Whiskey is a nice dog- a friend of mine was looking to use him on one of her bitches.

Oh good! We have never met him but are going to try. Like I said, we have had other huskies but Nika is just extraordinary. She is so smart and so very sweet. Whiskey I think came from Topaz, and is co-owned by the kennel, so Nika is a Topaz husky throughout but I don't think topaz posts a lot of pictures of their huskies, apart from the ones at shows (at least, I couldn't find them). I know very little about how a husky is supposed to look - just the basics on tail, ears, and eyes - but she was pick of an excellent litter and her breeder said we could show her if we wanted, and she would do well, so we are thinking about it. We are going to have to get a handler though, I think, because my husband and I know so little about it.

Whiskey is co-bred by Topaz, it was a breeding between BriteStar and Topaz (Lauren House/Cheryl French)- If you are interested in showing you should find a handling class in your area! Try to learn how to show her, handlers all start somewhere and I think it's more fun to show your own dog....though I do admit I have my boy under a handler in efforts to get his Majors.

Karnovanda and Highlander are not commercial, and they are no more commercial than Britestars or Topaz. Both Britestars and Topaz are known in the show world. My only issue would be that you need to ask permission to show her. I'm assuming you purchased her based on pet price and pet contract. Showing is very different. If you are interested in showing you need to contact the breeder directly.

Hello! I love this discussion! I'm learning a lot.
Would you mind commenting Julia's photographs? She is six months old. Thank you!
Sorry for the poor quality,they are made with the mobile camera.

Glad to see another Topaz dog!! Mishka is a Topaz!!

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply the others are breeding for money - I contacted Highlander and would have loved one of their dogs, they are extraordinary - only that they have more pictures of their dogs online and seem a bit more into marketing. Yes, we understand we would have to get the breeder's blessing and it would change the price (more specifically, I think showing her unaltered would require changing the terms and prices, not just showing her?). I have reached out to her breeder already about possibly showing Nika, and have already told her if we showed Nika we would let her choose the handler. I don't think my husband or I would handle her ourselves, it just isn't something we are interested in doing. We really wanted her as a companion, and we have never shown our dogs, but she is just so smart - she learns a new command every day, and she is just a baby now - and her bearing is so extraordinary I am sort of curious about how she would do. Regardless, she is a darling and we adore her.

MishkasMom- I am so excited to hear that! And I love Mishka as a name. We use "n" names or we would have gone it Mishka, we call our huskies "bear" as a nickname. I'm just figuring this site out, do you have pictures of Mishka somewhere?

So if you are not interested in showing why bother having the dog show? Professional handlers are expensive, and it takes a significant amount of time away from the home life. My two cents.

Are you wanting to breed her? Since this is the main purpose behind Conformation showing, to evaluate breeding stock. If there is no intention to breed, there is no need to spend the kind of money you'll be looking at for training, entries, and handling.

Just my two cents on this.. just because a dog is very smart doesn't mean its fit for showing. Showing depends upon how well she meets the standard of the breed and to evaluate if she would be a good candidate to breed for future lines. Intelligence and how many commands she knows has nothing to do with it. And just because a breeder has a lot of pictures doesnt mean they're marketing, perhaps they're just extremely proud of their dogs and want to share their pictures as much as possible.

N/M- I just saw the pictures. She is gorgeous! I am useless, of course, from a judging perspective, but she looks like my baby so I love her! Out of curiosity, who are her parents?

HuskyMom- we are considering it to keep our options open. If she does well, we would probably have one litter for ourselves, our family, and perhaps anyone else who had a contracted interest. I also feel almost as if she wants to compete, the way she obeys commands and seems to want to learn and be taught more. We are not interested in breeding generally, though I do believe in the importance of bettering the breed and if she has something to contribute we would breed her (with her breeder's permission). If she hates it, though, we wouldn't do it. Like I said, we are keeping our options open.

Siberian puppies are intelligent and eager to please, they enjoy mental stimulation which is what training accomplishes. This does not mean she's cut out for the show circuit. Really consider the pros vs. cons. Again if you have no interest in showing there really is no reason to show the dog- Professional handlers often cost $100+ per day of showing plus boarding, they often charge more for puppies since they need to put more into their ring training, put that on top of entry fees it adds up fast. It could take over a year before the dog is even AKC pointed, longer for majors depending on area.

I wasn't offended. I was just stating that Topaz does their fair share of marketing - specialing a dog is marketing in the show world. Anne doesn't have time to actually do marketing because she works all over the country and works a lot of hours, she's just good with her website. I know her personally, as well as many of the other show breeders in Michigan, because I'm a member of the SIberian Husky Club of Greater Detroit. I have no issue with large scale kennels, my dog is from Karnovanda.

