6 Reasons Why Huskies Are Good With Kids: (From Parents)

When it comes to adding a dog to your family, it’s an important decision, especially for parents who want to ensure compatibility with children. If you’re considering a husky, this article contains all the essential information you need to know about how this breed interacts with kids.

Huskies are very good with kids. They are naturally friendly, gentle, and love human interaction. Huskies puppies can be mouthy so caution should be taken when kids are with young huskies.

Husky Temperament & Characteristics

Huskies by nature are very friendly and rarely display aggressive behavior towards anyone. Even strangers.

However, huskies often get a bad rap, due to their wolf/guard dog-like appearance, leading people to believe they are a “dangerous type” of dog.

This could not be further from the truth…

Huskies, in fact, do not make great guard dogs, and upon the sight of an intruder will likely become their friend. This is because huskies, in general, are not overly suspicious or spooked.

Huskies are a very affectionate breed that loves having company.

Due to the way the Siberian Huskies were originally bred by the Chukchi Tribe, they’ve become a great companionship breed.

This is particularly important for children and helps them develop relationship skills and emotional intelligence.

Making friends couldn’t be easier!

Huskies are highly intelligent dogs, they know that your child, is a child. They have the natural ability to pick up on that and they will adjust. They will become more gentle and careful when interacting with your child.

Why Huskies Are Great With Kids

1. Non-aggressive nature
2. Very friendly
3. Compassionate and love to be around people and other dogs
4. Not suspicious and do not get spooked easily
5. Highly intelligent
6. Naturally gentle with kids

How Are Huskies With Babies and Kids

Of course, regardless of the ideal temperament of huskies, you have to remember that they are a dog and you can never FULLY trust any dog.

Huskies and babies

As you already know, babies are extremely fragile and you’ll never want to leave your baby alone with any dog.

Your husky will instantly sense the presence of your new baby and they will pick up on your calm, careful energy, and do the same.

They’re very good at being gentle BUT they are a very mouthy breed. This means they use their mouth for a lot of communication. A husky may unintentionally injure a baby if they use their mouth.

If they want to get a little closer, that’s fine, but then make a point of creating more distance and keeping your newborn away.

I have an article covering all about huskies with babies specifically. You may want to check that out.

Huskies and kids

Kids are a different animal They’ll claim your husky to be their instant new best friend and will want to be with them 24/7.

As mentioned above, your husky will absolutely love this but it is very important you are always close by to monitor what’s going on.

Do not let your child annoy and goad your husky. Remember that all dogs have a limit and it’s up to you to be responsible and be aware of how your child is interacting with your husky.

Responses From Real Parents Who Own Huskies

My Happy Husky took to Reddit to ask both parents and owners of huskies.

We received some excellent, fair responses that will give you the most accurate answer to your original question!

After all, NOTHING is better than receiving answers from real parents that have children and huskies.

Response 1 – justa_cass – Source
“Mine has always been great with all people/kids, and definitely has a love for babies. Such a gentle breed, though puppies can get crazy. I do have to make a comment about the whole “diet wolves” thing though; Huskies are no closer to a wolf than any other dog (unless you have a hybrid, obviously).”

Response 2 – burnett33 – Source
“Generally, yes, huskies are good with kids, strangers, anyone really.  However, please mention that hopeful owners should take in to account as puppies, huskies will bite and nip more than any other breed probably. This is a VERY energetic dog you do not want to challenge in any physical way. They have the potential to do some serious damage if untrained or approached too quickly and startled. Just my thoughts on it. just make sure the husky knows the children and the children know how to approach the dog as well as disengage in case of emergency.”

Response 3 – moss718– Source
“Uh yes. It obviously depends on the dog but she has been awesome for mine.”

Response 4 – dltbgyd – Source
“My husky is great with kids, very tolerant. However, my sister’s husky is not as tolerant, and will always move to avoid kids. So, depends on the dog I guess.”

Response 5 – tisshowtimefolks – Source
“I’d just tell the kids not to disturb your pup while it’s eating. That’s the only thing that gets my pup snarling by anyone but me.”

Response 6 – CardinallRichelieu – Source
“Mine’s 1/2 GSD, but he loves cuddling with kids. We don’t have any ourselves, but he seems to realize what an immature human is. He knows just how gentle he needs to be when one comes up to him at the park.”

Response 7 – Academic_Excitement – Source
“I think it’s about educating on both sides. Teach kids to not pull tails or tug on ears, but at the same time socialize your husky (or any dog actually) with children so they also learn how to respond. My huskies rarely came into contact with young kids, so they never really had specific training for that. When we have visitors with kids over we just keep the dogs separate to avoid any incidents. Nothing has ever happened when they have had contact with children but one of my huskies has quite a high prey-drive, I wouldn’t want to combine that with a squealing toddler or kids running around the dogs.”

Getting a Husky When You Have a Baby Already

You’ll find yourself in one of two situations…

• You already have a husky and are expecting a baby.
• You already have a kid and want to get a husky.

These situations shouldn’t require too much of a different approach but be ready for it.

Huskies are very adaptable and will quickly fit in and be comfortable having new people around permanently.

So if you have a husky first and then have a baby, this shouldn’t cause any issues. Dogs, in general, usually have the ability to know that you are pregnant; and to some extent, your husky will be expecting the family change.

Despite needing to give your newborn extreme amounts of attention, you will need to remember your husky’s needs too.

Never forget to give attention and affection to them too, they are still part of the family and they really do need to feel that way.

If you have a young child and decide to get a husky, a more careful approach needs to be taken. It’s likely that once again the husky will adapt first whereas your child may take longer.

Always pay attention to how your child is reacting to this drastic change of getting a dog, are they worried? scared? These are all things to be hyper-aware of in the beginning.

Check out this amazing video of a husky welcoming a newborn into the family and becoming friends from day one!

Take notice of how gentle and understanding this husky is

Health Benefits for Kids Growing up with a Dog

A number of studies have been conducted about the many benefits that can happen when a child grows up having a pet or dog in the family.

Having a close companion during these early ages (3-7) can help your child develop empathy, compassion, self-esteem, and also self-confidence.

Many children share secrets with their beloved fluffy friends which is actually very healthy.

Having a pet can also help your child understand valuable life lessons, things like health & well-being, the responsibility of care, reproduction, illness, and death. Source (aacap.org)

One Important Point to Make

Huskies are working dogs and require a lot of exercise and physical activity to be stimulated. If huskies don’t receive the exercise that they require, they will react in one of two ways, they will either become SUPER lazy and literally sleep all the time, or they will be very hyper and destructive.

Why am I bringing up this point?

That’s because you need well behaved, calm and sensible dog if you have a young child. If you choose to get a husky, you must first understand their exercise requirements and be sure that you can keep up with it even whilst taking care of your child.

A well-exercised husky is a well-behaved husky.

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10 Facts to Know Before Getting a Husky

Huskies Make Great Family Pets

I think it’s safe to say that the Siberian Husky will be a great addition to any family, whether you have a baby, a young child, or just yourself, as long as you are able to meet the Husky’s needs (very important)

If you have children or a baby with a Siberian husky please comment below to let us know your experiences. How do they get along? Let us know below!

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If you would like an easy to read guide for training your husky puppy, check out my book The Husky Puppy Handbook on Amazon. All purchases are greatly appreciated.