Just wondering what breeds you think do well with huskies, I am planning on getting my girl a friend as soon as I can afford to but I'm torn on the breed. From what I have read I really like the temperament of the shikoku-ken but they are extremely rare (I think there's only 3 breeders in the US) so the likely hood of finding one is really small. Just thought it would be interesting to see what other husky owners opinions are.

Nanook is really well rounded and does well with all different types of dogs that we've encountered at the dog park. That being said, however, I have noticed that he tends to gravitate towards boxers. If there's none there he'll gravitate towards dogs about his size or just anything that'll play with him/chase him. I haven't done any research into this topic so can't help you much further than the observances that I've had with Nanook.

Koda loves playing with a dalmation in his puppy play class.. Then i looked up on temperment and stuff after, and they seem very similar to huskies..

My dogs play with a lot of different breeds at the dog park.. Why not another Husky??

Bode loves Brittany Spaniels. I don't know if its because my parents have one and that's the first dog he spent a lot of time with or what. But any Brittany he sees he just instantly clicks with. There was a Brittany puppy at our dog park just a few weeks younger than Bo that he adored. We called her his girlfriend.

Other than that, I've only really noticed that he doesn't get along well with Poodles, and I've actually heard that from some other husky owners I talked to. Weird.

Of course, another husky is always the best

I 2nd another husky! But you can always take her to the dog park and see who she plays with. Ours love other huskies but jack will "pick" on anyone! Also look into the things you like to do with you girl, like long walks,runs,hikes and such and make sure the other breed likes the same stuff. I think any mountain dog breed would be good as well, they are just larger!

From my observations of my sibe at the dog park with other breeds besides huskies, boxers and Rhodesian ridgebacks are his preferred playmates. Boxers have a similar play style as the husky and get on well in that regard but can rarely keep up with my sibe when they run/play chase. Ridgebacks have the speed to give my sibe a run for his money but don't really play as rough as the sibe and boxer do. Neither breed is my cup of tea but they're the ones my sibe preefers at dog parks.

Most other breeds don't like the rough play style of sibes and/or aren't as energetic/can't keep up. There are exceptions to every rule though. For instance, incidentally both my mom and my sister each have totally different Chihuahuas that LOVE to chase and wrestle with my sibe. They are fearless and can outrun him so long as they change direction frequently but in a straight run they don't stand a chance. Chihuahuas are far from ideal companions for a sibe but that was just to illustrate how any breed can have the potential to be a good companion if you find the right individual.

I'm not going to push huskies because I would think that if you wanted another husky then you wouldn't have started this thread in the first place.

If I were you, I'd make a list of the breeds that you're interested in and from there choose what will be the best fit for your household. I'm one of those people who believes in getting the dog YOU want, not getting one specifically for your current dog.

Tika loves Labs, boxers, pit bulls, GSD or pretty much anything that will wrestle and run with her. Shes not the biggest fan of herding dogs like collies etc, but I think thats just her, she doesn't like to be herded around. Its all about having a similar energy level, we were going to get a pitt before Ripley came along.

Huskyluv wrote:

From my observations of my sibe at the dog park with other breeds besides huskies, boxers and Rhodesian ridgebacks are his preferred playmates. Boxers have a similar play style as the husky and get on well in that regard but can rarely keep up with my sibe when they run/play chase. Ridgebacks have the speed to give my sibe a run for his money but don't really play as rough as the sibe and boxer do. Neither breed is my cup of tea but they're the ones my sibe preefers at dog parks.

I second this. Pippa's favorite dog at the park was a boxer until they moved. They would play for hours and hours. She's also been playing with two pits since they were puppies and she definitely favors them over almost any other dog. There's also a goldendoodle that comes sometimes that she loves to play with. He runs around with her more than the others, so it isn't just wrestling all the time.

It definitely depends on the specific dogs, but as long as you find a dog with a similar energy level and play style, you should really be fine with any breed.

Maya LOVES GSD's she doesn't like boxers because they always attack her for some reason.

So interesting, all the GSD's we encounter either keep to themselves/cling to their owners or act aggressively towards my sibe and other dogs at the park. My boy has learned to steer clear of GSD's as a result which is a shame.

Huskyluv wrote:

So interesting, all the GSD's we encounter either keep to themselves/cling to their owners or act aggressively towards my sibe and other dogs at the park. My boy has learned to steer clear of GSD's as a result which is a shame.

They usually ignore Maya lol. But she goes bouncing over to them, My friend had a GSD puppy that Maya played with and that's probably why she loves them. Most of the time they ignore her or try to fight with her at the dog park.

I definitely am not throwing out the option of getting a 2nd husky. I was just interested to hear what other breeds play well with huskies. I definitely want a dog that is big enough to handle my husky, because she can be a bit of a bully on play dates and with my parents dogs. She actually tends to be a little overwhelmed when we go to the dog park by how many dogs were there. But I have noticed that she feels most comfortable with other huskies. She also loves to play with my mom's border collie mix and my friends husky/wolf mix

Maggie prefers pit bulls, gshp, and gsds. Or play with other malamutes and huskies.

I do want to get another female dog and I've heard that malamutes can have problems with same-sex aggression. Is this just a matter of poor training or is it just a characteristic of the breed?

every mal i've encountered has been same sex aggression but i feel with proper socilization they can be absolutely fine around other dogs.

when my dogs go out to the park they only play with each other or other Sibes. Otherwise I've seen them play with some Boxers and Labs.

