My Sibe is now 15 month old. He's nuetered. I walk him twice a day usually in the woods as I live in a rural area. When I'm in the woods or in a field if anyone dog or person comes into sight he starts to stalk. His head goes down and his body low walking and stalking and watching them. He's done this for months. He's not aggressive however he does scare people by it. He does not do this if we are in streets just out in fields or woods.  Anyone have any idea. Huskies are apparently not guard dogs however he does stalk and I suppose to people who do not have a husky it could be scary. He's not off leash but I have a 65 foot rope. A man was petrified when he was stalking him through the long grass the other day. I did make my Siberian lie down and explain to the man he's friendly.  It's the same behaviour as when he stalks animals. Why does he do it to people.

I don't think the question of "why" can really be answered. Might just be in his nature, might be because you've allowed it to happen so he thinks it's acceptable...???

If it were my dog, I'd correct/ redirect for any behavior I didn't approve of. e.g. growling at other dogs, barking, chasing cars would all get a correction or redirection.

I've heard that Huskies are not guard dogs (and don't bark much) also. Don't tell that to our female.

Jack is a stalker, but mostly to other dogs not people. he never barks just gets low and waits for them to approach and jumps up at them to play. he does it a lot at dog parks, i think its funny, never had anyone worried about it. maybe put a safety vest on him in the woods so people know he is a dog and not a wild animal, they may see him before they see you with such a long line.

My take on it is a bit different, it doesn't seem like genuine stalking to me. Sounds more to me like being somewhat guarded/cautious, almost a position of being ready to bolt if necessary. The two are very similar in appearance I suppose, but are very different at the same time. I know when my little girl stalks a bunny, for example, she crouches down and gets a very focused,  determined look to her, she stalks, pauses here and there with her ears and eyes taking in the slightest movements and sounds, her paws will barely touch the ground and often almost prances at times and its purposeful in how she moves,  if it were a human being (and she's done it before when she was younger,  so I do know the difference) she crouches down and has pauses to her steps, but it's different, her paws aren't, I dunno the right word, "sly"  maybe, I even notice her somewhat being aware of what's behind her, I'm guessing so she knows her "out" if she has to, or she is gauging my reaction to the person, Like quick little side glances. Her ears, although moving around and taking in all the sounds, instead of being forward and upright the majority of the time, spend most of the time off to the side I tell her "it's ok" and she relaxes a little but still stays somewhat on guard until the person passes. With your description of how your pup  was in the grass, I can totally imagine him being on guard of a larger man (human) . With age and experiences, it will go away.

Next time it happens, watch his ears, they will clue you in on whether he is actually stalking or if he is unsure of the situation and is possibly somewhat fearful.

Artic_Wind wrote:

My take on it is a bit different, it doesn't  seem like genuine stalking to me. Sounds more to me like being somewhat guarded/cautious, almost a position of being ready to bolt if necessary. The two are very similar in appearance I suppose, but are very different at the same time. I know when my little girl stalks a bunny, for example, she crouches down and gets a very focused,  determined look to her, she stalks,  pauses here and there with her ears and eyes taking in the slightest movements and sounds, her paws will barely touch the ground and often almost prances at times and its purposeful in how she moves,  if it were a human being (and she's done it before when she was younger,  so I do know the difference) she crouches down and has pauses to her steps, but it's different, her paws aren't, I dunno the right word, "sly"  maybe, I even notice her somewhat being aware of what's behind her, I'm guessing so she knows her "out" if she has to, or she is gauging my reaction to the person,  Like quick little side glances. Her ears, although moving around and taking in all the sounds, instead of being forward and upright the majority of the time, spend most of the time off to the side  I tell her "it's ok" and she relaxes a little but still stays somewhat on guard until the person passes. With your description of how your pup  was in the grass, I can totally imagine him being on guard of a larger man (human) . With age and experiences, it will go away.

Next time it happens, watch his ears, they will clue you in on whether he is actually stalking or if he is unsure of the situation and is possibly somewhat fearful.

