Hey Guys,

Thought I would take a moment to just sign up and get to talking to actual Husky owners.

I am not yet a Husky owner, but soon will be. My wife and I have decided that in the near future we would be getting a new Husky to join our family. At the moment, we are in the very early planning stages of getting our Husky, and I thought it would be smart to get on the forum to get some questions answered and opinions on things.

Our first task is to find a breeder in our area (White Plains, NY) that we can trust. I have been looking around and I have found a few breeders, and there is a shop nearby that works with breeders. My first question would be is it ok to look at a shop that is the middleman with breeders or just to deal with a breeder directly?

I figure this is the first step, but if you guys can lend me any other things to consider it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks
Soon to be Husky Dad!

NO!!! NEVER GO TO A PET STORE!!! Those dogs are from puppy mills and 9/10 will DIE before they are one year old. NEVER GO TO A PET STORE THAT SELLS ANY TYPE OF COMPANION ANIMAL!!

Have you considered rescuing as well?? You can still find puppies in rescues if you have your heart set on a puppy. Have you owned a dog before? A husky? Have you done any research on the breed? The more information we have the more able we are to help you and answer your questions .

I am not familiar with breeders up in your area, so somebody else will probably jump in with some advice.

But please, PLEASE do not go to any pet store. Any reputable breeder would never sell/give their puppy to a store where they have no idea where that puppy will end up. Don't be fooled into thinking otherwise.

I have been researching breeds for a while now. I have had dogs which I have raised from puppies all the way to the elder years of their lives. I been around dogs since I was 3, and this is the first time (now 32) that I havent had a dog. I have wanted a Husky for a very long time, but I used to live in Texas, and I always felt that having a Husky there would be incredibly cruel to such a beautiful animal. Now that I have moved to NY, the temperature is a lil more temperate and my opinion optimal for a Husky.

I understand that Huskies are stubborn and can be very hard headed, but I am up to the challenge of having a majestic animal.

I have done the rescue before I understand the importance of rescuing an animal from a harsh environment. My second dog a Lab mix, was left on the side of the road in a trash bag with her mom. My brothers coworker stopped and opened the bag and found 5 pups and the mom, and rescued them. We got the only female, and she was with us till she passed away few years ago.

Now for me its time to own a full bred animal.

Hi and welcome! I am in New York City and am going to get a puppy in the next few months as well. I have found a couple of good breeders on the east coast. They may not be close by your consideration but its well worth it to get a healthy quality puppy. not sure how far you're willing to travel but I found one about 3 hours from the city and a great one about 5 hours from the city. Send me a personal message and I can send you their info. They both show extensively and are devoted to improving the breed. Both genetically test for hip and eye problems and have health guarentees, by the way a health guarantee for less then two years isn't really anything, hip and eyes can't even be tested until that point.

I second the rescue idea. The only reason I'm not getting a rescue is because I have cats and because I would like to get into showing. There is a great rescue in the area called husky house. A rescue is also a good way to judge if you are prepared for a husky. They may suggest improvements or changes in you home and lifestyle that will set you and your husky up for success. They even receive puppies from time to time.

I think the most important red flag is if a 'shop' will not allow you to visit the kennel or meet the parents of the pup. And shops are not working with ethical, responsible breeders. Good breeders do not need or want a shop between them and the buyer. A good breeder wants updates through the life of the puppy and wants and needs to know where and who the puppies are going to. The thing about going to a puppy mill or back yard breeder (which is where shop puppies come from) is that they generally don't test at all, and even if you get lucky and get a dog free of health issues, you can still end up with a host of behavior and temperament issues. Genetics influence more than looks and health. Look up bull terriers and OCD. Yep obsessive compulsive disorder in dogs,it's heart breaking. Or badly bred cocker spaniels with aggression problems. The list of behaviors caused by genetics goes on and on.

Those are just my thoughts, I hope I didn't come across as tough or rude, just trying to help and answer your questions. If you want the names of the breeders I have checked out let me know. When you and your wife do get your dog and the hubby and I get ours, we should have a husky meetup. who knows we may even end up with puppy siblings. I also have a list of questions to ask and things to look for that one breeder gave me. She was my top choice, but unfortunently the timing of her next litter didn't work with my needs (I have the month of may off and want the pup to come home at that time). Hope this helps!

