Siberian Huskies were born and bred to be working dogs; their ancestors' early life in arctic Siberia required that they be active, productive animals even before they were used for human benefit. After generations of usefulness and breeding under the hand of man, the Siberian Husky has proven to be a dog that excels at working. But many owners never seem to enjoy the benefits of owning the Siberian Husky because they do not understand the dog and its work ethic.
The Siberian Husky is something of an enigma; the dog was born and bred to work, but lacks fierce loyalty and is very independent. The dog is extremely intelligent and eager to perform, but can also be fiercely stubborn and seemingly uncontrollable.
To an extent, Siberian Huskies are "uncontrollable", because they do not operate under the same set of circumstances as other working dogs. Siberian Huskies work long and hard because they want to, not because a human wants them to. Once this is understood, Siberian Huskies become much easier to work with, but the key is to remember that the Siberian Husky works with others as part of a team.
Siberian Huskies are by nature pack animals. They are "made" (so to speak) to be a member of a team, even if that is a team of two-owner and dog. Siberian Huskies are happy to accept their place and function on the team as long as their needs are met and they know what that place is.
In order for Siberian Huskies to know their place, they need to know respect. Siberian Huskies need to be respected and treated as valued, appreciated companions, but they also need to be taught to respect the pack leader; in a pack, the leader is the Alpha dog, a position that is given over to the owner in a home-pet working situation.
Siberian Huskies live to have a job-almost any job they can perform. Siberian Huskies are exceedingly happy to have a task and a purpose, and appropriate jobs should not be thought of as abusive. But before a Siberian Husky will respect owner requests, they need to have that sense of belonging and respect for the alpha-the owner. This is achieved through consistent, continuous training. Siberian Huskies need rules and they need them from the very beginning, without fail. Siberian Huskies are very smart, and once a rule is broken, they will know that they can push the boundaries and control will progressively lessen.
With proper consistency, a Siberian Husky will be an unwavering work dog, but one that will always have limits to their loyalty and obedience; social, curious, adaptable, and energetic by nature, a Siberian husky will never be just a one-person dog, and will quickly seize the opportunity to chase a dog dream and very possibly, never be seen again. A relationship with a Siberian Husky has excellent potential, but it is imperative that owners know the capabilities of the breed, and learn to work with them.
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