Can you train a Siberian Husky?

Lobo was a rumbunctious 1 year old when we adopted him in March of 2004. He caught our attention while trying to escape his pen. Right then and there we knew he was going to be trouble, but the same spunky spirit is what finalized the decision for us to adopt him. Did we know what we were in for? Well, we read about the breed, we weighed the pros and cons, needless to say, we only have an inkling of what we were getting ourselves into.

He pulled like a horse on a leash. He chewed on our teak furniture. He took apart my cell phone charger. He broke open our cushion (that we inherited from my husband's grandmother). He dug pot holes and left our backyard looking like the moon. He jumped the fence and caught a cat. It was horrifying! I'd rather forget that incident all together. Just when we thought we had husky proof our home, he always found a way to prove us wrong. He was a very willful pup but we were more persistent owners.

We spent many hours even days and weeks patiently training Lobo. It took over a year or so before we were able to train him. Everyday was a challenge, every two weeks we see progress. We worked on his strengths and putting that bundle of energy into something positive. He even learned a few tricks. Thank goodness he learns quickly but he is a husky. He is easily bored, to top it off, he was only a pup.

It took us a year of love, patience and understanding to teach him what he knows now. He walks gracefully on leash heeding our commands. He does not chew on our furniture anymore but he did chew on a leash once this year. He does not dig anymore. He understands the phrase "Leave it!" when a squirrel or cat crosses his path, displaying reluctant restraint, torn between his strong hunting instinct and obedience to our commands. He still is a willful escape artist as he has found a way to get out of the kennel but he has not jump the fence to leave the premises of our backyard. He is more mellow now and his days are 80% lounging around and 20% horse playing with our younger female husky.

We attended BASH's Ice Cream Social today and did us proud one more time. All that Sit! Stay! commands finally paid off. We decided to join him in the fun of "Musical Sit Down Contest" and he won with flying colors leaving all the other huskies in the dust. He listened. He obeyed. He made us proud!

So can you train a Siberian Husky? Oh most definitely!