Siberian husky owners loudly proclaim that huskies are the best dogs ever! Huskies love being part of a family, including one that consists of other animals. They love to curl up on their husky beds near you. They never meet a stranger - sometimes to the detriment of being poor watchdogs. Personality spews forth from them, especially in how they can find inordinate ways to amuse themselves. And, of course, with their beautiful coats and piercing blue eyes, they are gorgeous dogs.
Unfortunately, husky owners will also attest that their dogs can be a handful. Specifically, huskies as a breed tend to become anxious and stressed more readily than other dogs. You may be an owner who is at her wit's end attempting to find a way to keep your dog from destroying your home and harming herself due to stress. Dog beds for huskies may become their favorite chew toy!
This article will cover the ins and outs of husky stress, what causes it, and what you can do to help alleviate it. But right off the bat, think about your husky's "home base" or sleeping area. Proper husky beds are crucial to providing a safe and peaceful environment, particularly when you are away. This article will also look at dog beds for huskies and how they can be a central part of your anxiety de-escalation strategy for your husky.
Why Is My Husky Anxious?
The American Kennel Club gives the perfect description of huskies: "Sibes (huskies) are friendly, fastidious, and dignified." These qualities make them simultaneously wonderful pets and huge management concerns! They prefer a well-kept environment all around them, especially their husky beds. Good dog beds for huskies help your dogs feel settled and secure in times of environmental chaos.
Another apt characteristic that fits with the previously mentioned traits is sensitivity. Huskies pay close attention to their surroundings, acutely aware of both what and who is present. Therefore, first and foremost, owners must create a secure and accessible environment around husky beds. Dog beds for huskies are vital for them to have a place to retreat when they are stressed.
Their friendliness is perhaps their most endearing trait, but how do they act when you are not around? Do they curl up in their husky beds and wait for you? Huskies have a keen eye for detail, so how do you help them cope whenever there is a significant change in their environment? You can fawn over their beauty and elegant movement, but do you realize how much exercise they need to prevent their elegance from turning into recklessness?
For huskies, their sensitivity means there is a fine line between happiness and anxiety. Dog beds for huskies especially need to strike this balance. Compare huskies with another type of pet; if you've owned a fish, you know well the great pains it takes to keep aquarium water clean. For some species, the slightest change in pH or temperature can mean the difference between a healthy and sick fish. Similarly for huskies, slight alterations in their daily routine or environment can provoke severe anxiety or stress attacks. Starting with husky beds, create patterns and consistency in your husky's environment.
What Are the Symptoms of an Anxiety Attack?
If you've seen your husky anxious or stressed, you no doubt can describe it very well. But it is also helpful to know that you (and your husky) are not alone. In addition, it is beneficial to know what the stressors are and how they manifest for huskies. Beyond dog beds for huskies, understanding these signs gives you the tools for determining how best to help your husky when they (and you!) are overwhelmed with stress.
Body Language
In general, dogs have similar body language cues that are common across all breeds. For huskies, pay close attention to four parts of their body: Eyes, tails, ears, and lips.
Their prominent eyes are a clear indicator of the mood of your husky. Huskies often squint their eyes when they are relaxed, and when they are happily at play, their eyes and pupils are both wide open. However, when their pupils are dilated (especially when their eyes are wide open), it is a clear sign that they are experiencing stress.
Husky tails are good markers as well. If their tail is up or wagging vigorously in a consistent pattern, they are happy and alert. But like most dogs, if they tuck their tail, they are nervous or fearful. Similarly, if they curl up in their husky beds with their tails tucked underneath them, they are displaying fear or stress. Also, if huskies are wagging their tail in an erratic pattern, they are likely feeling anxious.
Husky ears are generally upright when they are happy. Pay attention to your dog when it lays its ears back or to the side.
Your husky also communicates a great deal about stress by how they use their tongue. Huskies will frantically lick their lips when they see food, and this is perfectly normal. However, if they lick their lips very slowly or flick their tongue in and out, it is an expression of nervousness.
What are some other signs of stress? Always pay attention to panting. An active husky will usually pant after exercise, but if your husky is panting at any other time, it is likely due to anxiety (heat is a frequent cause of this, but don't always assume that). Posture is also noteworthy. A proper and upright posture is normal for your husky. If your husky is walking with her head down or moving in a crouch, something is likely bothering her. Dog beds for huskies are crucial in these moments for giving your husky a place to take a timeout from the stressors around them.
