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Can Huskies Be Left Alone? (7 Key Things to Know)

Can you leave your husky at home alone?

This is a big question, especially if holidays are coming or your work hours change. This article talks about how long you can leave huskies alone and how it affects them.

The truth is that most huskies do not cope well when left alone for more than a few hours at a time.

Huskies like being with people a lot. So if they’re alone too much, they can start acting out or get stressed and anxious.

Why Huskies Don’t Cope Being Left Alone

Huskies were originally bred in large packs by the Chukchi Tribe, a group of nomadic hunter-gatherers from Eastern Siberia.

The tribe used huskies primarily for transportation, but as the packs were so vital to their survival, they were treated extremely well. Some tribes even considered them to be of higher importance than themselves.

The packs would often sleep inside the tribe’s tents with them and their families and they would even share all of their food together.

Due to having lived like this for thousands of years, it became natural for huskies to want to be with their owners pretty much all the time, as this is what’s normal for them.

So when a husky gets left alone, it really doesn’t feel good.

Related Read: Do Huskies Need a Companion?

Can You Leave a Husky Alone? The Likely Outcomes

If your husky spends a lot of time alone, it won’t be long before he becomes incredibly lonely, bored, and frustrated.

Boredom and frustration will lead him to channel his energy elsewhere. This could be anything from destructive behavior, howling for hours, escaping, or disobedience.

In addition to being bored, it will cause them stress and anxiety. Huskies, in particular, can develop separation anxiety and isolation distress much easier than most other breeds.

These serious conditions can cause many health problems and take a long time to overcome once developed, so it’s best to avoid them to begin with!

Isolation Distress

This condition is when your husky becomes distressed when there are no other dogs or humans around.

However, as soon as another human or another dog is present with him, he’ll become calm and happy again.

This disorder is usually temporary and can be overcome with training.

Separation Anxiety

This condition is more serious and occurs when your husky becomes extremely attached to one person, usually who he regards as his main owner.

As soon as his owner is not with him, even if other dogs or people are around, he’ll become very stressed and agitated.

His overall behavior and temperament can change if he suffers from this type of anxiety for a long time.


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How Long Can I Leave My Husky Alone?

To give an exact time is tricky, and although nearly all huskies will not like being left alone, some can tolerate it better than others.

Some huskies can cope with 5 hours, and others much less. Owners will have to find their own husky’s tolerance level.

To do that, try the test below.

Figuring out your husky’s tolerance

Carry out a simple test by leaving your husky alone for 1 hour without anyone being at home. Come back and gauge how he is. Has your house been turned upside down? have your belongings been chewed? Maybe your neighbors complained about howling?

How did he react?

Signs of agitation within this hour will help you determine his tolerance level.

If you come back to find your husky completely fine, lying down, chewing his toy, or even sleeping. This will indicate that leaving your husky for 1 hour doesn’t particularly affect him.

Repeat the test

To find your husky’s particular tolerance, you can try this test incrementing from 1 hour to 2 hours, to 3, and so on.

Space this test out so you can get a true result. Giving a day or two between repeating the test.

Record your husky’s temperament and the state of your house!

One last word on tolerance: No matter how well your husky tolerates being left alone. He’ll never actually want to be alone. Keep this in mind and always make it a priority to spend as much time with him as possible.

How To Watch Your Husky at All Times

Many of you may already have security cameras around your home, but if you don’t have any inside, it may be worth testing some out.

On top of the benefit of improved home security, you can tap right into them from your smartphone wherever you are.

So, while you’re at work or on a break, you can view your husky in real-time while he’s at home to see how he’s doing.

You would be surprised just how valuable this proves to be. Just think, at any moment of the day, within a few seconds, you have eyes on your husky. I use them now and have been for years.

This allows you to instantly see whether he’s howling, destroying things, playing with his toys, or laying down asleep; and you can then act accordingly.

This option from Kasa is one of the best Pet Cameras on Amazon, it’s very reasonably priced and highly reviewed. Check it out here.

This is original content produced and published by My Happy Husky | www.myhappyhusky.com

7 Ways to Help Huskies Feel More Comfortable When Alone

There are several ways that you can keep your husky happy while you’re out of the house. This is actually an interesting topic, and I have dedicated an entire article that runs through each tip in greater detail. But I’ll provide the list here too for your convenience.

Let’s clarify that the only true way to keep your husky happy is to limit the time he spends alone. Despite these helpful tips and tricks, nothing beats having real company, so try keeping that in mind.

7 ways you can keep your husky happy when they’re left alone:

Create a dedicated space for your husky
Give him a used t-shirt of yours as a comforter
Provide puzzle toys for him to play with
● Leave the radio or tv on
● Engage in separation training
Use a two-way camera with audio
Get help from friends, family or dog-sitters

Some of these ways are more self-explanatory than others, but I go through each one in great detail in this article. I also cover just how well each one works and you’ll be able to decide which ones you would like to try.

What To Do When You Go On Vacation

Vacation time can be tricky, and having a pet can often lead us to choose vacations that they can come along on. But, this isn’t always possible; for the vacations that your fluffy friend can’t go on, you’ll need a plan of action.

If you’re confident that your husky can adapt well, I recommend having a friend or family member have him live at their house.

It’s a big ask, I know… But it’s not as big as asking your friend to live at your house.

Although, if that is an option, then you’ve hit the jackpot. With huskies being so dependent on having company, I do not suggest leaving him at home and asking your friend to “occasionally” come round to “let him out.”

That just isn’t going to cut it for your husky. Instead, he should be going to live at a friend’s house or have a friend live at your house.

Most people consider kennels, and while this is a valid option, it can be too much of a dramatic change for your dog. Your husky will be far more comfortable staying in someone’s home, whether it’s your or a friend’s.

If the above options still aren’t viable for you, you may have to consider a huskation instead of a vacation. He may just have to come along with you!

Important Things To Remember

You’re not alone with this problem!

This is a very common situation that nearly all dog owners face at some point. Regardless of huskies being extra sensitive, you can get through this issue by following the advice above and asking other husky owners how they deal with this.

It is important to consider your husky whenever you leave him alone. Don’t take it for granted that he’ll be okay whether this is for 1 hour or 4 hours. Like I mentioned above, separation anxiety and isolation distress are serious conditions to develop and deal with, not to mention how unhappy it would make your fluff ball.

Thank you for reading! If you have experience with this, please share your advice below in the comments to help all of us be better owners. Thank you, and share this with your fellow dog owners to help them in this situation.

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Disclaimer

The advice given in this article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice in any context. Before making any decisions that may affect the health and/or safety of your dog, you should always consult a trained veterinarian in your local area. For the FULL disclaimer Visit Here


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