Huskies are beautiful dogs with thick coats and striking eyes. They also happen to be hard workers. These dogs are agile, quick, and tough when they must be. They tend to have large amounts of energy and require plenty of outdoor time for fun and exploration each day. They are also loyal to their family members and are usually great with kids. So, do they happen to be good guard dogs too? The short answer is, not really. This doesn’t mean your Husky won’t help protect your home from strangers and would-be intruders, though. Read on to learn more!
Why Huskies Don’t Make Good Guard Dogs
The biggest reason Huskies do not make good guard dogs is that they are not bred to be aggressive, and aggressiveness is sometimes necessary when guarding people or places. Huskies naturally like humans and are rarely suspicious of them, even when they’re complete strangers. While these dogs tend to be possessive over their human family members, they are not usually protective like a guard dog would be.
Huskies are also stubborn and like to be independent, so training them to be guard dogs can be difficult. They also don’t have a history of being guard dogs, so it isn’t something that they have ever been expected to do.
Huskies Do Make Great Watchdogs!
While Huskies don’t make good guard dogs, they can be great watchdogs! The difference is that a watchdog will let you know when something doesn’t seem right outside the home or when strangers are approaching, and a guard dog will engage with the threat to try to physically and/or vocally ward that threat off. If your Husky sees a stranger approaching, they will likely growl and try to get your attention until it’s clear that you are aware of the issue, but they are not likely to engage with the stranger in any way. That said, their alerts to possible trouble can be all that’s needed for you to handle a possibly bad situation.
It’s important to note that it’s not impossible to train a Husky to be a guard dog, but unless you are able and willing to hire a professional and spend a great deal of time training, you’re better off teaching your pooch to become a watchdog.
Training Your Husky to Be a Watchdog
All Huskies should participate in obedience training while still puppies so they understand how to communicate with you and obey commands that you give them. Otherwise, you won’t be able to turn them into a watchdog. They’ll need to be obedient to learn watchdog skills and techniques.
You should engage in daily training sessions with your pooch, even after they seem to understand the training, just to keep their skills in tip-top shape. Training sessions should be encouraging, and punishment should never be physical or injurious. The earlier that you start training your dog, the better they will be at watching your property as they get older. It’s always a good idea to get professional guidance or to hire a trainer when working with your dog on their watchdog skills.
In Conclusion
Huskies may not make the best guard dogs, but they can be effective watchdogs with a bit of training. Since Huskies are so loyal to their human family members, they may already display natural watchdog tendencies as puppies. The sooner that you start training, the easier it will be to develop those tendencies in your dog.
Featured Image Credit: Pixabay
