Hello everyone,

I'm looking to get a Siberian husky soon, but I'm not sure which one to get , male vs female.

I heard male huskies are much bigger and heavier than female huskies, can you guys tell me how different they are in size?

Also, in regards to the face, what's the difference between female and male?

What I have noticed after looking around for a while, female one is more handsome and charismatic?

Is it right or case by case?

Please advise I am really concerning about this everyday

Thank you!!

The males are generally bigger than females, but not always the case. If you are going through a reputable breeder, you are getting a husky that falls within standards of the breed and since huskies are a medium sized breed, neither one will be a "big" dog. Quite a few members here have males that are on the smaller end of the standards.

I have a male and a females, I'd describe my male as being "handsome", females are generally more feminine appearing...pretty. Huskies in and of themselves are charismatic so you won't be disappointed one way or the other. This breed is full of personality.

What are your concerns regarding size?

Depends on the quality of dog. If you get a good quality dog there isn't a large difference usually in size or looks from male to female. You buy from a back yard breeder who doesn't care what they are breeding then you can end up with a large gap in both. My female is decent quality but she is top of standard and doesn't have the cutesy face some other females have, while my male is very low quality and is large (70 pounds).

The important thing is getting a good quality dog and size and look won't matter that much between genders. Good quality dogs have a better track record as far as knowing what kind of disposition you will be getting and at the end of the day, personality is more important than size or look. You want a dog that has a good temperament that fits your lifestyle and when you go through a backyard breeder there can be a lot of unknowns more than just size but in health and personality.

Honestly, most of the time I cannot tell when I see a husky whether they are male or female. And 99.9% of people think my male sibe is a female based on looks alone.

Every dog is going to be different but on average females trend smaller than males. Genetics and breeding will determine how much. One person can have a 30 lb female while another can have a 60 lb female. A good place to start is by looking at the breed standard to get a feel for what a male or female should be, that's no guarantee of what you'll end up with though.

I agree strongly with Jenn though, what is more important than male versus female is finding a good temperament and activity level to match you/your family and your lifestyle.

Besides the package that hangs below, which is totally unseen in my wooly, not much difference globally between male and female other than males overall are larger then females. Individually, there are large females and small males (I have a tiny male at 43 pounds)

One difference - males (usually/always?) can have a mane like fur distribution around their chest.

amymeme wrote:

One difference - males (usually/always?) can have a mane like fur distribution around their chest.

Well this is new to me! Haven't ever found that to be the case.

You have to look carefully, Val - its sort of an extra fullness in a "V" shape from the shoulders down to the sternum. Ami has it and I think Jimmy's Kohdi has it. Vaguely remember Megan with her bunch, (maybe someone else, it was a while back) ask to identify male vs female and that was the discriminator. I'll see what I can find picture wise.

If you look at my two, putting their size difference aside, there is still a very noticeable difference between their appearance and my two are a pretty good example being that they both have a plusher than average coat and their still being an unquestionable difference. Kohdi does not have heavy bone structure in his face and yet he will never be mistaken for a female, and same goes with Mishka, even with her very full neck, she will never be mistaken for a male. I think Amy is right with her description, it's something about how the coat and/or body structure, frames the head/face. It was the same way with my last male and female, and although they were plush, were not as plush as Kohdi and Mishka. It is more difficult to determine in huskies with the very short coats, but it's still there.

You will have to come up with pictures to explain this. I've never heard of it and I don't see it in either my male or my female. Both have actually been mistaken for the opposite sex multiple times. Even by vet techs that are used to seeing them. Kenzi in winter garb has the same cape that Kye has which is also not an indicator of sex in dogs. All I'm seeing in my head is that males have a more barrel chest than females and that isn't true. Not to a degree that you could rely on it to tell an unknown husky's gender without asking.

I wish I could find that post... Though b it may have been on FB. This really is me that I can't find the post. What VB I remember most was my Ah moment about Ami's ruff. He's not a good example because his b is exaggerated since he's wooly.

