Now, first, before anyone jumps on me for suggesting producing mixed-breed puppies or that the KC breeds of your country of choice aren't good enough... this is a theoretical question. I don't have a dog to breed from or be bred to anyone else's dog, and when we do get our puppy, she's not getting bred at all, unless she does particularly well in obedience/agility, is at least two years old, has good hip scores, and it's to a member of the same breed with excellent hip scores, eye/hemophilia tests, and an excellent temperament with features that compliment hers...

Now, for the question. I'm interested in several attributes of two different breeds and wonder if the combination of the two breeds would 'temper' the attributes of either breed that I don't like as much, and wonder if anyone has ever had any experience of living with a cross between the two breeds.
Siberian Huskies have gorgeous colouration, gregarious temperaments, little 'doggy' smell and tend to howl rather than bark.
However, they also have a few very UNdesireable traits in my opinion - the running off with no reliable recall, the destructiveness, the prey drive and eat-cats sort of attitude, not a quick trainer (that darn independent streak!), and the possible drug sensitivity issues.
German Shepherd Dogs, on the other hand, are relatively easy to train, willing and happy to please their people, can be taught reliable commands, tend to be good with other animals, even cats... BUT they can be prone to overprotectiveness of family and territory and are slightly larger than the husky.

I'd appreciate hearing about people's experiences with this particular crossbreed - or if someone knows of an actual breed of dog that combines the traits I particularly like out of the two breeds, I'd love to know what it is!

i do know of such a cross and several experinced people within siberians advised the only way to keep both dog and owner sane was to treat the dog like a pure sibe, no off lead exercise, no cats, high fences etc. apprantly even when crossed, the sibe independent and strong minded nature and the desire to run were not curbed at all. also another person had a sibe crossed with another breed and again the sibe traits were the most dominant.
i cant think of any justifiable reason to cross any 2 breeds, if you cant live with ALL the bad points of either breed, then dont get either!! there are more than enough pure breed siberians and no doubt GSD's in rescue without crossing the 2 and adding to the problem. please dont encourage such irresponsible behaviour by buying such a cross.
kelly

Thank you for the info from your experience... that does make sense that the northern-breed traits would shine through stronger.

As for the 'justifiable reason to cross two breeds' ... that is where, for example, lurchers come from. Where someone says 'I want THESE attributes of a sighthound, but those attributes of something else' . I think that, if someone is willing to deal with the consequences of breeding crossbreeds - i.e. being willing to do the relevant health checks on both parents, check potential homes thoroughly, pay for vet care and pet insurance, or even keep an entire litter for its lifetime if necessary, the _same_ as a 'responsible ethical breeder' should do if they are going to breed their purebred dogs, then there's no problem with breeding crossbreeds. Yes, shelters and rescues are full of purebred sibes and shepherds, and crossbreeds. That's a result of irresponsibility, not only on the part of the breeders who got the dogs born in the first place, but the owners who find out that they didn't really want a dog after all, or who are forced to rehome a dog for other reasons that could potentially have been avoided. (And that's a rant for an entirely different topic, people who give up dogs for no GOOD reason at all, and people who shouldn't have had the dog in the first place).

I never said I would actually buy a sibe/shepherd cross (though if there were one in a rescue, I'd consider it, behaviour and temperament equal, over and above a purebred Siberian... maybe not over a purebred Shepherd, though) ... just asking what the dogs of that particular cross are like, and if it does 'change' the traits I'm not so keen on in either breed.

hi
you mention lurchers, i consider a lurcher to be two sight hound crossed, with similar traits etc,you then get those that then breed collie in with it as they feel that adds to the intelligence side, we now have those that breed the bull breeds in with it sutch as staffie and bull terriers those mixes i only see as mongrels not lurchers,any well bred hound will do the job it was bred to do and take fox without adding mixes sutch as the bull breeds, the only terrier i considor to add to the mix is beddlinton.there are a lot of idiots out there messing around trying to cross so many different breeds with very sad endings, sorry for going off track, the lurcher came about as only wealthy land owners and the gentry were allowed to own grey hounds at one time game keepers wanting a hunting dog of there own then mixed with either deerhound or whippet so as not to look like the greyhound, the lurcher,regards tina

Elkhounds are somwhat more biddable than Sibes, but crosses of these still tend to take more after the more independant hunting dog.

I have met locally a chap who has a 5 year old West Siberian Laika which he bought in finland while working and living thre, it has two of it's 3 certificates towards its Finnish title. He is rather a nice fellow, but very much like the Elkhound off lead, prone to occasional selective hearing. He is probably a little more dog dominat than my breed, and won't back down if challenged by an aggresive male, but not as dominant as many males in some working breeds.

GSD size and Hysky like looks, actually this one has a really wolfy face.

I agree with you that Sibes (and Mals) are gorgeous looking, but in all honesty, if you dislike their negative traits so much or don't think you could handle them, then you should not think of getting a dog even crossed with one, as there is never any guarantee with a crossbreed which breed characteristics will be the most dominant. A dog should never be bought just for its looks, I have always loved Sibes and Mals and also Elkhounds, but I know their traits are not suitable for my lifestyle so I wouldnt get one.
Why not go for a grey or blue sable GSD, or a white, or a black sable, all these colours make the dog look very wolflike, and you will have the personality that you like.

