Have become somewhat concerned of late over the number of people who are asking for, or have a young 'Husky' as they call the Siberian Husky. About 14 years ago I looked into the breed and in return for my request to the breed club I got about 3 A4 sheets describing the breed and letting me know why it was not for me. I was not sure I believed what was written so bought a couple of books on the breed and visited some kennels. My conclusion was that although I wanted one more than ever, they were not suitable for me or the property I then owned.

My big worry is that as the demand increases there will be people breeding the Siberian who will not show the same care to the welfare or the breed, letting pups go to unsuitable or first time owner homes, not fully explaining the down side of the breed or the sort of care they need.

How do people in the breed for some years feel, is the demand increasing? Is enough care being taken in the homing of the breed? If not do you see problems in the near future or do you have them now? Has anyone any idea why this sudden increase in the desire to own this beautiful, if difficult dog, surely it is not seen as Macho, but perhaps it is, speaking as it does of the wild outdoor life.

The same worries abound with the Alaskan Malamute Jackie. Over the past 2-5 years , the numbers have increased dramatically and so have the numbers ending up in rescue :(

Mals, like Sibes, take special handling and not all breeders are taking care to explain the down side of owning a Malamute. Sibes and Mals are used increasingly in advertising as well as being shown in the film Snow Dogs ..I think this is the reason for the increase in people wanting them

Luckily with Mals, Mel, they are not yet so easy to come by, but it seems Sibs are. Do not own either, but it is much the same with Elks they are not a first time dog owners dog, even if someone has owned a dog before, the spitz breeds, particularly those from the Artic Circle, are a law unto themselves and anyone owning one for the first time need the help of an experienced breeder behind them. Plus a good quality vacuum cleaner. It is also necessary that the person training them understand that you persuade a Spitz it wants to do as you request and there is no amount of pushing and pulling will achieve what you want. :D

They are becoming increasingly easy to get though Jackie ..they are advertised in certain free papers AND on certain websites now. This was unheard of when I started my search 4-5 years ago :( People are also being told allsorts of rubbish when they ask about Mals...such as , they are good guard dogs :rolleyes: and they are easy to look after etc etc.

I agree with you wholeheartedly about needing an experienced breeder behind you for ALL the Spitz breeds. They really are devils in disguise :D :D As to the vacuum cleaner..TELL ME ABOUT IT! :D :p

I am stopped and asked about Mals frequently and I ALWAYS tell people the negatives first...if they are still with me after that, I tell them about the positives ;) :D Also get a LOT of email contacts from folks wanting a Mal and I now have a standard letter that I send out , explaining about hip testing and eye testing requirements, the downside of owning a Malamute, the importance of training etc etc

Ah well ...I can only see it getting worse after 2006 :( :(

I have to echo what you have both written as I think it is applying to more & more breeds nowadays.   A friend of mine overheard a "breed person" extoiling the virtues of my breed to an enquirer as basically the most perfect dog you were ever likely to buy.    Whenever I get a puppy query, they are told that some can bark, some chew, some can be headstrong (Mia!), they lie in very dirty puddles, they roll in foxes poo etc...  Then they are told about all the lovely points (!) of owning a Large Munsterlander....  think I'm doing a good job of putting myself off too.  :( ;)

Jackie H it breaks my heart :-(

The bad people finally got hold of the breed, and they sell on to even more bad people :-( and on it goes.  We are probably never below 6 in welfare at any one time...that really adds up across the year :-(  The internet and I'm sorrry to say sites like Champdogs & Pedigree dogs etc are also much to blame.  Anyone can have a web site or a link...and some really unsuitable breeders do make the best use of this.

The good breeders breed less and less, due to age, dog numbers etc and this just opens the doors for more & more rubbish.  The show ring is full of indifferent dogs....because many breeders cannot assess their stock properly and basically suggest every dog can be shown and then suddenly everyone is a breeder too. And there is soooo much I've got a dog & bitch so obviously they'll go together...or I'll just use the dog along the road.