Showing should be about bonding with your dog, IMO. My male is shown in altered and I did not have to ask permission to do so simply because I had to neuter him. That being said, I still asked and I keep Sarah and Judy updated on how he does. I show because its a great way to establish bonding with my dog.

I will never hire a handler for a local show. If my dog needs to travel, that is one thing - but I will never hire a handler if I can do it myself. That's just me.

IMO, breeding is to better the breed. My dog is spectacular in my opinion - he's got his faults, but he's a nice specimen. However, I am not read to breed, I didn't pay for rights to breed and I don't NEED to breed - especially when is father is still active in the show world. I'm sure my family and friends would LOVE to have puppies from him, as he is very sweet, loving and affectionate - but that doesn't matter because I wouldn't be "bettering" the breed by breeding him. I would just be breeding to supply buyers, which is something I don't ever want to do.

What do you consider the cons? I understand its expensive and a time commitment. And, obviously, if Nika isn't right for showing, then we wouldn't do it; her breeder said she thought Nika would show well, though, so I think we would be OK on that front. But I am really interested in hearing what people think the good and bad aspects are, since it is something we are just starting to consider.

Pros: Great bonding, but only when owner handling. Very influential on training. great for socializing. great for many, many, reasons.

Cons: expensive, competitive and a bit cutthroat. People will talk about you and your dog, often it will be bad things. People get very jealous and this is a tough sport to get into - even with a good pedrigree.

So, did you buy her under a pet contract? Dont take this the wrong way, but there are reasons why serious breeders/show homes place certain dogs in pet homes vs. placing a show prospect. It does take a certain personality that can take the stress, too, I think. It's a lot of time on the road.
You should think about Rally or obedience trials. Rally is fun for you and the dog.

Where are you located, just curious.

And, too, I would urge you to read the stickies on breeding

Well I suppose if you have unlimited funds then the biggest con to showing a dog that you aren't taking in is this- You lose bonding time with the dog, the dogs often become more attached to their handlers than to their owners, a lot of lost time with the dog, dogs often go out with the handlers on circuits and could be gone 3-4 months at a time. It takes a lot of showing to finish a dog, it's not just go in and get your CH in a couple of fun matches.

As Megan points out it is a very political ring of people to get into even with the 'right' pedigree. Often the wrong end of the show lead gets judged (meaning it's not what the dog is but who the handler is).

That is true about the wrong end of the leash!!!!! A friend if mine that shows once had a judge tell her hubby that "your dog won in spite of you!"
LOL

Now that's funny!

Do you think it is cutthroat even on a local level? I know there was a really nasty fight in the husky show world a few years ago but do you think that level of hostility even filters into the local show circuit? That would dissuade me. I couldn't handle that. I would consider handling her myself if it was better for bonding, I did not realize she might end up closer to the handler than me (that would be a hell no) I just never really saw myself being in the ring with all that pressure. We have the resources to show her without it being a strain, but you are right, I don't want any part of mean gossip and jealousy.


Mishka - Nika was the girl the breeder was going to keep her to show herself. We were going to look elsewhere (we wanted the pick) but then she relented (I don't want to say anything it isn't my place to say so I won't go into why; it had nothing to do with the dog's quality). She was sold to us with the option to either show or just have as a pet. We chose pet but the option to change to show was left open. I would let her breeder make ANY decision to show her, I believe in deferring to exerts, so we wouldn't do it unless the breeder was on board.

It's cutthroat on all levels. I am lucky. My first dog is from a respected kennel in my area, so far no one has said anything negative to my face. Which means we are doing well. LOL

Oh I have heard it the worst at local shows- "Did you see that dogs _________", "Why are they showing a pet?", blah blah blah....I've never had anything said directly to my face but I have heard what people have said behind our backs and that is just as hurtful. No one likes hearing critical things about their baby.

I see. Wasnt trying to imply you didnt know what you were getting! Obviously I like Cheri's dogs! And you are right.....they are smart.

Yes, I would say political at the local level. A "local" show can bribg in people from all over. Heck, you wouldn't believe how cut throught 4H can be!! And that is for children and in between club members.

Yeah, I would not react well to being told there was something wrong with her!

And I didn't read anyone's comments as suggesting we didn't know what we were getting. :-). I was insistent on wanting pick but kennels I contacted wouldn't consider it unless I was willing to show. Topaz was the same but I think Cheri took pity on me and finally said we could do it with the option to show or not (but my guess is she would prefer Nika be shown since that was her first reaction).

I didn't know if I unintentionally implied it.

Most breeders like to keep the option of the "pick" for themselves, and you can understand them wanting to have that pick shown.