Sappala husky Discussions

was the siberian husky developed for showing, as the sappala seems a very different dog in lots of respects

Phew - where to start! This is an enormously complex issue and many of us in Siberians have spent years arguing the toss back and forth. In simple terms, as in many breeds, there is a wide variety of "type" within the breed. With Siberians, it is fairly easy to see why. If you look at the original dogs imported into the US in the early 20th Century, you will see that same wide variety of type amongst them. The Seppala strain of Siberian is one of those varieties and is said to go back directly to the dogs originally owned by Leonard Seppala - the hero of the Nome Diptheria run. In fact, all Siberians go back to those very few intact dogs amongst the early imports.
If you look at photographs of Seppala's teams you will find dogs which resemble today's "Seppala" dogs and you will also find dogs which would not look out of place in the US showring as well as those in between these two "extremes."

The other factor which has influenced the variations within the breed is the development of sleddog racing. For those whose interest lies only in racing, the most important characteristic in their dogs is performance on the trail. If an excellent working dog has huge ears, little coat, round eyes or any other "cosmetic" fault - what does that matter if the dog is running well?
For those of us who enjoy working our dogs, but are also interested in keeping them as close to the breed standard as possible, such faults would not be regarded as cosmetic and dogs with those faults would not be bred from.
The same (or similar) differences exist in many other breeds which are both worked and shown.

thanks mick, but the seppala imo looks very different from todays sibe, is the sibe bred for show then ? and type, as seppalas can look very different, i.e colour ect...

oh...I dont know much about this but I just wanted to say....I LOVE huskys!
BUT....TORO, more!;-)

oh I have never heard of them,, can we have some photos,, really intreasted in this,,, never knew there were other types

hades...lol

Any colour is acceptable in Siberians from pure white to pure black, including piebalds. If you go to any Championship Show you will see Sibes in almost every different colour combination. Puppy farmers and backyard breeders often claim blue-eyed white Sibes, or Agouti sibes to be rare and therefore worth more. This isn't the case at all.
Similarly, "today's sibe" has the same wide variation it has always had, with extremes of type at either end of the spectrum. At one end you have the shorter legged, heavily coated US show-type, and at the other end you have the slender, lightly coated, longer legged "racing" type. In the middle are the dogs which most closely fit the breed standard. The Siberian Breed standard leans heavily on the term "moderate" and it is the moderate Sibe, which doesn't lean to either extreme, which should most closely fit the standard.
It also has to be said that there are some very poor examples of the breed out there, simply because we are being flooded by badly bred puppy farm/BYB dogs bred simply for money irrespective of quality.

To illustrate my point about variation amongst the original imports to the US, this is one of Seppala's original dogs and I'm sure you will agree he would do extremely well in the show ring today because he isn't extreme in any way.


Mick

defo lol, once met never will be forgotten, is wur toro

thanks mick found that intresting

Sibes are very much like Mals in this respect..

You have strong working lines and strong showing lines.. they also vary in type..

I have seen some "show" dogs that couldn't do a half hours work never mind a day!!!

Personally I prefer a dog that can do both

sorry peeps lets get back to huskies!
I still want toro tho....lol

Many Seppalas were not like that though mick, I see the Seppala Sled dog as a working ONLY dog, one that needs to be kept as it is and not collared by pet owners or breeders looking to make a fast buck.

a beautiful pic mick, but I have seen as you say other leggier seppalas, short coated and leaner...but still great to read your opinions x

I know what you mean and I definitely agree with the last part of your comment, but IMO a good example of the breed (Seppala or not) should make a good pet and a good working dog. The ancestors of the modern Siberian Husky were not only used as working dogs, but also as "doggy duvets." The Chukchi tribe who developed the breed, were nomadic in the winter months, putting the whole family on their sleds and following whatever game there was and fishing on the way. At night, they would either build an igloo or put up a skin tent and bring the dogs in to sleep with the children. This is the origin of their fantastic people-friendly temperament. In fact, the Chukchi measured the winter temperature by how many dogs it took to keep warm - a three dog night was colder than a two dog night but nowhere as cold as a six dog night.

Mick

I still do that

now stop it ! toro is under 24 hr survailence

brilliant, i love this kind of information

To give a further idea of the variation within the breed, here are some examples:

This is the more stereotypical Seppala (a modern one not an original)


This is what I would regard as a middle of the road Siberian (One of mine - surprise, surprise!)



..and this is a stereotypical example of a US type show dog



Mick

its the original that i have seen...

really hope you allow this
http://galleries.seppalasleddogs.com/index.htm