Am looking to get a husky next year can anyone give me any information on them as also what is the price range would like to possibly show but also do agility. i have got 5 dogs at the moment and 12 cats who mainly spend their time outside i know huskies are high prey drive but would they accept the cats if bought up with them from a young age. I have a large sized garden with 6 ft high fences there are no small children there is also a closed in area they could run in securely fenced of by a very high fence not bothered if the garden gets dug up we are out a maximum of 3 hrs and thats not every day have got time to take to puppy classes etc is any of this wrong for a husky and does anyone know of any breeders who i can talk to for advise thanx Hannah

hi hannah,
have e mailed you with some info, please feel free to e mail me back if you want anything else.

i doubt very much you would be able to do agilty with a sibe. there are a few who have managed it, how i have no idea :) and these are the exception to the rule, as sibes can not be trusted off lead, nor or they good dogs for obedince training.
they are bred to run and have a very stong independent nature and are very curious, once off lead they will want to run and run only return if and when they want too. you can not train this out of them as it has been bred into them for hundreds of years.

i have done a great deal of obedience with my eldest un like my other 2 youngsters he is relatively obedient, when he wants to be and as long as there is something in it for him. i decided to give him a go at agility, he is normally fairly good at recall at his training class, but this is indoors in a church hall, no where for him to go. anyway in a very large indoor horse arena we tried some off lead agility work, this was after i had spent ages explaining to the instructor it was not a good idea as he would not come back, she did not believe me until, after i made sure all doors were closed, i let him off his lead and it took me at least 15 mins to get him back and i only caught him cos he ran into me and i tackled him to the ground!
he was far more intrested in running about checking out all the other dogs and horsey smells than he was in returning back to me. the look in his eye when he realised he was off lead and free sent chills down my spine. there was nothing i could do to make him return and he knew it!

also i would never trust a sibe with a cat. they have been known to turn and kill cats that they have been brought up with. i would keep them apart at all times. i do have cats but they never ever meet. one cat was stupid enough to come downstairs when the dogs were in and was set upon by the oldest, she escaped with minor puncture wounds. my pups have both grown up with the cats, but both go mad trying to get to them if they can see or hear them, it is obvious they mean business and that they dont just want to play!
i hope this helps and as i say feel free to e mail me if you want to know anything else,
kelly

Hi,

Everything Scratchy has said I've heard from other sibe onwers. I don't own one one but was very interested in the the breed when looking for a dog myself. I know they can jump 6ft fences and it doesn't seem to be a problem for them. I've always liked the spitz physic and have only every owned that type. If you like the the spitz type breed there as lots of alternatives to go for . It was a sibe owner who recommended an Elkhound to me. I've got an Elkhound who looks very similar and everybody we meet out on walks always thinks she is a sibe. They are a bit smaller and thicker set and do have a different nature. I have a cat and there has never been any problems. My mother also has cats and she is fine with them. Even cats we meet out she is fine with. She might give chase if they run but most dogs would. I think if you introduce a puppy to cats there shouldn't be a problem.

Hope this might help

All the best

Ahh another grey curly tail convert:D
You are right though, we get a lot of referals from sibe and mal breeders/owners (if they happen to know Elkhounds) as being an alternative to their breed.

Also somewhat less independant then the sled dogs are Samoyeds, finnish and Swedish Laphunds, Keeshonds, and if shorter legs aren't a turn off Swedish Vallhunds. :D

I have two bouncing husky pups and two cats. I agree with everyone else regarding cats. My two are housecats and stay safely behind a (huge) baby gate on the stairs when the pups come inside. They then have free reign of the top two floors of the house. The dogs are kept out in their run in the day and come in in the evening and night. The cats have free roam of the house and garden when I`m home and the pups are kennelled.

While my pups show curiousity towards the cats the cat knows well enough to keep out of reach when pulling faces at the pups from behind the safety gate. I do not actively encourage interaction and the cats are more than welcome to oblige.

However the story changes when we take them for walks and they are actively on pussy patrol throughout the estate so I have no delusions about what could happen. I have had all horror stories about cats and dogs. Luckily for me mine are housecats and therefore cannot venture near the pups without someone being close by, outside moggies are a different story altogether.

I have pictures of all my "babies" on my personal website. It has a couple of useful links to the main husky clubs, a really funny but informative site on the huskys nature and a link to my breeder. If you go through the husky clubs these also have links to other breeder sites. Try http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~fry, hopefully should be working although the Dog Cam is currently off!

