Siberian Huskies For Dummies Read online

  Feet

  Like the ears, the toes should be well supplied with fur. (In the arctic regions, the fur is needed to keep the extremities warm.) The feet are oval-shaped and neither too small nor too large. Good feet are absolutely critical in a dog bred for sled pulling.

  Tail

  The Husky has a fox tail, which means it is full and bushy. While in repose, walking, and pulling a sled, the Siberian usually carries his tail low, but in times of high excitement, the tail often curls over the Husky’s back. The technical term for this carriage is sickle tail. The sickle tail should not bend either to the left or right but remain curled (not too tightly) over the center of the dog’s back.

  Both the curl and furriness of the tail is typical of arctic dogs in general. Both serve a practical purpose, allowing the animal to sleep in a curled position with his sensitive nose buried in the thick warm tail fur, protected from the bitter arctic night. This is the famous Siberian swirl.

  Coat texture

  Huskies have what is called a double coat, which is a soft dense undercoat, with an outercoat of guard hair. The under- and outercoats have contrasting textures. The guard hairs should lie straight and fairly smooth. A silky or harsh outercoat is considered a fault. The hairs are medium in length, and should not obscure the Husky’s profile. (All other northern breeds have long hair.) Conformation (show) dogs sometimes have longer hair than working dogs.

  Color

  Huskies may be of any color — or any combination of colors — from pure white to pure black. No preference is given to any particular color.

  Color is a complicated topic. For one thing, no single gene is responsible for causing a dog to be any particular color. Scientists have identified at least ten genes for dog hair color patterns, as well as color type, distribution, and intensity; genes are also responsible for the characteristic Siberian mask. In Siberians, the undercoat and top coat of guard hairs may be of two different colors or shades. In addition, colors appearing on young dogs may change over time. Masks appear and disappear. Coats may change from dark to light, or vice versa. Some even change from dark to red. I have a friend whose Husky changes shade with every shed!

  A good dog is a good color

  Siberian breeders go by the old maxim, “A good dog is a good color.” This is a lesson that even the arctic explorer Olaf Swenson had to learn. When he first went to Siberia to buy dogs, he decided that he wanted a striking-looking ensemble of dogs. He made up his mind that he would have an all-white team, composed of especially large, fine, well-matched animals, with handsome red harnesses and red sleds.

  The native Siberian people, the Chukchis, were amused at the notion, but they obligingly hunted up the dogs for Swenson, and he finally obtained his white team. It looked splendid, and Swenson noted that it would have made the most impressive Christmas exhibit any department store could contrive. But as a sled team, the dogs were useless. There were a few good dogs in the team, but before long Swenson replaced half the team with new dogs who had stamina, speed, and intelligence. For years, the Chukchis joked with Swenson about that infamous white team, but he took it with good spirit.

  Most dog breeds have particular colors or patterns associated with them. Dobermans, for example, are black and tan, and Labradors are yellow, black, or chocolate. Not so for the Siberian.

  A Husky who has individual hairs all of one color is called a monochrome dog. This is true even if some of these individual hairs are white and some are yellow. In a monochrome dog, the individual hairs are not banded (covered with white or yellow), even though one dog may have hairs of several different colors. Monochrome dogs may be white, copper, or black. Other colors, like gray, sable, and agouti, are never monochromes. The opposite of a monochrome is a banded coat.

  Both skin and coat color are determined by the amount of melanin produced by certain skin cells. How much melanin is produced is a complex matter of genetics. The Husky genetic code allows the Siberian to appear in a gloriously wide array of colors and banding patterns, including piebald, in which the coat is predominantly white, with irregular patches of another color, usually black or brown, sometimes only on the ears. Some breeders do not consider piebalds to be acceptable for showing, so they may be available for a very reasonable price. This attitude may be changing, however, as several piebalds have recently received championships.

  The Board of Directors of the Siberian Husky Club of America approves the following color descriptions: Black and White, Gray and White, Red and White, Sable and White, Agouti and White, and Solid White. In ordinary parlance, the word white is left off when referring to a dog’s color, unless, of course, the animal is solid white.

  Black and White. Black and white Siberians come in the following shades:

  •Jet black: The guard coat is solid black, and the undercoat is black, charcoal, or dark gray. This is known as a monochrome coat. These hairs are not banded, although occasionally a single white hair or two pops up. Most jet black dogs also have black pigment on their pads and the roofs of their mouths.

  •Black: The black guard hairs may be banded and some white may appear near the roots. The undercoat is a lighter color than that of the jet black dog; in fact some buff-colored hairs may appear.

  •Dilute black: The guard hairs have a whitish banding, but the tips are black. The undercoat has a whitish cast and the longer hairs on the back and head are black. The shorter white hairs of the undercoat give the flanks a silvery cast.

  Gray and White. Gray and White Siberians come in the following shades:

  •Silver gray: The guard hairs are banded with various tones of white. The undercoat is whitish, giving the dog a silvery aspect, with a little darkening along the spine. This silvery tone is called the chinchilla factor.

  •Gray: The guard hairs are banded with cream or buff tones with black tips. The undercoat has a beige or yellow tone, giving the dog a yellow/gray cast.

