My gosh, on the grooming / shave down subject.. we say NO all the time to shaving double coated dogs, most commonly Goldens. We try and educate people, its risky for their skin and if they think they're hot, without fur they can get sunburn. There's also a good 80% chance it will grow back in all patchy, brittle, and frizzy / wiry nasty coat.

I have heard many times of a groomer that would shave a double coated dog because of a few reasons:
1. They're lazy / freaked about time restraints and don't want to bother taking the time and effort to work out all the undercoat.
2. They want to charge the customer more money (actually worked beside a lady like this for a brief while).
3. They are very extreme in the belief that the customer gets what they want.
4. The dog might actually be too far packed/matted.. seen a good handful of dogs like this myself, but we try to do as little damage as possible, usually chests on Newfies due to the drool and butt cheeks of any breed.

The only time we might agree with shaving a double coated dog is when they are going to be swimming like non-stop all summer.. we've tried not shaving a thick golden once when the owner asked, but after a couple months of swimming in the creek and drying slow, never being brushed.. he had to be shaved the couple months later anyways.

What I dislike the most, is people who bring in a Goldendoodle / labradoodle etc doodle.. its all knotted beyond saving so needs to be short/shaved.. and they say.. "Okay BUT I don't want them to look like a poodle." LOL

Sorry to get side-tracked there.

I know what you mean. I hate seeing any dog shaved down to their undercoat. Who in their right mind would want to shave that beautiful coat anyway? Jewel had constant hot spots afterwards where the fur had to be shaved down repeatedly to treat them. It was awful and butchered her coat. It took forever for it to grow back each time. I'll never take my dog to a groomers again. I would rather rake out the undercoat myself and deal with the hair.

I really haven't had that many comments about Alki ". Although that's probably because we haven't been able to take him out much. Haha. Though, when we took him to the vet, we did run in to a very "nice woman". She asked what he was and I told her. She then said, "He looked like one of those Alaskan dogs. I bet he's hot down here. He shouldn't be in this hot weather". Then she went into her "dog voice" where she pretended to be talking for him, and said, "I wish I was back in Alaska where I belong". As if he knew what she was saying, e just adjusted in my lap to turn away from her. I just looked at her and turned my head. Some people.

CatDen" wrote:

Then she went into her "dog voice" where she pretended to be talking for him, and said, "I wish I was back in Alaska where I belong". As if he knew what she was saying, e just adjusted in my lap to turn away from her. I just looked at her and turned my head. Some people.

The audacity of people sometimes. Especially when mixed with stupid. lol. I admit. These stories make me laugh.

When i walked Maya around the mall one guy asked if she was for sale and really wanted to buy her. Then another guy asked where he can get that brand of dog.

Having Baron in Florida is quite possibly the worst possible place in the world for the "Isn't your husky hot" conversations. After growing up with sibes and malamutes I've pretty much got to the point with the "wolf" comment of "yes he is a wolf, I plucked him right out of the forrest and he's content to sit here in my lap".

It's weird I feel like every-time I meet someone out with him they say they used to breed huskies or they grew up with them their entire life and so on. Yet I've only met two other huskies in 8 years here in Florida.

MayaAndSophie wrote:

When i walked Maya around the mall one guy asked if she was for sale and really wanted to buy her. Then another guy asked where he can get that brand of dog.

Some guy once offered to buy my GSD from me a few times, even when I told him he's not for sale he said I could name almost any price.
I finally told the guy I was currently over $3,800. in debt in vet bills from my GSD and he would be worth AT LEAST that much but you can't put a price on unconditional love, and I would lay down my life for that dog.
Anyhow, when the guy heard $3,800 he kinda made small talk and wandered away. Didn't bother me again lol.
($3,800 was from a bloat episode which resulted in my GSD having his stomach "tacked".. that is not including the 2 times prior he had bloated and the vet was able to just tube him which was about $500 each time, and multiple untold thousands over years on special food and rounds of medicine for his severe food allergies). Yeah, I severely underestimated the cost of my dog but figured nobody in their right mind would pay anywhere close to $3,800 for a 9 year old GSD. ^_^ So much for naming my own price.

Today: is he a miniature Husky??

Nope, he's 10 weeks old.

Sigh.

HAHA! that reminds me..when Sheba was young, like 3 months old young, some "wise" person decided they needed to shout to the world how much they know about Siberian Huskies. I can't remember everything they said because I was spending all of my energy into not laughing in their faces.. They said that Sheba HAD to be at least 6 months old!! I was like uhh..she's three months old. He was like oh.. and his face got all red and he shut up after that.

I just don't understand people.

seattlesibe wrote:

Today: is he a miniature Husky??

Nope, he's 10 weeks old.

Sigh.

hahaha i got this too at Willow's first vet appointment in the waiting room.

Quote :

The day after I brought Kavik home I took him to the vet in petsmart and a lady with this poor shaved GSD had the balls to tell me my dog was going to 'get hot in that coat' in a tone I didn't care for.

