Is Sibe h. behavior/training different

" jumping up on the picinic table and knocking the others off. "
 
Miya's a a gsd/husky mix...she totally does this.  she'll just jump up on the picnic table at the dog park and give everyone kisses, try to knock the others off, or she'll just lay on top of the table like she just wants to be part of the 'people' group.  she also jumps off the table right on or next to an unsuspecting dog.
 
she's a terrible puller unless she just had her exercise.  i'm still working on how to correct this, it's very hard, esp. with having another, much smaller dog with me. 
 
she makes so many noises!  she'll just be laying there, either sleeping or with her eyes open, and just make moaning noises, sometimes very loud as if she's trying to get your attention.  luckily the only time she barks indoors is when she hears someone outside she'll go up to the door and bark. 
 
and one weird thing she does is taking after my chihuahua, she'll jump up on the back of the couch and lay there at the top of the cushions.  usually right behind my neck.  she's not much of a cuddler though unless it's with my chi.  she's a major goofball though.  she has so much character, more than i've ever seen in a dog.  she does the silliest things, and she runs around at the park like a football player, faking left and going right, tackling, and she's even picked up some herding habits from another dog.  she's very influential, picking up habits from other dogs she spends time with.  it's kinda cute unless it's a bad habit.  she likes to dip her whole head in the water bowl at the park and slosh the water around and get the area really muddy...and lie in it.  but lucky that's only during the summer.

Thank you Bradley.  I did forget to mention one of his worst faults....walking on a leash.  He loves to PULLLLL.  Even with lots of training, and constant reminders, he is a handful to walk. 
And the shedding!!  Enough to create a small dog every day.  I hate when I see Sibes (or any dog) relegated to being outside only, but I can see how it happens.  For anyone who doesn't care to be a diligent vaccuum-er, a Sibe is not the dog for you!

I am talking about traditional training classes with a dog in front and a dog in back and walking around the mats.  The dogs are so focused on the dog "butts", the one in front and the one behind it is difficult to help them understand the point of loose lead walking.  Also, that visual pattern looks so much like pulling patterns, that I wouldnt be surprised if pulling is being set up from the start. 
 
It is far more effective in my opinion, to introduce the heeling exercise by walking in straight lines toward and away from a dog that is stationary.  Think of the dogs in a class situation arranged in a square pattern with an equal number on each side of the square.  Three sides of the square work on stationary commands, position changes (sit, down, stand) and attention.  One side walks across the ring, turns around and returns to the start point.  (put in a couple of halts in there).  I have found that to be far superior to the walk around the ring approach. 
 
The second option is TAG (Touch the dog on the back near the tail to interupt the behavior, get Attention by saying the dog's name, Go in the opposite direction to help cue attention to leash pressure).  These are the two methods I use to establish leash manners and control in my classes.

i find that if i do a hard 2 mile run,or a trotting/loping 3+ mile run,that by the time i get back to home base,they will heel for me with no problems...i normally take 2 out at a time on a splitter,so they are side by side...they know what heel means,but without the run first,they arnt as likely to heed the heel.

He loves to PULLLLL

 
It's the breed. It's like genetic hard-wiring. Must pull ... must run fast as the wind ...
 
So, training them not to pull won't be easy. You're asking them to do the opposite of what their breeding tells them to do. In the meantime, like Mhaddog says, you can exercise them initially to get that initial burst of energy out. If you have a bicycle, let them pull you on that. It's similar to letting a herding dog have timeshare on a sheep ranch.
 

i know what you mean about the pulling. we recently bought an easy walk harness for sydney and it helps some, but if he gets a mind he still pulls like crazy. []

I think Spiritdog once mentioned that she's trained Huskies not to pull on leash and even recommended the Easy Walker.
 
