Huskies, especially when young - require a lot of engagement to avoid the behaviors that people would associate with a bad dog/badly trained dog (chewing, using the bathroom inside, barking/howling incessantly, and other attitude problems). It's important that you give them things to do every day both physically and mentally, sticking to a schedule will help everyone involved - the dog will know something is coming and can wait instead of flipping out.

They're very smart dogs, work on obedience training (if you've never done this before, look for a local trainer and take some classes or buy a book - Training the Best Dog Ever is a decent little book by the person who trained Obama's dog among others - it focuses entirely on positive reinforcement, and then there are things like 101 dog tricks.)

Get them toys, use a puzzle feeder for meals, take them on as many walks as you feel like you can and reinforce the proper behaviors you want on every walk.

Huskies are working dogs, and like working dogs (and most all dogs) they want to know their job/role in the pack, trust you and your decisions, and do things that make you happy. They are your number one fan, and always down to ride or die.



^^^dog ^^^tax

tl;dr take it on walks a lot, play with it, positive reinforcement for behaviors you want it to continue, don't hit it or yell at it for 'bad' behaviors, make sure it has physical/mental things to engage it every day and it'll be your best friend for the rest of its life.

This is a great book that has a lot of these tricks and more, all broken down and explained! I love it!

101 Dog Tricks: Step by Step Activities to Engage, Challenge, and Bond with Your Dog https://www.amazon.com/dp/1592533256/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_K0uDDbJ019R7T

TRAINING

As for training, if you are really against going to puppy class, I'd pick up a book. I think an easy to read/follow book is; 51 Puppy Tricks. It's well written and easy to follow--... it does a great job of explaining tricks in levels, and has some cool ones in there. I have this book and I refer to it for ideas. There is also '101 dog tricks'

Some tips about training;

• Training should ALWAYS be fun. This is how you get a puppy to be happy to do it. Do not yell, scold, or get frustrated with your puppy. If you find yourself getting frustrated, stop training, take a break.
  
  
• SOCIALIZATION. From 8-12 weeks, this is when a puppy is most open to being socialized. You need to teach them everything, but because they don't have all their shots, you have to be safe about it. The dog will need to meet children, meet black people, fat people, asian people, white people, skinny people, tall people, short people, tall dogs, small dogs, medium dogs, people with sunglasses, people with hats, skateboards, bikes, wagons, loud noises, kitchen noises, STAIRS, STAIRS, STAIRS, elevators, cars, moving cars, MOVING CARS, SERIOUSLY, MOVING CARS-- you don't want a border that wants to herd cars. That will not end well.
  
  Socialization is the most IMPORTANT PART of a dogs life. From 8-12 weeks you should be DEDICATED to socializing your puppy. DEDICATED. There is nothing worse than a dog that was not socialized properly and now is aggressive or scared. These are the dogs that get surrendered to shelters. SOCIALIZE YOUR PUPPY -- with everything. Now, socialization does not mean your puppy has to interact, just that she needs to be exposed to the item.
  
  
• Chewing: Puppies are chew monsters. Do not YELL at them for chewing. That doesn't TEACH them anything. It tells them chewing is bad, but not what they should chew on. With my puppies, when I catch them chewing on something I tell them a firm 'NO' and then GIVE THEM SOMETHING they are supposed to chew on. This teaches them to chew on their TOYS and BONES and that it's not appropriate to chew on furniture. This is a hard battle, but be persistent. You will eventually win out. Blue chewed for 4 weeks on anything and everything and it never felt like I was getting through-- but then one day it was like 'BOOM, I GET IT' and I haven't had a problem since. Providing plenty of toys in different areas will also help motivate them to chew on the toy and not the furniture. Don't be afraid to change out toys. Toys that have been down for 30 mintes-- put those away, and put out new ones. Engage your puppy in play with appropriate toys.
  NEVER, EVER, EVER use something as a toy ou don't want your puppy to eventually chew one. This means that OLD SHOES, TOWELS, ETC are out of the question. Do not use them. You can't give your puppy and old shoe and then get MAD when they chew on your new shoes :) ...
  
  
• Come: One of the most important commands. Never, EVER, EVER get mad at your puppy when they come to you. Seriously. You want your dog to think coming to you is the best thing in the world and every time it's a PAAARTAAAY.
  
