Quick Search
Siberian Husky Dogs - Born To Run
- 7-2-2006
- Categorized in: Dog Breeds
Siberian husky dogs were bred to work, so they are very energetic and striking dogs. They belong to the Working Group in the American Kennel Club, and are very active. Whilst independent, they love people.
What Does The Siberian Husky Dog Look Like?
They are a medium size dog ranging from 20 to 24 inches tall. Huskies weigh from 35 to 60 pounds. Female huskies are a lot smaller than their male counterparts.
Siberian huskies are quite wolf like, with striking blue or brown almond shaped eyes. They have prick ears and a wolf-like face. Huskies have athletic bodies, and a high maintenance coat that needs regular brushing as it sheds a lot.
Siberian husky coats are made from two layers. Coats are very thick, and the dense undercoat provides them with a lot of insulation against the cold. They lose most of the undercoat in the spring. Coat colors range across the color spectrum, although the most common is the black and white, or silver and white coat.
Temperament of the Siberian Husky Dog
- intelligent
- independent
- vocal
- tendency to be aggressive to small children and small animals, including cats
- difficult to train
- a bit stubborn
- loving and very sweet, when they choose to
- friendly to almost anyone
- a lot of character
- impulsive
- very clean dogs, and don't give off the same type of dog odors as a lot do
Feeding A Siberian Husky Dog
Siberian huskies should be fed 1 ½ – 2 ½ cans (13.3oz) of high-quality meat food, with the sane amount of biscuits added. If feeding your dog dry food only, give them 5 cupfuls of a good quality, complete dry food.
Generally, huskies have a good appetite, although some don't eat well when they are nervous, or highly strung.
The digestive tract of Siberian Huskies can overreact to changes in diet or the environment, making them prone to chronic diarrhea. Its best to provide one type of food only, so make it a good quality food.
Leaving a Siberian Husky in the kennel can bring on diarrhea, poor eating, and kennel fever. This is characterized by a restless state of mind that is like claustrophobia, a dread of confinement, especially in small places.
Siberian Husky Coat Care
The Siberian husky dog should be groomed once a week, removing dirt and debris. When he is shedding, its probably best to groom him more often.
Potential Siberian Husky Health Problems
Siberian huskies are generally healthy. They can be accident prone due to their impulsive natures, getting into trouble more frequently than other less impulsive dogs. They can suffer from canine hip dysplasia or hypothyroidism, however.
Who Should Not Own A Siberian Husky Dog?
- People with cats or small dogs - Siberian husky dogs have a strong prey drive, and can thus be aggressive to small dogs, cats, children, and other small animals. Older children are not a problem, but people with infants or toddlers would be wise not to trust a Siberian Husky near them.
- Inexperienced dog owners - Siberian huskies are very intelligent dogs, and can be somewhat stubborn. Because they were bred to perform tasks with less human control, they are very in dependant. They can be hard to train, especially with the "Come" command.
Siberian Husky dogs are always looking for signs of weakness, so owners need to maintain the dominant position, without being overbearing. They can become very difficult to own if you don't do this. Siberian husky dogs should be trained from a puppy. - People living in apartments, houses with no fenced yards, or houses with small yards - Siberian huskies love to be outdoors. They were bred to pull heavily laden sleds over long, frozen distances. So they have a strong capacity for endurance, and a lot of energy. They love to run and roam. Apartment living does not give them enough scope to exercise, and in winter, when we warm ourselves up with heaters and fires, they may find it too hot if they have to stay indoors.
Because Siberian huskies love to roam, they need a good, fenced yard. Otherwise they will go for miles. Fencing needs to be very secure, as they are intelligent enough to find a way out. Small yards, whilst at least providing huskies with a chance to go outdoors, will not enable them to get enough exercise. That restless energy could then be expressed in somewhat disruptive and mischievous ways. - The elderly and disabled - Although this is not intrinsically a problem, Siberian Husky dogs are very active and energetic. They need owners who can both keep up with them, and take them for long walks - or runs. Siberian Huskies love to run, and make great jogging partners, as long as the weather is not too warm. They find warmer weather tougher because their coats are so thick.
- People looking for a watchdog - Although Siberian huskies are a large breed dog, they don't make good watchdogs. They tend to exit stage left at the first sign of trouble.
- Someone who wants a quiet dog - Beautiful as they are, Siberian husky dogs are not quiet. Whilst they don't bark much, they howl and yelp similar to a wolf. Unless you have a large property, or don't mind this chattering, another dog breed may be more appropriate.
Siberian husky dogs are playful, energetic, spirited, and intelligent dogs. They are not for the faint hearted, or those that want a lap dog. They suit experienced owners who can deal with their quirks in a loving but firm manner.
well good so far keep ^ tha good work ._.
However, my huskies DO bark, along with their whining, howling, and "talking".
i was just wondering if this would be the right kind of dog for me seeing as i have a young sister and alot of small farm animals (as i live on a farm), i also have a miniture sheltie.
i was just looking for a more energetic dog to keep up with me!:)
plus these dogs look amazing!
if anyone could help it would be great!
my e-mail is tommygirl_168@hotmail.com.
