So, first I want to say I am in NO WAY trying to start a fight, and I realize this could be a volatile topic....and being blonde and having heard every "dumb blonde" jokbe there is, I hate to ask...except I have noticed a pattern of sorts, and I am curious.

We have owned over the years, 3 copper huskies. 2 were purebred, one was a husky mix. We have also owned 2 purebred B&W huskies, and 1 B&W husky/mal mix.

Now, don't misunderstand me, I have loved and adored all of them, and even favor the red huskies, looks-wise. But it has been our experience that our red huskies are....not smart. Ok, actually bordering on...kind of dumb. They constantly would get "trapped" behind a fence when they had JUST run into a pasture and couldn't understand the need to turn around and walk back out. Even when the other dogs would do it in front of them, they would sit and howl and whine and frantically try to dog their way out, instead of, you know...turning around and going out the way they came. Housetraining all of them has been a nightmare- in fact I have yet to have one that was successfully potty trained. Basic commands are like a foreign language every time- and I don't think its rebelliousness because these dogs were always super willing to please. They have been the most loving, most affectionate, nicest tempered dogs I have had the privilege of owning. But I look into their eyes and see...nothing. just nothing between the ears.

Now, the B&W huskies are the opposite. They have all been whip-smart, crafty, conniving and seemingly bent on world domination. A look into their eyes and you get the impression that they know more than you do. Its kind of scary....


So, I hope I haven't offended anyone, I am just curious if anyone else has experienced this phenomonem? All of our dogs have been rescues, poorly bred by backyard breeders, and obviously that may play a role. I just find it odd the my reds all have been dumb and loveable, whereas the B&W are smart and diabolical....

Maya is the smartest out of my bunch, she picks things up quickly and has that cunning look in her eyes. Sophie is not so smart, she's also from a petstore. She has a "I don't know what's going on" look in her eyes, she constantly trips and does stupid things.  Kay just has that "Pet me or i'm going to pounce you." look in her eyes. But she is smart and really REALLY determined to get her way.

lol, I am familiar with the "I don't know what's going on" look.... I am sure it probably has more to do with poor genetics than color, it just seems odd that all 3 of them have been the same way! But they are all sweet and love to snuggle, something the B&W huskies we have had had NO interest in. It is always "give me a quick scratch and let me get back to digging a hole to bury the cat I am going to kill in...."

Angel is a little smartypants. At 11 weeks, she knows several commands already!

When Angel's inside the house, my mom has her on a retractable lead to help her potty training. My mom was putting the handle in between the couch cushions so she wouldn't have to hold it all the time. And what does Angel do? Front paws on the couch, she grabs the handle and runs off with it. Then again, when that same handle fell off the doorknob, she kept trying to escape it as it followed her.

I'd put it down to natural variation and coincidence.

Angel is sure a cutie! I can just see her running away from that dangerous "snake" that was after her!

I think it just depends on the dog. Jewel (B&W) always had a 'i'm cute, pet me' look while Kavik (mostly black) always has a piercing 'I can see through your soul' or wears a worried look. His pupils dilate and contract when he stares at me, trying to figure out what I'm doing or when he wants something.

I knew a neighbor who had a red husky and he was kind of derpy and hyper 24/7.

I'm not proving my point here very well.

"Derpy and hyper" love the word choice. Sounds exactly like Zelda. My husband calls her Zing-bat.

Lol, I like Zing-bat. kind of sounds like a dingbat.

It is actually quite the opposite in our kennel. Our reds are calculating and down right scary smart- my grays on the other hand are the 'we're cute so we don't have to be smart' kids...LOL they are all smart but really my reds are sometimes smarter than I'd like to admit-

I actually find the red ones to be more michevous and generally naughtier than the others. Rodeo... He is BAD and knows it. But also very smart and crafty which only adds to his michevousness.

Huskymom- calculating is an excellent term to describe huskies in general I think! I'm always trying to explain to people why they DON'T really want a husky...but its hard to explain the reasons you love an evil dog, lol!

We have had three reds a black and a grey over the years. They have all been wicked smart. Our black lab is goofy by comparison to both the red (Lyra) and the grey (Myka) but that is really just the temperament of a lab compared to the huskies. Between Lyra and Myka, we would give the nod to Lyra in terms of intelligence.