• Potty training: See "Buy a Crate" under Items. It has useful potty training advice.
  
  
• Start training your dog as soon as you get them. Puppies can learn. They aren't "too little". After giving them a few days to acclimate, start working on some basics like 'come', 'sit', 'touch', 'loose-leash walking', 'lay', etc. If you don't know how to do this; PUPPY TRAINING CLASS/BOOK and or YOUTUBE. :)
  
  If you have any more questions, feel free to ask me. I would be more than happy to give you advice, and/or make a video for you on showing the training.
  

Um, he's a seven month old labrador who sounds woefully under stimulated. Time to wear his brain out, if you can't wear his body out.

• Crate Games - helps build impulse control and drive.
  
• 101 Things to Do with a Box - great for shaping new behaviors and getting your dog thinking.
  
• Fenzi Classes - great for training. These cost money, but are a fabulous resource. There are some pretty good foundation classes coming up Feb 1.
  
• Impulse Control With Tug.
  
• Leave It Style Games.
  
• Flirt Poles and know how to use safely.
  
• Shell Scent Games.
  
• Trick Training to get your trick dog title.
  
• Muffin Tin Game.
  
• Spinning Bottle Game.
  
• Puzzle Toys.
  

Trick ideas: https://www.amazon.com/101-Dog-Tricks-Activities-Challenge/dp/1592533256
Targeting in particular: http://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DTB864 --targeting is a building block that can be used to teach advanced tricks like going to marked locations, flipping light switches, and shutting doors.

Here are my favorite positive training book

The Other end of the Leash: this one is a really fantastic book on understanding dogs, dog behavior, interacting with them, building a relationship with respect versus dominance. Anything by Patricia B. McConnell is going to be solid advice and techniques.

101 Dog Tricks - just gives a really good guidelines on luring your dog into tricks versus forcing them, plus a lot of good tricks that help with mental stimulation.

Play with Your Dog: Just another really good book on good training, playing, and positive relationship building.

Ahimsa Training manual: This is the training manual from one of the best training facilities in Seattle. There are really good positive trainers.

BAT Book: Behavior Adjustment Training by Grisha Stewart: This book was a life saver for me. Shibas are prone to being really reactive and sometimes have issues with aggression and predatory drift issues, and this book really digs deep into understanding your dog and helping them make the right choices and building them up for success. I personally don't think you need to have an aggressive/reactive dog to get a lot of good info from this book.

Anything by Cesar Milan will NOT be positive training methods. He very much does not follow that philosophy. Positive training techniques do not use force, aversion, do not believe in alpha dominance theory, no physical punishment. It is a give and take type of relationship. Cesar Milan style tends to not do well with primitive breeds especially the Japanese dog breeds.

Here is a great video teaching about how to motivate a dog to tug which can be a great foundation to get a dog to hold objects.

I believe Kyra Sundance instructs holding objects as a foundation for many of her tricks; but I'm not able to confirm that is is different than the tug game while I'm sitting at the coffee shop. I know her intro is in many of her books; I know for sure, off the top of my head, that it is in 101 Dog Tricks Barns and Nobel also carries the book.

Not sure about telling your dog to "piss off" or "fuck off" as the actual cue words... what on earth is wrong with "watch out" or "move"...

Seriously, go buy this book. It's brilliant and will keep you training tricks for a long time.

Here's a couple books you might find helpful:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1592533256/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1377746354&sr=8-1&pi=SL75

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0764552872/ref=mp_s_a_1_18?qid=1377746490&sr=1-18&pi=SL75

There are SO MANY things you can work on training, even with a small space. I've used this book but you could look around for one that seems interesting to you. It's really amazing how even 30 minutes of mental stimulation can tire a pup out.

Just wanted to mention that at this point, you should still be actively socializing her. Hell, until a dog reaches 2 years of age you should probably be actively socializing them!

If you're running out of trick ideas (which you probably will as GSD's pick up things quick) you can do a few things. First, start proofing your current tricks. Sure, she can do them in the living room, but can she do them outside? Additionally, I've heard people that really like this book (101 Dog Tricks) although I personally haven't looked at the book. This can give you a few more ideas. Also, look into shaping tricks. This is often more mentally taxing for dogs than training treats with luring. Frankly, you probably should never be feeding her from a bowl. Every single piece of kibble should be earned, or put into a kong wet and then frozen.

