Meka barked her fool head off at my BFF when she came over last night. Very rarely has she barked at anyone and only maybe twice has she growled. Naturally, she would have to pick my best friend as one of those to bark at lol. From everything I've read, huskies are a breed that like everyone and aren't protective in nature generally, so it caught me off guard a little bit. I know when we're out walking anyone can walk up to her or me and she doesn't do a darn thing. Maybe it was because it was just her and I in the house so she figured she'd play guard dog lol.

I am doubting that her barking had anything to do with her protecting you if she has never exhibited this behavior before. She's still young yet. There was most likely something to do with your BFF that made her feel uncomfortable. It could have been as simple as a perfume, her emotions, or any number of things that would make Meka feel insecure or uneasy.

Would she let your friend approach her at all? What was Meka doing?

She stood between her and I and just barked. She would not let Jenna approach her and she didn't move closer to her, not until she got down on her knees and held out her hand for Meka to sniff. She tried to pet Meka and she jerked away from her, so she held her hand back out and Meka sniffed her some more and eventually she relented to being petted. She was ok after that.

I agree that it must have been something about your BFF that made her react that way. Only once since we've had Mya has she reacted to somebody that way. It wasn't in my house, but on her walk. Some guy stopped his car to hit on me (ughh) and Mya starting barking and growling at him. I've had many many many people stop their cars to ask questions about her and she always pulls me towards the car to say hi.

Super weird!

Koda wrote:

I am doubting that her barking had anything to do with her protecting you if she has never exhibited this behavior before. She's still young yet. There was most likely something to do with your BFF that made her feel uncomfortable. It could have been as simple as a perfume, her emotions, or any number of things that would make Meka feel insecure or uneasy.

I would tend to agree with this.

While some sibes do exhibit guarding/protective tendencies, the majority do not and I would hazard a guess that Meka was uncomfortable with something about your friend. It does not sound like she exhibited any aggressive tendencies, I did not hear any mention of hackles raised, growling, baring teeth, frozen tensed body/staring, or aggressive posturing/behavior. I'd guess that something didn't feel right to her and she wasn't comfortable and she was letting everyone know about it.

No, she didn't really seem to be aggressive, just making a lot of noise. I just found it ironic out of all people she picks my BFF to be uncomfortable around lol.

Only twice has she growled at anyone, once at my stepdaughter's brother (kid is a hellion, don't blame her for not liking him) and once when we stopped at a campground looking for a place to camp, she growled at the owner while he was trying to tell us what he had open, so we went someplace else.

Mishka is like this sometimes with some people. It's not protectiveness or aggression, it's fear/anxiety.

I am beginning to think I shouldn't even have her --- every time I think or assume something, I'm wrong.

Don't think that. You're learning, as are we all.

LOL. Welcome to being a dog owner. No worries. You're not alone, just learning.

Next time your BFF comes over, arm her with treats (try bits of hot dog) as soon as she walks in the door, have her toss one on the ground in front of her. Tell her not to make eye-contact with Meka, just throw the hot dog on the ground and talk to you. When Meka is done, have her do this a couple of more times and then see if Meka will let her hand-feed her. Do this the next few times she comes over, using a full hot dog everytime, and I'm sure Meka will realize she has nothing to fear

im sorry to hear this happened with your BFF... from what i have found with our 2 they seem to have a really good judge of person and become protective or stay away from sketchy people. my girl for sure as we are working throw her men issues, she will run right up to some men now and not even come close to others, and most of the time she is dead on with avoiding the "weird" ones.

does your friend by chance smoke? that could be a trigger if you do not smoke, neither of mine will go to a cigarette smoker if the hand is out for them to come to it.

Tori has a good suggestion with arming your friend with treats before she comes into the home, i would start there and see what happens, and dont give up this was all new to us at some-point as well

Dogs read auras better then people.






Beware the Ides of March

Yes, she smokes; the only people Meka sees on a regular basis besides my husband and I are my parents and they don't smoke either. She in fact was just finishing a cigarette as she walked up to the door so maybe that was it.

I am doing better figuring her out than my husband is, so I guess that's a plus

Then there you go Dogs are very sensitive, and Jenn had a fantastic suggestion that turns out to have hit the nail on the head I would bet money that's what it was!

So, the training I offered you should really help with that. Meka is just uneasy about the new smell and unsure how to approach it. Her barking is an insecurity defense mechanism, so it's your job as her pack leader to help her feel secure. Your friend slowly feeding her a whole hot dog when she first gets there will help. The idea behind it is that Meka starts to positively associate your friend with good things and not the unease she feels at the new STRONG smell. Even if she didn't just smoke, Meka is going to smell that, so she needs to learn that especially in this case, it's nothing to be afraid of.

I will do that next time she comes over. Funny that another one of my girlfriends that smokes stopped at the house and Meka was perfectly fine with her. But then again she didn't have a cigarette she just finished plus she had her daughter with her, and anyone with kids seems to automatically be ok lol.

that training works for anything making a dog feel insecure... it's simple positive reinforcement and association training, so even if it were not the smoke and something else, it should help a lot