Hi All,
Glad to see a community around these great dogs! My family is starting to do research so we end up with a great Husky. I have seen some posts about looking for breeders so forgive me if I missed something but does anyone know any good ones in VA, NC, OR Maryland. We will be in Williamsburg VA.

Brad

I have *NO* personal knowledge of breeders (in your part of the country or elsewhere) but I'm going to point to a couple and make personal comments on them.

Celtic Acre Farms Located "in southern Maryland"  Simply stated, these folks would appear to be a high end puppy mill.  They look good until you see "Siberian Huskies are the only breed we raise" but then they go on with Our Alaskan Klee Klai. Nope, sorry, either you breed more than one breed or Huskies are the only breed.  
In 2011 they breed 19 litters!!  I don't care how well they present themselves, IMHO, they're in it for the money and the breed will suffer.  They don't indicate that they show or work their dogs ... *I* would not consider them.

On the other hand Innsfree Kennels (Innisfree NY) Innisfree also has a site in Welcome, MD. They actively show their dogs and are proud of them.  Their web site is not as flashy as Celtic Acres but, imho, they say so much more about their relationship with their dogs.  *I* would consider them.
While having several dogs on hand is normally an indication, to me, that I don't want to look at a particular kennel, when you look at the list of dogs with Ch (champion) in their names and they show previous generation for most of their dogs, who also have Ch in their names - these folks will probably be "pricey" but given the quality of dog .... need I say more?

I pulled these two sites from this list which is new to me - but might give you some ideas of where to look.

Thanks for the response. I have been looking at my Siberian husky kennel in nc. If hard to decipher for a newbie like me. What do you think of them based on their site?

I've spent a decent bit of time going over their website and not finding the things that I'm looking for.

Other than breed, what do they do with their dogs?  Beats me, I can't find anything that indicates they show / work their dogs.  Why is that important to me?  Simply because i want a dog who I know has the ability to be a working dog if that's where I want to go.  Too many of the "breeders" have bred the same dogs year after year and even they don't know if their dogs could work if they needed to.  You may never want to put your dog in front of a sled or on a bike - but wouldn't it be nice to know that genetically it probably could 'work' if you find that enticing.  From comments around the forum, getting your dog out and running with it beside a bike / scooter or in front of a sled can be a real ball!

Again, they seem to be breeding 1-2 litters a month.  Way too often - someone has to take proper care of these pups and taking good care of 16 pups is not an easy task - you'll know after you try to care for one!

Oddly, while they reference the AKC several times on their site, their dogs don't seem to be registered....

What do *I* look for when someone asks, like you did, "What do (I) think of ..."

• How many litter a year do they produce.  More than a couple and I start thinking "puppy mill."
  
• How do they use their dogs?  If breeding seems to be at the top of the list then ditto "puppy mill."  A Husky should be shown / worked.  *Your* husky may be a house pet, that's fine, but if I'm buying a dog then I want it to come from a working line!
  
• What type of guarantee is provided?  Some diseases can be contracted locally and quickly - parvo for example, there's no guarantee that you won't accidentally take your pup into an area where there's been a sick dog - not their problem; your vet check - immediately you get him home, should indicate a completely healthy dog, if not then you need a guarantee that they'll replace / refund.
  
• Are their dogs "checked" for genetic problems? (CERF / OFA) Genetic problems are not going to appear in 2 months, 6 months and often not until the dog is 4+ years old. You want the best chance that you can get that *your* pup is going to be free of hip dysplasia, for example.
  
• What are they currently feeding? Some "breeders" throw anything they can find cheeply at their pups and "that's good enough".  You want to ensure that the pups are fed a good quality food and then continue that as they grow up.
  
• ... and at that, I quit.
  

When in doubt look for a show in your area and attend. Talk to the folks who have dogs participating and find out where they got their dog from. It will give you a good idea of what kennels are producing quality dogs that are being worked actively. Some high end kennels who produce great quality pups don't advertise litters. They word of mouth get them spoken for before they even breed. Check to see if there are any akc conformation exhibitions or shows close. Some training facilities will host them periodically.

What are you looking for? A show dog? Starting a sled dog team? Participating in a certain dog related sport? If you are looking for those, then you want to visit with participants of those activities and check into their recommendations.

Or are you looking for a family dog?
If so, have you considered a shelter/rescue dog?
Nine times out of ten, people getting dogs from breeders don't have any reason to do so. Sometimes they can be a little extra work as you are breaking learned behaviors and establishing new rules, but honestly, I find shelter animals to be great. Sure, you don't have a pedigree and a piece of paper, and you might not be within arbitrary breed standards, but dogs don't honestly care about any of that, all but a scant few people care either. A good dog is a good dog.
They may not be the best of the best at some activity, but unless you are trying to raise a world class (insert dog activity here), you can still participate and have a great time.

David, thanks for that reminder. I meant to mention that but kept getting sidetracked.

Oh, of course you don't *really* know what you're getting when you get a rescue dog - but, as odd as it seems - the rescue dogs do seem to know that they've been saved and respond accordingly.

Thanks very much everyone. And yes I am looking for a family dog but want to make sure it is healthy and also set on getting a puppy. From the research I have done getting puppy from a good breeder will help with the health plus I don't want to support a puppy mill is they are not doing best practices.

If you are looking in North Carolina, I would advise you to not go anywhere near a kennel named Snohomish Siberian Huskies. I had 3 huskies from that breeder, all developed epileptic seizures, and lived very very short lives. The original owner has since retired and sold the kennel to the current owner, but my 3 huskies father, is in the pedigree of most of the puppies sold there today. One of my current huskies, from a different breeder of course, has already lived as long as one of the Snohomish huskies at the time he passed away...4 years old.

Savannah Kennels and the Snohomish Kennel that Jimmy mentioned are still in business - dang!

A few things to note here. The top female on their list is 10 years old - much too old to be breeding. I think the range for most good breeders is not less than 2 years and not more than 5. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, please.

Read their contract. Puppies are guaranteed for 48 hours for parvo and distemper - since both look like kennel cough (the dog variety of "the common cold") it probably wouldn't be properly diagnosed within 48 hours. Also, The dog must die from a genetic defect within two year for their guarantee to be effective. Pity the poor dog who has cataracts or dysplasia - neither are fatal so "too bad".

Woolies (excessively shaggy huskies) is a breed fault (not allowed in the show ring) and should not be bred. Both Snohomish and Savannah have breeding parents who are woolies.

And why am I up at 2:30 in the morning?????

Al, when I bought my huskies from Snohomish, from the original breeder, Ann Gregory, she didn't breed woolies and was actually a respected breeder. Since I've been on this site, I have pm'd members in the know of show huskies and all have told me she was a respectable breeder with a respected breeding program. I've even searched her name and much of what comes up are show dogs who have Ann Gregory /Snohomish in their pedigree. I'll never know why my huskies had seizures and lived such short lives but I do know that atleast the father of my past huskies, is in the lineage of this kennels/new owners huskies and is one of the reasons I would advise anyone looking for a husky, to stay away from this breeder. With woollies now and other things I've noticed in the current kennel, just more reason to not buy from them.