Hey guys! I'm a long time lurker, first time posting (and made a new account cause I hated the old username I picked lol!)

I had some questions though. I got my first husky over a year ago from a rescue, she wasn't planned but she's been great. The whole process has been a treat and I love her so much! But I'm getting closer and closer to moving out finally (still with my mother currently), and I'm starting to look into getting the pup I've been planning on for like 5-6 years?

I'm not sure when exactly I'm moving yet though. I've been waiting for my boyfriend to get a stable job because I didn't want to get random housemates. He's finally got a nice stable job, I'm working full time at a vet clinic with a pretty stable job. So I'm back into planning to add a puppy in to the mix.

When should I start talking to the breeder? I've had one picked out that I want to go with for years (Highlander, for those curious). I'm still not sure how long it will be before we get moved and settled, so I wasn't sure if I should already be talking with them so when we are ready we'll be good to go, or if I would be wasting their time by talking with them when we aren't quite ready yet.

What kind of questions should I ask? A lot of the health info and such is free to read on their website, so I'm wondering what else I should ask about? Is it acceptable to ask what their breeding plans are for the next year? I'm looking to get a pet/working dog, if that helps. My current husky and I are very high activity (hiking, long walks, urban/dryland mushing, swimming, dog parks, camping, and soon we'll be into backpacking, barn hunt, and agility).

Do you only fill out an application once you're 100% ready, or do you do it in advance so once you are ready you're good to go?

And lastly, I live in Oklahoma, it's quite a long ways from the breeder (Michigan). Will this be a problem once we are ready to add a pup do you think? I'm always willing to travel up there to meet with the breeder and their dogs, but I didn't know if distance would be an issue (or me living in a warm weather state for the time being).

Thanks! I'll probably have a lot more questions come to me later but I just woke up so that's all I have for now.

Welcome aboard! Those are a lot of very good questions and I can't wait to see the answers. I am sure that some of our more experienced people here will be able to answer them. Good luck! If you don't mind me asking, what are they charging for their pups? That was a pretty good website.

I personally would suggest not starting the process till you are settled. Getting a pup before that would be stressful for you and the pup. While you have a plan, that plan doesn't have a timeline and isn't set in stone. You have no idea where you'll be living (house, apartment, etc), or what kind of environment the dogs will be in. I personally would want to move, make sure the place works for the current dog, and all the stress from that entire ordeal is done before adding any more unnecessary stress to the mix.
You're looking at setting up a 10 year plus relationship with an animal. It isn't something to rush into. Waiting a few more weeks to make the entire experience go smoothly is worth it.

Beyond that, some breeders are very particular about who can and can not have their dogs. Living arrangements can often be a big factor of that.

What I would suggest is contacting the breeder for some basic info to start with (some might be on their website). What are the requirements for getting dogs from them? How long is their wait list? Do they have a problem with you being out of state? Early contact, knowledge that you have a Husky, and responsible questions can start a good relationship with the breeder. With this info, you can find out if this breeder will even work out for you, or what kind of place you need to be looking for with your boyfriend. Do not offer up info about how unstable the situation is right now, they may get a bad first impression. Just ask some responsible questions so you can plan accordingly.

Starting to talk with a breeder is never too early! Talk to them about what their goals are for their next breeding. Tell them how involved you are with your current dog. Everything you mentioned is on the right track.

Understand that they will only be breeding for their own goals so you may end up having to wait. So definitely don't have your hopes up about getting a puppy right away. Forming a relationship with a breeder that you want to get a puppy from is the start of the building blocks and trust of that relationship.

Your living situation may hinder your ability to get a puppy but remember that there is no guarantee they'll have any available even if they do have a breeding planned. Just be open and honest.

Mark: Thanks! I have no idea what they charge for their pups. It's not listed on their site so I'm not sure. I've heard to expect anywhere between $800-1200 for a well bred husky though.

Dave: We're definitely not looking to add another dog right now. Sorry, I thought I mentioned that but maybe I didn't. This would be a ways off still because we're in the process of figuring out moving and we certainly would not add a dog before moving and wouldn't consider adding one until we're settled somewhere. When we do decide we're ready it will depend on where we are living, and how the current pets are doing so I'm definitely not looking to rush out and buy a puppy in the next month or two haha. I just was wanting to know if it was good to start getting to know the breeder now so that we can get questions answered and be more prepared for when we are ready to add one. Thank you for the suggestions though! That's what I'm wanting to do is just get some general knowledge about their dogs, make sure we know what all they'd expect from us, ask questions about their goals and what not.

Ashleigh: Great! That's what I was hoping for. We'd love to just get to know them some beforehand so we know what all we can expect when we are ready. We're definitely not expecting a pup right now or right after we move, we're ready to wait a while for the right pup to come up and for our living situation to settle before we add one. Thank you for the advice! I'll have to see about talking with them just so we can get to know them a little and learn more about their goals and breedings and such. Like I said, we're still a ways off from being ready, but I like to plan ahead and be prepared beforehand!

Definitely talk to the breeder early! Most will be thrilled that you're taking the time to do your research. If any are annoyed, that's a sign to stay away.

Even if the health info is listed, I would still ask for the OFA numbers and check them yourself. Some breeders do lie or use one dog's numbers for all of them, so by checking the database yourself, you'll know for sure the parents are healthy.

One other good thought is yes most breeders of dogs like huskies take living situation into account. They want to know you can care for and contain this hyper and good at escaping dog. Just having one before isn't always enough for a breeder because not also huskies are the same for example my husky has never even tried to jump a 4 ft fence so if it was just the two of us looking for a house we would have more fencing flexibility than most huskies.

I would be upfront with the breeder about your situation that you don't have an exact time frame of when you would be moving or where exactly you would be living so you don't know when you would really be ready for a puppy.

However let them know that you like their dogs and would like to know more. You can also ask them what type of housing suggestions or requirements they want in their puppy buyers. For example if they make a point not to sell to someone in an apartment or to people without a 6ft fence then when you are looking for a place you would know it would need to be a house with good fencing if you wanted to get one of there pups.

I feel like the best thing is being honest and upfront with your timeline so they aren't expecting it to be soon.