My father-in-law had the audacity to tell my hubby (who was worried about getting a dog in the first place) that a husky would die once the summer months hit because it was so hot. First off, we're in Oak Harbor, it is almost never hot here, like ever (Florida girl wilting here lol). Second off, dogs can adapt to environment just like humans can. I told my hubby we would get her a kiddie pool so she could cool off when she was hot and I would not be shaving her. My father-in-law is very special.

Quote :

When i walked Maya around the mall one guy asked if she was for sale and really wanted to buy her. Then another guy asked where he can get that brand of dog

This happened to us on our way to California. We stopped in Stockton at the In-n-Out there (always our first stop lol) and my hubby sat outside with Karli while I went in to get the food. One kid wanted to pet her and another guy pulled up into the drive-thru in his pickup to ask my hubby how much he wanted for her. My hubby isn't very tactful so I can imagine his response but the bottom line was he told them she wasn't for sale then kept her really close to him so no one could grab her. The nerve of people...sure, I totally just bought this puppy so I could sell it to someone in Cali.

Callicocat wrote:

I've personally started telling people Rue is an arctic squirrel when they say/ask if he is a wolf But it is super annoying I have encountered all of the above stated questions/ ignorance.

Bbbaaaaahhhhh!!!! Arctic squirrel!!!!!! Very nicely done!

I love reading this thread lol too funny

I can relate to so much of this. To me the most annoying is when people say it's cruel to keep huskies in AZ. Basically they're saying I'm cruel for having them, but they don't realize that's how it comes out (or maybe they do?). Anyway, I imagine these are the kinds of people that get dogs and keep them outside all the time. Why else would they think my huskies wouldn't be in the 74 degree A/C'd house with me in the heat of the day? Besides, they like to bask at times too

Also, snow is only a couple hours away!

Abby - stupid question, I'm fairly new to this site- are 2 of your dogs really blind??

"Are you going to shave them in the summer?"

"I feel bad for them when it's gonna be summer"

"Is she a german shepherd?"

"He must be part malamute?"

"He looks like he's from good blood lines, look how he stands!"

"Nice wolves!"

"They must eat ALOT of food."

"Hey man, what percent is he?"

"percent?"

"Yeah, what percent malamute is he?"

*don't punch him, don't punch him, don't punch him. leave me and my Husky alone*

well he has brown eyes so HE has to be a malamute....lol

and apparently he can't be a Husky because of all the grey too! Man, did we get ripped off.....

seattlesibe wrote:

and apparently he can't be a Husky because of all the grey too! Man, did we get ripped off.....

Buyer's remorse!!!

Ok, but dont punch anyone. You have a great looking husky. What I tell my boys to say...."Just smile and wave, boys, smile and wave!"

ive definitely gotten the following & i've only had her for two weeks:

"wow, shes gorgeous. how much did she cost"

"is that a mini husky?"

"wow look at her paws! she's gonna be giant!!!"

"wow she's only 8 weeks old! that's gonna be a big dog!"

"is that a husky? i really want a husky. i think i'll get one!" (oh goodness)


& my favorite experience:

i was looking for books on huskies at books-a-million. and a lady asked if i needed any help. i told her what i was looking for & she proceeded to tell me that it is just too hot in the summer for huskies and that i'm cruel for getting one in Louisiana. i just turned around and walked away from her. no sense in even trying.

The "I want a husky, they are my favorite" scares the pee out of me.

bellecma wrote:

The "I want a husky, they are my favorite" scares the pee out of me.

I get that all the time.....I just say, great, but you better read alot about the breed before you consider it. they are a ton of extra work. Most just say, "OH" but, little kids flock to her (and she them)..."IT'S A HUSKY!!!!"

eluke81 wrote:

Abby - stupid question, I'm fairly new to this site- are 2 of your dogs really blind??

Nope, Abby's two aren't blind. A lot of people assume that blue eyes means that they're blind so she was joking off of that

Mishka'sMom wrote:

That leads to thus question--what the hell is a "mini" husky?? I have seen these advertised for as much as 1000

I haven't seen this answered, so sorry if it's duplicate info.

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/alaskankleekai.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaskan_Klee_Kai

It's a relatively new (1988) designer dog developed with huskies and small breed spitz family dogs. It is not recognized by the AKC, but is recognized as a new breed by several other organizations. They are frequently called "miniature huskies", but the formal name is "Alaskan Klee Kai".

They are huskies in the same way that any other mix could be called a "husky". So it depends if you count mixes like Alaskan huskies as "huskies" or only purebred Sibes. Most people are going to see the mask, tail, and coat and call it one no matter what your definition is anyway.

Fun fact, there's also a "Miniature German Shepherd" which is a mix between a GSD and a rat terrier (among other things). Good luck finding information out about it though, it's not nearly as established as the Klee Kai.