Husky Temperament - What it's Like Living with One

Husky standing outside with mud all over her nose

My goodness gracious in Heaven. Would you just look at that thing. My sister is such a cutie but why on earth does she have dirt caked all in her lady stash and up her nose holes? This, humans. THIS is what it’s like living with a husky.

Husky temperament is playful, gentle, and friendly with an accompanying dash of outgoing qualities. They have a tendency to possess an innate sense of loyalty to their family. Huskies may have the natural ability to look intimidating, but they aren’t anything if not a horrible excuse for a guard dog.

I’m not a dog trainer. I am a dog though. I’m not a husky psychologist but I do have a husky sister. I haven’t invested four thousand hours in a research and development phase based solely on husky temperament and characteristics. I have lived with one for over three years now, which, if my calculations are correct gives me a solid 26,280 hours under my belt, so…. subject matter expert, I am.

Disclaimer: The Can My Dog articles contain information based on the individual research and opinions of the author of the site – who just so happens to be a dog. How you utilize the information given is completely up to you. Proceed at your own risk.

Character Traits of a Siberian Husky

Stubborn
Loyal
Playful
Alert
Gentle
Friendly
Vocal
Hard headed (Revert back to number one on this list – same thing. Worth mentioning again.)
If shedding was a trait, it would have it’s own zip code. Don’t believe me? Read this blog I wrote on just how bad husky’s shed before dog hair becomes the next most ingested condiment in your house too.

Now, let’s dive a bit deeper into each of these character traits. Shall we?

Stubborn

Back end of a black and white husky poking out from under a bed

Let me start off with the annoying one: STUBBORN.

And my goodness, are they ever.

I read a lot of books about huskies when my humans started talking about adding one of these things to our family, and of course their predisposed tendency to be extremely stubborn came up a lot.

I have to admit though, I didn’t truly understand just how thick this girls skull would be until I experienced it in real time and on a daily basis.

I’ll provide a comparative example for you – think cat. Huskies are ‘cat-stubborn’.

Loyal

white husky paws holding on to the back legs of a cocker spaniel as they both lay on a couch together

I would like to interrupt your previously scheduled husky personality bash with a moment of magnificent loyalty.

My husky sister is the most loyal soul that I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing.

I raised her. Sometimes I’m convinced that she thinks she’s a cocker spaniel too, but then she does one of her weird ‘husky things’ and attempts to see if my head will fit in her mouth while she’s lying on the couch.

Then that previous thought flies right out the window.

Nevertheless, a husky’s most common character trait is loyalty to their family.

Playful

black and white husky showing a play pose with her front feet flat and her butt in the air ready to pounce.

“Playful” can, at times, be a bit of an understatement when it comes to huskies in a general sense. Huskies have moderate to high levels of energy and need to be exercised at least 30 minutes every single day.

Let me interject one more disclaimer: if you do not have the time in your current daily schedule to run these little boogers for half an hour every day, then perhaps it would be best if you opted for a lazier pup – like me.

Nah, I love my play time too. We all do!

Physical activity isn’t only beneficial to our energy levels and bodies, but to our cognitive capacity as well. This is a general statement and true for all dogs but increasingly valid with the husky breed.

Gentle

black and white husky curled up on a bed snuggling a gray stuffed animal

Oh my goodness, this picture of my sweet baby sister. Don’t ever tell her that I’m falling all over myself or even showing it to you for that matter.

I’ve got to remain the cool older brother who is consistently indifferent to all things. No time for that mushy stuff, am I right?

Huskies truly are gentle little creatures with warm hearts.

They can play hard, but they cuddle even harder.

Friendly

black and white husky laying upside down smiling showing her front teeth

Just look at that smile? It just screams friendliness.

Callie is truly one of those souls who has never met a stranger. It annoys me, if we’re being honest here.

Sometimes I don’t want to talk to people when they pass the dog park. But then there goes Callie. One glimpse of another pup, cat, squirrel, human, or turtle and she can’t say ‘hi’ fast enough.

Generally, all huskies are friendly. This could also be attributed to their playful mentality and outgoing personalities.

Vocal

black and white husky laying on a bed with a paw stretched out touching her human's foot.

I’ll be the first to admit, we’ve got a broken husky when it comes to the overexposed vocal department.

To this day (and remember I’m 26,280 hours in) I’ve NEVER heard Callie howl.

Right? I know what you’re thinking. No way, brother Jax. You’re just not paying attention.

No. I would know if a husky was howling in my presence and it’s never happened.

This isn’t necessarily a normal trait. Typically, husky’s are very vocal and howl frequently.

The only time Callie makes a noise is if she wants her left elbow scratched (it’s her thing, don’t judge), or if she’s super amped in the dog park and wants to play tag.

