| Siberian Huskies: the most honest dog breed review you'll ever find. Information about Siberian Husky personality and behavior. |
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My book, Your Purebred Puppy: A Buyer's Guide (published by Henry Holt & Co.), includes a full-page profile of the Siberian Husky, including these excerpts:
"The AKC Standard says the Siberian Husky "does not display the possessive qualities of the guard dog, nor is he overly suspicious of strangers or aggressive with other dogs."
Indeed, the free-spirited Siberian Husky is usually good-natured with everyone.
He is also very playful, athletic, agile, and light on his feet. He loves the great outdoors and requires vigorous exercise, especially in cool weather. He should be taken running, hiking, and/or biking every day, always on-leash, for he is independent and born to run. If something catches his interest, he'll be gone. Teaching him to pull carts and sleds gives him a purpose in life.
Without such exercise, mental activity, and lots of companionship, he can be incredibly, massively destructive.
Most Siberian Huskies are sociable with other dogs, but he has a very high prey drive and may destroy cats if not raised with them. Siberians should not be kept around rabbits, ferrets, or birds. Fencing must be high and secure, for he can be an escape artist, and once loose, he may run deer and molest livestock.
Training is a challenge because the strong-willed Siberian Husky is inclined to use his intelligence in clever ways that suit his own purposes. Use food rewards -- jerking this breed can result in melodramatic theatrics, including screaming. Digging and howling are favorite pastimes."
History
Developed by the Chukchi people of Siberia, his forte is traveling a great distance with a light load at a fast pace.
Size
20-24 inches and 35-60 lbs |
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Siberian Huskies
What's good about 'em
What's bad about 'em
- There are energetic Siberians, and placid Siberians.
- Hard-headed Siberians, and sweet-natured Siberians.
- Serious Siberians, and good-natured goofballs.
- Introverted Siberians, and Siberians who love everyone.
| If you acquire a Siberian Husky puppy, you can't know for sure what he or she will grow up to be like. Because a good number of purebred puppies do NOT grow up to conform to the "norm." |
Now let's look at some common characteristics for this breed...
- Is medium-sized and furry, with a wolfish appearance
- Is free-spirited and playful
- Is athletic and agile and loves the great outdoors, especially in cold weather
- Thinks that running full-speed, pulling carts and sleds, and/or carrying a backpack on a mountain hike is his purpose in life
- Is usually good-natured with strangers and sociable with other dogs
A Siberian Husky may be right for you.
| If you don't want to deal with... |
- Vigorous exercise requirements
- Rowdiness and exuberant jumping, especially when young
- Massive destructiveness and howling when bored, left alone too much, or not exercised enough
- Strong instincts to chase and grab anything that runs
- Escaping from your yard in search of adventure
- Strong-willed mind of his own, requiring a confident owner who can take charge
- Heavy shedding
A Siberian Husky may not be right for you.
| If I were considering a Siberian Husky... |
My major concerns would be:
- Providing enough exercise. Siberian Huskies MUST have regular opportunities to vent their energy. Otherwise they will become rambunctious and bored -- which they usually express by howling and destructive chewing. Bored Siberian Huskies are famous for chewing through drywall, ripping the stuffing out of sofas, and turning your yard into a moonscape of giant craters.
| Unless you specifically want an athletic dog for sledding, carting, backpacking, or other outdoor-related activities, preferably in a cool climate, I do not recommend this breed. Siberian Huskies were never intended to be simply pets. Trying to suppress their "hardwired" drive to work, without providing alternate outlets for their energy, can be difficult. |
- Bounciness. Young Siberian Huskies (up to about two years old) romp and jump with great vigor, and things can go flying, including people.
| If you have small children, or if you or anyone who lives with you is elderly or infirm, I do not recommend Siberian Husky puppies. The temptation to play roughly is too strong in many young Siberian Huskies. |
- Strong chasing instincts. Most Siberian Huskies have strong instincts to chase and seize cats and other fleeing creatures, including deer and livestock. If anything goes wrong in the breeding, socializing, training, handling, or management of this breed, it is capable of seriously injuring or killing other animals.
| To keep your Siberian Husky in, and to keep other animals out, fences should be high, with wire sunk into the ground along the fence line to thwart digging. Gates should have the highest quality locks. Many Siberian Huskies are clever escape artists who will go over, under, or through fences in search of adventure. |
- Stubbornness. Siberian Huskies are not Golden Retrievers. They have an independent mind of their own and are not pushovers to raise and train. They can be manipulative, and many are willful, obstinate, and dominant (they want to be the boss) and will make you prove that you can make them do things. You must show them, through absolute consistency, that you mean what you say.
- Heavy shedding. Siberian Huskies shed a LOT. You'll find hair and fur all over your clothing, upholstery, carpeting, under your furniture, on your countertops -- even in your food. Frequent vacuuming will become a way of life. Make sure you're REALLY up for this.
- Noise. Unless you live way out in the boondocks and have no neighbors, Siberian Huskies should never be left outside in your yard, unsupervised. Their mournful howling will have your neighbors calling the cops to report the nuisance -- or quietly letting your Siberian Husky out of his yard so he'll wander away.
| Frankly, most Siberian Huskies are "too much dog" for the average household. Very few people can provide the types of athletic activities that keep this breed satisfied. |
| If you're considering an adult Siberian Husky... |
There are plenty of adult Siberian Huskies who have already proven themselves NOT to have negative characteristics. If you find such an adult, don't let "typical breed negatives" worry you.
When you acquire a puppy, you're acquiring potential -- what he one day will be. So "typical breed characteristics" are very important. But when you acquire an adult, you're acquiring what he already IS.
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Copyright © 2000-2006 by Michele Welton. All rights reserved. No part of this website may be reproduced without the permission of the author. |
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