[amanda06claire]

I posted last week about having issues with my newly adopted 2 year old husky being comfortable with his crate... That has gotten better but I have a few more questions!

First for some background information... He was at the humane society for 3 months before we adopted him. Previously, he had lived completely outdoors. Because of this he has no manners and probably had no rules to follow before! Over the weekend he started his first session of obediance school. He will be going every Saturday for an hour.

Here are some issues we are having at home:

1. Biting/nipping... This is both skin, clothing, etc. He does this when we aren't paying attention to him 100%. Obviously he needs love and we play with him but we need to get other things done too! Any suggestions on how to stop this habit would be great!

To go along with this, he also jumps... A LOT! Mostly on me, not so much my finace. I have been ignoring him and turning my back when he does this and it sometimes helps but not always. I try to do the same with the nipping but when I ignore him, he seems to do it more. I will give him a toy to chew instead but this doesn't always deter the behavior.

Lastly, any suggestions for good toys for huskies?

Thank you!

[CorkyMax]

Originally Posted by amanda06claire

I posted last week about having issues with my newly adopted 2 year old husky being comfortable with his crate... That has gotten better but I have a few more questions!

First for some background information... He was at the humane society for 3 months before we adopted him. Previously, he had lived completely outdoors. Because of this he has no manners and probably had no rules to follow before! Over the weekend he started his first session of obediance school. He will be going every Saturday for an hour.

Here are some issues we are having at home:

1. Biting/nipping... This is both skin, clothing, etc. He does this when we aren't paying attention to him 100%. Obviously he needs love and we play with him but we need to get other things done too! Any suggestions on how to stop this habit would be great!

Trying to enter this way--Couldn't make it work for some reason by just doing the reply way!! Here goes--hope this works!!

quote: Here are some issues we are having at home:

1. Biting/nipping... This is both skin, clothing, etc. He does this when we aren't paying attention to him 100%. Obviously he needs love and we play with him but we need to get other things done too! Any suggestions on how to stop this habit would be great!Tire him out--This breed needs vigorous exercise! (but don't overdo it in warm weather because of their cold weather dog wooly coat is not best suited for warm/hot weather!) From my breeds book: BE AWARE--Lack of exercise will make these dogs restless; if not securely enclosed, they will go off hunting by themselves! Because of their heavy coats, these dogs are unsuited to life in hot climates and should not be excessively exercised in warm weather.

To go along with this, he also jumps... A LOT! Mostly on me, not so much my finace. I have been ignoring him and turning my back when he does this and it sometimes helps but not always. I try to do the same with the nipping but when I ignore him, he seems to do it more. I will give him a toy to chew instead but this doesn't always deter the behavior. If I remember right---When he goes to jump up on you, raise your knee in front of him to block this. Repetition till he gets the message.

Lastly, any suggestions for good toys for huskies? Not sure but definitely nothing he can tear apart. Prob. needs something he can chew on that is very strong! I don't like to say rawhide because he is prob. going to eat that and not a good thing--Could choke or even have an obstruction if 'inhaled' a big chunk!---Maybe a thick sturdy braided rope-like toy? Maybe someone in here with this type of dog can give you some ideas.

Here is a very good link for info on this breed. I'm sure you will get a lot of good 'stuff' here! I love this site! --->
Siberian Husky Information, Husky, Huskies, Sibe, Sibes, Siberian Huskys, Siberian Huskies :mrgreen:


To go along with this, he also jumps... A LOT! Mostly on me, not so much my finace. I have been ignoring him and turning my back when he does this and it sometimes helps but not always. I try to do the same with the nipping but when I ignore him, he seems to do it more. I will give him a toy to chew instead but this doesn't always deter the behavior.

Lastly, any suggestions for good toys for huskies?

Thank you!

I also sent you an email with a copy of what I am trying to post here!!

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Corky/Max

I also sent you an email with a copy of what I am trying to post here!!

I agree. Provide him with plenty of exercise. Not just walking around the block. This breed of dogs need plenty of run time on a daily basis. Also provide chew toys for him. Would you have time to exercise him? If not, you could consider a doggy daycare or hire a dog walker. Sometimes a treadmill can be useful but shouldn't compensate for a lack of runtime outdoors. I believe that exercise is the sole cure here. He is bored and needs to burn off some excitement and energy.

