Hi, question

[wog]

Hi =)

I have a question for any husky owners here... Well i was told today by a German Shepherd breeder that husky's aren't trainable? She said that once you teach them something, they forget it. I know they are stubborn, but what do you guys think?

[Kfamr]

We have a VERY smart Husky boy named Nebo on the boards who is owned by Wolf_q that knows LOTS of tricks.

I think maybe the GSD breeder just wanted to sell you one lol

[GoldenRetrLuver]

I've heard that huskys can be stubborn and not the easiest to train. I think it just depends on the dog. Like Kfamr said, Nebo is a very smart boy who knows many tricks. We also have another husky on here named Tikeya, owned by "tikeyas_mom".

[Fox-Gal]

I think who ever told you that is crazy. They are very trainable. Think about it, they are trained to pull sleds. Huskies are highly intelligent, easily bored, and apt to get into trouble if they don't receive proper obedience training and exercise. They can be stubborn and mischievous, so some people might think they are un-trainable because of that.

BTW: Welcome to Pet Talk

[binka_nugget]

huskies are harder to work with sometimes but it doesn't mean they're any less intelligent than other dogs. I know of a couple who own 2 afghans. They're both very well trained and do perform tricks at the superdogs show. Afghan's are known to be very independant. A breeder even said that if you're looking for a roomate that doesn't do anything...afghan's are for you. It just takes more understanding and training.

[wog]

Really? thanks, i'm glad to hear that. The breeder went on about how "you don't see husky's coming out of police cars" blah blah blah. She sure had a lot of great things to say about her GSD's though. I don't think she likes Husky's much =P
she's evil

[Kfamr]

I think she is just a little too Biased because she is a shepherd breeder.

[Glacier]

Well, I have 15 of them--all well trained. Now they will never be police dogs, but that's not what they are meant to be. My dogs skijor, weight pull, mush and know basic obedience.

Huskies are highly intelligent. They get bored easily and a bored husky will find a way to amuse himself--climb a fence, dig a hole, howl--all typical husky behaviors that are no indication of their intelligence. Intelligence and obedience aren't necessarily the same thing!

[anna_66]

Originally posted by wog
Hi =)

I have a question for any husky owners here... Well i was told today by a German Shepherd breeder that husky's aren't trainable? She said that once you teach them something, they forget it. I know they are stubborn, but what do you guys think?

What do I think? Well, being a husky owner...I totally disagree!
My Roxey is one smart cookie! Like Glacier said, they get bored easy & will "find" something to do to occupy their time, but they are very trainable.

[RUTHIES MOM]

I have had a siberian husky and he is now 3 yrs. old I got him as a pup. I trained him to do the basic commands sit. down, stay, come and the well known off. he was real stubborn Not all huskys are that bad but every dog is trainable you just have to work on it as a 24 hr. job. so enough you will start to see the change just remember to always praise him when he does the command even if you have to help him still praise him. I used to train dogs so try that and see if that works.

Ruthies mom

[Tonya]

I think huskies are a little more stubborn. And I think that they can tend to be escape artists and diggers...but by all means, they are not untrainable. I have a husky and a husky-australian shephard mix, and they are wonderful dogs. My husky, Roxy, is truly the best dog that I have ever owned. (Don't tell Dusty and Teddy!)

[primabella]

Originally posted by Glacier
Well, I have 15 of them--all well trained. Now they will never be police dogs, but that's not what they are meant to be. My dogs skijor, weight pull, mush and know basic obedience.

Huskies are highly intelligent. They get bored easily and a bored husky will find a way to amuse himself--climb a fence, dig a hole, howl--all typical husky behaviors that are no indication of their intelligence. Intelligence and obedience aren't necessarily the same thing!

I totally agree with Glacier.

[wolf_Q]

Stubborn? Yes! Untrainable? No! Nebo says thanks for the compliments guys... He's a very intelligent dog. And he's very willing to learn also. Huskies don't "forget" something once they've learned it, you just need to reinforce the behavior, like you should with every dog. Sometimes they do have this "I'll do it if I want to" additude though lol.

No, of course, of course you wouldn't see a husky coming out of a police car. That's not what they were bred to do. You don't see many sled teams made entirely of german shepards either do you?

Huskies, as wonderful as I think they are, are not the dog for everyone.

[wolfsoul]

Huskies are very intelligent dogs. A great breed. They are just obstinate and can be harder to train, but if they have an experienced owner that has done their research and knows what they are doing, than training is completely possible, just like with any breed.

It sounds to me like the breeder is speaking from personal experience, because most people don't just go around saying what dogs are stupid and whatnot. I bet she is comparing her German shepherds to a Siberian husky. German shepherds are easier to train, like most herding breeds are. It doesn't mean they are more intelligent or that Sibes are impossible to train.

And just because they aren't a police breed doesn't mean they are stupid. How many other breeds to you see as police dogs? I've only seen German shepherd, Catahoula leopard dog, rottweiler, doberman, belgian malinois, pitt bull, King shepherd, and Dutch shepherd. (I'm sure there are more ). It doesn't mean all of the other breeds aren't trainable. I think that breeder needs to do her research.