Dog Ownership, Dog Questions

Why Are Huskies So Dramatic?

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If you’re a Siberian husky owner, you know all too well the unique personality of the breed. It’s likely why you’re asking: Why are huskies so dramatic?

The good news is that Dog Ownership Guide went on a mission to uncover why huskies are so dramatic, so you don’t have to do it yourself. Understanding your husky’s dramatic behavior can greatly help your relationship with your furry friend and give you some more reason to love your drama queen or king.

Why Are Huskies So Dramatic?

Huskies are so dramatic because of their genetic traits and the human feedback they receive. They instinctually react to situations as quickly as possible. It’s what helped their ancestors stay safe in the wild, and it’s what keeps them living life to the fullest now.

Siberian huskies’ dramatic behavior is part of their personality. Whether you own one or thinking of owning one, it’s great for people to understand these beautiful and strong personalities.

are huskies dramatic

What Dramatic Means for Dogs

The definition of dramatic includes the word reactive. Reactive means reacting. Reactive dogs are often seen as “bad” or “uncontrollable. While that can seem like the case more often than not, it’s not the only consequence of the reactivity of Siberian huskies. Reactive behavior can also be fun, especially for active husky owners.

Let’s look at the good and bad of the reactive behavior of the dog breed.

Vocalizing Emotions

Huskies have a tendency to scream, howl and grumble frequently whenever they don’t like something going on around them or are in an uncomfortable environment. They like to communicate their feelings to warn others around them of potential threats and their dissatisfaction.

Husky Tantrums

Howling, barking, whining, and pacing are also behaviors that are quite common for this breed. These behaviors help huskies manage the anxiety and stress levels. It’s a form of venting for them.

Expressing Fear

In addition to vocalising their emotions in the ways described above, they also express fear by thrashing about. By moving their bodies, they relieve the tension of the fight or flight response they experience when they feel threatened.

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Excitement

It’s not all bad when it comes to huskies dramatic behavior; they also become excitement. They exhibit their excitement by jumping, wagging their tail and vocalizing (barking, screeching, etc.). This is often seen when huskies are about to do something they enjoy like going for a car ride, walk, or their own comes home after a long day of being away.

Reasons Huskies Are So Dramatic

The following are the reasons many huskies are considered drama queens and kings.

Separation Anxiety

You leave the house and all of a sudden you hear your furbaby whine, bark, and possibly attack the door (you can read more about that here: Why Does My Dog Attack the Door When I Leave). You’ve left your precious pup SO many times before but he/she just believes you’re going to make it back.

This is considered a threat (you leaving), which is a stressful situation for your dramatic husky. We’ll cover what to do about this below.

Strange Noises

Strange noises drive dramatic huskies wild. Drama queens and kings will think the world is ending and react to that threat accordingly. The problem is that you’re standing back wondering what has gotten into your fur baby and likely rather annoyed by all of the ruckuses.

Loud Noises

Just like with strange noises, dramatic huskies detest loud noises. While some dogs will take cover when there are loud noises, a husky’s behavior is much different. Running, jumping, jumping and running in circles, barking, whining, etc. In one word – crazy.

Again, stressful situations are a trigger or warning sign that weird behavior or bad behavior is on its way. Maybe it’s the husky owner that should take cover.

Excitement

As mentioned above, reactive dogs like huskies don’t only exhibit bad behavior. At times, a husky’s behavior is fun, cute, and exciting in itself.

For instance, when you arrive home after a long day at work, there’s nothing better than being greeted by your lovable pup at the door. The playful nature of the husky may bring you toys to play with or bark and jump up and down trying to get you to join in on the fun.

Naturally Strong-Willed and Independent

Huskies are naturally strong-willed and independent. They know what they want and need and they aren’t afraid to let everyone around them know about it.

Reinforcement from Owners

Many husky owners love when their pups communicate, so many times, this breed catches on to the pleased response their owners give and will continue. As owners laugh, smile or encourage it, the behavior increases in intensity and frequency.

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High Energy Level

Huskies have high energy levels, so they let it all out at any chance they can get and that means when there’s a reason to be dramatic, they will let the drama fly.

