Poor huskies - Overbreeding Controversial

round here (wigan) i have noticed a large increase in them and I know of one bad breeder in bryn selling 3 pups to one owner who has only have jack russels before =/
ATD x

6 years ago the only Siberian Husky breed rescues in the UK were those run by The Siberian Husky Club of Great Britain and the Scottish Siberian Husky Club. Today, as a response to the explosion in numbers of rubbish cash-oriented breeders selling pups to naive, ill-prepared new owners, there are at least 10 Husky rescues in the UK. The Siberian Husky Welfare Association (UK) was the first of these to be set up back in early 2007 and we have taken in and rehomed 600+ unwanted Siberians during this period.
There is no doubt about it, the breed is in crisis!!!
Mick

You all do an amazing Job Mick but youre right it's getting worse :-( and I believe Mal rescue is starting to get busy now as well.
Hope you and Terry are well xx

Hi Pauline - Yes, we're fine! Terry's arthritis doesn't get any better and I'm getting older, but other than that.........

And another
http://www.itv.com/daybreak/lifestyle/petsandanimals/abandoned-huskies/

Can't see the link but I take it that hits just about the bad points if a husky that some people don't realise before taking one on??
ATD x

Why couldn't they find a vet with half a brain? Blue-eyed huskies do not have any more eye problems than brown-eyed ones. Eye colour in huskies is not related to inherited eye problems at all. Neither are huskies particularly prone to genetic eye problems - or at least they weren't until the puppy farmers, backyard breeders and naive/stupid/ignorant "pet" breeders started breeding without health testing.
Give me strength!!!

Mick

but they cant say this as its mainly these stupid pet owners they are targeting those who don't do their research on how the dog is before had
ATD x

There are no words.....

Lots of Sibes round here too - and even more sadly, the specimens I have seen recently do not look at all healthy. Far too small, fine boned, with dreadful sloping backs - nothing like Sibes are supposed to be.

What a terrible shame

This is very sad. I see Siberian Huskies for sale all the time. I think this is a "trend" that is here to stay. I see Siberian Huskies up for sale or adoption on Craiglist (online classified site) all the time. There are literally four Siberian Huskies in my neighborhood alone. They belong to two different people, so at least they aren't keeping them alone. But, all four spend their lives outside. There are tons of Siberian Huskies listed on Petfinder (adoption website), too. I have fostered a total of six Siberian Huskies over the years. But, they are gorgeous dogs. Here is a good example of a poorly bred Siberian Husky:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Siberian_Husky_with_Blue_Eyes.jpg

Here is a poorly bred, poorly trained, under-exercised Siberian Husky:


The owner has no clue. It's sad. My first dog ever was a Seppala Siberian Sleddog (I was born in Canada, Manitoba to be exact). We ended up getting an Alusky when I was 5. We found the dog at the shelter. I don't find Aluskies often anymore.

Who are you exactly to judge if this particular dog is well bred or not?

I am pleased to note that you consider the use of a prong collar bad training.
Something that we can agree on!

Except she did not say that prong collars are bad training. She said the dog is poorly trained, which he needs work, but is far from awful in both his reaction to the stooge dog, his sit command, and his walk. Not good, but not awful.

The cameraman would agree that the dog is poorly trained, but he'd just adjust the "pinch collar" for the owner. She also said the owner is clueless, which the trainer/cameraman would agree with as she didn't put the prong collar on correctly according to him.

For all we know, she may have no problems with the use of prongs. Clearly she is to be questioned as she called the dog poorly bred and under exercised with no backing behind those statements.

My next door neighbor breeds Siberian Huskies, Seppala Siberian Sleddogs (basically Siberian Huskies bred for work and not show, but some consider them a separate breed), Aluskies (Alaskan Malamute x Siberian Husky) and Siberia Indian Dogs. They register their Siberian Huskies with the American Canine Association, their Seppala Siberian Sleddogs aren't registered and their Aluskies and Siberian Indian Dogs with the American Canine Hybrid Club. The Siberian Husky rescue closest to me is overrun with Siberian Huskies and Gerberian Shepskies (German Shepherd Dog x Siberian Husky). It makes me so sad. There used to be another Siberian Husky rescue about 25 miles from me, but they shut down due to lack of funding. People need to educate themselves before getting any breed. They also need to make sure they go to a breeder that does health checks and have a good veterinarian. Why do people not understand that these dogs need tons of exercise to be happy? Somebody who gets a Siberian Husky and doesn't even bother to walk it, yet complains that the dog is too rowdy, absolutely gets me so mad I can't think straight. The neighbor "breeder" doesn't do any health testing and their stud Siberian Husky even has hip dysplasia (found out while talking to her about my English Setter having hip dysplasia)! I don't like saying bad things about people, but this seems wrong to me. As far as the prong collar, I hate them. They are cruel and only people who don't know how to properly train would ever use one. They are the people who shouldn't be using them, too! I wish those things were illegal.

