Canine behaviourist Will Atherton has named the Siberian Husky as one of the most challenging breeds to train, describing the dogs as “more cat than they are dog”. With more than 900,000 TikTok followers, Atherton shares advice on choosing a breed, training and understanding pet behaviour.
Why some breeds are harder to train
Having worked with hundreds of breeds and thousands of individual dogs, Atherton said the breeds that present the greatest training difficulties are typically those “bred to work very independently”. He drew a distinction between difficulty teaching a dog and the risks if something goes wrong.
“You combine that with violent or guarding tendencies, and it often means - not necessarily that they're harder to train - but the potential for things going wrong goes through the roof,” he explained.
Huskies and other challenging breeds
According to Atherton, livestock guardian breeds such as the Caucasian Shepherd and the Turkish Kangal represent this type of dog “perfectly”. However, he also highlighted the Siberian Husky as a popular breed that consistently creates “challenging” training situations.
“It's why you will rarely, if ever, see practising dog trainers or canine professionals actually owning them. And my opinion is that they are more cat than they are dog,” he remarked.
Owners share their experiences
In the comments section, people contributed their own experiences with Huskies, predominantly supporting Atherton's views. One owner commented: “As a third time Husky owner I partially agree with that statement. They sure are stubborn and independent, though very smart, they just get bored, really.”
A second said: “Yep! My Husky has been through three trainers. He listens most of the time...” A third admitted: “I stumbled into owning a Husky. I love him but he's A LOT to deal with. He's not a cat ... more an energetic toddler who drank a venti coffee.”