Hope this is useful

Liz

Hello Hannah
There are several huskys doing agility, I have to say none are that brilliant but they are still doing it, a husky won out of starters a few months ago I think. There is a dog working VERY successfully in obedience, having won its novices, and 2 A's and only needs 1more A before it's B only.I would think that if it is brought up with cats, taught it is wrong to chase them then it would be ok. Otherwise everything else you've mentioned seems fine!
Charlie

My collies love their agility and now i want a challange to work with i saw a husky do agility before not the quickest of dogs but very careful and tidy. I certainly won't be getting any dog before Ollie had had chance to settle in well and get his agility going. It's just i want to start looking for information asap as for the cats the magority are in a big pen because a lot of cats klept going missing as a lot of people see a cat and will feed it if are dogs gt a chance they will chase the cats and often give a bite so the ones that do go outside now to tay clear of them. I saw a husky of lead a few months ago and i think it's down to the inividual dog i also really would love toget into showing and possibly working them. Thanx everyone for all the info
Hannah

any sibe off lead in an unenclosed area is an accident waiting to happen! people have been fooled into thinking their husky is different and special and can be trusted, until the day comes (and no doubt it will) when it decides not to come back, not to stop and return, but listen to its instincts that have been bred into it for hundreds of years that are telling it to RUN!
if you really want a sibe for the dogs safety please keep it on a lead as they can not be relied upon to return on command!! if you cant accept this please do not get one as it will no doubt end in tears and either a lost, badly injured or dead dog.
sibes that can be trained to the level needed for agility are few and far between, the breed is not know for is traininibilty. please do not get a sibe just for obedience or agility as i feel itwill be more of a dissapointed than a challenge. it may turn out to have all of the very worst siberian traits and you need to expect and accept this, if you cant accept that fact that it cant be trusted off lead and is not trainable dog, please dont get one. welfare is already full of siberians that were bought with the wrong expectations.
it may on the other hand be a very well behaved, well mannered, trainable sibe but i would not hold your breathe! a sibe is fundamenatley a working sled dog bred to run AWAY from people and bred to be independent and this is what it does best! whats the point in having a sled dog that listens blindly to your command to continue over thin ice? they will asses and challenge and question every command. they do not react instantly like a collie, you can see them thinking and weighing up the situation and working out if it is in their intrests to do what you are asking, if its not you cant make them and they know it!
kelly
(who has just spent all day at work nursing a dog that when off lead had been hit and dragged by a car, and this was not even a sibe!!)

re: huskies off lead.

The general rule of thumb is that they cannot be let off, and a good breeder will fully emphasise this point when selling a pup. Some grown huskies can be let off the lead BUT and it is a really big BUT, you have no idea when you get your pup if yours will be one of the tiny majority that can be trusted :rolleyes: It is sadly nothing whatsoever to do with training :D So only get one if you are prepared for it always to be safely exercised.

re huskies & agility.

A number of people do this at local levels, often because the agility club is in an enclosed aea. Huskies have good jumping & turning abilities & are light on their feet....but they do suffer from the spitz attitude of 'I've done it once, so why do I need to do it agin ?:D'

re huskies & obedience

Irene Stapley does extrememly well with her huskies in obedience, but then again she was brilliant with collies in the first place, I fear very few would be able to emulate her success. I have seen others in novice leave the ring because there is something more interesting going on elsewhere

re huskies & cats.

Hmmm, my gundog meets a cat and looks interested as if to say 'what is that' my husky says 'let me kill it' :-( If you only get ONE husky and the cat is already in situ I would say you have a good chance of them getting along. Bringing in a kitten with a husky in situ is in my opinion a nono, likewise if you are considering having more than one husky (they are extremely collectable ;-) ) then carefully consider your cats welfare.

Often people will disagree about huskies being off lead [$ also living with cats. Always ask them how long they have had the breed...usually it is less than 12 months ]-)

It's not just agility i want one for i really want a dog to prehaps show and also a companion which is the most important thing our cats no to stay well clear of any dog was walking over the field yesterday and Ollie saw one a chased it all the way down the field poor cat must of been scared stupid i dread to think what would of happened if he caught it. I am not planning on taking this breed on lightly and am going to get loadsa info before i even decide i am definately going to buy one. It would not be a problem atall if he/she could not be let off the lead or do agility. I would really love to do the sledging thing it looks so much fun oviously hard work as well but thats all the fun of it. We are not planning on getting any more cats and certainly not a kitten. How much is a show quality husky likely to cost oviouslt price may go up or down in the next 1-2 yrs but just at the moment. I also really love going to the fun dog show companion shows so they certainly wouldn't just be left doing nothing. Is a husky going to be fine being intruduced to my other dogs from puppy age
Thanx Hannah

Hannah

Huskies are fine with other dogs :-)

Where abouts are you?

There are still a few Championship Shows left this year, there is also the Club Open Show in Guildford in September and of course racing starts at the end of October, with a beginners day in the Cheshire area. And there is also the Colwyn Bay weekend in September :-)

Check out http://siberianhuskyclub.com/

and http://www.snopeak.com/

For more dates etc

I am in Cannock Staffs.
I haveso got to go and watch a husky race

We used to race on the Chase a lot, but there was a whoha with a retired gentleman over public rights of way :-(

There is a race at Wyre forest (off the M5 ) or come across to Sherwood Pines or up to Delamere (Northwich)

Or Colwyn Bay is only an hour and a half and there is loads to learn & tons of dogs & people to meet :-)

Sarah