Are Huskies Good Guard Dogs? 5 Reasons Why They Aren’t

Huskies can look pretty intimidating, but can they actually be good guard dogs? It’s a popular question we receive so let’s break it down… The answer might surprise you.

The truth is that Huskies are not good guard dogs. By nature, huskies are very friendly and are not suspicious or aggressive towards strangers. Huskies lack many traits that are needed to make a good guard dog.

5 Reasons Why Huskies Don’t Make Good Guard Dogs

Let’s run through the main reasons why huskies don’t quite make the cut when it comes to guard dog duties.

1. Huskies love people too much!

It’s true that huskies really do love people, and for a guard dog, this isn’t an ideal trait.

You can’t have a guard dog that would rather lick an intruder than bite them! And huskies will view everyone as a chance to play or have a positive interaction with.

Huskies are known for developing great bonds with people, and this can be attributed to how well they were raised by the Chukchi people for thousands of years.

2. Huskies are not suspicious or aggressive

One trait that will make an effective guard dog is being somewhat suspicious of strangers. Huskies do not typically demonstrate this kind of behavior upon seeing someone they are not familiar with.

At the sight of an intruder entering your property, it’s likely your husky will dash over and jump up licking and trying to play, rather than guarding their territory.

The loving and affectionate nature of a husky will likely get in the way of their ability to be aggressive. Not exactly what you want upon the sight of an intruder.

3. Huskies are not overly protective

One of the main traits of a guard dog is to be protective of their property and their (human) family.

Many people often get confused between possessiveness and protectiveness. Huskies are in fact quite possessive, but they are not very protective.

Huskies can get rather jealous if their owner is giving more attention to someone else in the family than them. But this is never typically followed through with any act of aggression or real protectiveness.

4. Huskies are stubborn and independent

Good guard dogs, are usually very trainable and obedient, obeying a lot of commands at all times. Huskies, on the other hand, are the biggest divas out there. They usually do what they want when they want to do it!

Although it is entirely possible to train a husky to be a very well-behaved obedient dog. They may become unreliable in moments that you really need to instruct them.

This is not ideal if you find yourself in an emergency situation.

5. It’s not in their history

Ultimately, huskies have never been used for guard dog purposes. It’s simply not their area of expertise.

Getting a husky to be a guard dog is like getting a chihuahua to be a sled dog… It’s just not meant to be.

If we take a look at all the well-known guard dogs of today, they all have an extensive history dedicated to performing this role.

It’s very hard to train a working dog to perform a role that isn’t what they were originally intended for.

We Asked Husky Owners What They Think

Instead of just relying solely on my experience with my own husky mix, I decided to get the opinions of other husky owners too.

Here are 8 responses that we had after asking different husky owners on the Siberian Husky forum board on Reddit. Take a look:

Response #1 | BlackSpark75:
“Generally Huskies are not guard dogs. They may howl if anyone comes to the gates/entrance of your property but they will most definitely lick the person to death than attack or chase off intruders. Have had two (adult Huskies) and they gave out more love than barks/bites.”

Response #2 | IndraSun:
“I have two, both 9 months old. At the moment, no, they are far too friendly. They aren’t angry and bitey enough as guard dogs. But mine are still young, and they are my first two, so others may have different experiences.”

Response #3 | Back_cow:
“Not at all. Get a german shepherd if you’re after a guard dog.

Response #4 | Moss718:
“No. If the intruders are made of peanut butter bananas or something edible they will destroy them. Otherwise, their only value in this aspect is nothing can move on your property without them knowing.”

Response #5 | Gerudoguard:
“Mine is a VERY good guard dog in the sense that if someone who he does not know comes into the house or yard when I am home alone he will viciously bark/howl and legitimately sound aggressive. That being said he rarely does that when it is both myself and my husband.

Unlike other huskies in this thread he is not easily distracted by snacks or toys, but there is a chance he would eff off if the door and gate were left open and someone hid out of the way. Overall, mixed bag. Definitely wouldn’t SELL them as a guard dog, but some do a find job of it.”