Everyone is always an expert on Sibes too ;-) I buy into the longer I'm around the less I know philosophy :D

I do realise this has occured in many breeds, but in my opinion Sibes are so difficult in the first place...without the boom they have gone through.  You read so many posts on here and you read between the lines & know the person will not cope, that they shouldn't have the breed in the first place and that nothing you can say or offer will help.

As for Mals...well disaster is sooo going to strike them and it has already started.  They have had as many dogs through Welfare in January as they had in all of 2003!!!  With pups going for a lot of money and again the lessening of the 'main' breeders hold the world and his wife seem to be knocking out pups...usually whilst owning both the dog & bitch...hmmm.  At least with sibes you can usually add in another if you need to take back one you have bred...I would wonder that many Mal breeders can do that :-(

Christine....you know Munsters will never have a total popularity boom hehehehehe :P

Thankfully Sarah!  ;)

It is interesting when you do a little research into a breed.  There is a breed I fancy and if I ever had space, I'd always fancied one of this breed.  Only to be told by the top breeder within this breed...you can't let them off the lead.  Definitely don't want that.  I know Sibes are likewise.   Is it the way breeds become fashionable that dictates their popularity....people wanting "wolf-type" looking dogs?  Early 90's it was the wax-cotton jacket & Weimaraner brigade.....

You never know about that Sarah. Not many of you will remember when the breed topping the KC registrations in a year was the Yorkshire terrier or even when the GSD was top for that matter. Labradors have been top for so long now, with more bred in a year than the next two breeds added together and the damage done to them has been immense! It is sold as an easy dog to handle but the numbers in rescue prove the lie!

Best wishes, John

It is so sad, the breeders who really care and tell prospective buyers the down side of things, risking the loss of a sale, offering to support the purchaser and to accept the return of the pup any time between the sale and the dogs death are loosing out to 'breeders' who at worse are breeding just for money and at best have no idea of the research and knowledge needed to produce a litter of puppies worthy of the breed name they carry.

John,

Was thinking this today when I was reading the BRS ( left it on my desk  so not got the exact figures) but the lab figures are incredible and up again.   I noticed someone with about 40 pups in a matter of about 22 days.  Terrifying.   Westies for once were down this year. ( in my eyes a very good sight).

Thing is Whist I 100% agree with Jackies concerns and can understand yor fears competely , Labs, boxers are all complicated also in their own way. Their popularity is also still growing.

Quite sad and frightening.

Pam

I met a couple new to showing sibes at Hutton Moor at a show.  they had with them a young sibe pup that had been taken to the Vet before Christmas at 8 weeks old to be put to sleep as th owners couldn't cope!!!!  Apart from anything else it meant they must have had it very young.  Luckily the pup was refered to sibe Rescue, but 8 weeks, OMG.

Everyone I meet with my gang thinks they are Huskys and kids say 'Oh look Snow Dogs'.  If people can't even tell that they are not sibes (some of whom have said they are getting a sibe pup shortly, and that the breeder had assured them they could be let off lead, then I despair.

The elks are not as difficult with recall, but care still needs to be taken where they are let off, as they can decide to be selectively deaf.  My worst is the one who came back as an adolescent.  She will alwsy come back, but on her terms, 9 times out of 10 no problem, and on the 10th she will defy you, and there is nothing for it but to wait, until she realises the walk will not continue until she returns to me as told.  Haven't really let the pup off as much as I would have liked by now, as it has been awfully muddy, and dealing with a mud mired long line is not my idea of fun.

When I try to explaiun how independant spitz can be, and to have anything like reliable recall a lot of effort and common sense need s to be used, I just get the impression they think I am daft or inadequate.

Hi there

I have owned dogs and been around dogs for most of my life, and have always hankered after a Husky type dog. My OH felt that I deserved a special treat for my 30th birthday and asked if I would like to look into getting a Siberian Husky puppy. At that point I currently owned an Irish setter and two cats and two kids. After much phoning around and emailing breeders I decided that this type of dog was not for me. Every breeder I spoke too advised me against getting this type of dog, as I was told it would most likely attack my cats and be really sore on my Irish. So OH and I discussed this and decided to go for another Gundog (Gordon Setter) which we knew would fit in with our lifestyle better. I would still love to have a "Husky" but have resigned myself to admiring other peoples as I know that this type of dog just isn't for me.
I would imagine the recent trend for dogs of this type have started much in the same way the trend for Dalmations was started by films. I do believe there is a film out called Snow Dogs which features this type of dog, it upsets me greatly that people think any dog is fabulous just because it's been on tv, in my opinion it shows alot about the mentality of the people buying them if thats the only reason they want it.

