That’s pretty…
eh… more like this…
yaaaaaaaaaaaas…. that is mud and horse poop….
because the dogyard is also a horse yard.
Randomly looked up popular dog breeds and the Siberian Husky comes in at 15. No surprise.
What you need to know is that the short blurbs they post on these kind of things are just stupid.
Historically used as sled dogs, the Siberian husky is intelligent, hardy and energetic, making them good watchdogs, but not so great with kids. This active breed thrives in cooler temperatures, has a life expectancy of 11 to 13 years, and typically weighs between 35 and 60 pounds. http://dogs.petbreeds.com/stories/12033/america-fifty-favorite-dog-breeds#36-Siberian-Husky
Which is why you look up info from real dog people, breeders, people who mush, show or otherwise interact with the breed you’re looking for.
Let’s look at that blurb.
Historically used as sled dogs. Most sled dogs in the North American arctic were heavy, draft types like Malamutes, Greenland Eskimo Dogs… stout, hardy, strong, slooooooooooooooooow. Which is why you don’t see them running the Iditarod, unless they’re running for the Red Lantern (last place). Leonhard Seppala brought the first Siberian huskies to the Americas. His lead dog in the 1925 serum run, Togo, as well as the others on that team, became the ancestors of most Siberians in America today. At first Seppala was laughed at “what are you going to do with those Siberian rats?” They were small, wiry, lean…
and fast. They proceeded to kick the butts of the average freighting dog in races and soon everyone was clamoring for them.
Seppala introduced the work dogs used by Native Siberians at the time to the American public; the breed came to be known as the Siberian Husky in the English-speaking world. The Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award, which honors excellence in sled dog care is named in honour of him.
The Native People mentioned are the Chukchi, some of whom also had reindeer.
Siberian husky is intelligent, hardy and energetic, making them good watchdogs, but not so great with kids.
Actually, the running joke among Siberian people is Siberians are great watchdogs… they watch the burglar come in, and maybe help him carry stuff back out. I know one musher in Canada (Winterdance Kennel) who mentioned how they had to explain to the authorities that, yes, all seven dogs were in the house at the time of the burglary.
Yaaaaaaaaaas, they are intelligent… a four foot fence is not a fence, and they will MacGyver something to get over or under a six foot one. Their continual question is “what’s in it for me” when you ask them to do something.
They are energetic, which is why you buy a sledding harness and hook them up to a set of wheels and run ten miles. What’s in it for them is they love to run and “hunt” in a pack.m They might be encouraged to try Dancing With Your Dog (I did see one very good Siberian dancer), or agility, or dog parkour. I sis see an attempt to teach a Malamute to herd sheep, and since Siberians belonged to people who also might have had reindeer, it might work… or they might just decide to eat the sheep. Mine have a random relationship with toys; mostly if it does not squeak like a dying rabbit they are not interested, although Rev likes Kong, with or without flappy bits. They fervently do NOT retrieve. I did see a Malamute in a PFD accompanying some kayakers once. My Siberians have loved or hated water according to their individual tastes.
As for kids, they are fabulous with kids. They are not aggressive, though they have a strong sense of pack order. All kids should be supervised around dogs or other animals. Northern breeds like Siberians have all the primitive instincts intact, and a very strong prey drive. A squeaking child, or one running away and screaming may trigger that prey drive.
This active breed thrives in cooler temperatures, has a life expectancy of 11 to 13 years, and typically weighs between 35 and 60 pounds.
The AKC standard says: Height – Dogs, 21 to 23½ inches at the withers. Bitches, 20 to 22 inches at the withers. Weight – Dogs, 45 to 60 pounds. Bitches, 35 to 50 pounds.
The average of dogs I’ve known is 12 to 15 years, I’ve heard of 17 year olds. They’re medium sized and closer to the original canine model (wolf) so don’t seem to be beset with the problems we’ve bred into other more exaggerated breeds.
So, if you admire a breed, do some research beyond that little blurb you see.
swordwhale 