Do you ever wonder about your husky behavior? As dog parents, we want to understand why our dogs act the way they do, so you might ask yourself why does my husky stretches so much.
We can see our huskies stretching on many occasions, on the living floor, when they get out of their bed, and even on the grass during a walk.
There are many reasons why your husky likes to stretch, and I’ll try to cover the most frequent ones.
Why does my husky stretch in the morning?
Your husky can stretch and yawn when he or she wakes up in the morning. Why does your husky stretch in the morning? Well, because it feels good, and they want to get ready for a full day.
You might see your dog stretching, yawning, and moving a bit around because they want to regain mobility.
Why does my husky stretch before the walk?
If your husky has a schedule, he or she might want to stretch before a walk. My husky girl always stretches when she sees me with the harness.
She knows that we are going for a walk, and she will engage in physical activities, so she stretches to get the blood flowing, warm up the muscle, and relax the body.
Your husky can stretch if he doesn’t get enough exercise
Huskies are working dogs that find joy in exercising a lot if the dogs are used to walk, run and play every day. If you don’t exercise your husky enough, he or she can stretch more because of the lack of physical activity.
No exercise can make your husky sore, and they will use stretching as a way to release muscle pain.
We must take our huskies for daily walks, jogging, or playing fetch with them in the yard. If a dog is not engaged in any physical activity, his muscles, ligaments, and joints will not be strong.
When a dog is not getting the right amount of psychical activity, he may risk losing muscle mass. We all want to give our buddies a healthy life, so we need to make sure they get the much-needed daily exercise.
A good stretch before sleep
You can spot your husky stretching and yawning before a good sleep. This is a normal stretch.
Your dog is tired, he had a full day and he is stretching his body to relax and to get ready for a sweet nap.
A husky can stretch to invite other dogs or humans to play
Your husky can stretch and use the downward dog pose and wag to tail in front of you if he or she wants to play with you. A dog uses this pose to invite dogs to play as well.
This stretch is not really a stretch is more a pose used as an invitation to play. If your husky will pose with his curly tail and a happy expression in front of you and you praise this behavior and reward it with a pat, treats, or playtime, he or she will quickly learn that you understand and encourage this behavior. After that, your dog will know how to call for your attention and you will know what means when your dog stretches in front of you.
My huskies bow down and stretch when they invite me to play with them or when they invite each other to play. Your husky can use this position to tell other dogs that he will not be aggressive or that he or she wants to play with them. You might see that after the bow, dogs start playing. You husky can also bow down in front of you.
When a dog does this, he or she might want to show appreciation towards you.
Stretching is a part of the mating ritual when it comes to dogs
A dog can stretch in a downward position to let other dogs that she or he is interested. This happens during the mating season. But this type of pose is also used to send non-mating messages to dogs and humans, as I mentioned earlier.
Your husky can stretch before he lays in a spot
If you see your husky stretch and lay on the floor or even on the ground and pressing his belly against the surface is because he wants to cool himself.
This is called splooting, and your dog does this because he enjoys lying down completely flat with both legs behind the body and stretches his belly on the ground.
You might also notice that your husky likes to dig a hole in the ground during summer and lay in it. He is trying to find a cool place where he can stretch and take a nap. It is a primal instinct, and he might act on it even if you have AC in your house and he can stay in there.
Is stretching a sign of sickness?
Stretching alone is rarely a sign of sickness. You don’t need to worry if your husky stretches but if he does it too often you should take a look at his or her exercises because he or she may exercise too little or too much. Feel your husky knees, ankles, elbows, and writs when you are brushing him or her and check if there are any swellings.
If you have reason to worry or even if you want to make sure your puppy is healthy, talk with your dog’s veterinarian and take him to a checkup.
As I mentioned above, stretching alone is rarely a sign that your dog has health issues. But if your dog starts to stretch more and he also vomits, he is fatigue, or if you notice weight loss and serious changes in appetite, chronic pain, nausea, dehydration, there might be a health problem and you should take your dog to a veterinarian.
Stretching is a normal and good behavior in your husky’s life, but if you spot other symptoms, you should call your dog’s vet.
Encourage your husky to stretch
Encourage your husky to stretch and praise him when he stretches. Your dog likes to stretch and flex his spine when he wakes up. Stretching is a part of his morning ritual. You want to stretch in the morning and drink your coffee or tea, and your dog likes to stretch and get ready for another amazing day.
As I mentioned earlier, huskies are active dogs, and if they are used to walking long distances and running, they will want to stretch before vigorous workouts.
Stretching before a good run or a long walk can help them to extend their range. Praise your husky’s stretching behavior as a form of communication because dogs like to socialize and play with other dogs and body signals are essential and instinctive.
I hope you like this article. If you want to find more about your husky behavior read more here.