I'll just get down off this really high horse now and go to bed lol

Alli

I'm sure all the breeds have their different problems, and the rescue numbers for some breeds is appalling. Have no idea what can be done about it, whilst the dog 'loving' public demand the latest thing or the in fashion designer dog and the powers that be refuse to deal with the puppy farm/irresponsible breeders, then the situation can only get worse.

Regulations controlling the owning and breeding of dogs will only work if they can be enforced as only the responsible will register/buy licences/have their dogs chipped/tattooed. Sure we are banging our heads against a brick wall and the money grabbing breeders and the stupid, gullible public will fall for the 'have the latest and have it now' adverts. 

When you think of the fuss Jo Public make if they think there is some sort of cruel activity going on, you would think they would have more sense when it comes to buying themselves a puppy, but no the must have and must have now takes over. Sorry working myself into a right laver, just driven to the supermarket and apart from a nice looking lurcher all the dog I passed were lame, overweight, sagging top lines well you have all seen them, unsound crossbreeds and poor quality pure breeds.  

Border Collies have the problem where usually they are more intellgient than their owners.  People see the dogs doing routines on the television, especially at Crufts, be it heelwork to music, obedience or agility and want a dog like that.  They fail to appriciate the hard work that the owner has put in to get to that level and if you don't work them at something that is where the trouble will start.

The show dog breeders put a lot of effort into breeding well adjusted dogs, without the very strong working instincts which causes the behavoural probllems, they can make very good pets as long as people put in a bit of effort to train them, they are hip scored and eye tested.  What happens.....potential purchaser decides they are not paying that much for a BC when they can get one off a farm up the road for a third of the cost.

We all know what happens then, they are on this board frequently enough.

Me off my soapbox
Sandra

Have these same problems with Rotts.  Rottweilers also need extremely careful handling and are not for Mr and Mrs Anyone.  Try telling novices this and they don't listen.  A friend of mine who had an Old English Sheepdog decided to let the sheepdog go to Battersea dogs home because they couldn't handle it anymore (she says it was very dominant) and ruled the house.  Once the dog had gone she suggested to me that she thought it would be a great idea for them to get a Rottweiler.  I told her straight that there was absolutely no way that she would be able to handle one.  You can all guess the sad outcome!!! :(   So many people are complete twits and ask for advice and just don't listen or think you are exaggerating.  When Rotts go to the right environment/family they grow into fantastic dogs (as ours is and have been) but others seem to think that our dogs have turned out this way by some fluke and not by the careful handling/loving and training etc etc...........

Is there any breed of dog which isnt damaged by beiing bred for money/used as a fashion accessory? ( apart form the Large Munsterlander, natch) I was very sad to read about the labs in rescue and to hear the Royal Dick vet school now has most referrals for Weimeraners, VISZLAS and terriers in descending order of numbers. Viszlas? I was shocked at this as the ones I knew had terrific temperaments ( and were kept exceedingly busy by their owners now I think of it) Now its spitzes.

BTW who is Mr and Mrs Anyone? Amost a year ago that was me ( never had her own dog and only knew she wanted a big one). Having been educated by you folks here it makes me shiver to think how we just plunged in to rehoming a dog, but he has a great life.

We all have to start somewhere Lorelei but there is a world of difference in someone who has always wanted a dog but for various reason, be it work or domestic, has not been able to have one until now and the person who goes to see a film and comes out having decided just on the strength of that, to go out and buy one. Both are likely to make a mistake, as we all are, but the impulse buyer is far more likely to just give up and get rid of the dog.

I look at the post on here which start, "What kind of dog would be best for me?" and think, NONE! If the poster does not know what dog to get then they obviously have not done much homework!

Regards, John