Out of control Husky OR too much energy?

Question
QUESTION: Hi,

My boyfriend and I just bought a husky from a breeder. We live in Northern Illinois and drove to the middle of Iowa to get this pup (lets say about a 5 hour drive each way.) He has been acting out like crazy...but only towards me. I have owned dogs before and have been around more than I can remember and I don't remember being bitten or having so many potty training issues with a dog.

Vegas is going to be 4 months in a few weeks, I know he is still young but the biting has to stop. Vegas bites when we try to put his harness on or try to take it off, when we try to put his leash on or try to take it off, when he goes on that "psycho" laps around the house without running into anything deal; he'll stop and bite. He bites when we try to get him off the couch, the counter, the bed. We have tried correcting him a few different ways, we have given him the stern "no", we have given him the "no" while closing his mouth with our hands, we have tried that bitter spray (he likes the taste), we have tried the "no" with a smack to the mouth, and in all these scenarios he continues to bite. When he's playing I completely understand that he will play bite, but the way he bites I can't tell if it's because he is teething or if he is trying to show some kind of dominance or maybe we are touching him the wrong way. I have also run into the issue of getting a nip or two at random times, I'll be walking and I get a nip on my leg. It's crazy and I don't know how to fix it...any ideas?

Potty training this dog has been a nightmare, we have been watching him like a hawk since we got him. We have been pretty good about it most of the time but it seems like we'll have him outside for 45 min, he'll relieve himself, and the minute we come back inside he wants to go back outside right away, so we'll take him out and he won't go. When we bring him back in...he pees with in like a minute - with no warning.

Also, while on walks he likes to eat rocks??? Well he likes to sniff anything and everything but rocks? Is this normal?

If you could give me some tips on how to get this guy to listen...it would be awesome! We have tried a choke collar for training and he despises that thing and cries bloody murder when he is corrected.

ANSWER: Miriam,

The best thing to do is pick your battles.  Start out slow and find one or two things to work on and move from there.  My guess is that your first two things should be:

1) House training
2) Basic obedience

Now, for house training, I definitely recommend crate training, and for a few weeks, if he is with you, he is on lead and you are watching him.  If he isn't being watched, he is in his crate.  He may start to urinate inside, but since you are watching him, you should be able to interrupt him and take him outside.  The big thing is you have to catch him in the act.  After a while, you should notice a decrease in issues . . . male dogs are the toughest to house train, as they love to mark everything :)  Stay diligent in watching him, and you should get it.  But if you can't watch him, crate him.

2) Basic obedience

Sounds like you have fallen victim to the classic Siberian ploy.  It's known as the Siberian Death Howl (or Scream, depending on the dog).  You pop the dog's collar, and the dog will put on a show melodramatizing the angst of the canine life in the oppressive post-industrial revolution modern world.  Once the dog figures out that you really aren't going to put him on YouTube or try to get him an Emmy for his performance, he'll calm down.  Actually, Sibes are notorious for doing this, and if you ignore his response and just keep working through it, the dog will probably never like that collar, but it will work.  Actually, for Sibes I generally recommend the German prong collar . . . works through the fur better, is safer, and protects their fur as well.

I think as you work through basic obedience with the prong collar, everything will get a little better.  Just make sure you stick to two training principles with it:

a) the dog gets nothing for free.  Every meal, every treat, etc., is accompanied by a command

b) the dog never is allowed to disobey a command.  One command, one response, every time.  That's what the correction is for.

As for the nipping, I think the obedience training will help, but I have two main suggestions there.

1) For play biting, see my earlier discussions on nipping and using leather welding gloves

2) For just general biting, a stern no and potentially a grab on the scruff on the neck works well.  If you have his lead, a correction is also appropriate.

However, on the nipping, once you establish more of a leadership role with the obedience work, the nipping generally takes care of itself.

And welcome to the world of Siberian ownership.  They are an extremely intelligent and stubborn breed, so even previous dog owners are often left a little dumbfounded with some things . . . just keep in mind that these dogs were bred to question their owners, think for themselves, have a lot of social interaction, and run for hours on end.  If you keep those points in mind, you'll be able to figure out some tricks to making the dog actual live a little more civilized.  Let me know how these things work out and if you need more help.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the response. I figured we were going to be in for a fun ride with this little guy. The trainer we are taking him to place him in an Alpha male hold...the dog did not like that one bit.

I do have one more question, this was actually brought on by the trainer. We have an all white husky, he said those are rare and that he may be a bit harder to train. He said that all white German Shepherds are very skittish and he is wondering if the color and the reason for breeding (color vs temperament) may be why we are having so many issues with him. So, I was wondering what you know about all white huskies.

Answer
Most Sibes don't like that position much.  I don't encourage use of that technique as it is often misused and can be dangerous to the trainer, but if the trainer is a pro, it definitely can work.

As for the white, by the breed standard, all white is perfectly acceptable.  Oftentimes, other "all white" versions of a breed are actually albino, and have some interesting genetic little quirks.  With Sibes, it's actually quite rare to have an albino, so it's just the coat color that is changing.  I have seen no correlation in behavior and coat color with the breed.  Also, a lot of dogs suffer blindness when they have blue eyes; this is not the case with Sibes.  So, I wouldn't think that it has much if anything to do with it.  And from what you've said so far, he sounds like a perfectly normal Siberian!  :)