Barking/Howling
It is crucial to know that huskies are naturally vocal dogs! Their bark indicates more of their desire to say "Here I am!" to people and other dogs than of caution or danger. If they want attention, they will let you know. While training will help your husky better control her barking, excessive barking is not by itself an indicator of stress.
When is barking indicative of a problem? When your husky barks incessantly despite commands to the contrary and attempts (such as treats) to stop it, something is likely bothering her. If your husky is barking nonstop while alone, the likely culprit is separation anxiety (more on this later). But uncontrollable barking may also be a carryover from a period of prolonged stress or fear. For example, if your dog was left in a state of anxiety by itself all day, it may compensate when you return home by this incessant barking.
Unless your husky is running wild with a pack, howling is another way your husky will communicate stress to you.
Pacing
Huskies like to be on the move. But a good rule of thumb is that their movement usually has a purpose. They run when they are exercising or playing. They move around to be near people or other animals, eat, retrieve things, or do a job.
If your husky is pacing at random, this is a red flag pointing to extreme stress. Huskies are determined, and when they can't figure out what to do or how to handle a particular situation, their brains essentially go on overload. This behavior is often the precursor to the next one below.
Destructive Behavior
In prolonged periods of stress or lack of exercise, huskies need an outlet for this energy. Unfortunately, huskies tend to lose all sense of control once they enter into extreme anxiety. Urinating or defecating in inappropriate spots, such as their husky beds, is frequently an initial sign of this. But stressed huskies don't stop there. They will chew up furniture, knock over items, and scratch paint off walls and doors. Since huskies have a strong tendency toward separation anxiety, left unchecked, these behaviors will only grow worse over time.
Hiding
Huskies love to move around, but they also like having a safe spot. Unfortunately, when they are stressed, they will attempt to hide under human beds, husky beds, or other objects, sometimes at the risk of getting stuck or hurt. Even in these spots, they will continue to chew and possibly go to the bathroom to cope with their anxiety.
Dog Beds for Huskies as a Home Base
When addressing issues that induce anxiety in your husky, husky beds are a great starting point for helping them. As you train your husky, you likely have a crate or area that "belongs" to your husky. For human children, we take great pains to create a warm, comfortable, and inviting bedroom for them to play and rest. Your husky also wants an area where they can be close to you. Dog beds for huskies provide both a refuge and a way for them to feel bonded with their owners.
Suitable dog beds for huskies do more than provide a soft pad for your husky. Husky beds allow them to feel secure and snug, giving them a place that physically and psychologically calms and soothes them. You can place husky beds in your dog's crate or in an accessible corner of your bedroom that provides them with some natural shelter.
As you work on the stressors that might afflict your dog, make sure part of this training encourages them to come to their husky beds. Treats are always an incentive. When they are happy, frequently and consistently call them to their husky beds and give them treats. Praise them for coming. Find every possible encouragement to help them associate as many positive feelings with husky beds as they can.
How to Calm Huskies
What kind of anxiety is your husky expressing? The following are some common types and methods to help address them. Remember, dog beds for huskies are a vital ingredient in helping to remedy all of these symptoms.
Separation Anxiety
The root cause of separation anxiety for huskies is their innate desire to be sociable, especially with their owners. Think of it this way: When you leave the house each day, it is a drastic environmental and social change for your husky. Like most house dogs, they don't experience another world outside the home as we do. Their world is in the house, and at the center of that world are their people!
What are some steps you can take to reduce their understandable angst at your departure? First, make sure that from the first moment your husky comes into your home, train them to have a "home base." Suitable dog beds for huskies give them a base, provided they are accessible, but not in a wide-open space.
When you leave the house, don't make a big deal over leaving. Your husky is just so cute that you want to fawn over them as they sit bright-eyed in their husky beds and tell them how much you will miss them. But you know you are coming back. They do not. The more fuss you make, the more your husky will interpret this as a sign that something is wrong. They have some natural anxiety every time you leave, but you want to make sure YOUR behavior doesn't provoke this further.
