The German shepherd husky mix puppy is a crossbreed of two big-boned dog breeds, the German shepherd and the Siberian husky. This mixed dog breed is intelligent, curious, and possesses lots of energy.
If it’s your first time owning this breed mix, you could be much excited with this entire experience.
First, you may enquire, how do you groom this puppy, or how do you feed it, and lastly, how you can train a German shepherd husky mix puppy.
Trained dogs are always easy to handle and manage.
So with all that said, let’s dive in and learn – How to Train a German shepherd Husky Mix Puppy.
How to Train a German shepherd Husky Mix Puppy
Be the Leader: Take the Alpha Role
As you know, dogs previously lived in packs, just like their cousins in the wild, still do to date.
Dogs will obey one authority.
Before domestication, dogs looked upon one pack leader who would guide them during hunting expeditions. And so that trait is still engrained in them.
With that, you can still take advantage of such a behavior, and you need to assert leadership. Your dog should know you are the overall leader, and your word is always final.
Often this is a good starting point.
Here is how your dog will learn that you are the leader of the house –
- Always be the one leading the dog when walking. Don’t let the dog take control.
- Always start eating before you feed the dog.
- Always stay in high places when staying close to this dog.
- Don’t let your dog jump on you every time-let it know the boundaries.
Such are minor matters that will make your German shepherd husky mix will realize you are the leader.
Use Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement entails rewarding the behavior you like and withdrawing the reward when the dog does something wrong.
The Earlier the Possible
Start training your German shepherd husky mix the moment it comes into your home. When still young, puppies are more enthusiastic to grasp new tricks and concepts.
At this age, you, as the trainer or pet parent, can correct any behavior that may be troublesome to eradicate when the puppy becomes an adult.
All the Training Sessions Need To Be Short
Dogs are more likely to get bored when you overstay with your training sessions. For better results, always make sure the training sessions are only 15 minutes or fewer.
Adopt having breaks- this is when the dog will get some time to internalize what it has learned in previous lessons.
The Commands You Train Your German shepherd Husky Mix Should Be Short and Memorable
Long commands like ‘come running, Tommy’ will be hard for the dog to decipher. They should be short enough for the dog and you to memorize.
Examples of short commands are – come, go, sit, and run. As you can see, these commands are straightforward and memorable.
Using these commands will not be tiresome for you, and your dog will find them easy to apply.
Don’t Overdo the Treats
Some people are obsessed with giving their pets treats and may forget the same treats may become an issue. If overdone, the treats containing many calories may make your dog overweight.
As time goes by, you need to reach a point whereby you will not need to use the treats for the dog to do any task.
Is the German shepherd Husky Mix Puppy Trainable?
If you want to know whether a German shepherd puppy mix is trainable, you need to dig deeper about the intelligence levels of its parents, the German shepherd and the Siberian husky.
The German shepherd Intelligence
The German shepherd is an intelligent dog breed. It is ranked 3rd when it comes to its cognitive function.
Besides, that this dog loves learning new tricks and commands from any of its handlers. Again this dog loves pleasing its masters.
The Siberian husky Intelligence
The husky has an average level of intelligence. Though intelligent, you cannot compare it with the German shepherd. Its ability to remember and perform trained skills is not that exemplary.
Because of high intelligence, it’s easier to train a German Shepherd.
Again, the husky is an independent dog breed that can sometimes get a mind of its own. This dog will decide which instructions or commands are worth following.
And such attributes make this dog no perfect fit for novice dog owners. Rather it’s more suitable for dog owners who know how to handle independent dogs.
The German shepherd Husky Mix Intelligence
The German shepherd husky mix will probably take either of its parent temperaments. You may get a dog that is easy to train or one that will need more remedial classes for it to grab any concept.
However, most German shepherd husky mix puppies are easy to train, and they are always eager to learn new concepts.
However, this dog also can be stubborn if you are not careful.
Signs of a stubborn German shepherd husky include refusal to follow commands, growling, whining, or excess playfulness.
How Do You Train out a stubborn behavior?
Make the commands you train this dog easy and short – remember, dogs don’t have the same thinking capabilities as humans. So, the pieces of training you may think are easy for your dog could be the other way round.
So you also need to check your dog’s body language. Does it look comfortable?
Also, dogs have short concentration spans. With that, spend little time on one command – Don’t let the training of a specific command take over 15 minutes, or else the dog becomes bored.
Remove a reward – This a way of disciplining a dog, showing that you dislike what it’s displaying.
Dogs Who have High Prey Drive
The German shepherd husky puppy mix will often gain a high prey drive from the husky parent. This dog will always have an urge to chase small pets to satisfy its prey drive.
What to do –
Socialization Will Be Important
Socialization will help have a balanced dog breed that won’t display such awful behavior. You can take your dog to people’s parks, dog dates, or other places where it will come across other small animals and people.
If your dog tends to lunge on people or other animals, stand firm, pull it closer to you. You can also learn how to distract it whenever it’s almost lunging or when about to bark. Let the dog know other animals or people pose no threat if not intruding into its personal space.
