Are Huskies Good With Babies: The Full Safety Guide

Are huskies good with babies? It’s a super common question with some really important answers. I’ll discuss everything you need to know below.

Quick Disclaimer: No matter what advice or tips you read online it is never advised to leave a baby alone with any dog regardless of their breed or training.

Why Huskies Are Pretty Good With Babies

Huskies are extremely family orientated and love to be a part of the pack (the human pack).

This desire to be close to the family makes huskies highly sociable and actually friendly. Despite the fierce appearance huskies are one of the more naturally friendly breeds out there.

➡️ Not only this, but huskies are very attentive and intelligent. They will automatically understand how us parents act calmly and gentle around the baby, and they too will mimic this kind of behavior.

I’ll get into the ins and outs in more detail below, but the main answer to this question is that huskies are good with babies, in general.

Husky Temperament & Being Around Babies

➡️ Positive Husky Traits:

The Husky temperament makes them good family pets. Despite looking a little scary, Huskies are actually a very naturally-friendly breed, and it’s rare to find an aggressive-natured husky.

On top of that, Huskies are very sociable. Meaning they can easily meet new dogs and strangers for the first time without showing any fear or aggression. They are able to make friends with almost any dog or anyone. In fact, because of this, they make terrible guard dogs.

Another noteworthy point is that Huskies aren’t usually protective. This means you shouldn’t expect there to be problems with your Husky over-protecting the baby from you or the other way around. This can be seen from a lot of dogs and can be hard to manage, but thankfully Huskies rarely do this.

Huskies are caring, and have the intelligence to automatically know your baby is fragile and will adjust the way they act accordingly. It’s likely your husky will treat your baby as if they’re a new addition to the pack, which in fact they are.

➡️ Negative Husky Traits:

Siberian Huskies despite all their good, tend to have a mind of their own. They can be very stubborn and independent. While this may not seem particularly relevant to their ability to be good with babies, it’s can produce some issues.

Due to their stubbornness, Huskies can sometimes be very disobedient, standoff-ish, and can have the mindset of “I do what I want when I want” And this is not helpful when you have to look after and worry about a newborn.

Newborns take up so much of your time, focus, and attention that you simply need a dog who just listens and is well-behaved ALL the time. With a Husky, you may not get that.

Of course, this isn’t to say all Huskies are like this or will be like this. Many Huskies as long as they have been trained, will display perfect behavior around your newborn.

Safety Advice for Huskies with Babies

Let’s cover some basics, but important safety tips that you should remember at all times specific to Siberian Husky.

• Owners must always remember that no matter how long you have had your Husky, your Husky is an animal. Animals can be unpredictable, and we should NEVER fully trust them.
  
• Siberian Huskies tend to be quite mouthy, which means that like to communicate with their mouth most of the time. This isn’t referring to making noise. They love to nibble, play-bite, and, open their mouth wide. This isn’t them being aggressive, it’s just their natural way of exploring and communicating, but of course, babies are extremely fragile and your Husky may unintentionally nip your baby without realizing. If your Husky starts showing this behavior, stop it immediately no matter how close they are to the baby.
  
• If you are out strolling with your baby and your Husky, have someone else hold the Husky. If you are on your own be absolutely hyper-aware of other dogs coming up to you or your Husky. Again, thankfully huskies are very social and do not usually pick fights. But this doesn’t mean other dogs won’t.
  
• If you are out strolling with your baby and your Husky, be aware of CATS and other SMALL ANIMALS. This will almost always trigger your Husky’s natural prey drive response and if not extremely well trained, they will chase and yank you. In the worst-case scenario, you let go of the leash.
  
• Never allow your baby/toddler to aggravate your Husky. This means pinching, poking, punching, or hitting. Also, be careful when they go to touch the face. Always monitor how your Husky is reacting and observe body language carefully.
  
• In times when you may have your baby on the floor, make sure your Husky is in another room or their crate. Your Husky may unintentionally hurt your baby through an accidental step or if they become excited and try to play.

Training Your Husky In Preparation For The Baby

Not all owners do this, but It’s something I strongly recommend. This isn’t so much training, but it’s more like, getting your Husky ready and used to the baby before the baby is even home.

There are some things you can do before the baby is born, and there are things you can do just after the baby is born before they come home.

Prepare Your Husky for The Baby

First of all, there is some truth behind dogs sensing the baby during pregnancy. Your Husky will be able to smell the changes that happen in the women’s body as the pregnancy progresses and hormones shift. So rest assured you a fluffy friend already knows something significant is happening with their owner.

Playing baby sounds

The sound of a baby’s cry is not only understood by us. It’s something instinctual that other animals understand too. A great exercise to do when you’re with your Husky is to briefly play a few baby noises, cries, and talking.

This will immediately grab your Husky’s attention and will give you a chance to reassure them everything is normal and okay. Play the sound, then distract your husky’s attention away with their toy. This is an excellent exercise to get them used to the sounds of the baby, with time, your Husky will act completely normal around the sound of a baby. Exactly what you want.

Baby gate training

Something you will need for your baby are baby gates. Unfortunately, in the beginning, your Husky will think this is for them. Your Husky won’t understand that this will be for your baby and they’ll think it’s a barrier for them. They may not like this at first, which is exactly why it’s a good idea to introduce it early.

Keep your Husky on the other side of the gate while you are in another room. Get them used to spending time alone in another room (Huskies are notoriously bad at being alone, so you MUST introduce all of this slowly)

Keep the times very short initially, and gradually increase as they become more comfortable with it.

Huskies can jump very high, almost as if they’ve suddenly learned how to fly. If your Husky can fly, then you’ll need to keep them in a crate while you do this training. It will still work.

Just before bringing a newborn home

One of the best ways to immediately familiarise your Husky with the new family member is to bring home some clothes or towels that the mother has used while in the hospital. It’s even better if it’s a towel or cloth that your newborn has touched.

Bring it home and let your Husky smell it, keep it in a prominent place like your sofa or on the side and your Husky will recognize that this is something of importance. The more items (smells) you bring home from the hospital, the more your Husky will become familiar with your baby before even meeting them.

Best practice for introducing your Husky and baby for the first time

If you’ve managed to carry out some of the advice above, by now, your Husky likely knows what’s happening and is as ready as they can be.

When coming home, it’s best for the mother to come in first and greet your Husky alone, with the baby outside with someone else. There are two important reasons for this:

• Your Husky will be very excited, hyper and likely jump to you
• Your Husky can get a strong smell of the baby on you

When your Husky has calmed down, and under the supervision of someone else, you can come in with the baby.

It’s important your Husky has completely calmed down, and is either sitting or laying down when you enter. If the leash doesn’t make your Husky hyper, use a leash. If it does, just hold their collar throughout.

Check out this video of Huskies with Babies

Summary

In general, Siberian Huskies are great family pets and are very friendly and sociable, two of the most important traits when introducing a baby to the family. Just remember that your Husky can never be fully trusted, nor can any animal around babies. NEVER let your Husky have unattended access to your baby.

Most Recommended For Huskies

Best Brushes For Husky Shedding ⭐

The Furminator Undercoat Rake and a Hertzko Slicker Brush are by far the two best brushes that any husky owner should use.

Best Online Training Program For Huskies⭐

Brain Training For Dogs has become increasingly popular with Siberian Huskies in the last few years. It’s now recognized as perhaps the best way to train a husky in the most stress-free, positive way.

Best Husky Puppy Book ⭐

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.