How to Train a Husky to Play Dead

Huskies are active, intelligent dogs, with a bit of independent spirit--OK, a lot of independent spirit--thrown in for good measure. Training your Husky advanced tricks like 'play dead' is an excellent way to engage your Husky’s mind, just remember to engage his body first!  What does that mean? Huskies are high energy dogs that were bred to run hundreds of miles pulling a sled in a pack. Unless you can run hundreds of miles through the snow with him, chances are he has a lot of extra energy! You will need to burn this off in order to successfully engage his mind for obedience training and advanced tricks. 

Playing dead is a great advanced trick, as it is not only cute and entertaining for friends and family, which will win your attention-loving Husky the adoration and kudos he so desperately deserves (just ask him, he no doubt is quite confident that he deserves the admiration of his fans), but also teaches your boisterous Husky to relax and stay in a 'down' position. This can be super handy if you need to control your dog in an unexpected situation and your dog has become disciplined enough to perform the 'play dead' command, which is very similar to 'down-stay', Your dog will be more practiced at holding 'down-stay' when it is required as a result of knowing 'play dead'.

Playing dead is an advanced trick that involves a slight variation on several obedience commands strung together. Teaching your Husky to lie down, then roll onto his side, then stay, are the basic building blocks of this trick. Next, you will need to string it all together, increase the length of time your Husky lies still, which might be no easy feat, and add a command such as “play dead” or a hand signal such shooting a pretend gun made with your hand. Some owners get really creative with their play dead signals, adding sound effects or specific props or creative special verbal and hand signals. You will want to teach your Husky to hold the 'play dead' position for several seconds at least, and then provide a release command so your Husky knows when the trick is over and he can claim his reward.

Teaching your Husky basic obedience commands prior to any advanced tricks, especially an advanced trick like playing dead that strings together several obedience behaviors is recommended for success. Lots of treats or toys, whatever motivates your Husky to perform approximations of the trick, and eventually the trick itself, should be used. You do not ever want to use punishment when teaching a trick, it should be fun, and success rewarded. Many trainers and owners also use a clicker to capture and mark desired behaviors, and this can be a very useful tool when teaching 'play dead', or any other trick or behavior. Remember to be patient and have fun, the name of the trick may be "play dead" but it is not a matter of life and death!