For dogs who like chasing people, you can start talking to many people on your walks while with your dog. With that, the dog will realize such people pose no issue if you seem not bothered. However, if you chase or shouting at people, the dog will perceive from you that those people are a threat.
Also, let the dog know who it should trust when around and who should be chased away.
Methodologies of Training a German shepherd Husky Mix Puppy
What are some of the best methodologies to use when you want to train a German shepherd husky mix puppy?
Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is one of the best ways that is recommended to train a puppy. With that, you reward your dog when it does something remarkable. It’s often called reward-based training.
With that, a dog knows good deeds always bring out a reward, whereas bad actions will get no reward.
While using this methodology, you use a high prized reward that you know your dog loves. Such will work as a motivation for the dog.
When it comes to punishing your dog using this method, you withdraw the reward. While at that, you always need to be consistent when using this type of training for your dog. If you reward your dog for staying calm today, don’t reward it the next day when it barks. You will not be consistent.
For consistency, you can write a note for every member of your house to know which of your dog’s behavior needs a reward and which don’t deserve.
Clicker Training
More similar to positive reinforcement training, you blow a whistle or produce a noise whenever the dog does good behavior.
For example, whenever you get your dog peeing outside, you can blow a whistle, but it shouldn’t startle the puppy. However, let the puppy associate the noise of the whistle with peeing outside. Such a training methodology will help you shape the behavior you desire.
Use an Electrical Collar
Most dog trainers put shock collars on their dog owners when training them. These collars shock the dog when it does not follow their instructions.
For example, if a dog is supposed to stay in a certain area and it tries escaping, the collar will emit shock waves to refrain it from doing so.
As you can note, this methodology involves punishing a dog after it does what it should not do. And such is never recommended as one, it’s painful for the dog, again it can lead to anxiety.
Mirror Training
This type of training relies on that the dog will learn certain behaviors or commands from another person or a dog by emulating them
Here is how to do it. Have one person who will act as a model who will perform the commands you desire and then reward him. If the model you have doesn’t do the commands as per your wishes, don’t reward him. At that time, your dog should be next to you as it watches what its rival is doing. With that, your dog may try outdoing the person you are using as a model for it to receive the reward.
As the dog doesn’t want to be outdone, it will try to do the commands to its best, as it knows there is a reward.
This training is often easy but requires moderation and patience.
Is It Never Too Late to Start Training a German shepherd Husky Mix Puppy?
It’s often in many blogs saying that you should start training your German shepherd husky mix puppy when it’s eight weeks.
During this moment, the puppy is at that phase; it wants to amuse everyone, and still, it’s the age of exploring the world.
So what if my puppy is older than that?
Yes, you can train your puppy who’s past that age.
All you need is determination and be consistent. Aware of your dog’s age, don’t expect results too soon compared to someone training his two months German shepherd husky mix puppy.
Best Commands to Train a German shepherd Husky Mix
Train a German shepherd husky mix the come, sit, down, and quiet commands.
Such commands are sometimes applicable if you are with your dog in the people’s park.
Also, potty training classes are vital. Let your dog know where it can do its business outside in one designated area.
How to Discipline a German shepherd Husky Puppy Mix
What if your German shepherd husky mix puppy is stubborn and it won’t follow any of the commands? Should you kick it and make it regret why it didn’t follow your commands? Well, that should not be the case.
As you know, kicking or negative ways of disciplining your German shepherd husky mix can bring forth behavioral issues that you did not expect.
So, what are the don’ts of disciplining a German shepherd husky mix puppy?
Don’t Throw Items at Your Dog
When you meet your dog doing the wrong thing, don’t aim it with your shoe or stones- utmost you risk injuring it, and still not eliminate the inappropriate behavior.
Do Not Yell At Your Puppy
Yelling or screaming at your dog won’t solve anything. Remember, dogs are always sensitive to the tone you use. Please speak to your dog with a calm and nice tone that will not startle or scare it aware.
So, if you yell at your dog, you may scare or frighten it, of which it should not be so.
The dos –
Learn To Redirect Your Dog
If you find your dog chewing your favorite shoes, what will be your first reaction? Yell at it? No, it should not be that way. What you will need to do is redirect the dog to do other positive things.
For example, you can give it a toy or take it for walks to expel the energy it had in other ways.
Remove the Reward
As we said, reward-based training is the best form of training you can use to train a German shepherd husky mix puppy.
As reward-based training, you only reward the behavior that you desire from your puppy.
For example, if you have been rewarding the dog for peeing outside, and you find it has already peed on your carpets, show discontent and don’t reward it. You can also take away its favorite toy.
With that, next time, your dog will pee outside so that it can receive the reward it didn’t receive the last time.
Always Be Consistent
If you want to discipline a German shepherd husky mix puppy, you need to be consistent. So, if you punished your dog for tearing your shoes yesterday, you need to do the same today, and everyone in your house should be on the same page with you.
Be consistent with how you train your German shepherd husky mix puppy. In the long run, you will see the results you desired.
Final Thoughts
Training a German shepherd husky mix is not a cumbersome task. All you need is consistency and patience. If you are not patient with this dog, who can become stubborn at times, you may become frustrated.
Nevertheless, if you cannot train this dog, you can seek help from a professional trainer.
