Watch As Husky Imitates Baby In This Perfectly Adorable Youtube Video

The YouTube video below is titled “Dog imitates baby.” This page sets it next to what the American Kennel Club (AKC) says about Siberian Huskies and children, what the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and AKC trainers say about dogs around babies, and how to keep a husky cool in warm weather.

Say What? A Dog Imitates Baby In This Video

Tom Scruffy Cammarata posted the clip on YouTube. His description opens with “Kinda cute! :)” and adds: “I am not the creator of this video nor do I take credit for it.”

An AKC page of trainer advice on keeping a baby safe around the dog says: “The unusual sounds and unpredictable movements of babies and small children can trigger arousal in any dog and can lead to bites.”

What the AKC Says About Siberian Huskies and Kids

The AKC describes the breed this way: “These are sociable, energetic dogs and your Siberian Husky puppy will love being a member of your pack, including kids and dogs.” On its breed page the AKC rates the Siberian Husky 5 out of 5 for Good With Young Children. The AKC’s own description of that rating is: “Dogs should always be supervised around young children, or children of any age who have little exposure to dogs.”

The same page rates the breed 5 out of 5 for Energy Level, where the top label is “High Energy,” and 5 out of 5 for Playfulness Level, where the top label is “Non-Stop.” It says: “Siberians are active, athletic dogs who need a lot of exercise.” It also says: “Siberians are very social, and regularly need the company of their people or other dogs; they are not suited to being left alone all day.”

Training Your Dog Around Babies

AKC trainer Stephanie Gibeault, MSc, CPDT, writes: “as magical as that relationship may be, it doesn’t come naturally. Many dogs are apprehensive around kids, so it’s important to train your dog how to behave around children while building plenty of positive associations.” Any fur parent worth their dog shirt would conduct great efforts to provide their pup some social enrichment.

Gibeault gives the first step: “The first step is to expose your dog to children while creating positive associations with them.” She adds: “Simply reward your dog with wonderful things like treats, toys, and games when children are around.”

She also describes handling practice: “Kids, particularly young ones, can be unintentionally rough. They pull, poke, and squeeze. So, get your dog used to that before children get involved. Start with gentle touches and pair each touch with a treat.”

Gibeault also lists rules for the children in the house: “Never disturb dogs while they’re in their crates,” “Don’t bother dogs when they’re eating or sleeping,” and “Never pull dogs’ ears, tails, or other body parts.” The AAP says: “Do not allow your child to play aggressive games with a dog, such as tug-of-war or wrestling, as this can lead to bites,” and “Teach your child to move calmly and slowly around dogs.”

AKC writer Denise Flaim, a mother of triplets who also had two Rhodesian Ridgebacks, says: “You can try to accustom your dog to the idea of a baby by walking around the house with a doll. But it’s no guarantee that your dog is going to seamlessly transition from life before baby to the new nuclear-family reality.” She adds: “Try to create tiny successes and build from there.”

Watch for stress signals

An AKC trainer lists the signals of a dog that is worried about a baby or toddler: “Dogs that are stressed or worried about a baby or toddler give subtle signals that they need space: licking their lips, yawning, turning their head away, furrowing their brows, and ears laid low.” The same page says: “Licking, sniffing, and mouthing are exploratory behaviors and can be a sign of stress.” Flaim writes: “Corrections don’t work when fear or anxiety is at the root of the problem. They usually make things worse.” The trainer page’s advice for a dog showing concern is: “Do not punish the dog for showing signs of concern. Instead, send him calmly to a bed, crate, or gated area with a fun chew toy.”

Never leave a baby and a dog alone

The AAP says: “Never leave a small child and a dog alone together, no matter if it is the family dog, a dog that is known to you, or a dog that you have been assured is well behaved. Any dog can bite.” The AKC trainer page puts it this way: “At no time should a small child be left alone with a dog, no matter the age, breed, size, or temperament of the canine.”

The AKC adds a plan for the times an adult cannot watch: “When you cannot actively supervise your dog with your baby, send him to one of these spots.” Those spots are the crates, baby gates, and relaxing areas the AKC says to set up before the baby comes home. Flaim says: “Your dog’s crate should be their sanctuary, a space that is just theirs (and ideally off-limits to kids).” The trainer page also says: “Never leave a baby on the floor with a dog, even if you are there next to them.” Gibeault says: “younger children need constant supervision, even when they know the rules.” For more dogs and babies, see Gentle Giants: Youtube Videos Compilation Showing Big Dogs With Babies.

Need more of your dog video fix? Here's a video of a Bulldog who loves riding his rocking horse!

FAQ

Can dogs talk to babies?

Dogs are very perceptive to human emotions and behaviors. In a Biology Letters paper, researchers at the University of Lincoln and universities in São Paulo showed dogs “either human or dog faces with different emotional valences (happy/playful versus angry/aggressive) paired with a single vocalization from the same individual.” They report: “Dogs looked significantly longer at the face whose expression was congruent to the valence of vocalization.” The abstract also says the dogs can “discriminate between positive and negative emotions from both humans and dogs.”

Why are huskies so loud?

The AKC rates the Siberian Husky 5 on a 1 to 5 scale for Barking Level. The scale runs from “Only To Alert” at 1 to “Very Vocal” at 5, and the AKC defines the trait as “How often this breed vocalizes, whether it's with barks or howls.”

These dogs were originally bred as sled dogs. The AKC calls the Siberian Husky “a thickly coated, compact sled dog of medium size and great endurance” that “was developed to work in packs, pulling light loads at moderate speeds over vast frozen expanses.” A paper in Science sequenced the genomes of “10 modern Greenland sled dogs, an ~9500-year-old Siberian dog associated with archaeological evidence for sled technology, and an ~33,000-year-old Siberian wolf.” Its abstract says: “the major ancestry of modern sled dogs traces back to Siberia.”

How do I keep a husky cool in warm weather?

In its grooming section the AKC says “Siberians have a double coat” and “The undercoat is shed twice a year.” The ASPCA says: “Feel free to trim longer hair on your dog, but never shave your dog. The layers of dogs' coats protect them from overheating and sunburn.”

VCA Animal Hospitals says that for dogs, “Panting is their primary way of regulating body temperature,” and lists among the common causes of heat stroke “excessive or vigorous exercise during hot temperatures.” The ASPCA also says: “Don't let dogs linger on hot asphalt when the temperature is very high.” Check out some of our summer tips in this article. For signs of overheating and first aid, see How to Keep a Dog Cool in Summer: Signs and First Aid.

Sources

• YouTube, “Dog imitates baby,” posted by Tom Scruffy Cammarata: youtube.com.
• American Kennel Club, Siberian Husky breed page: akc.org.
• American Kennel Club, “Ask Our Trainers: How Can I Keep My Baby Safe Around the Dog?”: akc.org.
• American Kennel Club, Stephanie Gibeault, MSc, CPDT, “How to Help Your Dog Love Children”: akc.org.
• American Kennel Club, Denise Flaim, “How to Introduce Your Dog to Your New Baby”: akc.org.
• American Academy of Pediatrics, “Dog Bite Prevention Tips”: healthychildren.org.
• Albuquerque, N. et al. “Dogs recognize dog and human emotions.” Biology Letters, 2016 (abstract): pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
• Sinding, M. S. et al. “Arctic-adapted dogs emerged at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition.” Science, 2020 (abstract): pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
• ASPCA, “Hot Weather Safety Tips”: aspca.org.
• VCA Animal Hospitals, “Heat Stroke in Dogs”: vcahospitals.com.