Are Huskies Smart? Are Huskies easy to train? Are they dumb dogs?

Huskies are great dogs – athletic, social, good with kids and other dogs and always up for fun! But are they smart as well?

The quick answer is that they are not smart in the sense of “easy to train”. As a sled dog breed, Huskies are fairly independent and usually require a lot of reinforcement and repetition to learn. They do not have the “will to please” that’s common in herding dogs.

Huskies excel in brain games and food puzzles if they are sufficiently motivated. Let’s look in detail at the Husky’s intelligence and problem solving abilities!

Are Huskies dumb or smart?

When labeling a dog as “smart”, owners usually think of this as “easy to train”. Huskies are not easy to train and will challenge first-time dog owners. The reason for this is in the breed history – Huskies were bred to pull sleds in harnesses over long distances.

The breed was not developed to work closely with their owner. Instead, they were bred for endurance and athletic ability. A sled dog mostly has to do one thing: Run fast for a long time.

This applies to all kinds of Huskies. These dogs excel in sports that require endurance such as canicross.

In dogs sports that require the owner and dog to work together as a team Huskies are not so good however. In the 2019 Agility World Championship for example there was one single Husky – among hundreds of Border Collie and Shelties.

Are Huskies really that hard to train?

Yes, Huskies are hard to train. In my career as a dog trainer I have seen many dog owners that were frustrated by their Husky’s independence, prey drive and lack of interest in training.

This does not mean that a Husky cannot be a great dog. If you have the ability to provide your Husky with plenty of space to run and you enjoy a happy-go-luck dog, he will be a great companion.

If however you are looking for a dog that you can teach a ton of tricks and do agility with – a Husky should not be your first choice.

Many owners struggle throughout their Husky’s life with teaching even basic obedience skills such as not pulling on leash or not jumping up. You cannot expect perfect obedience from this breed – once more, they were bred to be very independent and not easily trained.

Prey Drive

In addition to being independent, Huskies exhibit a lot of prey drive that can be difficult to manage. Because it is tricky to teach a successful recall to a Husky, letting him off-leash in an area with wildlife may never be possible. Future Husky owners must be aware of this and not assume that “their Husky will be different” (because he will be just like any other Husky).

This breed is among the ones that get lost the most often and end up in shelters. You should never acquire a Husky if you cannot guarantee that he will be kept safe in an enclosed area.

Motivation and Rewards

Whenever we are training a dog, we are using rewards to motivate desired behavior (such as giving a dog a treat for sitting nicely). How well the dog learns will depend on how eager he is to earn that reward.

Huskies are often just not that interested in the treats and reinforcements their owners have. They might be much more interested in running around, playing with other dogs, sniffing the ground or chasing wildlife.

This makes them look like a “dumb” or “stubborn” dog. The reality is that they are intelligent – they just usually are not that motivated to use their intelligence to please us in training.

Is a Husky a dumb dog?

Huskies are not dumb dogs. However, because they are usually not that motivated to work together with their owners most people get frustrated with their intelligence.

In order to assess how smart or dumb a Husky is, we need to define what we understand as “doggy intelligence”.

Dog Intelligence

Most owners define “intelligence” in dogs as the dog needing few repetitions to learn a new behavior. Under this definition Huskies definitely are not smart dogs – they usually require a lot of repetition to learn and retain a new skill. In addition, they frequently refuse the rewards offered by their owners. And without a reward – no behaviors are learned.

We can define intelligence also as the ability to solve puzzles. By that definition, Huskies are smart – they are great problem solvers and do very well with food puzzles and brain games. Once more, the Husky needs to be motivated enough to make an effort though – and motivation to work often is what the Husky lacks.

The Bottom Line

Huskies are not smart dogs in the sense of “easy to train” or “willing to learn”. If you are looking for such a dog, a Border Collie or Australian Shepherd will be a much better choice.

Huskies are difficult to motivate, especially if there is something they would rather do than train. If wildlife is present or other dogs are around that your Husky wants to play with, it can be impossible to get him to focus on you. If you are looking to get a dog to teach tricks to and try out dog sports such as agility, a Husky is not the right choice.

Many Huskies never learn a reliable recall and always have to be on a leash or in a safely enclosed area. You should not get a Husky if you are looking for a dog that can be with you off-leash.

Huskies are great problem solvers and do very well with food puzzles and brain games. However, this is not what most owners would traditionally classify as “intelligent” in the sense of learning behaviors quickly.