If you follow us over on Facebook, you’ll see that our new guard husky Kolache has been quite the hit! He’s an adorable little scamp, I can see why people are loving him  😉

But that brings up something I’ve received quite a few questions about. Why huskies? They are well known for being high maintenance, trouble maker dogs. Not exactly what you want on the average homestead. The thing is that everything that would make them a bad fit elsewhere is exactly what makes them perfect for us!

Here are 10 reasons we picked the husky to guard our homestead:

Size

Most livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) are big dogs. Think the Anatolian Shepherd (90-150 lbs), Bernese Mountain Dogs (80-120 lbs), Great Pyrenees (90-130 lbs), Maremma Sheepdog (66-100 lbs) and the Pyrenean Mastiff (150-220 lbs). The Siberian Husky is tiny in comparison, topping out at around 60 lbs! We wanted a smaller dog that can move quickly to get out of the way of trouble like bears or moose.

Intelligence

While all LGDs are prized for their intelligence, Siberian Huskies are a more cat-like form of intelligence. They are independent thinkers who, unlike other breeds, are not overly eager to please their owners. This makes them hard to train, but once they’ve learned something they don’t forget! Our oldest husky Ronan knows around 15 direct commands, from sit to back to load up. He can also generally figure out what I’m asking, even if it’s something I’ve never asked of him before. Huskies do require consistent training throughout their lives, but they are definitely worth it! They are also great signal learners and do well with whistle commands.

 (Siberian Huskies For Dummies, Amazon link)

Ranging behavior

This is something that isn’t necessarily considered a good thing for other homestead guard dogs. LGDs should stay with the flock they are guarding, rather than roaming. For us, we have a lot of predators. Bears are our biggest concern, though moose can be equally dangerous to people. We also have wolves and coyotes in our neck of the woods. Having a dog that roams to mark his territory is great where we are! Also, the lack of neighbors and traffic makes this generally safe. We’ve only had one disappearing incident in 2 years (snare traps), and this year we’ll have GPS tracking collars (Amazon) for them. That way, we can always keep track of the dogs when they roam.

Pack behavior

While some breeds of dog have “lost” the wolf pack mentality, huskies seem to hold true to the rules of having an alpha. This makes them easier to control, as long as all misbehavior is dealt with quickly and appropriately. This doesn’t necessarily mean alpha rolling, but constant correction and dominant behavior throughout the day from human owners. Little things like purposefully bumping them so they have to move, and making and holding eye contact are dominant behaviors. This is helpful because the dog will believe the owner is the boss, and then they are more likely to follow direction. Pack behavior also keeps the dogs together when they roam. We need our dogs to be a team if they encounter predators.

Prey Drive

This is usually a huge no in any kind of guarding dog on a homestead. Huskies are well known for having a high prey drive, and yes, we’ve suffered losses because of it. We’ve also used those losses to train our dogs to prevent any other issues. Mostly, we want that prey drive to keep our dogs on the hunt when they are keeping away predators. Sitting on a porch and barking isn’t helpful where we are. We need our dogs to actually follow animals like coyotes and bear completely off our property. Bears are less likely to come around if they are constantly chased off!

Cleanliness

Most homestead guard dogs are outdoor only dogs. They often need to be due to high predator concentrations and being bred specifically to live within the herd or flock they are guarding. Matted hair, shedding, and smells don’t matter in those contexts. Our dogs, however, spend quite a bit of time in the cabin. Especially during winter, when bears should be asleep. Huskies have a fabulous double coat that only sheds once a year, called a blowout or coat blow. Huskies will require a lot of grooming with a good brush (Amazon) during this time! Their fur also doesn’t retain smells the way other dog breeds might, so they require less bathing. Both of these are great since hubby Kyle doesn’t believe in banning dogs from furniture  🙄

Stamina/Endless Energy

Again, this goes against an average LGD in that they need to stay with the animals they are guarding. We want our dogs to chase off predators and follow them for miles so they don’t come back. We often run our dogs alongside 4 wheelers for exercise and to keep them fit. They have followed for up to 15 miles, with top speeds of over 25 mph! Huskies are working dogs, and they love to have jobs and go for long runs.

Cold Weather Hardiness

While there are definitely homesteads all over the world, not many of them hit -30° and below! We need dogs with that double coat to keep them warm for our wild low temps.

Friendliness 

Siberian huskies almost always have a tail wag and a kiss for anyone they meet. This makes them terrible guard dogs in normal circumstances. However, since we don’t have full-time neighbors, we want our dogs to be friendly to the people who do stop by. We want to get to know the seasonal cabin owners, not have our dogs chase them off! And quite a few of our friends bring their dogs out with them. Having overly friendly dogs is also important because we don’t want our dogs to be aggressive to people who might need help, or might be trying to help us.

Noise

This is another thing that generally makes huskies a bad guard dog. Siberian huskies are howlers, not really barkers. It’s hard to know that there is danger if a guard dog doesn’t alert to it. Luckily huskies can bark, and they can be very loud when they want to be. Having silent dogs when there is nothing wrong makes it easy to tell if there is really something going on. From the hello howl they give our friends, to the “back off” bark they use for trouble. If my dogs are making noise, there is something worth looking at.

Besides all this, I just love huskies!

They are a friendly, smart, loyal breed. I don’t imagine ever wanting to get another breed ever again. Especially not after Ronan saved my life! As long as someone can provide regular training, exercise, and proper containment, I would definitely recommend a husky. Unfortunately, because people often purchase huskies strictly for their looks, many of these wonderful dogs end up abandoned or surrendered. If you are looking to add a husky to your family, be sure to check out local rescues and shelters first!