You have probably seen videos of Huskies talking. They are communicative and likes to talk. Akiak, my previous Husky, loved it… we could talk for minutes and he seemed to enjoy it.
Ninja however was completely silent during the first 2 years. No barking, no howling, no talking… Eventually I noticed when I tease him with commands, that he would make a very decent “growling” sound… I used rewards to make him bark on command.
I recall how difficult it was… his “growling complaint” when I was teasing him happened once maybe every couple of days and it was difficult to properly reward him for it.
Once Ninja realized that I was not mad at him got “talking back”, I was able to teach a “friendly growl” on command. I am not sure if it serves a purpose or not… initially, he would not bark or growl and I think this is a matter of respect… Even now, I need to encourage Ninja a few times, before he starts to growl/bark.
You can see that he often licks his snout, it is to appease me “This is not serious; we are just having fun… right?”
On a side note:
We lost our collar at our last stay in Switzerland. Can anyone recommend a good manufacture? We usually have some custom made collar made of soft leather that can easily be pulled over his head. The one used in the video is a bit too long and can hit Ninjas teeth. We need a new one!
