Are Siberian Huskies Intelligent? How Smart Can You Expect Them To Be

Huskies are one of the beautiful, blue-eyed, and cute looking breeds among others. If you are one of those who are planning to bring this blue-eyed furry pal into your house, I would say, you are making a wonderful choice. But at the same time, many pet lovers are very particular on the intelligence of the breed which they are going to own.

Are Huskies intelligent dogs?

Yes, Siberian Huskies are an intelligent dog breed. They are bred to be working sled dogs and well known for their intelligence. But a few canine experts believe that Huskies are an average intelligent breed that is ranked much below than other breeds for their obedience and intelligence.

Huskies are hard to train due to their stubborn nature, they always tend to refrain from doing something which they can easily do. Huskies are comparatively a complicated breed and it is really hard to assess their personality and intelligence very easily. In this blog, we will try to unveil everything related to Husky’s intelligence, temperament, personality, and many other aspects.

Understanding Dog’s Intelligence

What do you mean by an intelligent dog? Every pet lover should be able to understand what does intelligence means in the context of dogs. You can refer to an intelligent dog who is good at learning simple tasks quickly.

The dog which responds to his name and obeys to certain commands or words can be considered an intelligent one. The words or commands can be ‘sit’, ‘stay’, ‘no’, ‘drop it’, and so on. The exception is a reaction to certain complex commands such as ‘here is your food’, where the dog runs quickly to the place where he is called from.

Many of us quite often compare a dog’s intelligence by judging as to how much they act and behave like a human being. But this is wrong as we have comparatively a larger brain and are capable to do more.

If your dog comes along with you to a football ground and starts following a football or a player does not mean that he is interested in the game. He only wants to be with you and spend some good time on the ground where he sees you quite often having fun.

Evaluating Huskies Intelligence and Behavior

Undoubtedly Huskies are one of the intelligent breeds but at the same time, you should understand that it is not possible to guarantee that just because the breed is labeled to be an intelligent breed, it will prove to be an intelligent one or not.

Huskies are not like any other average intelligent dog breeds which listen to all your commands and get trained easily. Huskies are stubborn hence tend to disobey your commands and do whatever it feels like. They are independent dogs who know how to take care of themselves.

Being a first pet owner you might find it difficult to own a Husky due to its stubborn nature. You will find it difficult to make them understand and obey your commands. And many times being a pet owner, it becomes very frustrating. But you should understand that whatever they do has a purpose and is a sheer exhibition of their intelligence.

What makes Huskies distinct? Yes, it is their strong memory power. Due to their sharp memory, they can guide you through the path which they have traveled years ago. Even they are also capable of remembering things which are kept in different places of your house. Huskies can very easily track down the stuff which they want to have in your house.

Huskies dig a lot and they normally do it for their shelter, hide their stuff or catch animals. You do not have to worry much about their feed as they are capable of finding their own. This instinct of Huskies makes it more dangerous for you to keep cats and other small animals at home. Though Huskies are not known as aggressive dogs, reports show that they are likely to kill cats and other smaller animals around. Hence, if you are planning to own a Husky, you should get rid of all your smaller pets.

Huskies are good navigators by nature. They will never get lost even if they are left alone in the path and can easily find a way back to their home. You should always keep a keen eye on your Husky as they tend to run away for fun by hopping the fence and digging holes. In such a situation, stop chasing your Husky as the more you chase him the more he will run away from you.   

Working Towards Huskies Intelligence Through Training

Huskies are a highly energetic breed and they need to release their energy to be productive. To give the right direction to your Huskies energy, you should make him exercise and train as otherwise, your pet will become destructive soon.

Huskies love to live in packs and get agitated if you do not spend enough time with him. If you train your Husky timely and in a streamlined manner, it will prove to be a good companion. But as stated above, training a Husky will be a tedious job, to overcome this you need to follow certain steps. By adhering to the appended steps of training you can enhance the intelligence level of your Husky.

Initiate the training when your Husky is still a puppy. Yes, it is true. You need to begin early for your Husky as they are stubborn by nature and will not listen to any of your training commands once they become adults. It would be easier for you to train a puppy Husky as they will retain all that they have learned in their memory forever.

For instance, if you do not allow your Husky to get on to your bed from the beginning, you will never see him doing in his entire lifespan. But if you do not restrict them initially, chances are very grim that you can train them not to do so.

Give quality time to your Husky. When it is a matter of obedience training, it becomes important that you spend ample time with your Husky. This not only strengthens the lovely bonding between you and your furry pal but also encourages him to listen to your commands. The more the time you spend with your pet, the more he will start trusting you and start obeying your commands.

Never try fear to train your dog as this will not develop a healthy relationship between you both. Trying to train your dog by abusing, canning, and yelling is what we mean by fear training here. The other important aspect is that Huskies are independent and stubborn dogs, hence, if you try fear to train them, chances are more that they will escape and would not come back.

Encourage your Husky with verbal praise. Your dog will feel motivated when you praise them or give them a treat when they listen to your training commands and do what is expected out of them. Positive reinforcement and treats will encourage your dog to show his willingness to learn fast and help develop a love and affection between you both.

Always be patient while training your Husky. A good trainer is one who has the patience to make the pet understand what they are supposed to do on a certain set of commands. Never rush through your training session impatiently or yell at your dog. Most people give up training and let their per grow as they want to but this is wrong. Spare as much time as possible and let your furry pal understand and learn your training commands at its own convenient pace.

The key to ideal training is ending it in a good note. Shorter sessions of 15-20 minutes three times a day is sufficient for training your Husky. As you are already aware, Huskies are stubborn by nature hence, try to be short and precise on your command while training them.

For instance, if you are teaching him to sit, and if he is not listening to your command, do not extend it further, leave him for a while and let him play. Restart the session and let him obey your command, once he does that, praise him with a treat and end your training at your terms.

Wrap up

Huskies are an excellent breed to be owned as a pet. It becomes irrelevant at times when you are more concerned about your pet’s intelligence while planning to own it. Do not you think that rather than being worried about its intelligence and capability to obey your commands, you should focus on its temperament and personality? Yes, you should be more concerned about its traits, personality, and temperament which can help you determine whether the breed is perfect for your kind of family.

Also, if you are concerned about Husky’s stubborn nature and difficulties in getting him trained, remember that every Husky has got its unique temperament and personality through which it will surely become your good companion. All they want is your love and time and by devoting this, you will see the other side of Husky.

The bottom line, every dog learns with you, hence, you need to spare an ample amount of time for your pets and not treat them as a toy. By doing this, you will soon be a proud owner of a well-behaved pet.