I'm looking to buy a husky pup and I wanted to know if there is a way to predict how a puppy's coat will change as it ages? I wanted a male, but he isn't the color that I've been wanting (I really prefer the combination of grey and white). But I was wondering if people on here might know what his coat will look like as he gets older?

This is the male:






What color is he? I thought he was sable because the darker saddle but I'm not sure. Is there any indication how his fur might change as he matures?


This is the female I'm looking at:







Overall, how do these puppies look? They are just about 4 weeks old (born on Superbowl Sunday), but I wanted to know how close to "standard" they are. I have to decide whether to put deposit down on one of them in the next couple of days.

The first one is some variation of red - his nose appears to be liver colored from the picture. A sable would have a black nose. I'm going to hazard a guess that he will be some variation of dilute red.

The female could be black and white, dilute black, could she turn out to be gray and white...I'm not knowledgeable enough to say so, but my gut says some shade of black.

As to standard - I'm not knowledgeable enough to assess a 4 wk old pup - look at the parents. Are they within standard to height and weight? Are they being shown? What does their pedigree look like?

It's really hard to say about color at that age. They can change dramatically. I've seen dogs who I SWORE would be reds who grew up to be gray and whites.

Further, I warn against choosing a dog based on color. I know we all have our preferences and that's fine, but having a healthy puppy with a good temperament from good parents are more important.

Also, it's next to impossible to judge a puppy at 4 weeks, especially when they're not stacked.

Who is the breeder? What do the parents look like? Have the parents been shown? What were the eye tests score and the OFA scores?

Unfortunately, we can't assess how close to standard they are when they're four weeks old. Even a breeder who breeds show quality dogs couldn't tell you for sure. The breeder I purchased my puppy from said she won't even bother to assess them until they're at least eight weeks old, and then she stacks them and takes a picture so she can study it without worrying about the dog moving. It's easy to be more objective when you're looking at a photograph than a puppy who's acting cute. That's a good practice because she had one puppy in the litter who looked really chunky and off kilter, but by eight weeks, he turned out to be the most gorgeous puppy from the litter (IMO) and closest to standard (although the other two puppies were excellent examples of their breed as well).

At this age, the best way to assess how close to the standard they'll be is to look at their parents.

For the first puppy, he is definitely not a sable. He would need a black nose for that (sables are called "black-nosed reds" for this reason). While he has his puppy fur, it's sometimes hard to say for sure. Suka's breeder swore he would get a lot more red as he aged, but when his adult fur came in, it was a chocolate color rather than the red we were expecting. Based on just these photos you've posted, I would say the puppy is going to be light red and white, but he could also surprise you. You just won't know until his adult fur starts to come in. As an example to illustrate my point, here is Suka's 6 week photo versus his color now at four months:





Suka is a red agouti, so his color is more unpredictable than most Husky's colors. I'm fairly confident when I say the puppy you posted will be a light red and white.

The female you're looking at could go one of two ways. She could either be a black and white or a grey and white. Black and whites come in two varieties. The first variety is where the top coat and undercoat are both black. This gives a deep jet black color to their coat. This is not what that puppy will be. If she's black and white, her undercoat will be white. This is the most common form of black and white in Siberians.

Also, I'm going to repeat what AnyaLuv said. Please don't choose a puppy based on their coat color alone. Overall, you really want a puppy whose temperament is going to suit you. If their temperament is right, you'll love them no matter what color they are.

The pups parents aren't AKC. The breeder seems to be more of a "home" breeder type of thing. I don't mean that in a negative way, as they do seem to care about their puppies. The mother is CKC (which I've read doesn't mean too much). Neither parents have been tested. The sire is 8 years old black and white, and healthy according to the breeder (I haven't met the parents only have seen their pictures). The dam is 5 and orange and white. The owners say they haven't had a problem with their eyes.

What age would eye and hip problems start showing up if it were going to show up at all?

The breeder saying their dogs are healthy honestly doesn’t mean anything. A dog can have hip dysplasia and the owner may not know it until it’s in the advanced stages (especially in this breed because Huskies are very good at hiding the pain they’re experiencing). This usually doesn’t happen until the dog is closer to their senior years, but sometimes it’ll show up earlier if it’s a really bad case. A breeder can find out at age two if their dog is dysplastic by having an OFA test done. It costs about the same amount as getting a dog spayed, so there’s really no reason not to have it done. The cost of one puppy will replace the money the breeder spent on it in most cases.

I don't think you should ever settle for a puppy from dogs that haven’t been health tested. I say this because I’ve owned a dog with hip dysplasia and I saw how much pain she was in. She could barely walk at times. It goes a long way ensuring this condition becomes a rarity just by having the parents tested prior to breeding. A dysplastic dog can very easily pass the condition onto their puppies.

Also, Siberians should have their eyes tested because juvenile cataracts are a health concern with this breed. Any Siberian who has the condition should not be bred because they can very easily pass it on to their offspring. The breeder I got my dog from had two dogs that had clear eyes but they produced a puppy with juvenile cataracts. Not only did the breeder sell all the puppies with a spay/neuter contract but she also NEVER bred those two dogs together again. A CERF test is less than $50, so a breeder really has no excuse to not do it.

I guess what I’m saying is I would not even consider buying a puppy from the breeder you’re talking about. I won't consider a puppy from ANY breeder that doesn't have health certificates to show me. There are too many dishonest people in the world, so I will not take their word for it.

Colors come up quite often here, and I remember one of the last times it was discussed, I had asked the question on how one determines the color of a husky when the puppy is still quite young (days to weeks old) the answer I was given was that the general rule of thumb is that a husky puppy's color ends its darkest stripe down his back.  So I do believe the male in the pics above will be a red, and I personally can't see the female being anything other than a black and white. Both her pics are from the front though but to me, I just don't see her being a grey.

OOf. Yeah, I wouldn't buy a pup from this breeder. Please read the sticky threads about finding a reputable breeder--she may care about her dogs, but health testing is essential. Breeding without doing research on bloodlines, genetics, and not health testing is a recipe for health issues.

Read some theads from folks here who have adopted dogs from backyard or home breeders. Their stories are heartbreaking. That doesn't mean they love the dog any less, but the medical care needed and the pain these dogs are in is horrifying, and could be prevented if these breeders actually tested the dogs and didnt breed dogs with issues