This actually sparked my curiosity to write an entire article on huskies and whether it was normal for them not to howl. Click this link to read it if you’re interested in that sort of thing.

Alert

Huskies have this incredible ability to focus intently on one thing.

As a matter of fact, this can often be misinterpreted or confused with your husky being stubborn.

This isn’t necessarily the case in every instance.

For example, if Callie sees something move outside she’ll stare in that direction for long bouts of time. She can’t be persuaded or called away from this focus for anything in this moment.

She’s laser focused. But this doesn’t mean she’s intentionally ignoring my mom if she tries to get her attention. She just can’t focus on both things at once and the movement grabbed her attention first – so it wins for now.

This is because huskies are always alert and prey driven.

If they see an animal move the MUST chase it. It’s in their blood. They have no other option.

While huskies are pretty bad guard dogs, they will definitely help alert you if anything is out of the ordinary.

Bonus Husky Trait: Highly Independent

Huskies have a tendency to come off a little distant and sometimes down right rude.

Don’t take this personally. This is just a husky’s natural demeanor.

A husky’s lineage is closely aligned to that of a wolf’s. They’re innate, animalistic, and raw at times.

What’s ironic about their independence is they’re conversely reliant on family ties, pack mentality, and connection in some form.

Huskies need this.

While this entire section seems to be a bit counterintuitive, I’ll give an example to help paint the picture a little better.

Callie LOVES to go into a room by herself when everyone is at home – as if to say, “You guys are low key getting on my nerves and I need just a few minutes of alone time.”

However, Callie loses her ever loving mind if she’s left completely alone somewhere. This is predominantly because she was raised with me. She’s never experienced life without me. She’s loyal to me and our parents.

But this doesn’t disregard her independence. It just highlights her loyalty and need for her family.

It’s a feature of a husky, not a bug.

Living with a Husky

Living with a husky is, well, hairy. But also pretty incredible.

When my humans first put Callie in the car with us I was livid. She smelled so weird, I couldn’t stand it. I didn’t want her looking at me, touching me, sleeping near me, peeing near me, and certainly not biting my ears the way she did.

Despicable. Truly.

But now she’s my best friend. She keeps me company during the day when our parents are working, she hides under the bed if she thinks we may have an intruder while I fearlessly enter into attack mode (This is something I’m trying to work with her on. I guess you just can’t teach bravery.), and she plays with me – too much sometimes.

Nevertheless, living with a husky has been absolutely awesome.

I’ve compiled a quick hitter list of things you should be aware of before adding one of these literal fur balls to your family:

Huskies shed. A LOT. Don’t just assume you understand the prevalence of this because you read a book about huskies. Nothing can prepare you for the sobering hair reality.
Huskies enjoy play fighting. Have you seen the animal documentaries highlighting lion cubs romping and rolling around in a big ball of neck nibbles, ear pulls, and dirt? Yeah. This is how a husky ‘plays’ too.
Do you own underwear? Hide them. More specifically, lock up your dirty ones in an underwater chamber with three different impenetrable locks. Inevitably though, your husky will still find them and destroy the crotch.
Pro tip: make sure your husky has loads of toys readily accessible to them at all times. This will deter them from chewing on something a little less desirable.

Huskies are sweet little enigmas.

I speak from experience when I say that having a husky sister has been one of the best things that’s ever happened to me in all my four years of life.

Husky Energy Levels

Due to a husky’s active nature, including physical activities within their daily regimen is highly recommended and makes living with a husky all the better.

As I mentioned before, allowing for at LEAST 30 minutes of intense physical activity for your husky each day will make a positive difference in their attentiveness, mood, engagement, listening skills, and all around well-being.

May I suggest a ginormous fenced in acre of wide open field for your husky to lose their mind in?

Oh, or saddle your husky up with reigns connected to a snow sled, put your 4 year old niece in the sled and tell her to hold on.

If you don’t have a niece you can be the human substitute.

The point I’m trying to make here is that your husky has a certain level of energy that is best spent outside in some type of running form. Regardless of the activity you choose, if it involves you, we’ll all be happier for it.

Favorite humans + Physical Exercise = Mental Stimulation and Joyous Adoration.

Conclusion

Huskies are awesome.

Living with a husky can be equally just as awesome.

Especially when they’re raised by cocker spaniels and have no clue that they are actually huskies.

They’re good natured, sweet, playful, joyful little chunks of floating fur in your eyes, mouth, and food. They’re here for a good time – they’re like the frat boys of the dog community.

Enjoy.

And as always, Live, Love, Laugh, and Scratch our bellies often.

Love you guys,

JTB

P.S. If you’re new to this world, you may want to check out my Ultimate Guide for First Time Dog Parents. It’s a great reference to get you started on this journey.

Husky Temperament – What it’s Like Living with One