That Siberian Laika looks lovely... that's a dog I didn't actually know about that's very wolfy. Does anyone know of a good _worldwide_ guide to breeds and types? Lots of good Kennel Club ones, some good AKC ones, and a few books that have little short blurbs on breeds around the world, but nothing broad and specific.

That said, if I had the space and facilities to keep one (Say, acreage and six-foot fences) ... then my top choice for another dog would be a Saarloos Wolfhound or Czechoslovakian Wolfdog. But as there's only one of the latter breed anywhere in the UK (though since she's a female, I suppose there might someday be pups) I'm not likely to find either of those two unless I move to mainland Europe.

Hi, if you want some more information and pictures of gorgeous Laikas, have a look at the following websites - and maybe see my other poll about Laika breeders in the UK.

http://home.kabelfoon.nl/~erictosc/index.html
http://www.laikabreeds.multiservers.com/

maybe if enough people realise what wonderful dogs these are, someone will start breeding them in the UK.

I have contacted the Kennel Club, and they say it isn't a recognised UK breed

If anyone knows any information about where or how I can get a West Siberian Laika in the UK, I would love to hear from you

Thanks

Phil

I think they and the Swedish Jamthund are problaby desined to never come to these shores as the Akita, Malamute and to a lesser degreee the Eskimo and Greenland dogs already serve that interest.

Must admiut, if Sammi is anything to go by, and what I have he3ard of the Jamthund then I would rather these were here than some of the Macho breeds, as they both seem to have nice natures, without excessive dog dominance, which can be a bit of a liablility in our generally closely packed society.

If you do a searh for the FCI in Google and then look at the standards in Group 5 (Spitz and Primitive Breeds) then you will see many breeds we are unfamiliar with.

Interestingly enough I met just such a cross a few days ago.  The owner very proudly told me it was an Arctic wolf and not a dog at all!!!  Now it looked like a GSD Husky cross, with a sicle tail carried over back on the move, and mainly GSD head but with smaller ears, and blue eyes.  Now no species of wolf thazt I have ever seen carries it's tail like t5hat, as in all wolves the tail is caried low as in GSD, so I think the man was sadly misled.

The poorly bred looking GSD with him he told me was his son, which further confirmed for me that he was most likely a GSD? Huskyt cross.

This particular dog I would have thought combined the worst traits of both breeds.

He got instantly arroused and defensive w3ith hackles up, as soon as we appeard (me and five Elkhound bitches, four off lead).  As soon as he realised that they were girls,a dn that they were not interested in any agro he proceeeded to make himself a right nuisance to the girls.  So much so that I let the on lead girl off so she could deal with him as she saw fit.

Well after answering a few questions about what breed mine were,and where he could get a bitch to mate with his dogs!!!!!  I moved on.

The dog continued to dog our steps attmpting to get personal with each girl in turn, including the spayed bitches :D

We and his owner got further and further apart and only after a particularly forceful telling off from one of the gir5ls did he finally rejoin his family.  The owner had been quite inefectually calling him for at least 10 minutes.

Here I am complaining about my Jozi's selective hearing at times :D  Even her 8 month old daughter knew that she should stay with her own group.

Here are a couple of links (don't know how to make them directly clickable...sorry) that you might find useful in figuring out for sure what breed would suit you and your likes and dislikes. There are sooooooo many breeds that you should be able to find one that fits you like a glove. The first link is a quiz and the second one looks like a lot of fun and a lot of different stuff but also lists lots and lots of breeds, describes them and I think it said has pictures...didn't go through it all yet. But it looks good.

Yes, please don't support anyone that produces more mixed breed dogs or more dogs with genetic problems (unscrupulous, unknowledgeable breeders). There are far too many miserable orphans out there as it is. Find the best breeder you can or go to the shelter and save a dog. Maybe after reading these links, you might find a mixed breed dog in a shelter that looks something like what you want. Or there's purebred rescue, if you have it where you live. Good luck.

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/search.htm

http://www.dogbreedz.com/

Carrie

I have a lady buying one of my Gsd pups,she has paid her deposit and will collect soon. She has told me it is her intention to buy a Mal very shortly (anothe boy) what worries me is will he get on with my baby , I dont want him to think its a "cat" . will they get on alright, she is or seems to be an excellent home, I do my checks.

Mal owners I hope will answer your question, but from wht I have been told Mals are dominant with their own sex, and it is most rarte to be able to keep two same sex together amicably.

I would think tis especially true if there is little or no age gap between them to establish a natural hierachy based on one being fully mature and unasailable in it's position over the other.

Malamutes tend to be dominant with their own sex and breed more than with anything else and I doubt very much that a Mal would think a GSD was a cat :D :D

Very few good Malamute breeders would let a puppy go to someone who has another small puppy .....and they would want to check out the persons experience of large breed, dominant dogs ;)

Most people on here advise against anyone having two puppies together, especially of the same sex.  Even if they get on as pups they could easily fall out later as adolescents or adults and it isn't easy for anyone to get the best out of a pup in the way of training when there are two of them.

I don't think it's a good idea to have two puppies together unless the owner is VERY experienced and has enough time to give both personal attention. 
As I always want the best for my puppies, I want them to have their personal time growing up.  Last year I had a couple who asked for two puppies.  I carefully explained my reasons for refusal which they appeared to accept.  They came to view at 4 weeks and left a deposit.  In a subsequent phone call the lady said that they had also booked a second puppy from another breeder as they'd decided that's what they really wanted.  I said "OK, that's your choice, but MY choice is that my puppy has individual attention" and I returned their deposit!