Another note is that husky house is specifically a husky rescue so they have many purebred huskies for adoption. I realizedin your original post, that it was important to you to have a purebred.

Sheba&Kennedy wrote:

NO!!! NEVER GO TO A PET STORE!!! Those dogs are from puppy mills and 9/10 will DIE before they are one year old. NEVER GO TO A PET STORE THAT SELLS ANY TYPE OF COMPANION ANIMAL!!

Have you considered rescuing as well?? You can still find puppies in rescues if you have your heart set on a puppy. Have you owned a dog before? A husky? Have you done any research on the breed? The more information we have the more able we are to help you and answer your questions .

I am not familiar with breeders up in your area, so somebody else will probably jump in with some advice.

But please, PLEASE do not go to any pet store. Any reputable breeder would never sell/give their puppy to a store where they have no idea where that puppy will end up. Don't be fooled into thinking otherwise.

Cloud came from a pet store and he turns a year old in a week. One of my friends on tumblr has a purebred 9mo husky with hip and eye certification from parents and grandparents and she is very likely to be suffering from hip displeasure already. Cloud has no health problems whatsoever. Just because he came from a pet store doesn't mean he's going to die. And although I'm not an advocate for pet stores, I know at least 15 dogs at my dog park that have came from the pet store as Cloud, and they range from 1-13 years old. So please don't go around saying things like '9 out of 10 pet stores dogs die' :/

I'm not a fan of scare tactics/fear mongering (I am a huge advocate for promoting correct information). My family has had two pet store dogs and both lived well into old age (a golden who lived to be 15 and my Pyrenees who lived to be 11.5[for anyone who doesn't know that's a great age for a large breed like them]). Not all pet store dogs or even the majority will die before age 1, nor will they all have health issues that will be detrimental to their quality of life. (Also, if it is true that 9/10 dogs bought from pet stores die before the age of 1 I would like to see statistical proof or a study done of this so that -I'm- not spreading false information)

I can say that 10 out of 10 times the "breeders" that pet stores work with are puppy mills and backyard breeders (no reputable/ethical breeder will let one of their puppies go to a pet store) and are often times the puppies those people can't sell themselves and/or have gotten too old/big and its not worth the breeders time/price so they sell them to pet stores who mark up the price ridiculously.

Never buy from a pet store. If you're going to buy a dog, please find a reputable breeder (there is a sticky on the forum about how to do that/start looking for one that I can't link because I'm on my phone). Otherwise, I also recommend rescuing. Many purebred dogs can be found in breed specific rescues and shelters across the country. Puppies, seniors and anything in between. The Siberian husky rescue I volunteer for right now just took in a Siberian who was pregnant and she just whelped 8 puppies last week!

How far are you willing to travel? There are several good breeders in Michigan/Ohio/Pennsylvania(I'm sure new York as well I just don't know any off the top of my head) but those are just the areas I'm familiar with. Megan (mheath) might know of breeders in the NY area who would be good to go to.

Please do not purchase a dog from a puppy store. Rodeo is from Petland (I got him from animal control) and I have spent a small fortune on his health and he will only be 2 in April.

Pease check the finding a reputable breeder sticky and go from there. You will be far better off in the end.

There's a lot to be said for rescuing. And rescuing doesn't have to mean you're not getting a purebred dog. There are tons of huskies in shelters and plenty of breed specific rescues that only deal with huskies.

But, if you're dead set on getting a purebred puppy with papers, then definitely do a search for a reputable breeder and stay away from pet stores and breeders involved with them.

Sorry for the over exaggerations. I had a pet store pup who died at 10 months, and it was the most awful experience of my life. Knee jerk reaction.

I got my husky from a breeder in Albany, NY. Is that too far for you?

I agree not all pet store puppies or back yard breeder puppies are defiantly going to be unhealthy or have costly problems. My first husky was from a back yard breeder and she is 15 going on 16 and has very few health problems. Behaviorally she was another story. She had (still kinda does, her best friend is a 18 month old husky puppy) sled head 24/7, I could take her for a 7 mile run, and she'd rest for 20 min and be ready to go again. Totally amazing and loving and awesome, but a huge challenge (and way too smart for her own good).

