I was wondering if anyone has the issue of their husky protecting the water bowl and digging in it at a dog park. It's not her priority at the park, she loves to play and run around, but when she does go to the water bowl, she doesn't let other dogs drink out of it, and she digs in it usually spilling the whole bowl…

How do i deal with this?

I think every Husky I know in person (6 or 7) digs in the water bowl. I personally don't think that's a big deal or a problem. That's just a Husky being a dog, and a Husky. No harm done to any other being in my opinion. Just gotta keep refilling

As for guarding it, that is a problem that should be addressed, in my opinion. There is no reason to guard the water and this creates unnecessary tension and problems.

How do you address it? A correction? Redirection? Attention? Touching? Comforting? Frustration?

The digging isn't an issue haha we just thought wed ask to see if its normal

We usually pull her away… tell her no and then as other dogs drink the water… tell her its okay.
But it hasn't changed.

The way we think it'll get fixed is her "getting her own" by another dog… but that hasn't happened either

and when she's home… she doesn't dig… we can take the water from her… nothing

Okay, well remember, they don't care about our words but our...ugh, energy for lack of a better word (I have a personal revulsion to the word "energy" used by people...long story).

So it sounds like this is a possibility: your dog is at the water, another dog approaches, and your dog gets tense and defensive, and starts to guard in an aggressive way.  You pull your dog away and then say "it's okay."

If your body language and your energy is at all what is common for us when we tell someone "it's okay,", then that is comforting.  Or in other words, that is a sign to your dog that he/she is doing the right thing by guarding the water.  Your comforting energy is a reinforcement for her/his behavior.  In short, you are in effect supporting the behavior you want to stop.  

That is a possibility that sounds very likely.  Correct me if I'm wrong.  

I think this may be a case of "time to show your dog who's boss."  And I don't mean that in any sort of dominance/submission way.  

I mean it in terms of a reward/correction(disapproval) way.  They pick up on our non-verbal communication far better than our verbal communication.  

I personally subscribe to the idea that dogs pick up very naturally on strength and weakness (again, not in a dominance/submission or masculine/feminine sense) and if your dog is tense and stressed and guarding the water and your response is a form of comforting or is an expression of emotional "weakness", then the behavior is thus justified.  

Obviously, I have no idea what kind of overall relationship you have with your dog in terms of respect and trust and leadership, but it seems like in this case, it is time to show some strong leadership and focus on eliminating the ways in which you may be condoning and reinforcing the unwanted behavior.

This is a perfect opportunity to redirect your dog and as soon as he or she shows a sign of acceptance of other dogs near the water, then treats and more treats and praise and more praise while emitting an energy that is accepting and overwhelmingly positive.

Just my...articulated thoughts.  

I hope this helps or at the very least gives some food for thought.  

Cheers.

My GF and I have a very dominant relationship over Kira… she knows who's boss, when she does right and when she does wrong… she is also loved dearly too. Even though we are dominant, we have a strong loving relationship with her.

So we will be more assertive when she does protect the water bowl or digs in it, and when she doesn't, we will praise her. Just feel like with her strong sassy personality that she sometimes needs more assertion.

How old is Kira?

Your last sentence sounds like a bullet point "must know" for the entire breed

Oh, and my Husky did the same thing with the water, guarding that is. I got rid of that behavior with one effort on one occasion. Just to let you know it happens to a lot of us.

Koda diggs in the water bowl also. And i dont know if i would call this gaurding the water.. But 90% of the time when another dog is getting a drink koda has to go over then and get one aswell. Koda doesnt bite or get stiff at them usually but most dogs then just move and watch him drink then. Some dogs will share and they will both drink. Idk what ur dogs exaxt reaction is though. Can u describe more what happens?

I've seen a lot of other dogs do this same thing, and even go as far as plopping down in the water bowl and just chillin'. I wouldn't see it as water hoarding.

I wouldn't mind her going to the water bowl and drinking with other dogs... But protective we will just have to sit by the bowl at the park and teach her not to.

To answer the other questions... She's almost 8 months old and very well trained just independent haha she knows sit, lay down, stay, dance, left law shake, right paw shake, she rides in the back seat of the truck without a peep (unless we get close to the dog park then she starts whining out of excitement), and when we feed her she lays down and waits for us to say "okay" to approach the bowl of food (she will look at us then the bowl then until we say okay) soo hopefully she catches on at the dog park to stop