Hello all, new to this forum. I got my husky about a month and a half ago. He is currently 7 months old. My question is, does he look small to you? And his snout looks really small to me. This is my first husky but the other day while walking him, we came across a 4 year old husky and she was much bigger than him (obv. she was full grown) but her snout was much longer than my dogs. Do you think he could be mixed with anything? I mean everything else about him screams husky to me but his snout and that he is very quiet.

Hello and welcome and congrats on your pup. Size-wise I don't think your pup looks abnormally small from the photos. Comparing with other huskies out and about is not always a good way to determine correct size as other huskies you encounter may be out of standard. Honestly speaking, most huskies I encounter out and about are well above breed standard for size. I can tell that because my boy is close to the top of breed standard and most huskies we run into are noticeably larger than him. We even met a 7 month old husky pup who was larger than my boy's adult size. Go by your dogs height, not comparing him to random huskies passing on the street.

As for the muzzle, it does look a little on the shorter side but it is probably a genetic mishap rather than a mixed breed issue. As long as he's healthy (and not in the breeding pool) that's really all that matters.

Growth rate, as Val mentioned, is very subjective by line of dogs. Some grow fast and some grow slow. Some are within breed standard and many grow way over it.

As for his snout he does have a head shape that isn't quite what you would normally see in a husky. Have you had him checked out by a vet? Do you know how the others in his litter are developing? Does his tongue often hang out to the side like some of the pictures? I have seen a dog with a similar structure going on once before and the dog was pure but actually ended up having Down's Syndrome. It's stupid rare and for the most part doesn't affect the dog's quality of life but the shortened snout did make for extra work on their part to protect his teeth as they didn't sit quite flush in his mouth. The first picture kinda looks like his teeth angle out. Not saying this is what your dog has, some could actually be an illusion caused by his markings as well.

Sometimes when a dog has teeth issues very young that go unchecked it can actually hinder their jaw from growing as well so there are a number of things that might cause what you are seeing. All of which a vet would have to dive deeper into to know for sure. For the most part as long as a vet you trust says he is fine and doing well and, again as Val said, you aren't looking to breed him I would just enjoy watching him grow and develop into whatever he does. He will be really interesting to see come into his own and I hope you will keep us updated with how it goes. They change so much in that first year but always at their own pace. Welcome to the forum!

The first thing that came to mind on seeing the pics is...is that an Alaskan Klee Kai?!!? THen, reading Jenn's post, huh...Down's Syndrome in a dog? Those facial features are reminiscent a bit in Down's Syndrome in people...I would suspect some sort of genetic anomaly given the snout and the eyes.

And totally agree with Val - huskies really are a medium size breed (my red boy is WAAAAYYYY over size)

What counts though is...is he loveable?

He's a cutie! He doesn't look like an Alaskan Klee Kai, though. For one thing, from the photos he looks a little too big to be a Klee Kai. Plus, if he's quiet, that's definitely not Klee Kai. Klee Kais are pretty barky and noisy. Behaviorally, they're more like the German Spitz-based breeds than like Huskies.

Thanks for the responses everyone. When I first got him a month ago, I thought his previous owners abused him because of the way is snout is and the way his teeth are. His teeth are quite messed up. the front smaller teeth on his lower jaw point forward towards his lip vs pointing up and down and they are very small. As you saw with one of his longer teeth, it is crooked. Also his teeth are very dirty and he has bad breath. I've been working on this by giving him dentastix and other teeth cleaners and breath fresheners. Not working too well. Will probably have to take him in to the vet to get his teeth cleaned.

Yes his tongue is always hanging out like that. Only on the left side of his mouth. Even when sleeping.

As far as the other puppies in his liter, I have no idea how they are doing as I got him a month ago from an owner who no longer could afford him with a baby on the way. I do know they got him from a pet shop. I do not plan on breeding him.

For his eyes, I have gotten many comments about how scary he looks because of his eyes. He looks mad all the time, haha.

I thought all of the "problems" was because of abuse but you all might be right about him having some form of down syndrome. He has this weird thing with his mouth as well. It's always opening and closing. Almost like he clinches his jaw. He even does this when his mouth is closed. That's why I thought he was abused but it could be because he might have down syndrome. He is a very smart puppy. He picks up on things VERY VERY quick. It surprises me how quickly. I do plan on taking him to a vet soon and get tested. I'm trying to find an English speaking vet as I am in Korea for work.

I'm very interested to hear what a vet says. You may have to work up to brushing his teeth. With teeth that are out of alignment there are just spots even working on raw meaty bones can't get to.