Eye of the Hurricane

This post is done out of the love for the breed. I hope I can help someone who is feeling frustrated and torn between the love of their dog and the problems they face. I don’t have all the answers, but you can read what I think and make your own decisions.

The eye of a hurricane is relatively calm circular space surrounded by destruction on all sides. As the hurricane approaches you feel the wind, rain, and things get destroyed. This is followed by the calm eye but wait, it’s not over yet. The back wall is on its way to cause more chaos and destruction.

This can be the recurring cycle for some Husky owners. While you are gone, the hurricane hits destroying almost anything with tooth and claw. When you get home all seems well as your husky sits calmly amid the destruction.

You clean up the mess and the evening is fine, you are in the eye of the hurricane. But the storm will continue the next day as the back wall approaches and you are at work. The cycle continues, storm after storm with no end in sight.

This behavior unfortunately affects all husky owners to some degree at some point. It’s most unfortunate for those who have no clue about a husky when they first get one. That is why almost every article warns about the husky needing a special type of person to deal with them.

Huskies are one of the most beautiful creatures God ever created, but they are like a sports car. You might purchase a beautiful car only to find out it won’t start most of the time, and the wheels fall off on occasion if you don’t perform certain maintenance and understand the needs of that car.

The same thing applies to the husky. They are high maintenance, and require you to read and understand the manual if there was one. There is no manual per say, each dog is to some degree different but a few things remain constant.

Huskies are not born destructive any more than a baby is born evil or good. Sure huskies chew more than other breeds and use their mouths as we would our hands. But they cannot speak English to tell us what is bothering them anymore than an infant can.

The frustration comes from trying to figure out what it is that makes them behave the way they do. The easy way out of this comes in two parts. The first is to get rid of the problem. So many new owners do and this causes many huskies to end up in rescue or dead.

The second is to accept the behavior and just turn a blind eye as your home slowly is brought to the ground by tooth and claw. As silly as this sounds it’s not so rare. If you love your child to death, you will put up with some bad behaviors as well. It’s no different being the parent of a husky.

So what do I do?

The first thing you need to do, is try and discover why your husky is being destructive. As most owners will tell you exercise is the answer to most problems. You will get sick of hearing that, but it’s true. A husky is like a tightly coiled spring about to explode. Their energy is almost impossible to comprehend.

1. Huskies were bred to be an animal with the ability to run and pull in upwards of a hundred miles a day, through the most inhospitable lands on the planet. There unique physiology allows them to burn fat instead of sugar when taxed. They do not get sore from lactic acid like humans or other dogs. They can sleep a few hours and then get up and do it again…and again.

Your walk around the block does not compare to that. The first thing you need to do is figure out if the amount of exercise you give your husky is sufficient to tire them out. All dogs were not created equal so what works for one may not be enough for the other. A tired Husky will have his tail down, his tongue a mile long, and be slavering all over. When you get home he will drink water and take a nap almost immediately.

2. Confinement is something all huskies must face to varying degrees. But I can guarantee you they do not like it one bit. Toys to play with only go so far as they get bored easily. It’s much more fun to eat the wall. Sheetrock does not stand a chance to tooth and claw.

As may people live in apartments space is at a premium. A crate provides protection for your belongings, but at the cost of your dog’s happiness. That is why they howl, or destroy the nice bed you gave them. They need more room if possible, and maybe with a baby gate and a closet you can give it to them.

Whatever you do, be sure to let them have as much free run, and quality time as you can to make up for that incarceration you imposed on them. I’ve talked about quality time before and it means more than a pat on the head while you watch T.V. Your husky wants and needs to be part of your pack (Family), make sure you give them some quality time.

3. Loneliness will make a Husky slowly go insane. In fact, it is the most severe punishment you can use on a Husky. A time out in a closet for no more than 30 seconds for bad behavior is like getting a slap across the face like I did when I cussed my mom at a young age.

The pack mentality of the husky was developed over thousands of years and is much more pronounced than other K-9’s. Huskies lived, slept, and worked with man as a complete family unit. They even slept on the kids at night to keep them warm. To isolate them goes against everything in their DNA.

Maybe your husky is lonely if you only have one. A possible solution is to have a companion for them, another dog. It doesn’t have to be a husky as they really don’t mind. Maybe they can stay with someone else while you work, or maybe someone can come and see them during the day. You can find some kind of solution if you work it out.

I think those are the three most common reasons a husky will eat your house.

You need to think… and find out what they are missing. Then the destruction should stop. They only do this because it is the only way to show you they are frustrated, or missing something essential to their happiness. It’s up to you to understand the husky, the husky can’t do it for you.

I hope this helps at least one husky from being abandoned or sent to the pound.

TJ