Hi,
Hes stalking as though hes stalking prey. He walks really low totally ignores me and is practically crawling. He then lays down right in friont of me in the middle of the path or long grass. He looks evil when hes doing it. He has never displayed any aggression however a man was terrified the other day with his stalking behaviour. As soon as someone comes in his view in the woods he starts to stalk , he does it to horses and other dogs only in the woods though never on a path. Its as though he hunting them the same as he hunts pheasants and hares.

Sometimes Yuki stands and stares at something - a cat or a bird, usually - and doesn't move until it does, then she bolts in its direction, but of course it's out of reach by then. Sometimes she chases cars and barks at them, especially if they're travelling fast, even more so if their lights are on. She does it with every cyclist she sees and sometimes with horses.

Gillian

My dogs all stalk things and there is a good reason. Something i was told by a vet was that stalkong behavior effects the serotonin and dopamine receptors in the dogs brain (and cats) and that dogs basically get euphoric from the act of stalking amd can actually get addicted to it within that there are several types of stalking some are dangerous some are not @gillian Chasing horses is a very dangerous situation some dont care some will kick and some will actually go after the dog amd in alot of states dogs can be shot for harassing livestock

Kona seems to have two distinct stalking modes:

Stalking - especially birds. There's a great blue heron that we see often and he'll get low, tail out straight, the click of his claws disappears and he wants to get as close as he can.

Making friends - he did this for a while, until he learned that was an unacceptable way to meet new friends (earned him a nip from a scotty). Now it's comical - instead of stalking, he just flops down. So our new task is trying to get him to find the middle ground - and wave at it as we fly by to a new "Kona-ism"

Lostmaniac wrote:

@gillian Chasing horses is a very dangerous situation some dont care some will kick and some will actually go after the dog amd in alot of states dogs can be shot for harassing livestock

I know very well that chasing horses is dangerous. That's why I always have a tight grip on Yuki's lead when we pass the horses. The rider(s) always have the horse(s) well under control. We don't attempt any conversation except 'Thank you' and 'Ok!'We haven't met any horses and riders on our walks since the last time I mentioned it here, but the last time we did meet them there were 2 riders and 3 horses, the one without a rider being led by one of the riders. The 2 riders - ladies - were just riding along chatting away to each other as though they were just out on a walk.

Gillian

Have you ever tried to get some of the riders to stop so you can properly introduce yuki to horses and do some desensitization training.

Leo dose the stalking when he sees a dog that he knows only, and at the dog park be for he starts playing.

Have you tried distracting him with his favorite toy? Bring it with and treats. When he starts the behavior jingle the toy like crazy to get his attention. The instant he stops the behavior and focuses on the toy reward him. Rinse, repeat. When he starts to understand you can stop treating and then only use the toy. The behavior will stop eventually if you use distraction. If a toy doesn't work try a training or trick session. Get him to sit, roll over, lie down, whatever he knows. The point is repetitive distraction until the unwanted behavior stops.

We are getting two husky pups soon. However, our Saint is a massive baby that looks so intimidating and terrifying. We have had to teach him certain things differently because of his size. Such as sitting when someone on the street approaches us/walks by.

Just my 2.1 cents though!

my husband and I call our husky a stalker. lol when we are out front he steps up on our bricks and watches people, dogs, cars, the complete neighborhood..I know it creeps people out and I try to get him to stop but it's like his thing. I thought it was a husky thing actually. never had a dog do that. he also likes to pounce on his food not sure if that's a husky thing or not but never had a dog pounce on its food like they have to kill it!!!

Lostmaniac wrote:

Have you ever tried to get some of the riders to stop so you can properly introduce yuki to horses and do some desensitization training.

He's fine with horses I see them daily he's seen them close up had a sniff. This issue is more anyone or anything walking towards us he stalks gets real low the minute he sees them and stalks.

Lostmaniac wrote:

Have you ever tried to get some of the riders to stop so you can properly introduce yuki to horses and do some desensitization training.

Like I said, we haven't met the horses since that day and we go at different times of the day. I think I would need to know more about desensitization training before attempting it.

Gillian