[Lunareclipse]

Train him to pull something. That would wear him out. As for jumping, a knee works great. I used it on Buster and Luna quite a few times. They don't jump on me anymore unless I am sitting down. Or you just walk aroung the house in kneepads, elbow pads, chest protector and football helmet.

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by Lunareclipse

Train him to pull something. That would wear him out. As for jumping, a knee works great. I used it on Buster and Luna quite a few times. They don't jump on me anymore unless I am sitting down. Or you just walk aroung the house in kneepads, elbow pads, chest protector and football helmet.

I know for a fact the knee works. I had a 170lbs Mal/Wolf for years that was notorious for jumping up and occasionally nipping. I was much larger so it had no effect on me but my ex finally had enough one day and kneed him in the lower chest area. Damn near knocked the wind out of him and he never jumped on her again.

[Todd]

Here's an interesting article I found regarding teaching your dog not to jump up;

Train Your Dog Not to Jump
Say your dog jumps on people who come to the door. Dogs jump to greet people—it is a natural submissive greeting behavior and they have to jump because we're taller than they are. Oddly enough (from a human standpoint), the dog thinks that, by offering these submissive behaviors, she's being very polite.

Reactions to Jumping

Pooch Pointers
Contrary to old-fashioned beliefs, jumping up is not a sign of dominance or aggression.

Half of the people will pet the dog, reinforcing the dog for jumping. You've heard them: “Oh, it's okay; I love dogs.” The other half will yank the dog down, squeeze her paws until she is screaming in pain, or knee her in the chest. Or you may yank the dog down or yell at her.

All of these reactions reinforce the dog for jumping—including the negative reactions. Punish the dog for jumping and she may feel the need to jump even more in a submissive, frantic manner to appease your anger, increasing the cycle of jumping on people. Or the dog may decide that people are dangerous (since so much punishment happens around people) and the jumping may intensify into fearful biting behaviors or extreme shyness.

Jumping to Solutions
Doggie Data
Mark came in with his five-month-old Boxer, Merlin, and his four-and-a-half-year-old daughter Jean. Merlin was body-slamming Jean to the ground on a daily basis. Within one hour, Merlin stopped knocking Jean over, and it has lasted two years so far. Was it magic?
Nope—I just taught Jean to use head turns, body turns, and walking away slowly to reinforce Merlin for being on the ground. The relationship between the two has improved so much so that now Jean is the main trainer of the dog! If a four-and-a-half-year-old child can do it, so can you!
These are some of my favorite options that you can adopt to teach your dog that “four on the floor” is more rewarding for her:

Avert your eyes and turn sideways as she's about to jump—you can always see the signs in their little eyes or in their bodies! If you miss the signals and the dog jumps, still turn sideways to deflect the dog. Then once she has four on the floor, wait passively for five seconds, ask her to “Sit,” and then reinforce.

You can also walk away slowly (a calming signal) and reinforce the dog for staying on the ground. Throw treats on the floor to further reinforce that “down there” is better.

Become a tree stump. Don't move. After all, how reinforcing can a tree stump be? Don't look at the dog and don't talk to the dog or push her away. Trees don't have eyes, ears, mouths, or arms. Just stand there. She'll eventually get down. Wait for five seconds, ask her to “Sit,” and then reinforce.

Teach the dog to jump on cue by encouraging her to jump and saying “Up” when she does. Give her a quick pet and murmur “Good.” Then look away and become a stump. When you feel the dog get off, say “Off” and have a party! Give her the jackpot of her life—tons of food, calm petting, praise, and lots of attention. Repeat a billion times. She'll soon learn that the reward for not jumping is infinitely better than the reward for jumping.

One of my favorite options is to teach the dog to “Go visit.” “Go visit” means that on your cue only, the dog goes up to the person you're pointing to and lies down! (Lying down is incompatible with jumping.)

If your dog jumps wildly on people coming to the door, make the doorbell a cue to go to her crate. Or teach the dog that a person approaching is a cue to sit or lie down, and heavily reinforce it.