As you leave, call your dogs to come to their husky beds. Provide them with treats, particularly in a chew toy in which they will have to do some work to pull the treats out. Peanut butter is also a good option (provided the husky beds are easy to clean). Leave the toy with them, and then casually walk out the door. Don't run or make any quick movements; simply walk out at normal speed. As much as it may pain us, don't say goodbye. Let them think you are walking to another part of the house as she chews in their husky beds. They will certainly know you are gone when they hear the outside door open, but the more you perform this routine, the less likely they are to brood on your leaving from their husky beds.
If you need some extra assistance keeping your dog calm as you leave, try using a calming spray on their husky beds to help give a little extra "mellowing" sensation for them.
When you return to the house, your husky will be delighted to see you! They will be ecstatic to get out of their dog beds for huskies and engage with you! Once you set down your belongings and get settled back home, make sure you spend a few minutes playing and interacting with your husky. After your playtime, it is a good idea to get in the habit of cleaning husky beds at least once a day to help maintain a peaceful, clean environment for your dog.
Lack of Physical Activity and Interaction
Your husky not only needs time to run and play, but she needs a routine of exercise. Dog beds for huskies are great home bases, but they need plenty of activity outside of their husky beds. The perfect times for exercise are when you get up in the morning and come home in the afternoon. The good news with huskies is that if you have access to an enclosed space, huskies simply will run freely on their own. But keep in mind that, as you try to build resistance to their natural tendency for anxiety, the interaction you have with them is just as crucial as the exertion of physical energy. Huskies have positive physiological responses both to the exercise and the mental and social stimulation that comes with it.
One particular activity your husky will love is fetching toys. It provides the "big three" for huskies: physical movement, interaction with you, and a job for them to do. Use these qualities as guides for creative activities that you and your husky can do together. Dog beds for huskies are a great place to leave these toys with your dog while you are away.
Fear Anxiety
Like all dogs, various triggers can cause moderate to severe phobias in your huskies. How can you tell if your dog has a phobia? Use the list of physical indicators listed earlier and pay careful attention to your dog. Like any relationship, you have to spend time with your husky to pick up on particular cues unique to them. But closely observe to see what sort of behaviors are abnormal from their usual pattern. Husky beds play a vital role in ensuring your dogs can find a place where they feel secure.
First and foremost, when you determine a trigger for your husky's fear, do NOT force them into confronting it. Much more likely, this will cause a greater fear reaction instead of helping to remedy it. Dog beds for huskies can even become a place where they feel threatened, and if that happens, your husky's anxiety will go through the roof.
Instead, counterconditioning is a great tool to use with your huskies. Here, when your dogs face a trigger, you offer them an incentive for calming down. For instance, if your husky is scared of the lawnmower outside, ask them to sit. If they listen, give them a treat and praise them immediately (remember that reinforcement only works on dogs if given right away). If they have trouble settling down, call them to their husky beds and repeat these steps. If your behavior as an owner is consistent, over time, your husky's anxiety to that particular trigger will begin to drop.
If your husky runs away or hides in their husky beds, a great tool to use is a soothing dog blanket. A blanket on top of dog beds for huskies provides an extra layer of security for your husky to hide. Place the blanket in their husky beds or crates and allow them to go under it. The blanket is padded with unique materials that provide a sensation of warmth and security and allows your husky to relax. Owners must be observant to making sure husky beds provide their dog with enough accessories to encourage relaxation.
Please note that ROUTINE is essential for your husky. You cannot magically make your dog's stress go away. As you train your husky to desensitize to certain behaviors, you are also training yourself to react and behave in specific ways to your husky! Routine creates great habits in huskies, but it also forges a deeper relationship between you and your husky.
Dog beds for huskies provide an excellent foundation in making sure you and your dog always have a fixed point from which to acclimate to new routines. So how do you choose the perfect dog beds for huskies? Husky beds should be organic, plush, and sensitive to the needs of older dogs with joint issues.
Your goal as an owner is to provide a structure to help your husky confidently and playfully explore their environment. From having suitable husky beds to providing a daily schedule, each tool you give your husky gives them increased ways to manage their stress and anxiety levels. A happy and healthy husky makes for a happy and healthy owner! So make sure to check out the top dog beds for huskies as a way to enhance their happiness with you!