Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently got a new puppy at my local humane society. I was told he was a Husky mix - the shelter had no knowledge of his parentage. What do you all think? Does he look pure bred or like a mix? He is very smart and is learning commands quickly. He is also very stubborn and likes to go his own way. His name is Lambeau - I call him Beau. He is about 3 months old and weighs almost 16lbs.

SHerie

Now that I have been looking at all of your photos, I am thinking he is a mix. Those ears of his look bigger and placed more on the side of his head, also his tail is not really curled up - more straight. His eyes are brown. Any ideas on what other breed it might be? Not that it really matters, just curious.

I've really enjoyed seeing all of your beautiful dogs!

Sherie

Here's a better pic of Beau from the front.

Sherie

Siberian huskies can have brown eyes, and I have seen really huge ears on some pups, one of our females looked like dumbo til she grew into her ears, as far as the tail, the tail should be straight, and snap tails or curly tails are considered a fault in the show ring, not that your going to show,but it is a misconception that they are supposed to have curly tails, and blue eyes all the time. The eye colors range from, Brown, bi-eyed, parti-eyed, amber, blue, and I've even heard on rare occasion green. As far as whether yours is a purebred or not, it's hard to tell from the pics, but I would guess that it could be possible. I have seen plenty of purebred sibe puppies in shelters, mostly due to back yard breeding or accidental breeding. Your puppy is very cute.

Sibes can be blue-eyed, brown-eyed, or bi-eyed (one blue, one brown). Mine is bi-eyed.

From the first pic, Beau looks purebred. From the second, I can't tell. Besides growing into their ears, the tail curl doesn't necessarily develop until later as well. Depends on the pup. Either way, your pup will probably have all the Sibe tendencies, so stay tuned to this forum!

Cute pup! Enjoy!

Walt

Thanks for the opinions. Beau started Puppy Class this week. It went pretty well. He was well behaved around all the people and the other puppies. After 3 weeks at home, he is pretty much house broken. We've only had one accident the whole time. The crate has been wonderful. He is learning that he needs to chew on his toys, not the cabinets. I have been keeping him confined to the kitchen (blocked off by baby gates). That's fine, as long as I am with him. He does not like to be out of my sight (except at night - when he's fine on his own). I have been trying to leave him for a little bit longer in the kitchen each time, but he is constantly jumping up on the gates and counters. Any ideas to stop the jumping? - I have been trying to ignore him and reward him when he sits, but that doesn't seem to be working. I guess we just need to stick with it. I am learning a lot from reading all your posts. I'll be a regular visitor from now on!

Sherie

Sibes are the MOST social dog. They want to be with you all the time, so my advice is ... let him. It's a lot easier than fighting them. He will whine, cry, eventually bark and be heartbroken being locked in the kitchen. You got this dog, now you have to deal with the hair. He will be so much happier to be with you, lying at your feet while you watch TV.

P.S. This goes for anything you teach him... they are SO smart, they will know what you want them to do, but will only do it IF and WHEN they want to. Therefore, he won't stop jumping up on the gate if he can do it. You will be amazed how smart these dogs are...

Walt

I guess, I'm a little confused, are you confining him to the kitchen for potty training purposes? and is he actually jumping on the counters, or counter surfing, also it's notrmal for them to stand with their paws on the gate, if you are in another room. I would give him a kong, or some of his other toys, to distract him from this behavior, to let him know he's ok, and you will be right back. Mariya would cry, and bellow if I left the room for a minute, and she was not confined, she has been the only puppy that did this, she grew out of it once she realized that when I left I always came back. Your puppy is still so little, it takes time, and patience but he will get there.You might want to try a clicker for the counter surfing, what you do is when you see him up there, tell him to get off, get down, what ever works for you,once he gets down from the counter, then tell him to sit, when his tush hits the floor click the clicker, and reward. Be consistant with him always.