Research on Husky Dramatic Behaviors

A study published in Animal Genetics investigated the association between dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene polymorphisms and activity, impulsivity, and inattention in Siberian Husky dogs.

The study found that the breed possesses seven DRD4 length variants, including the longest known allele previously described only in wolves. Short alleles of DRD4 and TH repeat polymorphisms were associated with higher levels of activity, impulsivity, and inattention. Siberian Huskies possessing at least one short allele of DRD4 displayed greater activity in a behavioral test battery. Dogs possessing long alleles at both DRD4 and TH were scored as less active-impulsive than others.

The study suggests that DRD4 and TH polymorphisms are associated with activity-impulsivity related traits in dogs, but the prevalence of variants of these genes differs across breeds, and the functional role of specific variants is unclear.

No Reason At All

One thing about huskies is that at times, no one truly knows what is going on inside of their brain. Goofy behavior ensues often. Most of the time, the goofy behavior is expressed in a playful way for no reason at all.

An example of this is your husky dog may just be innocently sleeping on the floor and all of a sudden stand at attention, look up and down and run into the kitchen. You’re left with the weird look on your face thinking, “What in the world just happened?”

While it’s normal behavior for huskies to exhibit reactive or weird behavior, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t cause some problems. This is especially true if it leads to the destruction of your furniture and other personal belongings.

Obedience training can help with your husky’s behaviors, so you can experience more of the fun playful behavior vs. the reactive behavior.

dramatic huskies

How to Reduce Husky Dramatic Behavior

A husky dog can’t help inheriting genetic traits that make him/her dramatic. Just like with humans, we are not just our genes. We can make changes to alter the genetic predispositions we inherited. The way that’s done with Siberian huskies is through obedience training.

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Huskies are an intelligent breed – stubborn but smart. As long you can stick to your guns during training, you’ll start to see your husky’s drama subside.

Expose Your Husky Puppy to Different Things

While this doesn’t help those of you who already have adult husky dogs, it’s important to put this out there. A husky puppy that is exposed to many situations will learn they are not stressful, so they don’t become an emotional trigger. This can make the adult husky much less reactive.

Expose Your Adult Husky to Certain Situations

You know what triggers your pup, so get your reactive dog vest, short leash, and treat pouch and expose, expose, expose. Always praise good behavior, especially on the leash since leash reactivity is common for huskies.

As you do this repeatedly, your husky will begin to attribute going out for exposure to certain situations as stressful as a great way to be rewarded. That is once your furry friend understands what is considered good behavior.

Provide Mental Stimulation Daily

Again, huskies are intelligent. They crave mental stimulation and physical stimulation (it’s why they were used as sled dogs).

Puzzle toys are a husky’s favorite toys. By providing enough stimulation with toys and exposure outside, you could end up with a well-trained husky.

Consider CBD Oil for Training

A calm pup is a workable pup. If you can’t get your husky to calm down long enough to listen, you may want to consider CBD oil. It’s completely safe and effective in calming dog anxiety and helping leash reactive dogs. Learn more about that here: CBD Oil for Leash Reactive Dogs

huskies are so dramatic

Avoid Rewarding Daramatic Behavior

Even if it’s cute when your husky vocalizing, encouraging it could cause the behavior to become problematic. Some huskies will start with innocent whining and screaming, but end up ripping up a couch in the process because their response gets a bit out of control.

Ensure Regular Exercise

With those high energy levels, huskies need positive ways to release it and that can be done with regular exercise. Walks, runs, and playing fetch in the backyard a all ways you can help your pup get the energy out and reduce your husky’s dramatic behavior.

Happy Huskies and Owners

An obedient husky is a happy husky and a happy husky has a happy owner. At Dog Ownership Guide, we believe in Happy Dogs ~ Happy Owners.

Reactivity can annoy, frustrate and anger husky owners, which doesn’t make them very happy. The best thing you can do for your pup and yourself is to work on making your pup an obedient husky.

Why Are Huskies So Dramatic?

Huskies are so dramatic because of their reactive nature, which is due to their inherited genetic traits. Reactivity is a common issue for husky owners, but it’s not an issue that can’t be resolved.

Are you a husky owner dealing with reactivity or drama? Share your stories in the comments below.

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