I had two Siberians, the female died 7 months ago. They were best friends and the Male got so depressed after she died, which is why I got my Akita, she quickly pulled him out of the depression and he has a new best friend again.

Getting one Sibe is very hard work, its Soooooo much easier having two, they will play fight for 25 minutes straight and be exhausted, so you don't have to walk them as much as you would one. To be honest no one can walk a husky as much as it needs to be walked. Besides, the dog will adjust to whatever you can give them as long as that includes large helpings of love, that's how dogs are, forgiving, loving and always there for you.

If you get a dog, you keep it until it dies or you do, there are no excuses!

Actually there can be "excuses". Some people suddenly fall ill or allergic and cannot care for a dog anymore. Others lose their jobs or homes and cannot care for a dog anymore. All is well until all is not well.

And there have been legitimate cases where family pets have attacked their own family members unprovoked for apparently no reason. Some people will try to say there was always a good reason, but that just isn't the case. Dogs aren't all "love" and "forgiveness".

Sometimes, and probably more often than we like to admit, an unprovoked attack was an unprovoked attack. There are some breeds that seem more prone to this than others but still.

It happens in humans and other species as well. Someone who seemed totally calm and normal and never had done anything violent in their lives just snaps and hurts or kills someone they knew well and loved.

Mental issues or maybe just a whim can cause these and its not reasonable or logical to say it's not possible in dogs. We should learn to respect the space of a dog and understand that a lot of their behavior isn't love, it's survival. Some is love, some is not.

The dog that attacks another dog that comes up to you probably wasn't protecting you, but was thinking of only himself... same as he would in the wild. The dog that follows you around knows you are the food giver. Some of the same dogs that would scare an intruder out of their home would run away after the intruder ran off but left the front door open. Etc etc.

There is always a reason, whether we can fathom that reason is another story. Its a lot easier for us that get dogs as puppies to understand how they are the way they are.

The people who recuse dogs however have my utmost admiration and respect, these are the people who have to rehabilitate the dogs into trusting humans again, that is more often than not an uphill struggle. Its so nice to see a dog who thought life was always going to be a struggle only to find love again in a human willing to go the extra mile for it ya know?

My initial post was for those people who get a puppy and when it loses its puppy look tend to ignore the dog, kick it out onto the street or give it away out of selfishness to their own lifestyle. Like the guys who get dogs so they look tough and then the dog reciprocates that trait and becomes uncontrollable, or the women who get dogs that fit in handbags and when they get bigger that fashion accessory is no longer applicable to them.

I was going more for the "Dogs are for life, not just for Christmas" kind of approach. I in no way meant to make someone feel bad who has had to give away a pet because they are physically or mentally unable to care further for the dog, please understand that.

I understand your points, I was just making a few of my own. I've had dogs all my life and come from a culture where people don't care much for their dogs. A stroll around my neighborhood and a look at how dogs are generally kept here would probably greatly upset you. I had to learn myself how to care for dogs better via sites like these.

I do care about my dog, but I've become mildly allergic (take Flonase daily to manage it) and the work it takes to care for him has begun to be a burden on me. The shedding, the climate here that makes fleas hard to control on a thick haired dog, the expensive food he needs so he won't have allergies, clipping these stupid claws he grow on the sides of his feet (which I have to do often and which he HATES) or paying extra money for a groomer to do it, struggling with his weight issues etc. etc.

It's still nice to be able to pet him sometimes and he's a sweet boy but if I was sure there was someone who would care for him well, I don't know if I would keep him. I definitely cannot trust that in this area and thus this dog will stay with me for life, no exceptions. I care about his well being and I definitely don't want anything bad to happen to him.

It was almost 5 years ago that I got this dog and at the time I thought I wanted another dog after my previous dog died. But this dog isn't the same at all and the more I own him, the less I feel like it was a good choice. I've never enjoyed this dog as much and I've taken an interest in easier to care for and less costly pets. I will keep and care for this dog as long as he lives but I won't ever get another.

My main point in saying all this is that I couldn't blame someone who fell into the same situation as me and decided that it was best they not keep the dog. Now them getting another puppy and doing the same thing is unacceptable but sometimes things just don't work out as you hoped and I can understand that it may be better to surrender an unwanted pet and never get another one than keep it and perhaps neglect it etc.