Hi all, I am brand new to the forum, to owning a Husky, and to owning a dog in general!

I just picked up Summit (my Husky) about a week and a half ago so he is fairly new to me and everyone around. When I first got him, he backed away from me seeming fairly scared for the first day or two before he really realized that I wasn't going to hurt him, that I had a love for him, and that I had food etc.

Over the course of the past week, he has loosened up a bit but definitely not to the extent that I would expect a puppy to loosen up. Nearly 75% of the time that I pick him up from the floor or from taking his poop outside or any other time he growls. Sometimes he even barks a couple of times and tries to struggle from my hands and bite at me. Once I have him in my arms and I'm walking somewhere with him, he's usually pretty relaxed and not really struggling to get out of my arms.

God-forbid I try to sit down with him and hold him though... He will scratch for days, bark until I can't hear, and growl a ton! It sounds like I'm abusing him when, in reality, I'm only holding him while sitting down in a chair. I have been trying to hold him until he stops whining to make him realize that I won't just put him down on command. He doesn't bite, that's not an issue when I'm just holding him, but he will scratch me over and over trying to get out from my arms and off of my lap. Even if I'm not holding him, there's almost a 0% chance he will sit in my lap, regardless of how tired he is.

I'm really looking for some advice here, it's taking all that I have no to show frustration with him after a week of this. I really appreciate any tips/training help/personal experiences that anyone has had with this!

He may just not like to be held. I wouldn't force it...just start slow with brief gentle touching. My boy, over 3, does not like to cuddle, be physically close much at all. The next room is close enough.

Zhukov is very anti-pickup and hold. I started off by just sitting on the floor next to him and petting him or letting him eat kibble out of my hand. That got him to the point where he would rest his head on my leg. Then I would invite him up on the couch with me (but I made sure that he knew that he could only be on the couch when I was with him) and would give him some kibble or freeze dried kidney from my hand. Pretty soon he was sitting on me and letting me pick him up without freaking out. He still isn't a big fan of being picked up, but then again he is over 40lbs now... lol.

I would hazard a guess that being picked up and held is not a natural thing for dogs, especially big dominant dogs, as Huskies are. Give it time. Zhukov is a big ole snuggle dog when I lay down on the floor or let him up on the bed.

Mako was like that for the first few days. He is very independent and does not like to be restrained. The more I handled him, the more accepting he is of it. He still grumbles from time to time, but only for a second and then is fine again. When any of my friends try to hold him though, its world war 2 with that little puppy. There's a reason he is named Mako Shark...

Thanks for the responses so far guys! It sounds like Summit might just not like to be handled - I'm hoping he grows out of it but then again eventually it won't matter for much longer since he is already rapidly growing!

Being my normally less than diplomatic self ... many of the medium and larger breeds simply do not like being off the ground.

If you've read here much, you'll have seen my line to "raise your puppy to be the dog you want it to be." While you might intend on carrying your 2 pound chihuahua around in your purse - I seriously think you'll be carrying your 50 pound Husky around for long. The cute little Husky puppy who is such a loving, affectionate lap dog can turn into the biggest couch potato you can imagine, if you let them.

You're doing yourself and your pup a disservice if you have to change your training 4 - 6 months down the road because 'it's just to big a dog to do that!'

Some don't mind being held, others do. with Kohdi, I went on 5 mile walks with him, with him in my arms (setting him down occasionally so he could stretch his little legs) so he could get used to noises, activity, etc so when it came to walking him on a leash, he would be more prepared. He loved it, lol, I'd look down at him and just see his bobbling lil head looking all around and just taking everything he saw, in. With Mishka, she could be picked up and she'd snuggle, OR, she could become a squirming lil demon in my arms.

Have you tried putting on a little collar and leash for the times you're taking him out to potty? It might be a good time to start getting him used to it, that way you're not having to pick him up. You'll still have to scoop him up sometimes...and he's just gonna have to deal with it, but for the most part, if you could let him be independent while still being under your control (collar and leash) then I'd do that.