  •Wolf gray: The guard hairs are banded with buff near the roots and are tipped with black. The undercoat is cream, giving the dog a warm brown/gray cast.

  Red and White. Red and white dogs are sometimes called copper. In copper dogs, no black hairs are evident. The guard hairs are banded with various shades of solid colors other than black. Red and White Huskies always have liver-colored points (eye rims, ears, noses, and lips). If two copper Siberians are mated, the puppies are almost certainly copper. Copper Siberians may have eyes of amber or blue, but never brown.

  Sable and White. Guard hairs are banded with red near the roots but are tipped with black. Sable and White Siberians always have black points and black tipping on the fur. The entire dog has a reddish cast. This is a rare color.

  Agouti and White. The guard hairs are banded with black at the roots and tips with bands of yellow or beige in the middle of the hairs. The undercoat is charcoal. The saddle area of the dog often has a grizzled look to it. Agouti is defined as the “wild color.” The Siberian Husky Club goes on to note that this is the color “most frequently seen in wild rodents,” but I don’t know that they actually needed to say that. (Technically, they’re correct, though. An agouti is a tropical South American rodent, about the size of a rabbit. It has barred hairs, resulting in distinctive alternating light and dark bands.) For some reason, the agouti color is seen more often in racing lines than in other Siberians. Agoutis usually have very black whiskers and black toenails.

  Solid White. The guard hairs are either pure white or banded with very pale cream at the roots, although an occasional black hair may be present. The undercoat is solid white or silver, and the points may be either black or liver-colored. Most Siberian Husky lovers prefer that White dogs have black points, although there is no rule about this. White is a recessive color in Siberians; if two white Siberians are bred, all the puppies are white as well. Many breeders think, however, that the best color (Solid White with black points) comes from breeding a dark parent (which carries a white gene) to a Solid White. In this case, 50 perc
ent of the puppies are Solid White.

  Nose

  The Siberian’s nose should be black for gray, tan, or black dogs; liver for copper or red dogs; and flesh-colored for white dogs. A pink-streaked snow nose is also allowable. The snow nose may be seasonal, disappearing in the summertime. (Actually, the whole nose doesn’t disappear, just the pinkish color.) The appropriately named snow nose is quite common among Siberian Huskies.

  Gait

  The Siberian should stride out in a smooth and effortless movement, showing good reach in the front and good drive in the back. The head is carried slightly forward when the dog is trotting. A short, prancing gait is considered a fault. Crabbing or crossing is also penalized.

  Temperament

  The Siberian was developed as a team dog. Consequently, his temperament should be alert and friendly; aggression is severely penalized. Siberians welcome everyone, including strangers. I think the best word to describe the Husky’s temperament is exuberant.

  Chapter 2

  Husky History 101

  In This Chapter

  Understanding where the Siberian Husky got its start

  Looking at the heroism of the Husky

  As everyone knows, Siberian Huskies come from Siberia. But they weren’t found just running around wild there. The Siberian is of a pure and very ancient lineage, dating back perhaps 4,000 years or more. The Siberian breed was developed by the Chukchis, an ancient Siberian hunting people.

  In this chapter, you’ll find one history lesson you’re sure not to sleep through. The history of Huskies is a fascinating one, full of heroism and adventure. And in the following pages, you get the inside scoop.

  It All Started with the Chukchis

  The Chukchis are a semi-nomadic, reindeer-hunting people of extreme northeastern Siberia. Today, the Chukchi population totals about 16,000; there is evidence that, in the past, the population was greater. Both the climatic and political oppression they have endured over the centuries have given the Chukchis the nickname “Apaches of the north.” Of course, they don’t call themselves that. They call themselves the Luoravetlan, which means “the genuine people,” possibly implying something negative about the rest of us.

  The word Siberia is almost synonymous with “cold,” but the earliest Chukchis probably enjoyed a milder climate than they do today. In those warmer times, they apparently relied on dogs primarily for help in hunting the plentiful reindeer. About 3,000 years ago, however, the climate changed drastically for the worse. The reindeer had to travel farther and farther to find food, and the deer-dependent Chukchis had to travel with them, taking their entire households along.

  During this same period, the Chukchis engaged in a series of struggles with the Eskimos for control of the Bering Strait region. The Chukchis lost, and consequently, they were pushed even farther back into the interior, far from the seal-rich seas.

  It was in this way that the Siberian dogs added sled hauling to their list of accomplishments. These animals were so highly prized that only very young, very old, and very sick Chukchis were allowed to ride in the sleds as passengers. The sleds were mostly used for hauling goods; the people walked. Sometimes the Chukchi women and children pulled the sleds also — right along with the dogs.

  Chukchi land, officially known as the Chukchi Autonomous Region, is a place of almost unbelievable hardship. It is mostly tundra, a vast and treeless plain, with permanently frozen subsoil. The forested tundra had plenty of rugged mountains, however, alternating with lowlands and many small lakes, with swampy taiga along the coast (taiga ends where the tundra begins). The rivers are mostly mountain streams, which flood heavily and rapidly. When they’re not flooding, they’re frozen. That’s just the way it is in Chukchi country. The winter lasts up to eight months, and even the summer isn’t what you’d call balmy.

