The Hidden Causes Behind Your Husky’s Sad Expression!

Have you noticed your Husky looking depressed? You might have started asking yourself why does my husky look sad. We’ll examine the possible causes including any potential medical issues.

Why does my Husky look sad?

There are several possible reasons that could make a Husky look sad. Being working dogs, it could be that they’re depressed, ill, bored, need more attention, or maybe not getting enough exercise.

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There are cases where these dogs look sad because they have an issue with their diet or they feel mistreated.

Your dog could be sad for a number of reasons, it could be one or a combination of the above. No matter the cause, you need to find out why they’re sad so that you can make them happy again.

That will be possible if you understand the different expressions that they possess.

What expressions do Huskies have?

Siberian Husky dogs have a ton of expressions and for someone who is new to them, it might seem to them like they have one look.

However, you’ll see a difference in their faces if you spend a considerable amount of time with them. To understand them better, you need to look beyond their face and their big beautiful eyes – if not, you will not understand their feelings.

According to Siberian Huskies Training HQ, paying attention to your Husky’s body language is one lesson in understanding how they feel – happy or sad.

They can’t speak but they always try to communicate with us. Their complex non-verbal language can tell you when they’re fearful or angry, happy or sad, confident or nervous. For that, their facial expressions and body posture can communicate their emotions and intentions to those around them.

Here are the things to watch if you want to know if your Husky is sad or not.

1. The eyes

You can learn a lot by just reading your Husky’s eyes. Whether he is staring hard at you, squinting eyes, looking away, or whale eye, there is always a feeling behind each.

For example;

• Normal, Almond-shaped eyes: Your Husky is happy and feeling relaxed.
• Wide, rounded eyes: Your Husky is feeling threatened, fearful or stressed.
• Squinting eyes: Your Siberian Husky is in pain or sick. Sometimes they could be feeling submissive or tired.
• Staring straight at you: If he is looking directly at you with a tense facial expression, it’s a threat. You need to slowly look away. If he is staring directly at you when relaxed and happy, they’re ok just that they need your attention.
• Looking away: He just doesn’t want to look threatening or aggressive – mostly a sign of politeness or being submissive. Nevertheless, it could also mean they’re nervous and could be feeling fearful.
• ‘Whale eye’: If he is looking at you intently, not staring directly, but from the corner of his eyes, it’s a sign of an aggressive outburst. So stop whatever you’re doing and move away from your Husky.

2. The mouth

Another thing you should be keen about is the way your Husky moves its mouth, lips, and teeth. Such gestures say a lot about their feelings.

For example, when feeling:

• Relaxed and happy: Their mouth will be closed or slightly opened if panting to cool down.
• Feeling aggressive: It will bear its teeth opening its mouth wide and even wrinkling its muzzle. This leads to growling aggressively.
• Submissive (‘Submissive grin’): He’ll open its top lip and display the front teeth. This scenario is usually accompanied by an overall submissive posture, such as a lowered head and squinting narrowed eyes. 
• Lip licking: He might kick his lips when stressed or threatened.
• Yawning: When yawning, your Husky is literally relieving his personal tension. Usually seen when they’re slightly stressed.

3. The ears

Unlike humans, dogs can move their ears freely. From several years of dog parenting, I can confidently say that the more forward your Husky’s ears are, the more confident he is feeling. If you see that his ears are flat and further leaning to the back, the more fearful he is.

To further explain;

• Relaxed and comfortable: The ears will be held naturally. In case of an alert, he will have his ears held higher up facing toward whatever has caught his attention.
• Feeling aggressive: He will have his ears raised. Other aggressive posturing will be accompanied by this.
• Feeling friendly: Your Siberian Husky will have his ears pulled back slightly. Here, he will wear a relaxed facial expression.
• Frightened or submissive: In this scenario, the ears will be completely flattened or stuck to the sides of the head.

4. The tail

One thing you need to know if you’re new to dogs is that a wagging tail does not always mean a happy dog. Dogs wag their tail even when aggressive.

When your Husky is;

• Relaxed and friendly: He will have his tail held in a natural position. Mostly, level with the body or a little lower.
• Happy: His tail will be in a natural position but wagging slowly – from side to side. Plus, he will be wagging his entire rear end and hips when VERY happy!
• Feeling aggressive: Huskies may wag their tail when aggressive, threatening or dominant! Be keen when the tail is held very high, stiff and moving purposefully back and forth.
• Fearful and afraid: Your Siberian Huskies will hold its tail very low, perhaps even tucked between their legs.

After summing up all the behavior accompanied by these body parts, let’s put it all together as to why do Huskies look sad or how a sad Siberian Husky will behave.

How do you know if your Siberian Husky is sad?

There are some things that your Siberian Huskies will do which prove that indeed he is really sad.

After understanding their body postures and expressions, it can be easy to know if they are faking their sadness.

For example, he can be sad when;

• He avoids you.
• His appetite drops.
• He develops new compulsive behaviors.
• He doesn’t feel lively (sometimes a loss of energy).
• Lethargic – he may be sleeping more than usual.
• Fears and phobias
• Change of environment
• Change to a social group

Some other things to look at to know if your Husky is legitimately sad are when:

• He is depressed
• Bored
• Sick
• When they feel mistreated

1. Depression in Siberian Huskies

Why do Huskies look sad? Huskies get depressed and hence become sad because of a sudden or slight change in their daily experience. 

If they lose their pet owner, a friend of a pet owner, or someone close to them (even a pet friend), they’ll obviously be sad.

There is no way to correct this because just like humans, they’ll need time to heal and get over it.

However, if you can’t trace the cause of their sadness, I’d advise that you take him to your vet and seek further assistance.

2. Boredomness in Siberian Huskies

Huskies are active working dog breeds who need a serious amount of exercise every day.

This means that if you neglect their morning runs, walks, hikes, and park games, be sure to find them moping around the house.

To eliminate the sudden sadness, make sure to take him on walks. Sometimes, playing fetch and giving them a 40-60 minutes exercise could do the trick.

3. Illness in Siberian Huskies

A sick Siberian Husky will always be a sad one.

If you see him sad yet you’ve been giving him enough exercise, there is nothing that could be depressing him, he usually enjoys his meals and the diet hasn’t changed, then he might be sick.

An upset stomach can slow them down so if you feel like they’re sick, seek medical attention from a vet so that their happiness can be restored thereafter.

4. Diet and Siberian Huskies

These beautiful dogs are bred for high energy and if you are giving them lousy food which cannot help them gain the energy they require for their daily activities, they will end up being sad.

He will be lazy and will lack the energy he wants and if you don’t resolve the food issue, be prepared for a long ride more than just sadness.

These dogs require quality dog food and a slight change in their diet could lead to mischief.

5. Mistreated Husky

The worst kind of sadness you’ll get from any dog is one that shows up when mistreated, neglected, or abused.

Huskies who have been abandoned, neglected, or mistreated usually lose trust in their owners. These beautiful dogs are super loving to their family. Gaining their trust doesn’t come for anything, but losing it is a matter of seconds.

If you are always parenting a sad Husky, all you need to do is to rethink your approach to how you handle them.

When they are sad, they can be angry and aggressive doing their best to make themselves large and intimidating – something you don’t want to be part of.