Well I have only had our 2 reds and can tell you sierra is freaking smart and crafty. Jack was "dumb" till about 2.5yrs old then he picked up things fast. I would say our 2 reds are not dumb at all. Funny that you have had such bad luck with ur reds! Good topic, its a fun red so far

The color genes are the same ones in other breeds, so I think it would be a lot more widespread. With that said, the gene for red huskies is the same one for chocolate labs. I've seen a lot of not too bright chocolates, but I've also seen a few brilliant ones.

Lol, this is turning into a fun read. Chocolate labs....now that you mention it, all the ones I have met have been a bit...empty between the ears, compared to other labs. Yet I do find them the prettiest. Maybe being really, really good looking is nature's way of compensating for being...."derpy".

It may have been that way in your experience but I don't think its true in my house. Yuki is my dumb one, if anything she's more stubborn than dumb and refuses to be trained except for the basics, Link is extremely smart and eager to please. He picked up bikejoring so quickly and immediately picked up the commands, I did not have to try to train him for weeks beforehand like I've done with Yuki. She still doesn't fully understand the commands, although she doesn't bikejore yet and I've just been saying them on our normal walks, so she may pick them up quicker once she starts this March. Link has the basic common sense and doesn't try to stop in front of the bike or run in front of the tire, I love my red boy  

Okami's Dad is a Red Husky, and Mom is all white. She is all white, but as she has been getting older, certain spots have been showing a hue of "red", like the tip of her ears the middle of the top of her back ect.

I would say that all together she is a smarty pants. She knows several commands and is a smart alleck at times. She gives me this conniving "take over the world look" you guys speak of at times as well.... it is eerie. There are moments when I try to tell her to do something I get ignored and my requests fall onto deaf ears, even though I know she knows I am telling her something, because I will turn around and ask her the same thing with a treat in my hand and she is all about it. But I think "It's a Husky Thing." <--- see what I did there....  

Haha- yes, both of my girls have "selective hearing." If I have a treat in my hands they are as obedient as German Shephers. If I don't,m depending on the circumstances, they don't even flick an ear to show that they heard me!

Okami is being attention driven for the time being, eager to please, listens to my every request.... because she thinks she will get her way with me to take the cone off her head. I just got her spayed on the 25th and she hates the cone with all the bones in her cute little body. Sadly because of being in puppy lock-down I get to miss the fireworks this year because the sutures don't come out until the 5th.

lmao, Zoey, my red girl is so much smarter then my two boys, who are black and white. she manages to do the naughteist things, and is so sneaky about it lol. She's calmed down her sheenanigans though as she's gotten older(she's going to be 3 next month) My boys are kinda dumb, but I think they do it on purpose, which would make them smart LOL

Jennet&amp;Embry wrote:

My boys are kinda dumb, but I think they do it on purpose, which would make them smart LOL

LMAO at this comment. Sort of a "if you know what I think you think I know you think...." lol. Maybe Zelda is actually brilliant and just playing the dumb card....

arooroomom wrote:

I actually find the red ones to be more michevous and generally naughtier than the others. Rodeo... He is BAD and knows it. But also very smart and crafty which only adds to his michevousness.

Twenty-ish years ago we meet a husky owner at a dog show who swore her reds were always naughtier and moodier than her blacks. I've only ever had two reds who have been crazy-smart! I would hate to have a dog smarter than these dogs...he would give me a headache for sure! Because, you know, along with intelligence comes craziness and independence and blatant disobedience!

Sabaka is very moody and will literally pout without giving you eye contact if he has to go to time out or be reprimanded sternly.

This is a fun topic!

I've only had Demon and Dakota although I have had other types of dogs. I must say they are crazy smart but are really good at playing dumb. lol Dakota has that diabolical, world takeover look nailed too sometimes.

SabakaMom wrote:

Sabaka is very moody and will literally pout without giving you eye contact if he has to go to time out or be reprimanded sternly.

Sounds just like Link! He looks away when I tell him to look at me and if I get in front of him he keeps his head down and occasionally lifts his eyes with a guilty look to see if I'm still standing there.

I dunno... Pongo is black and white and he is the most clumsy dog I've ever met lol. He knows commands and stuff and seems smart at times and then there's times when I have to just shake my head and walk away  Then again, he is from a backyard breeder so I'm sure they weren't thinking about smarts. Good topic tho as I was looking into getting a red as my next dog