers.

Spend a couple of days monitoring your Husky. You’re looking for situations that naturally trigger a bark. This could be when you are about to feed them or take them for a walk, for example.

Once you have found such a situation, give a ‘bark’ command just before or as they start to bark. Give it just once in a playful voice. Note you can use any word or phrase you like for the command.

As soon as they do indeed bark, hand over a treat and some verbal praise. Now practice this for a few minutes each day, until you can get them to bark with a quick instruction.

Now secure your Husky to a leash at the place you want them to guard and have a friend they do not know that well approach. As soon as they get close, point and issue a ‘bark’ command to your dog.

Have your friend shout and run away and then hand over a treat. It’s important your Husky knows they need to bark until the intruder runs away. Now practice this several times a week and try to use different people each time. Soon enough they will naturally bark at anyone that approaches.