Amy, I think it's in one of huskymoms threads. I remember asking her a question, and me being ...me, one topic lead to another and she described the differences. At that same time, I happened to catch Kohdi and Mishka in twin like situations, snapped pics, and posted them in my scrapbooks with me saying something to the affect of "all this talk about the differences in the male/female ruffs and whathaveyou, made me think to take these pics. I'll post those pics in a minute, not as a convincing argument one way or the other, but simply because it was being talked about at precisely the time I took those pics. Your mention of your "aha" moment reminded me to the entire thing cuz I remember your aha moment, lol. Also, I actually don't think the fact that Ami is a wooly is a bad example, I think it to be the opposite, and why I used my two in my example. My two aren't woolies, but they are plusher than plush, and I think the plush, and the wooly, just kinda make that difference known better, because it IS exaggerated. I could be totally off base, and there really is no definitive difference between the two, but (and I'll use members dogs as examples) even to my untrained eye, I normally can distinguish the two. Kenzi looks all female to me, Kye looks all male, I've never questioned either. I can't put my finger on what makes them different, but I somehow see it. In thinking of dogs that remind me most of Mishka, so that I can use her petiteness, but in male form, I can think of two males that remind me so much of Mishka, in size, and bone structure...Dave"s Mylo, and jalepenos Bodhi. Both are very small, like Mishka, both have the very cute, almost feminine faces with (may be the wrong word but...) fine bone structure to the face, both on the somewhat fluffier side to some degree, and yet, neither one has ever struck me as being female, they look male, to ME. Why? I'm really not sure, but the difference is there. Anyways, as I said, I'm not sure I'm just totally off base, or if there really is something there, I know what I personally remember being discussed (not sure if it's what you are thinking of though, Amy) was in one of huskymoms threads about one of her dogs. Ok, so here are the pics I took at that exact time pretty much...again, these aren't to prove anything, I just happened to take them at the time, with what Huskymom had discussed with us, and in these pics, I do see the difference.

Sorry, here's the other one...

Jimmy, I think you're right about it being husky mom. Just haven't gone to search her posts.

And I'm stung again. Addition b with ice on forehead and itchy palms feet and abdomen.

FOUND IT!!!

https://www.itsahuskything.com/t5480p50-alaskan-vs-siberian

Huskymom09

"Males have a ruff over the shoulders/neck for a more "masculine" appearance."

Here's a picture with Ami's ruff and a 2nd with it outlined - it sits like a shawl over his shoulders and comes around front ending in a "V" at his sternum.

Honestly, I just don't see it. Sure, I see what you are highlighting on Ami but I don't see that on my male or most others.

Good job finding the post, Amy.

I'm actually kind of surprised you can't see it Val. Amy's pic, and mine, I can totally see it, but all 3 dogs are on the fluffier side, so I went to about the only male, female duo I can remember offhand in here, Graham's huskies Wolf and Ziva, neither are fluffy fluffy and I saw the difference instantly. The females necks fur is just tighter. More formed to the neck. so I'm wondering if it's likely it's because you aren't seeing your male next to a female to take notice of it. I don't know, it's really neither here, nor there, if you don't see it, you don't see it!, lol.

Yeah, I really don't think it matters but I just don't see it. And I'm not going to say "oh yeah, I see that" when I really don't. Like kids who magically say they see something that isn't there when you keep telling them it's there. Lol

The difference between males and females, LOL

Mishka (female)


Kohdi (male)


And yes, I'm not serious

This was interesting. Buddy has thicker fur around his neck/chest area than the rest of his body, I wasn't really sure why that was.

Articwind - your dogs have vertical white stripes just behind their front legs, from top of their back to their bellies. My dog has the same thing, on him it's his fluffy undercoat that peeps through his top coat causing matching white strips on either side. I was a little curious about this.

@Thunderbird ...I've never really paid attention to it, but in looking at my pics I see what you are talking about. I'm wondering if wearing a harness causes that? Does Buddy wear a harness? Since that area of their body moves while they walk, I wonder if it wears away the coat right there.

Buddy does wear a harness, but his stripes are a few inches back from where his harness sits.

I was wondering why my female husky is bigger than my sisters male husky? They are from the same litter and same age but my husky is taller and longer than my sisters? they are almost 5 months and my husky is even the same size as my full grown boxer. Would it be because she puts him in a crate when she goes to work or is it something else?

Are either spayed/neutered? And if so at what age were they spayed/neutered? Every dog is an individual, so one may be growing fast now and then will slow down. While the other is slowly growing and will catch up. At 5 months of age and if both are still intact, that would thought.