I once clipped the leash to the front ring of his walking harness and Shadow didn't like that much. I have better results using mushing commands. Then, again, I don't have a problem with him pulling in harness, as it is what he was bred to do. Yet, I can still command obedience. By pulling, he can wear himself down a bit and get rid of some of that energy.

the biggest reason i wanted sydney to not pull, is because my wife has a hard time controlling him when he is pulling. i can control him when he is pulling, unless i am walking both dogs at once.

i can get him to loose leash walk all day so long as we are in the backyard, but out on the street it is a different story. every person/cat/dog/etc. he sees he wants to go to them. []

I think Shadow differentiates. In his harness, with me, he likes to track scent and investigate. Sometimes, DW will take him for a short walk on errands, using just the leash and id collar and she can handle him them. So, it all depends on circumstance, I suppose.
 

i guess i should quantify sydney's pulling. he can and does pull while trying to sniff at something and this is usually easily controlled by either of us no matter if he is on the easy walker or not. but if he sees a person or another animal he is more like lunging at the end of the leash. he is not trying to be aggressive, he is just starved for attention and extremely curious.

he did impress me last night though. we were walking and one of our neighbors was out in their yard with their dog. their dog barked at us, nothing really obnoxious or out of the ordinary, and sydney started lunging and whining (like he usually does). i stopped and asked him to "calm". he sat down and stopped whining. me moved forward and he started up again. i asked for calm again, same deal he sat and calmed down.  granted we could only take a step or two between "calms" but it is progress. []

 
rmv:
"The second option is TAG (Touch the dog on the back near the tail to interupt the behavior, get Attention by saying the dog's name, Go in the opposite direction to help cue attention to leash pressure).  These are the two methods I use to establish leash manners and control in my classes. "
 
I used to grab my older husky's tail and kind of play with him to get him to look at me, and he would slow down.  He loved to frolic.  His eyes would light up, and he knew how to be a good walker on a leash.
 
rmv, how much experience do you have with Sibe training?  I ask because I do have a problem with my 8mo. old female and pulling.  She is so docile off leash, but when it goes on, she becomes super puller.   I mean she is flat out trying to GO.  I have a harness that I bought for my older dog, and never used it on him as he trained relatively easier.  In fact my 8mo old male is also much easier to walk with than the sister.  She is like a wild squirrel on leash.  (and that goes for her thought processing as well!)
 
I am unable to walk them at present for another reason, but I would love to hear some success with walking a dog like her.  I know that developmentally she  will slow down and has actually slowed down a bit. My older dog was optimum behavior at about 1 and 1/2 years of age. 

cyclefiend:

i stopped and asked him to "calm". he sat down and stopped whining. me moved forward and he started up again. i asked for calm again, same deal he sat and calmed down. granted we could only take a step or two between "calms" but it is progress.

 
I have done this with my girl.  She is needing to be redirecting her attention to the person walking her, actually even distracting her attention to environment has helped her to walk better. 
 
If left to her own devices she wants to go as fast as possible and in a straight line - like tunnel vision - down the road. 
 
 

I have had a number of sibes, some for multiple sessions.  To gain control, we spent a fair amount of time on establishing attention in the form of eye contact as a default behavior.  We used really high quality treats to the point I could fling toys, squeek toys and walk by calling their names with liver in my hand. 
 
The pulling was dealt with by stopping forward motion, using the TAG exercise and doing attention heeling (eye contact in motion, one step at a time and building).
 
Due to her age,  I would try more exercise, especially before training practice.  More variety in treats and other reinforcement.  I would use the lack of forward progress as part of the training procedure.  I would do alot of it without verbal cues.  I would not use walks for exercise unless I switched to a different collar, most likely halter type.

Talking about their cat like behavior!  It is true.  A funny thing my older boy used to do was when we approached a part of the walk where there was a herding dog.  He would see her on the hill, and crouch down as if he were stalking her!  This was while he is on leash mind you.  He never did that with anyone else.  It was hysterical.  She would growl at him, as she was not impressed and a lot older than him.
 
My female rubs up against you like a cat, and they both want to sit in your lap.  My Sibes are very affectionate, which is not textbook I guess.    Another thing, my older boy used to make his back go up just like a cat when you pet his back.  I haven't seen these two do that at all.
 
Each dog is unique.  But one thing is, I love Siberian Huskies!!!

mrv:

Due to her age, I would try more exercise, especially before training practice. More variety in treats and other reinforcement. I would use the lack of forward progress as part of the training procedure. I would do alot of it without verbal cues. I would not use walks for exercise unless I switched to a different collar, most likely halter type.

 
Thanks, and this makes very good sense. []
 
She hates it when I won't go straight ahead, and she pulls to get her way, and practically has a temper tantrum.  I think that they bred her way too well. [8|]