How to Train a Husky to Stay Outside

Huskies in the north live outside year round, pull sleds hundreds of miles, and do it all without batting a frozen eyelash! So your Husky can stay outside, even in cold weather, as long as he is acclimatized and his internal furnace well stoked (that means well fed) and his fur coat full and prepared for the weather. 

Huskies have two coats, a top coat made of guard hairs that trap air and keep snow, wind, and water off their thick insulative undercoat. These two coats keep your Husky snug as a bug in a rug! In Alaska and Canada, Huskies frequently live and sleep outside in temperatures of -40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder. But it is not a matter of simply kicking your Husky outside. If he is used to living inside you will need to take some steps to ensure he has what he needs to live outside and that he is gradually acclimated and prepared to tolerate cold weather.

Although Huskies can live inside with their families and in warmer climates, they often are not comfortable in those conditions. Huskies were designed for the great outdoors with heavy double coats and big furry feet. A Husky that lives inside will develop a less dense coat to keep himself comfortable inside, so if you want to move your Husky to outdoor living you will need to do so gradually to give him time to develop a thicker coat to protect himself from cold weather. You also need to consider that a Husky that has developed a thick coat for living outside will not only be comfortable in a warm house, but if constantly brought inside and then put out he will have trouble regulating his temperature and maintaining his thick warm coat. You need to consider your Husky’s living conditions and be consistent.

Huskies should have a shelter from the elements outside, but often choose to curl up with their nose under their tails or dig a hole in the snow for a den. A curled up Husky with snow on his back is doing just fine; his coat is functioning as it should and keeping his body heat in. If your Husky has a wet coat or ice buildup on his coat his natural insulation has become compromised and you will need to get him dried off and kept protected from the elements until his coat and internal furnace are working properly.