It at least seems that way to me. Echo is great. I ask him to sit, he sits. I ask him to shake, he looks at me funny…and then he hands me his paw, possibly out of confusion, but he gets a treat anyway. I ask him to lay down or to stay, he does it. He will stay in the living room while we eat, the entire time waiting for his treat. He is great! Sierra is another story. I ask her to sit, she jumps up trying to get the treat. When I finally get her to sit, she runs off. If I can get her to stay seated for a
Echo obediently sitting and waiting for his treat.
second, I ask her to shake and she just starts jittering and laying down. Finally she will give me her paw, but I am sure it is out of desperation, not obedience. Getting her to stay in the living room while we eat is an exercise in futility! She will stay for a total of 30 seconds, and then she is on patrol around the kitchen table looking for scraps. Then she barks and gives me grief when I put her back into the living room. It can be really frustrating! It seems harder training a female puppy!
I have been trying to teach them to stay in the yard by walking around the front yard with a leash. As they start to leave the boundaries of our yard, I pull back on the leash and say, “Ah! Stay in the yard!” Echo got it in two days. Again, he is great. Sierra…not so much. She just pulls and looks at me like I am just a mean mommy. I know she gets it, because as we go through the exercise, she eventually stops pulling as we near the edge of the yard, but if I take her off the leash, she is off like a rocket, and we are left chasing her all over the neighborhood. Echo stays in the yard. She is just as smart as Echo, just a whole lot more stubborn and independent.
Sierra biting Echo in the butt. Poor Echo…
I know huskies are known for their independence and their stubbornness. They are very high energy dogs that require a lot of work, which I am attempting to do, but Sierra is taking it to the next level. And it is not only with me and the rest of the family. Poor Echo has his “paws” full as well. As they get older, they need to establish typical doggie dominance. In the dog world, the leader and alpha of the pack is always a male, but Sierra is “Sister Suffragette!” She has decided that this antiquated method of pack hierarchy is for the birds. She and Echo get into these dominance scuffles, and poor Echo has lost a few times. I have seen Sierra walk away from one, go over to the food bowl or a bone, and go at it, with Echo waiting for her to finish! Of course, this is happening less and less, and Echo is starting to take control, but he is having a tough time, poor guy. She really makes him work for it. Luckily for me, she accepts my rule, but I am sure it is because I am the one that feeds her, and her acceptance ends at not biting my head off.
I have talked to a neighbor of mine that has many dogs, five at the moment, and has had several others in the time we have lived next to each other, and she told me that it has been her experience that training a female puppy is harder. I have never heard of that, but I have only raised males. I grew up with a female, and she was a tough cookie as well. She was a cocker spaniel that could get the labs and other large, small, and male dogs to do whatever she wanted, but I was too young to know what her training was like. Anyone out there know if it is true that females are naturally more resistant to training? Is this normal, or am I just “lucky?” Sierra is a sweetheart that gives lots of kisses and hugs and snuggles with me and the kids all the time. She adores Jason, and goes to him seeking attention whenever she sees him. She is a good puppy, but just stubborn and very independent. I would love some feedback on this post, if you would! Any advice or validation would be terrific! Thanks and have a great day!
Troy has the treats and was trying to get Sierra to sit and shake, but she decided that was more work that she felt like doing, so she tried to overpower him. Moments earlier, Echo sat and shook and got his treat like a good dog!
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