Response #6 | Argmjs:
“We know when a stranger is around. The woo is a different tone and she will back away from them. The woos become more intense as she looks to find us.”

Response #7 | Js1306:
“Mine protects the house well. Anytime someone or something is in our yard or at the door, he lets us know. As far as actually defending us in a rough situation.. we have not found that out yet. He is also only almost 5 months old.”

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Response #8 The best response we had was from Snowbaby6: in the forum. They gave an extremely detailed answer that we found really helpful, check it out below:

“While huskies are not guard dogs in the traditional sense, they do have personalities that could help protect your home and family in other ways.

1) For starters, it is unlikely that anyone will enter the home undetected. A Husky will loudly announce the arrival of any person that enters the home. They will give the intruder a loud welcoming, “Woo Woo!” and continue to make other “talking” noises to the newcomer and insist that the intruder engages in conversation. No one will be able to slip in and out quietly.

2) It will certainly take a thief much longer to remove items from the home than planned. Before proceeding further into the house the intruder will need to give ear scratches, pets, and mandatory belly rubs. Also, only items that can be carried with one hand will be able to be removed from the home. The other hand must be kept free at all times for belly rubs, throwing fetch toys and pulling tug of war ropes. This will impede any bugler, causing the robbery to take longer and increasing the likelihood of being caught.

3) It will be impossible for an intruder to have an alibi. There will be dog fur on any clothes that were worn during the home invasion including but not limited to: shirts, pants, hats, socks, shoes, and, for mysterious inexplicable reasons, even underwear. There will be dog fur on any items stolen from the home. There will be dog fur in the car. Even the jacket that was in the trunk of the car the whole time, and was never worn will somehow have the dog’s fur on it. This Husky fur can not be completely removed despite numerous washing and vacuuming cycles. The DNA in this fur, if tested, will be able to prove that the intruder was in fact in this home and in contact with this dog.

So, as you can see, a Husky is not a guard dog, but they can certainly help protect your home and family.”

Original Reddit Question From My Happy Husky https://www.reddit.com/r/husky/comments/fihi8u/wanting_peoples_opinion_are_huskies_good_guard/

Can You Train a Husky To Be a Guard Dog?

Although it’s perfectly achievable to train a husky into a well-behaved, obedient dog, it’s unlikely you can train them to be a fierce, reliable guard dog.

Huskies are said to be a dog that first-time owners shouldn’t go for. While I personally disagree with this statement, it’s certainly true they’re a handful to manage and train.

It can take you a very long time to train a husky to be obedient and for a guard dog with aggression you need to have full control. Mixed with the husky’s natural stubbornness, you couldn’t rely on them when the time comes.

Training your husky to be a guard dog will likely backfire.

Trying to instill aggression into a breed that is not naturally aggressive isn’t a good idea! The type of training that would achieve this would also cause other behavioral issues.

Can Huskies Make Good Watchdogs?

We’ve covered why huskies aren’t well suited to be guard dogs, so what’s the next best thing? A watchdog.

Huskies make fantastic watchdogs. By nature, they love to howl, yap, sing, and make a lot of noise whenever they can. Alerting you to the presence of someone or something new on your property is a task they’ll be great at.

Although, this is about as much as you can expect from your husky. After they have alerted you of someone’s presence, it’s all on you! Your husky will sit back and think about what games they want to play, while you call the police.

Other Breeds That Are Better Guard Gogs

If you come across this post because you’re interested in getting a guard dog check out the breeds below. They are naturally better guard dogs than huskies.

Some of the best guard dogs we know of:

• Bullmastiff
• German Shepherd
• Rottweiler
• Belgian Malinios
• Doberman
• Giant Schnauzer
• Akita
• Rhodesian Ridgeback
• Pitbull
• Caucasian Shepherd Dog

Consider researching these breeds for their guard dog capabilities.

Summary

The Siberian Husky is an amazing breed and they make wonderful family pets. They love your company and the time that you’ll spend with them will be appreciated. Huskies wear their heart on their sleeve and are honest, sociable dogs that make friends with anyone.