Do Huskies Like To Cuddle: 5 Key Reasons Why Most Don’t

For you, there’s nothing better than giving your husky a big cuddle, but for your husky, it seems like there’s nothing worse.

Are all huskies like this or do some actually like to cuddle? It’s a common question among husky owners.

This article explains five reasons many huskies are not as cuddly as their owners would wish. I will also talk a little bit about husky affection, and if it’s possible to encourage your husky to be more cuddly.

Huskies are usually dogs that like to cuddle only on their terms. Still, some will be more cuddly than others, and this can be affected by various things including how they are raised.

5 Reasons Why Most Huskies Do Not Like to Cuddle

If you’re like most husky owners, your cuddles get rejected more times than you can believe. And I know it doesn’t feel very good!

Thoughts start creeping in like does my husky even love me or why isn’t he more affectionate! I’ve been there myself.

Let’s get into it and run through the most likely reasons why your husky doesn’t like cuddling

1. Huskies Cuddle Only When They Want To

It’s true that huskies are stubborn and independently-minded. This affects how they deal with you trying to cuddle them.

A breed that’s very strong-minded like a husky will want to be “in charge” of when that happens or if it happens at all.

Across many of the popular husky forums, the number one response from countless husky owners is how their husky does like to cuddle, but only on their terms. Only when their husky is the one to offer the cuddly is it “ok” to do so.

2. The Way Your Husky Was Raised

I have no doubt you’ve done a great job raising your husky. But that doesn’t mean someone else did… This is particularly true for rescue huskies.

The biggest unknown for rescued huskies is their past. In most cases, animal shelters are not aware of what happened or they have very limited knowledge of the husky’s upbringing.

The harsh reality with any dog from a shelter is that they’ve had a rough time. Ending up in an animal shelter is either usually through abandonment, being mistreated or they were simply given to the shelter because they were unwanted.

This kind of trauma can sometimes change the character and personality of a dog for the rest of their life.

If you have a rescue husky that isn’t very affectionate, it may be because he has some bad associations with human contact or just that it makes him feel uncomfortable.

This can happen even if you’re extremely loving and affectionate towards him.

3. The Age of Your Husky

The age of your husky will have an effect on their temperament and character. This will in turn have an effect on how they act with us.

To begin with, husky puppies are not cuddly, and this is hard for us to accept! When you have a new husky puppy all you want to do is cuddle them and love them!

But their energy levels, excitement, and lack of understanding just do not allow them to relax and cuddle you. They are hyperactive balls of energy that are not very affectionate. It’s just how it is.

Another pattern I discovered when talking to other husky owners was that some huskies became more affectionate and “cuddly” when they became older. The only thing I can put this down to would be a change in temperament. This may be the case with your husky.

4. Some Huskies Are Just Less Cuddly

All dogs are different, just like us! You may know some people who are very “touchy-feely” and other people who are the complete opposite. While there are usually explanations, sometimes it’s just how it is.

I have friends that have raised their huskies in a very affectionate household yet their huskies (now adults) don’t like cuddling.

They are well-behaved, obedient, and receive everything they want and more, but cuddling is never on their to-do list.

Many huskies will be happy to just “have you around” and your presence is enough for them to feel good.

The way many husky owners describe it, is that their husky wants them to be around all the time, but that’s enough. They LOVE having you as a company, but you just need to be there, you don’t need to be cuddling. I hope this is clear.

5. Health Issues or Injury

Before you instantly count this one out, it’s an important one to be aware of.

Health issues often start with us not knowing about them, and as our furry friends can’t speak to us, their behavior changes first and it’s up to us to figure it out.

If you’ve noticed your husky’s behavior changing significantly in the last few weeks or even months, it’s worth considering a trip to the vets.

If your husky was once cuddly but no longer is, it could be that he’s protecting an injury and doesn’t want you to get close. This can range from subtly moving away from you or even showing aggression.

While this is more unlikely, it’s always important to rule out health issues first. If you have noticed a change in behavior alongside this, a call to your veterinarian wouldn’t hurt!

