Q: Are Siberian Huskies good dogs to have?
Are Siberian Huskies known to be aggressive or vicious? Huskies look amazing but I don't know how they are with people. I kind of fear dogs since my father had a German Shepherd who was very aggressive.
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Answers and Views:
Answer by Itz7nobody
I own a Siberian husky and he is a darling. He does run off if he pleases but always comes back. He is very social (loves other dogs) and has great people skills. I run a tight ship with him and always have so he has grown up to be non-viscous and has never hurt anybody. The only problem is that he doesn’t always get along with the cat. He will cuddle with her sometimes but most of the time they just don’t care for each other.
Answer by Paul W.
If not properly trained, Husky can become very aggressive. It's not usual for this breed but each dog is individual. You should become a pack leader for them.
Answer by Amy
I actually own a husky. She’s two and a half years old, and I can say with absolute certainty she’s never been aggressive to anyone, not even shown the capacity to being aggressive towards people or other dogs, to the point that I do wonder if I was ever attacked by someone whether her reaction would be to high tail it in the other direction.
She’s incredibly unconfrontational and is the sweetest, silliest dog around her family. She’s reserved and timid around people she doesn’t know, but she’s open to making new friends if they’re willing to give her time. She was very timid with my boyfriend when she met him for the first time, but after three meetings, she was wrestling with him and being as daft as she is with me and my family. They do have a high prey drive though and will kill smaller animals like rabbits, squirrels etc, and also cats if they’re not brought up with them.
I will say that they do need to know you’re boss. That doesn’t mean you have to be overbearing and play the dominant character constantly on with them. It just means that they need to know what is and isn’t okay and that they need to do what you say when you say it when it matters, which my dog does beautifully. She has a great personality and she’s very fun loving. She is also very affectionate, which a lot of people seem to think they’re not, but I totally disagree on that point. My dog loves to be cuddled, will openly come over for full-on bear hugs, and she is also very content to lie next to me on the sofa and chill out.
She was my first dog, and I’ve never found her to be problematic and not at all aggressive in the slightest. If you do your research and understand that they’re not the kind of dog you can just leave to their own devices all day and that you need to be the alpha of the pack. They NEED to be exercised extensively on a daily basis, they NEED to be aware of their position as being beneath the alpha (aka you), and they NEED to be given attention and affection. If you can’t give them these things, don’t get one. They also shed ALOT twice a year, so if you don’t like the mess and you’re a neat freak, they’re a no-no as well. You will have yourself an amazing dog if you take everything into consideration and research them extensively. But don’t get one on a whim.
Answer by gillian gregson
We had our husky for 10 and a half years before we lost him to cancer, it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do let him, go we were in tears when we contacted the breeder we got him from to let him now he was gone.
He was the most loving dog ever.he was never aggressive to anyone even people he met for the first time would be greeted with a with a big sloppy kiss and a wag of his tail,he lived in a kennel in our back garden but liked to come in for an hour now an then just to have a cuddle but never stayed in to long it just got to warm for him, when we went on walks in the woods we did let him off his lead and he never went too far without lifting his head to see were we were, and he always came running back, he did malt a lot and our garden was always covered in fur but we all love and miss him so much.
We will never be able to replace Nanuck but we are going to have a look at another husky puppy today, hopefully, we might be as lucky as the first time around and get another wonderful friend.
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Answer by Olanna
I’ve raised huskies and now I have a husky mix. Her Dad was a husky and her Mom was a Boston Terrier. (Yes, you read that right). She is about 30 pounds, looks like a husky, but only has the double coat in her most hindquarters. She hasn’t tried to escape but I imagine that is because she has a huge backyard with a six-foot fence. She digs a bit, but nothing like the full bred huskies I had before.
She is loving, kind, and loyal. She is “my” dog but loves everyone and howls and talks to them the moment they come in the house. It took forever to get her to learn to stay down off of people. And yes, she destroyed an entire greenhouse in the backyard after my old lab mix passed on. To remedy her loneliness, I hired a walker to come and walk her on the days I am not home. This has been well worth every penny.
Just remember, if you are sedated and like to stay on the couch but get out occasionally, you might consider a greyhound instead. If you want a reason to walk, and you can be home most of the time, Husky is your dog. :)
Know better? Give your own answer to this question!
Laura says
My husky is very loyal, cuddly and a wonderful dog yo have. She would be happy laying with you all day. She playfully protects protects the kids. But not sure if she would actually protect if an attacker would hurt us or not. But I am summing that if we were attacked she would get in the way. She is friendly with people, children, dogs and cats. She had killed a seagull and I saved a baby seagull from her. She is trained off the lead and goes for a run at the beach and comes back when she is called. If my front door gets left open by one of the kids. She is gone as very fast. She sits nears roads when she is told too. She is trained to walk nicely and not to pulls. She sits and gives her paw. She doesn’t bark or howl much but she does sometimes. She is trained to play hide n seek with the kids. The kids hide and the dog sniffs to find them. She play fights with adults and is trained to play gently. She won’t play fetch or tug of war because she doesn’t want too. She will play some football. She is nosey and always interested in new people visiting. She follows them and keeps an eye on what they are doing. She lets everyone cuddle and stroke her the whole time. She is trained not to lay on sofas or to sleep in human beds. She has got her own bed and She loves being outside in the garden most of the time in all weather conditions. She has got a dog flap so she can come in and out whenever she wants too. She loves bones, treats and chews. Her favourite are pigs ears. She has got a good happy life. She lives with one adult, 4 children and 1 cat. She looks after all of us including the cat but she knows that I am the leader. We are all very happy
Laura says
And she has digged up the back garden a lot. Husky’s are good thief’s as well as it is hard to trained them to get out of that. I’m sure it could be done. She is house trained and she can be left at home without destroying the home or wrecking anything. She is protective of the back garden and is ok with people entering it if they through my front door or back gate and not over the fence.
Olanna says
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Itz7nobody says
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Amy says
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gillian gregson says
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freshprince says
FYI, headlines have hit the news today about dogs killing a 3 week old baby in Canada – the dogs were huskies. Not blaming the breed generically, as the mother left the infant alone with the dogs while she went outside to smoke – that’s a dangerous thing to do with many breeds – but I wonder if the intense prey drive described here by many posters might have been a contributing factor.
gillian gregson says
all dogs have a pray drive,a yorkshire terrier left alone with a new born killed it here in uk no dog should be left alone with babies