BOB
I strongly feel this statement in this article is incorrect -- I did not read this article prior to purchasing our first sibe ' but it might of put me off wanting to get one as our family dog had i read it , I have only read the best regarding a Sibe for a family pet --and is why we decided to purchase one rather than a german shepard .. We are pleased with our choice and our huskies have only benefited our young growing family....
I think the author should do more research into huskies , becuase they are extremely tolerable towards children ...
Theresa
I love huskies - they are absolutely beautiful looking dogs, but do need responsible owners who invest time and exercise to keep them occupied. The dogs we called off our goat were delightly friendly to us, came when called and were tied up easily, however kept chewing off whatever we tied them up with relative ease.
These dogs that came a few kilometres to our yard may have been bored or whatever, but I would definitely be careful with any husky around small animals (or medium!) or children. It may be more of a problem when there is more than one husky. Lovable - but be careful! A mistake with a child just wouldn't be worth it.
To understand the breed you have to own more then one and that they have different personality traits. You could have quite or load, smart or dumb, loving and nonloving, high prey drive and just about no prey drive and one that wants to work and one that wants to curl up next to you and sleep.
Its importan to pick a GOOD breeder and know their lines so you have a good idea of what personality you want and how you can live with your Husky. Not everything has to be a guessing game. Same goes for health issues...I cant stress enough how importan it is know the lines your dogs are coming from.
Are you actually recommending that they be fed canned food? Just because it looks like meat, doesn't mean it is. And 5 cups of dry food daily is entirely too much for this breed. My intact male Siberians, ranging 50-60 lbs, thrive on 3 cups/day of food, in the winter, when they are WORKING. In the summer, 2-2.5 is sufficient. This is a very food-efficient breed -- 5 cups/day of food will make them FAT.
I take huge issue with the last paragraph in the feeding section. Speaking as someone who has a kennel of 25 Siberians, most of whom live outside in 6'x10' kennels, I can tell you that NO Siberian reacts to being kenneled with "diarrhea, poor eating, and kennel fever". I have no idea where this info came from, but apparently not from someone who lives with the breed.
The rest of the article is decent, with a couple of exceptions -- Siberian Huskies are not "large-breed" dogs, and should never be considered or fed as such. The weight range of the breed is 35-60 lbs. They are medium-sized. And they are NOT intrinsically dangerous to small children. NO dog, of any breed, should be left alone with a small child, but the Siberian is no more a threat to small children than any other medium-sized, high energy breed. They may knock a child down in their exuberance, but they won't eat them!
I agree with you Justin,I also have a husky that loves children,can be put in small places if needed and he loves everyone.The only problem I am having is when I have to go to the store or somewhere where I cant take him then if he is left alone he will start tryin to get out of the door I just closed to leave and yes I have replaced 2 doors so far but they were hollow core doors and huskies need solid doors and to me arent very much different then some people I have met through life.what can I say except that some people can be very stubborn sometimes more often then any breed of dog
If you were going to rate a Husky as likely to bite you could at least have used accurate info. Bite stats back up that it is "MORE" a Mal tendancy to bite than a Sibe. Even that should be taken with some grains of salt, as often incidents are inaccurately reported as unprovoked, when it is often bad judgements that leads to any breed biting and frequently involves poorly or non-supervised children. As far as children, it is MORE likely to be a child that harms the dog with the dog receiving the blame for defending itself. Sibes that are bred WELL, are particularly good natured dogs.This breed is known for thier ability to thrive on reasonable amounts of food(working dogs always require more fuel than pets)and thier "cast iron stomachs" so any dog which is demonstrating failure to thrive or extreme pickiness should see the vet immediately. Poor breeding or poor health is most likely in those cases.
They do have high prey drive towards small animals which is not to say they can't and don't live perfectly well with them. It is more a tendancy to have that be a problem with small animals OUTSIDE. Also packing behaviour is common to ALL canines and incidences of about any breed you can imagine have been reported with canines that group.
I would say that the majority of Sibes SHOULD have a lot of exercise to prevent them from becoming bored and devising thier own entertainment. Any extremely intelligent dog, which a Sibe is, can and often do become destructive when under exercised and bored.
In mho, 5-10 miles of brisk walking or running per day, would suit most huskies very well, although there may be individuals who will need less or more. What humans deem as plenty of exercise does not always translate into what an active,bred to work, breed of dog considers adequate.
As for the need to maintain dominance, that is an extremely misleading and old school theory, which is rarely explained in a useful manner and has led to years of canine abuse and mishandling from misunderstanding in MANY breeds of unfortunate dogs.
Stubborn? Can be.
Looking to become pack leader and kill you at any moment for any sign of weakness? Ridiculous. Sounds like someone who actually fears thier dogs and needs to get a breed which does not create that reaction for them. Something like a Pomerainian or Golden Retriever maybe.
Escape artists? Well frequently, yes. They are VERY intelligent and they love to explore.
I would have to say that yes, they can demonstrate some serious chewing, so providing them with plenty of safe,durable toys to chew is important. Chewing after all teeth are finally in, is much less in a well exercised dog.
And finally, NO dog should spend large amounts of time in a kennel, let alone a breed that was developed to run.
As breeds go to the "average" person, I would consider them to be judged as a high maintenence dog for a lot of people. Personally,I like them and they don't seem high maintenence to me.