Generally speaking Link does not do well with dogs that are smaller than he is aside from the random Corgi. He, of course, likes other Huskies the best and he likes Labs, Boxers, and he had a lot of fun with a Coonhound yesterday.

Maya does great with all dogs, she loves her little 15lb puppy friends and her 170 lb giant malamute friends and most all dogs in between. She plays with just about any dog that is not scared of her (for some reason many dogs just cower when Maya goes near them even if she has never done anything with them) and is willing to play back. I do not seem to find any type of breed distinction in what she plays with.

What I can say is Maya is always the most tired on days a few other sibs are at the park, they play so hard and much that I would say they don't compare to anything else when it comes to the best play partner. I also live in NC, and one thing that I notice is when it gets warm it tends to be other puppies and sibs which Maya plays with while just about every other dog is laying on the ground doing nothing after 5min in the park. This is just another reason I seem to like the idea of a pair of sibs. On hot days when some of my friends with sibs show up its run 5min, jump in pool and wrestle over the pool, run, wrestle over a hole, run some more, and repeat. All the other dogs seem to stop after 5min for a 20min rest before 5min more play.



I know when I move out and no longer have the roommate for having the 2nd dog, I'll be looking for a second sib. But I know people who have done alot of other breeds as the second dog and worked out great, they grow up together and will become best of friends (if they do not do so instantaneously)

Chili rarely plays but when he has been excited to play - it was giant breeds. Frosti loves to play with anyone, but the pointy eared dogs understand her rough play style. She gets along beautifully with huskies, GSDs and mixes of any of either. She also has a blast with these two giant Bouvier de Flandres and some hyper young goldens. If it's mostly huskies at day care, they "gang' up on the other breeds (roll eyes).

My girl is BEST buds with my mom's GSD, and my best friend's GSD. She also had a play-date recently with our friend's Boxer mix they adopted that's the same age as her, they got along great!

She tries to play with my Bichon, he gets on his hind legs and will box her a little, but also climbs on the couch and they fence with their mouths. But its usually short-lived and he walks away.. maybe because he's 10 years old or just knows she's bigger and doesn't want to get her too hyped.

She was playing with an adorable Basset Hound / Corgi mix puppy around her age for a while at work one day, and also played very gently with a Lhasa-poo. With those two dogs she kinda laid down and played with them Lol.

She seems to love all other dogs.

My in-laws Chihuahua HATES her guts - don't know why - when they visit and he sees her, he goes ballistic and my in-laws will pick him up - he will even run in place while they hold him like the stereotypical "let me at em!".
He calmed down a bit recently, maybe getting used to her. Now he just freaks when she is being active, running around or comes too close to his owners, too close to the couch they're sitting on, or a few times at random. He doesn't freak if she is laying down or is on the other side of the living room Lol.
NOW - Cadance has made a game of slowly walking up to the edge of the "freak out zone" near the couch... then looks him dead in the eyes, bows down and gives one little "ruff". He FREAKS like never before, and she just bounces around, wagging her tail with a huge grin - I swear! >_<;

A lot of dogs don't like "husky type" dogs. Huskies, normally, have their ears perked up and a high-ish tail set. Basically "yelling" in dog language; not very "neutral" body positioning. Just throwing that out there for the posts that say some dogs stay away from their huskies; some dogs read every little detail about a strange dog before deciding if they want to meet said dog. Sheba has turned off a lot of new potential "friends". Some dogs are just very picky about who they hang out with .

Sheba plays best with other huskies. She is still very insecure and won't approach a lot of dogs until they approach her. Kennedy loves almost ALL dogs. Her favorites are anybody who can play rough LOL. She gets along best with herding breeds (think BC and cattle dog), GSPs and GSDs, Labs, and Goldens.

You definitely want to get a dog that can keep up exercise wise and can dish out the rough play. I'm actually getting a Standard Poodle in the next couple years. My first foster was a wonderful example for Sheba, and I know lots of Spoos that are very "hearty" and can keep up with the Sibes. Definitely not a breed for everyone though .

Ghost will play with darn near anyone. Her favorites are pit mixes, but she grew up playing with one that a friend had. As others have said, pretty much any breed that plays rough. That said, my Cocker Spaniel won't have anything to do with Ghost. Pit mix, Labs, Boxers...like Jenette said though, I don't think GSDs (purebred) have gotten along well with Ghost at the parks either.

Bodhi plays best with other northern breeds.
His best friends at day care are two malamutes that are twice his size.
He also is friends with several GDS's; basically any dog that will chase and wrestle.

From what I've read, another husky seems to be the best match up for a husky. However a Labrador or a Golden Retriever might be better if you don't want another husky (I've taken care of both breeds before and they have high energy levels, yet are obedient eager to please you as well from what I can remember). Really in the end with training a dog could in theory get along with any other dog, the breed doesn't matter as much as the individual personality of each dog imho (although personally I'm thinking about getting a GSD as a companion for my future husky several years down the road )

Bourbon loves to plays with large breed puppies probably for the energy level. He likes the huskies boxers ( big time) and gsd. Our aussie does great w him as a 5 yr ols she still has the puppy play energy and he grew up w her so there is no herding problem. Some of the best play time has been w puppies so if not a husky look for hi energy