I have got a new pup in the house and I was told she is an Alaskan Husky. I am not a first time dog owner nor a first time husky owner. I am a little technologically challenged so I'm not very good a researching stuff online. I am trying to find out general breed specifics, average height, weight,size, common issues etc. While I have been able to find some reference to Alaskans, they also state that an Alaskan is not truly a breed. Not that it actually matters, I think my pup is awesome regardless. I just want to know what to keep an eye out for.

That my friend is a tough question.  When you're talking about a Siberian Husky, there's pretty much a set of guidelines to follow.  In general: they can't be off lead unless in an enclosed area; given the chance, most will eat you out of house and home and become a blimp in the process; hips may be a problem as they age ... okay, you get the idea.

An Alaskan Husky is, by definition, a mixed breed dog.  A musher takes the best of what he has, breeds them together and if he thinks 'that dog' will benefit the mix, he'll add them in too.  Most any medium / large breed that he thinks will give him the speed and endurance he's looking for is fair game.

Consider first that you (and I) have a dog that's bred for running - and if they get the chance, they will run, so you have to be aware of where they are and what they're doing and, if he's anything like mine, must be on lead unless we're going out for a run (that's him on four feet and me on four wheels [a Jeep].)  To him that's fun and he'll run along beside or in front of me (er, I live in the middle of nowhere so there's NO traffic issue) and a 6-10 mile run at 25mph is good exercise - or so he tells me.

Consider next that you have no idea what the genetic makeup of this animal *really* is and you'll soon realize that you (and he) are going to have to determine what he can and can't do (is allowed to do or not.)

She (change all prior references regarding sex, sorry) is really a beautiful dog.  If she's anything like mine, you'll find that she's as smart as a whip - (I'll duck as I say this) Avalanche is by far much the smartest of my three dogs and the other two are Sibes ...

Since you're offline at the moment, I'll fix a few typos; and add a bit, when it comes to size and weight, in general, I think you can expect a dog who is maybe 20% bigger than the average Siberian. Say 24-28 inches at the shoulder and 60 pounds (sorry, it's late and I'm not doing metric conversion for you ... you all tend to use both anyway) My Avalanche has an inner coat but his guard hairs are short - more like a GSD than any Sibe I've seen and he tends to blow his coat quickly. But with all of the above, understanding the dog, YMMV.

So then what is the difference between an alaskan husky and a alaskan nanuk?

Lostmaniac wrote:

So then what is the difference between an alaskan husky and a alaskan nanuk?

You have got to be kidding me!!! "We used dogs from all over the world to create the Alaskan Nanuks, this is no simple mix!" At least the Alaskan Husky was bred for a purpose - other than to take $4,000 out of some innocents pocket.

Yeah i was actually. Been a really bad bad day started with spider having diarrhea and me steam cleaning carpet at 230 am to now sitting outside respiratory clinic with jerry inside.  It all started with needing a distraction so i know squirt is 1% keeshond like 8 generations back and that led to the nanuk.  Sorry if i screwed the thread up

Update: now at the er and spider is tripping out

very pretty dog

I knew you were, joshing, that is. But the price tag they put on their designer mutts flabbergasted me!

And to help it get back on track, yep that is one good looking dog!!!

Someone here breeds "saint danes" calls it a rare breed sells them for 8k all it is is a st bernard x great dane not some silly rare breed. Off the overpriced mutt topic now. But there are some "breeds" that im not sure what makes them different from an alaskan like the eurohound other then its primarily dogs of german spitz and not sibe decent. Actually i really want a sibercaan, but ive never seen one in America.

I'm game. Gonna hazard a guess and say GSD/Alaskan Malamute/maybe some Siberian husky. An Embark DNA test should tell you what's what. Not my $200 but I'd be really curious to see how close I am

BTW: handsome!!!

Thank you all for your replies! She is quite smart and picks things up quickly, but is very selective when she chooses to use her learned behaviors lol. I guess I was spoiled with my last girl, i did not need a leash with her at all, she was super obedient, I could call her off chasing a rabbit! She wasn't very happy about it, but she came when called. I am just trying to figure out how many of the differences are natural traits. I do understand every pup is different, but some things are typical for the breed. The person i got her from told me a number of things that I am trying to verify or discredit. I just want my new girl to be as happy and healthy as she can be.
This is my 1st girl Kira, had her for 14.5 yrs.

Lostmaniac wrote:

Yeah i was actually. Been a really bad bad day started with spider having diarrhea and me steam cleaning carpet at 230 am to now sitting outside respiratory clinic with jerry inside.  It all started with needing a distraction so i know squirt is 1% keeshond like 8 generations back and that led to the nanuk.  Sorry if i screwed the thread up

Update: now at the er and spider is tripping out

How is Spider?

It would seem the diarrhea cleared up. Im not convinced her being in heat isnt part of it and jerry being sick isnt the other part of it. Still on the fence about taking her to the vet today. Spoke with my vet yesterday and monday and have her on a handful of dog food mixed with boiled chicken and pumpkin for the moment.

Sometimes like when jerry is in the hospital i wish her separation issues wernt so bad. It gets worse when something is wrong because spider knows what to do when its a seizure coming, but other things when she doesn't know what to do give her anxiety.

Something ive been looking into is training her to detect when jerrys sodium plummets so we know before it turns into seizures. i think it may help with the anxiety. Also thinking about trying some natural horsemanship stuff i used on foals and yearlings on her. I think shes smart enough for it. I have never had it work on a dog but ive had mixed results trying it with with wolfdogs, its all about the herd/pack mentality and the idea of the whole is bigger then the individual, and animal will do what it should for the sake of the group rather then individual wants. I look at it from the view of it cant make things worse.

Yesterday she figured out how to unlock and open the sliding glass door so i wouldnt put anything past her.