Are Huskies Good At Fetch? 7 Things You Need To Know

When you have a Siberian husky, you can be sure to see a lot of activity along with a focused and sharp mind. Bred as hunting and sledding dogs, Siberian huskies are agile and full of physical energy with razor-sharp intelligence. With their physical and mental compatibility to the sport, it is only natural for you to wonder, are huskies good at fetch?

Fetch is one of the best games to teach your husky. The game allows these natural fetchers to run around without exhaustion for as long as they can. However, you will have to train your husky into playing fetch since they can be extremely mischievous. Resultantly, instead of bringing the toy to you, they might run away with it or challenge you to take it from them. 

Since huskies are not easy to train, you can do a few simple things to ensure a fair game a fetch from them. Fetch is the perfect bonding and agility game for you and your husky, especially after you’ve had a long day at work. It doesn’t require you to move a lot and allows the dog’s spirits to soar as they run to their heart’s content.

Attention Seekers

Much like any active breed, if you play with a toy and start throwing it around, your husky will want to participate as well. If the dog has seen your play fetch with others, it might as well bring the toy back to you for more game.

Huskies tend to get separation anxiety quickly. Therefore, it is in their nature to do anything they can to grab and hold your attention. This is the first positive signal to show how much Huskies are compatible with getting trained to fetch. 

Huskies like to spend as much time as possible with the people around them. Moreover, they love to run and play. Therefore, combining two activities to create a game should be exceptionally enjoyable for the dog and you.

The best way to see if your husky is in the mood for playing is to throw a toy around and see if he responds. In case he does, it is time for you to start your husky’s fetch training.

Natural Fetchers

Huskies were bred as sledding dogs. However, since they were bred in the cold Siberian climate, they are accustomed to hunting and grabbing whatever catches their attention. Resultingly, it is very likely of them to want to grab hold of whatever you threw over their head. 

If you see your husky puppy running after and trying to catch a laser light like a cat, he’s undoubtedly going to love to fetch. Moreover, fetch is a beautiful training and bonding exercise for huskies who might have separation anxiety or a daily routine without much activity. 

You can use just about any toy to fetch with a husky. However, it will be best to use a stick or any long toy that they can quickly grab in their mouth, even in mid-air. 

Extremely Athletic 

Most husky owners will agree that their dogs’ energy levels make it seem like they are born to play sports and be athletes. That is not precisely untrue since huskies are originally bred to conduct many physically enduring tasks. 

Huskies are incredibly athletic and have high energy levels when compared to other breeds of the same size. Without a lot of activity, your husky might become obese, depressed, or aggressive. Therefore, if you have a husky who wouldn’t stop barking, howling, or biting, you want to engage them more physically. 

Huskies love to run around looking for that one thing their parent wants them to grab. Moreover, when your husky gets a lot of physical activity through the game of fetch, you can rest assured that they will not start howling in the middle of the night since they’ll be too exhausted to do so. 

Playful And Intelligent

Not only are huskies powerful in terms of physical energy, but also in terms of mental energy. It is in a husky’s nature to learn new tricks and commands to keep their mind engaged. This is one of the reasons why training a husky puppy is not as hard as it might seem in the first go.

As a result of their intelligence and willingness to bond with their parents, huskies can become extremely playful. They like bonding and spending time with you, allowing them to engage in just about any activity that brings mutual joy. 

Due to their extreme playfulness, they might end up switching up the game a bit. They might want to run away from you instead of running towards you with the toy, making it a grabbing game. Moreover, a very naughty husky might challenge you to grab the toy from their mouth as they bring themselves towards you.

You can enjoy playing a good game of fetch with your husky if you teach them how to play and train them to comply with the game’s rules. This should not be too hard to do since Huskies are quick and picking and understanding command. 

Pack Leaders

Even if huskies are quick and understanding commands, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll obey them. Huskies are pack animals by nature. Therefore, some of them might have a leader complex in which they think they are the leaders of the households.

When huskies start imposing dominance over their humans, they will become disobedient and will not follow commands just for the sake of it. This is one of the only factors adding difficulty in training a husky. 

If your husky has gotten used to imposing dominance over you, they might not want to run at your command in the first place. However, with proper obedience training, you can fix that problem without issues. 

Tips For Training Your Husky To Play Fetch

There are a few tips you should follow while training your husky into playing fetch.

• Back Chaining: Back chaining is the process of teaching the last behavior you want your puppy to show first. Therefore, you will have to teach your husky to pick up a toy and bring it to you. You can use some treats and a clicker to do the same.
• Use A Special Toy: It might get difficult in the beginning to make your husky want to pick up a toy you’ve thrown far away. Therefore, it is best to use a toy they like the most or a chew toy covered with peanut butter. Doing so will give your husky some encouragement to run and grab the toy. 
• Build Distance Eventually: If you expect to throw a toy a couple of yards away and expect your husky to bring it back to you, you might get disappointed. It is best to start the training with you being only a couple of inches away from your dog. You can then slowly increase the distance to a few feet and then a couple of yards.
• Teach Your Husky A Giving Command: As mentioned previously, your husky might want to challenge you to grab the toy from their mouth. To avoid that, we suggest you teach a given command to your dog, letting them know that they’re required to give the toy to you.

Frequently Asked Questions 

This section lets us look at some of the most commonly asked questions regarding huskies and their love for fetch.

Is Teaching A Husky How To Fetch Easy?

Training a husky how to play fetch might not be the most challenging thing in the world. However, you will have to stay patient and allow them to get over their stubbornness. If you don’t see any progress, you might want to switch your training technique a bit. Using the right toy and using the proper obedience training techniques is the key to teaching how to fetch. 

What Toy Should I Use To Play Fetch With My Husky? 

It is best to use a toy they can grab easily in mid-air. If you’re only in the training stage and struggling to get your husky to move, you can coat their favorite chew toy with some peanut butter for encouragement. You can also grab any of their favorite toys to make them naturally want to jump at the clue and run to get what you threw for them. 

Summing Up

Once you’ve actively and efficiently trained your husky into playing fetch, it will become one of the best games for the two of you. Your husky will love running around while bonding with you while you can draw happiness from your husky’s excitement. 

Even though teaching a Husky how to play fetch can be a tricky and time-consuming thing to do, it is absolutely worth it. Since most of your dog’s instincts are compatible with the game of fetch, you will enjoy the process of teaching them and playing with them later.