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Do All Huskies Dislike Cuddling?

Of course not! Many huskies out there do actually enjoy cuddles and will happily squeeze up to you on the couch whenever they have the chance.

But the reality is that this isn’t the case for the majority. Let’s move on to discuss something I think is quite important, and that’s what we expect our huskies to be like, compared to what they are actually like…

Understanding Your Husky: Expectations vs Reality

Us humans are an emotional bunch, and while we often express our love through cuddles and smooches, we have to remember that’s human behavior, not canine behavior.

This is quite a big point to take away from the article.

Huskies are in fact a breed that loves attention and craves human companionship, but for them, that doesn’t mean cuddles and smooches, it means having you there with them.

You are their leader and their support and they’ll look to you for guidance. In their eyes, this is a strong sign of companionship and love in itself. Trust means a lot in the canine world. Plus, they are likely showing you they love you in many other ways you may not be aware of.

And finally, managing your expectations is important. We can’t expect our furry friends to be cuddly and cute. After all, they come from the wild, and despite having a great connection with us, we are still different.

For your husky, having a great relationship that’s abundant in love and companionship, may not need to be expressed with cuddles and kisses.

Encouraging Your Husky To Be More Cuddly: 3 Great Ways

I mentioned earlier that you can’t make your husky cuddle you. And that’s true.

But there are some subtle ways you can start encouraging your husky to accept cuddles and perhaps even offer you more cuddles.

Let’s run through the different approaches you may want to try.

1. Stop Trying To Give Your Husky Cuddles If He Doesnt Want Them

The first approach to take would be to stop giving your husky cuddles if he doesn’t want them.

All you’re doing is reinforcing his negative reaction and training him to dislike cuddles.

Simply stopping, will likely have a positive effect on your overall relationship and you may even find that he starts coming to you more after you stop giving him cuddles.

This was the case with my friend.

As the saying goes, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. My friend tried this technique and after one week of no cuddles, her husky finally reacted. He started coming to her for more cuddles and even allowed her to cuddle him. It worked, little by little.

2. Regain his desire for physical contact

It sounds a bit elaborate I know, but let me explain.

When your husky does allow you to show some kind of affection through physical touch like petting or stroking, you can use it to your advantage.

The main principle is to be the one to first break the affection. So if your husky likes being stroked for 30 seconds before always moving away, stop after 15 seconds. If your husky tolerates cuddling for 10 seconds, be the one to stop it, before he does.

Apply this to all “affectionate” physical contact like stroking and petting.

By being the one to stop the affection before he does you’re not allowing him to be the one in charge of it, and it will slowly become something he desires again.

I know this all sounds mystical and weird, but it’s based on proven behavior management techniques used with dogs, plus, many husky forums talk about practicing this method.

3. Using Positive Reinforcment

There’s a good reason you hear the term “positive reinforcement” so much and that’s because it works.

Reinforcing the behavior that you do want is a powerful technique and can certainly be applied to the cuddle conundrum you have.

Try rewarding your husky only after the times you give him cuddles that he accepts. (it’s important that he accepts them, otherwise, you may be rewarding his rejections)

This will encourage him to associate your cuddles with something positive and he’ll be more accepting of your cuddles over time.

However, it’s important to mention the obvious! Your husky will start to enjoy your cuddles based on the fact he receives a treat after. So it’s up to you if you want those treat fueled cuddles or not! 😂

One Important Thing to Remember

Your husky loves you!

He may not be the most affectionate/cuddly husky out there, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you.

As this is such a common topic for discussion I have created an article detailing 13 signs your husky is showing you that he loves you.

I recommend checking this article out as it’s closely related to this one. You can see it here https://www.myhappyhusky.com/does-my-husky-love-me/

Try your best not to get too down when your husky rejects your cuddles, it’s quite normal and the vast majority of other huskies do the same!

Summary

So there you have it! You now know why your husky doesn’t want to cuddle and you have some good explanations for why.

If you have experienced this before and managed to change it, please comment below sharing your experiences, it may help someone else!

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