Like /u/Tubbertons7 said, people often don't realize how much a pain in the ass smart dogs are and how difficult they are to keep occupied.

Additionally, make sure you look into teaching your pup how to relax. A lot of high energy, high drive dogs just don't know how to relax. They're either GO GO GO or asleep. How to "chill" needs to be taught to some dogs. One of the easiest ways is, if your pup does relax occasionally is to capture it like shown in this video. /u/Nope-Again also mentions mat training which is what I'm actually trying with my dog as she never even offers calmness. (I'm using the method outlined in Fired Up, Frantic, and Freaked Out but I've not been doing it for very long yet, so I can't tell you how it's really working)

Well, step 1 is don't spoil your dog. ;)
My dog is certainly pampered and treated incredibly well, but she isn't spoiled. She doesn't get away with other bullshit that most people let their dogs get away with. Furthermore, if I catch anyone feeding my dog stuff off their plate at the table, I'm not above punching them in the dick. Because of this, she doesn't beg for food, doesn't expect she's allowed on furniture (and when she "asks" and you say "no" she doesn't beg further), and she doesn't take things that haven't been given to her.

It all boils down to:

• Set expectations (aim higher than you think, dogs are smart)
  
  
• Find a way to communicate the expectations (without using english or other complex nonsense)
  
  
• Don't deviate; Be consistent. (this is where most people fall down)
  If you expect your dog not to be on the couch, have body blocked the dog every time it tries to get up on it, told it no once when it "begged" then ignored further begging, DON'T leave it home alone with access to that couch or you'll teach it that it can't be on the couch when you're around.
  
  For training method, we use the marker method, which I learned how to do from reading online, mostly the Leerburg Website.
  
  For ideas for tricks and how to teach them, including excellent troubleshooting, we used 101 Dog Tricks, by Kyra Sundance
  
  That being said, my monster isn't perfect, we work on things every day, like leash pulling, jumping up and biting when she gets excited (she just turned 2), and separation anxiety (hers isn't too bad, but it's a common breed trait).

Sure. I like 101 Dog Tricks, it's got pretty clear step-by-step instructions. Really anything that makes him think "How do I get the cookie?" and use trial and error will work.
Look (make eye contact) is an easy one to start with. Touch (nose to palm of hand to start) is good too. Once you get the hang of it, you can go crazy. Spin, turn right, turn left, play dead, find it, bring me a (toy name), give me the paw, high five, hug, moonwalk (go backwards), sit up and beg, go find (person).

We play a lot of ball in the yard, and they REALLY want the ball, so you can ask them for all sorts of goofy behaviors before you throw the ball. It's good practice and engages the brain.

For the tugging - mine does this, but only when she's super excited at dog events (long story). We have a special tug we only bring to that activity, and she holds on to it instead. The tug has balls on it, and she squishes the balls in her mouth to release her mental "OMG OMG OMG we're about to do something FUN!" Does he have a tug toy?

Ahhhhh I'm leaving on my weekend trip today and while I'm excited about my trip I'm so nervous to leave Baron for this long. I remember feeling even more nervous the first time I left for a week and had to leave my cat Castiel with my friends.

Not only am I just really attached to my animals, I've had some really horrible, awful, traumatizing experiences where some very bad things happened to previous pets (and Castiel) in my absence while I was engaged to my ex. I know those things won't happen again because that fucker is a couple states away now, and both Castiel and Baron are going to be watched by my animal loving parents who love both of them like grandchildren, but the trauma and anxiety is probably going to be in the back of my mind this weekend. My parents promised to let me facetime both of them as much as I wanted and will be sending me regular updates on them every day. I know they'll be ok. It's just stressful and the trauma is something to work through with my therapist.

I'll try to focus on being in the present moment on my trip, because I get to see my brother, sister in law, and niece for the first time in a long time. Plus they live right by the university I really, really want to end up at for grad school, and a very prominent professor there wants to meet with me this weekend. Also, this city has a very famous Belgian Waffle restaurant I haven't been to in years, plus a huge farmer's market.

On a less heavy, stressful note, Baron is becoming so much better at fetch! He loves it when I roll the ball really fast across the ground rather than throwing it throw the air. He's even bringing the ball somewhat back to me now. We just need to work on him not playing keep away with it when he gets close.

Also ordered 101 Dog Tricks yesterday and I'm so excited to have a dog trick book to guide me through Baron's trick titles.

ETA: Baron has also now discovered that it is possible to jump onto the top of my parent's spa. It's my fault. I wanted to see just how good his "up-up" was (his cue to jump on top of an object) by seeing if he'd jump onto an object that he can't see the top of. Well, turns out this dog trusts me enough to do that. He now jumps onto the spa whenever I pull out the treats and insists on doing all his tricks on top of the spa. I've created a monster. I don'r want him to hurt his joints jumping down from that so I'm going to have to carry him down.

https://www.amazon.com/101-Dog-Tricks-Activities-Challenge/dp/1592533256/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=dog+trick+book&link_code=qs&qid=1565377363&s=gateway&sourceid=Mozilla-search&sr=8-1

Good luck and stick with it. Keeping them learning is the best way to settle them down, in my experience. I've rarely been able to get the actual energy burned out of either of mine, but mentally stimulating BC's through training them, teaching them new tricks, and just generally making them think works wonders. It may even help with the jumping, but that would just be a lucky side effect, not necessarily expected.

Another tip I'd offer is pick up a trick book. 101 Dog Tricks is what we used with our first. Just picked out something that looked fun and made it a week long project. You will calm him down, and have the added benefit of a dog that can do awesome tricks! lol

Basically, never feed your dog out of a bowl again. Every meal is an opportunity for mental stimulation!
Use:
Frozen Kongs - these are super easy to prep in advance. I usually have 3-5 in the freezer at any given time.
Puzzle toys like these are good for treats: 1, 2, 3

These are good for kibble: 1, 2, 3

For training, an easy way to get started is to go through the 101 Dog Tricks book. It's 101 tricks/skills to teach them with step by step instructions. Super approachable, and the tricks range from simple stuff like sit and down to more advanced skills like leg weaves. Any of the Do More With Your Dog series is good. I think they have a puppy specific book as well.

If your dog likes learning new tricks or skills you might consider getting into a dog sport like agility or nosework or even obedience. They're fun and challenging for both you and your dog - plus it's a great way to strengthen your relationship in general.

I would suggest a few things:

• Implement a Nothing in Life Is Free Policy.
  
  Dogs don't know that there is a thing called "obedience training". They don't know why we ask them to come when called, or why we like them to sit to greet us instead of jumping. So, NILIF is a training philosophy that tells the owner to have the dog "ask" or "work for" everything he wants, including pets.
  
  If he wants to go outside, he must sit before you open the door. If he wants his dinner, he must do a task(sitting is an easy starting task)
  in exchange for his food.
  
  My own dog does sit stays and down stays for everything. He sit stays until I allow him to leave when I open to door to my house or car, or when I give him food, etc.
  
  Start small here. The dog has probably not been asked to do all this before, so if he doesn't listen, just back him up from the door and ask again or pick up his food and ask him to sit again.
  
  When you get good at NILIF, you can start asking for more complex behaviors.
  
  Now, it's important to understand that although NILIF will help him listen to you in all circumstances, it will not curb his aggression. His aggression is a matter that is completely separate from your leadership.
  
  
  
• Establish bonding.
  
  Dogs who don't know you are less likely to listen to you, especially if they've been put in an unfamiliar environment. From his perspective, a lot of stuff has changed lately. His parent went away. The people he knows aren't there as often. Don't take him not listening personally. Instead, offer your sympathy. Hand feed him from now on, and while you are hand feeding him, pet him. This will help with the food aggression a bit and it will make him trust you. Get the book Mine! by Donaldson that I linked in my other comment to improve his aggression.
  
  
• If you can, start clicker training him.
  
  Clicker training is fun training for the dog and it will encourage him to listen to you because it's fun. Also, it will help him feel bonded to you and you can use the clicker to help deal with his food aggression-teaching drop it and leave it, etc.
  
  You can either take a clicker class at a local pet store like Petsmart, or buy a clicker and practice tricks in your home for 10 minutes each day. This book is pretty fun

Props to this book that I got for my puppy. While I was never going to teach her to jump over me while doing a handstand with splits, it is the best dog training book I have read.

