How to Train a Husky to be Protective

Hello Ali, I suggest starting with a good foundation of obedience if that is not already in place. Obedience can help build respect and trust between you and him so that he is more likely to want to protect you and to pay attention to what's going on with you. It's also incredibly important for any dog who you will be encouraging any form of guarding or protection work in. Second, if you want pup to alert to strangers, teach a "Speak" command and "Quiet" command. Point out strangers who in locations (within a certain distance to you or on your property for example) and command "Speak" when he notices those people. Reward with a toy or treat for him barking, then command "Quiet" and reward that response. You may need to recruit friends your dog doesn't know to pretend to be strangers entering your property for this. Watch pup and whenever he displays behavior that can help with protection - such as watching people pass by, noticing unusual things, paying attention to your whereabouts, ect...Reward those things with a treat to encourage the focus to increase. I do NOT suggest rewarding any true form of aggression. If you with to go past pup learning to be more alert, to warn you, be more responsive to you, and appear intimidating to others, and teach pup true defensive behavior, the next step is to join a club or seek professional training where those activities are taught by experienced trainers with the use of things like bite bags, sleeves, protective padding, ect, and include a high level of obedience for control and safety reasons. True protection work is primarily taught through forms of positive reinforcement - via drive training, and encouraging certain breed's natural defense drive. You absolutely do not want to encourage true aggression or fear in a dog or the dog becomes a danger to you and friends and not a protection. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Adorable pup! It is never to early to start training! As soon as you have the okay from the vet that Kim's vaccines are up to date, enroll him in puppy classes. This will give him confidence, socialize him well with other dogs, and help the two of you develop a wonderful bond. In the meantime, start training Kim with obedience skills like Sit: https://wagwalking.com/training/sit/ Down: https://wagwalking.com/training/perform-the-down-position/, etc. As well: https://wagwalking.com/training/obedience-train-a-husky-puppy/. Good luck and happy training!

Hello Ianna, First, I suggest teaching pup to bark on command. Check out the Speak article linked below. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-to-speak Once pup knows that command, recruit friends pup doesn't know to practice coming up the driveway. Each time someone goes onto your driveway command pup to Speak and reward pup for doing so. Practice often with lots of repetitions and different people. When pup is good at doing this and even barks before you give a command sometimes, practice more, but now wait seven seconds before commanding speak, to see if pup will bark on their own. Reward extra and give extra enthusiastic praise the times pup barks before being told speak. Practice until pup will consistently bark before you say speak, when they simply see someone walk onto the driveway from outside or in your home from a window. Now, keep treats handy by the window or door where pup watches for people. When pup barks when a stranger walks toward your home, like a delivery person dropping a package onto the porch, then reward pup with one of those treats to help pup apply the training to everyday scenarios and learn to keep an eye out for people approaching. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Denise, At this age, you actually want pup to like other people. You want pup to be thoroughly socialized and not at all fearful or suspicious of normal people, so that she will grow up to become confident and know what's normal human behavior - so that they can tell the difference between normal behavior (and be able to be around people and go places with you without being a liability) and strange behavior (so pup knows when something is off). As pup approaches adulthood, you can then start working on pup being very obedient to you and ignoring others, such as through intermediate and advanced obedience where pup practices heeling past people and staying focused on you and not the other person, and obeying around distractions. I would add in rewarding pup when they are observant of their surroundings and watch people quietly. Once pup has those skills, you can start formal protection of guard dog training, where a trainer dresses in a body suit or wears a bite sleeve and pup is taught to specifically react to certain situations and commands from you - but it's done in a way that's fun for pup and builds confidence, utilizing their natural defense drive through things like the trainer coming toward you or pup with the sleeve rather than pup being suspicious or afraid of everyone. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Sy, Is the harness front clip or back clip? If back clip, I recommend a different training tool, like a gentle leader. Back clip harnesses can actually make pulling worse - think sled dogs pulling a sled - the resistance of the leash behind them causes pup to want to pull against it more. Check out the Turns method from the article linked below. Pay special attention to the steps on turning directly in front of pup as soon as their nose starts to move past your leg - don't wait until his head is all the way past your leg to turn in front of him or this will be hard to do. It should look like pup sitting beside you, slightly behind you so that head is behind your leg, step forward and as soon as he starts to move ahead of you, quickly turn directly in front of him. You will probably have to be fast at first and may bump into him until he starts to learn this. Practice in an open area, like your own yard, so that you can make lots of turns easily. You want pup to learn that he should stay slightly behind and pay attention to where you are going and where you may turn, instead of assuming he knows the way and can forge ahead. The turns keep him guessing and more focused. Turns method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-poodle-to-heel For the Drop It, I recommend playing fetch with bumpers for a while, then when pup refuses to let go, you can roll it out of their mouth, then give the treat once the bumper is out. Keep a drag leash on pup while throwing short distances (short to prevent leash from catching while running), if pup tends to run away with the toy after. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden