Hello,
I am a first time Siberian Husky owner, and am in need of help with training. i know that I have to be Alpha but I am not sure how to do that. I know that I shoulder enter and leave rooms first (which I do and my puppy sits and wait for the okay to pass) but other than that, I am not sure what I can do to prove that I am Alpha and not her. She kind of knows how to sit and lay down and sometimes when I tell her to come she does but a lot of the time she doesn't listen. What can I do to be Alpha and to make her listen to me?
Thank you,
Jessica.

Jessica, welcome to the forum!! I don't buy into the whole must be the alpha thing. I generally buy into the be the pack leader. Some tips on that.....be the one who initiates play and training, and be the one who stops the play and training. Hand feeding is good opportunity in teaching pup to be gentle and to understand you are the bringer of all things, such as yummy food. Those things will build a bond, trust and respect with your husky. If you need me to elaborate, don't hesitate to ask.

Ah cute Christmas pic!!

Alpha training isn't really my style, treats and rewards with corrections is how I do it. Huskies are stubborn when she comes give her a treat for coming. When she sits and lays down give her a treat I still treat Cora for simple things like that even though she is older. Fact of the matter is if you "make her listen" she is just going to be fear obedient and you don't want that. I know a few people on the forum don't use treat but use other types of postive reinforcement like saying "what a good girl" or playing with them or giving them head scratches.

I'm sure all will go well having a puppy is a learning process you will learn what works for you and Luna, also please post pictures we love pictures!

Thank you. This is all new to me. My husband works all day everyday, what should we do to get her to respect him as well? Right now, when he comes home Luna doesn't great him and either stays where she's at or comes and sits at my feet. Should he just work with her when he's home or leave everything to me?

He should definitely work with her they could do a session of sits where he gives her treats or he could play with her. If he's at work of course you will be her main gal but if he just comes home and spends 10 minutes with her teaching her something or playing she will warm right up to him.

It's a shared responsibility. I am at home with mine, but have husband work with some training, maybe a half hour a day. I am one of the ones Zoe mentions on not treating, but use "Good Girl" in the praise department. Positive reinforcement and nothing in life is free type training I think, imho, work best for this breed. Like Zoe said, you want respect not fear from a husky. There is a search engine here, or on google and type in positive reinforcement training, and also NILIF training, and you will get some good info.

Great, thank you. I'm just worried that we're not training her right. For the most part she's well behaved for a 2 month old but when she acts up, she acts up and literally throws herself on the ground in a tantrum.

Another thing, what should I do to make her stop chasing my outside cat? She for the most part leaves my inside cat alone (my cat has made it known that she is the boss of the bedroom) so Luna leaves her alone but she wants to chase our outside cat and we can't have that. The cat would win in that fight. Lol.

I think I'll just echo the comments about "Alpha" - my dogs and I are friends and though I have trained them, they do what I want because they want to ... given time and attention and a dog will bend over backwards to please you (and hubby needs to also be one who gives some of that time and attention).

I have a cat ( I think, he wasn't doing well last night and I just got home so need to go check on him ) and two Huskies - they get along as pals but the few times the dogs have 'pushed the envelope' all the cat has to do is raise a paw and the dogs back off. I think I'd let him chase until the cat says 'enough' at two months he'll learn and is big enough to not get hurt (too badly) and to small to do much damage. Sometimes it's easier to let them work it out than it is to try to intervene and your pup's at about the right age to learn.

All my inside cat has to do is hiss and Luna backs off. The outside one will sniff her and go about her business. Till last night when Luna started to chase her.

Dixierose833 wrote:

All my inside cat has to do is hiss and Luna backs off. The outside one will sniff her and go about her business. Till last night when Luna started to chase her.

I'll echo what Al said about cats...and add that, if kitty is not chasing puppy of, she may not feel threatened and maybe even wanting to play. My son has 2 cats - one would cheerfully send Archer to the gas chamber. The other, Tony, likes to play - he will pounce on Archer's tale, they will wrestle. It gets a bit nerve-racking when Archer takes Tony completely in his mouth but they seem to have it worked out - if its too much, Tony goes limp and Archer stops and lets him go. SInce Luna is a pup and kitty is an adult, you may be safe to let them settle it between themselves.

I, like most everyone here, don't go for the Alpha thing. For hubby to bond with puppy, he can do training like others have suggested. He can feed her at night, take her for walks, hold her in his lap while watching tv (warning: that works well at 2 months. At two years, is more than a lap full )

I wouldn't worry about hubby bonding - when we got Ami he was to be my dog, hubby wasn't interested. They are now fast friends - any time I come around with a towel for muddy feet, Ami goes running to hubby "protect me, Daddy!"

Thanks. For the most part she listens to me but when my husband is around, she doesn't want to listen. She acts like he's gonna let her get away with things but she's learning that's not how It work.

Dixierose833 wrote:

Thanks. For the most part she listens to me but when my husband is around, she doesn't want to listen. She acts like he's gonna let her get away with things but she's learning that's not how It work.

Yup, you don't want to play the Mommy vs Daddy games...human kids or furry ones

Lol.

What should I do about her pulling on the leash? When we walk she wants to pull away on the leash, which results in me usually getting hurt. I know they're bred for pulling sleds but is there anything to do to calm her down when we walk? Also my mom has a small dog that she let's do whatever he wants. I'm worried that Luna is seeing thay and that's why she acts up around everyone? Except me. She won't act up when it's just me but when my mom and her dog are around, she starting acting up like him.

What should I do about her pulling on the leash? When we walk she wants to pull away on the leash, which results in me usually getting hurt. I know they're bred for pulling sleds but is there anything to do to calm her down when we walk? Also my mom has a small dog that she let's do whatever he wants. I'm worried that Luna is seeing that and that's why she acts up around everyone? Except me. She won't act up when it's just me but when my mom and her dog are around, she starting acting up like him. Is she acting up because she sees him getting away with it?