  Although the Chukchis were an illiterate people, they gave birth to a rich and complex culture. They created portable art in the form of ritual dances and tambourine music. They developed an elaborate, monotheistic religion based on shamanistic healing, and conceived of a heaven whose gates were guarded by a pair of their Chukchi dogs. Furthermore, the Chukchis believed that anyone who mistreated a dog would not be allowed into Chukchi heaven. (Maybe other religions should adopt this idea.)

  After a while, the Chukchis learned to domesticate the reindeer they had previously hunted. It was a whole lot easier than chasing them around over the tundra. As a result, the Chukchis became a little less nomadic; they taught their dogs to herd the deer instead of killing them. Reindeer meant everything to the Chukchi people. They used them for food, tents, transportation, and clothing. They burned reindeer fat in their lamps. Thread for sewing came from reindeer sinew.

  The Chukchis bred their dogs for multi-purpose work: hunting, herding, and hauling light loads. Because the Chukchis had their now domestic reindeer to pull the heaviest loads, they placed a premium on developing their dogs for speed, endurance, and agility, rather than brute strength. It paid off. No other breed in the world can haul a light load as fast and far as the Siberian Husky — and on so little food.

  There’s a difference of opinion as to whether the original dogs of the Chukchi were the same dogs as the Siberian Husky of today. What genetic traces of those long ago and far off times lie in the present-day Siberian Husky is impossible now to determine. We have no photos and no written contemporary records. Many authorities believe that originally there were two separate breeds, perhaps developed by two separate groups — one for sledding, and one for herding. Others think the earliest Huskies did it all — pulled, herded, and hunted. They may have even eaten their “owners” from time to time. Whatever the case may have been, today’s Husky is used for sled pulling only, although if left unchecked, they will occasionally kill deer. (They won’t herd them though.)

  Chukchi sleds

  The first sled frames were made of whalebone or driftwood. If they could obtain it, the Chukchis preferred hickory wood for the sleds’ tapered runners, because hickory is one of the hardest woods. These hickory runners ranged in length from 5 feet to more than 30 feet, with the average about 12 feet long. In preparing for a trip, the Chukchis would dip the runners in water, and let them freeze. They repeated this operation several times, until the runners became encased in several thin layers of ice that would glide easily over the snow.

  The sled baskets were composed of hides. The whole sled was then lashed together with rawhide, which gave it a flexibility and tensile strength that cannot easily be matched, even by modern materials. In cases of extreme emergency, the Chukchis reportedly carved themselves sleds out of ice cuttings.

  Chukchi dog harnesses

  The Chukchis used three different methods of harnessing their dogs to the sled, depending on terrain, weather conditions, and sled load. When the load was not heavy, the Chukchis harnessed the dogs alternately along a single tow line. To pull a heavier load, the Chukchis harnessed their team in pairs, on both sides of a line attached to the front of the sled. The problem with these methods was that too many dogs could be lost as the sled shot over snow-covered crevasses and cliffs. A safer way was a fan style of harnessing — all the Huskies hitched in a fan-shaped arrangement to draw the sled. This prevented everyone from falling into a crevasse, but one scraggly little tree in the path could really tangle things up. It was practicable only over wide-open tundra, where it is sometimes still used.

  Chukchi kennel management

  Apparently, the Chukchis kept only the leader of the team unneutered; the rest of the male dogs were castrated with an iron knife. Castrated dogs tended to be more amicable with the rest of the team. They were also easier to train and kept their weight on better than unneutered males in that bitter climate. Thus, only the best dogs, with proven pulling and leadership abilities, were bred. It is rumored that at least some of the Chukchis may have cut the tails off their sled dogs, erroneously believing that this would increase their speed. Dogs with temper problems had their teeth dulled or remo
ved.

  The Chukchi women took on the primary responsibility of selecting the puppies and breeding the adults. They even nursed orphaned puppies themselves. This feminine influence may have played an important role in breeding Siberians who were good family members, as well as reliable sled dogs. Chukchi dogs began learning to pull when they were only a few months old. Often entire litters were trained together, with their mother as the teacher. On average, sled dogs worked for about seven years.

  The origin of dogs

  Dogs were domesticated at about the same time all over the world, perhaps 20,000 years ago. (Scientists don’t agree about the exact timeframe; the earliest undoubted dog fossils found so far are only about 12,000 years old.) The first ancestors of dogs, however, may have split off from the parent wolf branch more than 100,000 years ago, just about the time modern humans emerged. Dogs and people grew up together, so to speak.

  Many scientists think that all dogs were developed from one wolf-like species. Candidates for this “Mother of All Dogs” include the Arabian and Indian wolves, which are small subspecies of the Gray wolf found in southern Asia. According to this scenario, the Husky is genetically no closer to the wolf than is the Mexican Hairless. Other scientists believe that domestication occurred at numerous times and at several locations. In their view, different species or subspecies of wolves were involved. An older idea, that jackals or foxes may have been involved in producing the modern dog, is pretty much discredited today.