I am not sure if this breaks posting rules or not (I hope not), I'm not endorsing someone or making any profit or something, but I will share an experience with a breeder I had yesterday. I visited a breeder yesterday in Uxbridge, MA, called Nando (Nancy Massi). In terms of breeders close to NY that have litters, or litters coming up she and a hand full of others are great (in my opinion). The dogs I met were all in great condition, well socialized and cared for. She has several she is currently showing, some she is working to get ready to show, and a couple puppies (under 1 year) that she is training. I spent about 4 hours driving there and a couple hours with her on the property. She showed me the moms and puppies, and all of her other dogs in the kennel. All of her huskies are beautiful. She also has a boarding kennel onsite, and let me meet a dog she sold to a pet home that was staying there while his owners were on vacation. Another awesome friendly sweet dog. She obviously genuinely cares for her dogs and they responded to her with love and trust. I also made friends with a couple miniature horses while I was there. You can find her information on her website, just google nando siberian huskies and fill out a puppy application. If you don't hear back from her, call her a few days after you fill out the app. She is extremely busy as she runs the kennel by herself.

The other breeder I have spoken with, and really liked was Jess Moore, her kennel is called Jalerran. She is about a 5 hour drive from nyc in PA. Her dogs are gorgeous (I met one yesterday at Nando) and she is extremely concerned about her dogs. If you get a puppy and it has a problem at 10 years old, she wants to know, so she can evaluate her breeding line to make sure its not a hereditary problem. She has her purchase policies on her website as well as her contracts for her dogs sold as pets. If you read through her policies that will teach you what a good breeder is, and you can apply that to others you meet to see if they fill those qualifications.

When I first started looking for a puppy, I thought, 'well, I don't need a show puppy, so I don't need to go to a show breeder. I just want a great pet like my last husky' But, I also volunteered for a rescue, so I have seen first hand how difficult these dogs (huskies in general, not just pet store puppies) have it. When they hit their adolescent period they become a handful and a lot of people can't handle them. I'm not saying you're one of those, I think you are doing the right thing by doing your research and I'm really happy to see that. What I am saying is that the puppies that are most likely to end up in shelters or rescues are those that came from non-responsible breeders. I read a great article about why its important for pets to come from show breeders vs. hobby breeders and what really struck me is that the show breeders are working to improve the breed and create better and better dogs. Not just in looks, of course the strive to meet the breed standard, but if a dog is fearful or aggressive, they would not serve as good working dogs, so they are not bred. Although there seems to be trends in the show world and different lines for sledding dogs vs. show dogs, what stands out is the love and passion breeders have for their dogs and the breed. When done right, there isn't much profit in raising and breeding dogs. Of course there are always a couple bad apples, but that is something you can feel and figure out when you meet people and see their kennels. The amount of money and time and care it takes to 'finish' a champion, and raise a litter is quite a lot (some in the 5 figure range per dog - FYI this is from research, not experience, I'm sure someone that shows can better comment or correct my research if its not accurate). The commercial breeding facilities (puppy mills) do make a profit, and the reason is that they sell the puppies for around the same price as responsible breeders, but put little time or money into care for the dogs.

The reason that I care so much about where I get my dog from is that it breaks my heart to know that some dogs live in such horrible conditions and are bred every heat until they can't have more puppies, and then are killed. Obviously everyone here is a dog lover and are very passionate about this breed and never want to think of dogs suffering. I know you are the same way, its sounds like you've had awesome and amazing dogs throughout your life and I have been lucky enough to as well. So, I refuse to support an industry that abuses dogs. I got lucky, I got an awesome healthy, happy dog from a back yard breeder. So for me its not necessarily an issue of assuming a dog will die or be sick (although its a possibility), its more about funding an industry that treats animals so terribly or a hobby breeder that is contributing to the problem. Every person that gets a puppy from a shelter or responsible breeder takes money away from that industry, and if the money dries up, so will the puppy mills. Sorry to write a novel.

Welcome to the husky world and good luck with your search for a new family member! I hope you don't feel like I was rude or harsh. I just love these dogs so much. I am going to take another trip out to MA in a couple weeks, if you and your wife would like to carpool, let me know.