Every command is paired with an action so you can use either sound or visual to communicate with puppy. I also loved that the harder tricks were broken down in to simpler tricks that you had to master first. Seriously, excellent book...plus cute cheerleader girl.

My dog knows a variety of functional commands. They are really helpful! The ones that are especially good are below. (She is a border collie, so she learns quickly and can apply old words to new similar situations. Like she understands that 'kennel' can also mean 'go under the table' if that is where I point. Ymmv.)

Ones that are helpful:
Kennel: go in the kennel/hole
Bed: go into your bed.
Wait: we will let you out soon, do not push past me to the door, hang out where you are, we are coming. It is less strict than 'stay' (don't move a muscle).
Off: get off something, such as a bed or person. Different than 'down' as that is the lay down position. So I can have her on a bed and tell her down so she lies down on the bed, or off, so she gets off the bed.
Leave it: don't pick that up/mess with it. It is good for not her toy items and the cats!


We also have done bells on the door knob for out and in. Better than barking! We took them down though because she loves to go in and out all day and it was getting on my nerves! She also knows 'it's a fried, say hello' for strange dogs because she is a bit shy, and that might help with meeting baby, especially when baby cries. My cousin with twins taught her dog 'baby toy' to help him navigate baby plush and rubber squeak toys from his! I think we'll add that for our dog since she loves to take the cat toys!

I just trained her by being consistent with the word, often a sign, and the context to get her to do it. I used happy voice and some pets to reward her, she was never really into treats. This book provided great training guidance: 101 Dog Tricks: Step by Step Activities to Engage, Challenge, and Bond with Your Dog https://www.amazon.com/dp/1592533256/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_m7Qxyb2G15Z05

Have fun!

this might give you some ideas

This book really helped me out. Almost two years ago, I got my first dog ever - a 9 week old Border Collie. Anyway, among other books (breed-specific, etc.), this one REALLY helped me with teaching tricks and commands:

http://www.amazon.com/101-Dog-Tricks-Activities-Challenge/dp/1592533256/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396983327&sr=8-1&keywords=101+dog+tricks

Trick training is amazing to wear out your dog's brain and you can make major progress in as little as two 10 minute sessions a day. Check out Kyra Sundance's books:

101 Dog Tricks

10 Minute Dog Training Games

101 Ways to do More With Your Dog

Kyra runs the Do More With Your Dog website which is an easy way to earn titles with your dog by doing tricks. At the lower levels anyone can sign off as witness to your dog's tricks to earn the titles so you don't have to be in a class or anything (though classes are fun and the DMWYD website has resources to find local trainers)

You can also check out brain engaging toys such as these (NOTE these toys should be used with supervision so your dog doesn't eat the toy!)

-Ethical Pet Seek-A-Treat Shuffle Bone Dog Puzzle

-Ethical Pet Seek-A-Treat Flip 'N Flap Dog Puzzle

-Nina Ottosson Plastic Dog Brick Interactive Interactive Doy Toy Puzzle for Dogs, Plastic

-Nina Ottosson Dog Casino Interactive Doy Toy Puzzle for Dogs, Wood

Really any toy by Nina Ottosson is a good choice.

Enrichment can also be as easy as not feeding your dog out of a bowl. Try these (can be used with less direct supervision)

-Nina Ottosson Dog Treat Maze

-Kong Wobbler

And my dogs have constant access to these chewies (i leave these in their crates as well as long as they don't chew them down small enough to be choking risks).

-Nylabone

-Busy Buddy Treat Holding Bone

-Busy Buddy Jack

-Refills for the above Busy Buddy bones

-Busy Buddy for extreme chewers

These are the books I read! The training the best dog ever was probably my favorite as it focusses on manners commands like recall, stay, leave it, drop it, yours/mine as well as socialization methods. Puppies for Dummies is a lot about the first week/month/year of dog ownership and includes training but also health info, nutrition, supplies, budget, etc. 101 tricks is basically a party tricks book, not focussed on manners more on obedience training/showing off to house guests. I think it's always good to read a book about your dog's breed too so that was my last one.

Training the Best Dog Ever: A 5-Week Program Using the Power of Positive Reinforcement

Puppies For Dummies

101 Dog Tricks: Step by Step Activities to Engage, Challenge, and Bond with Your Dog

The Australian Cattle Dog: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet (Your Happy Healthy Pet)