HuskyMom09

It can be difficult to make it to each one, I didn't make 2009 which was in Chattanooga, it was hard enough to go to Gettysburg the year before. I'm back to making this trip a yearly priority to us, looking forward to Detroit 2013!

There is a lot of consider when thinking about breeding. As jmscott mentioned an ethical breeder is responsible for every life they create and must make conscious decisions on why they are breeding which male to which female....not just because they have a male and a female that are capable of breeding. And be willing to take back any puppy produced for any reason for the lifetime of the puppy. But to answer the baseline question- Minimum age should be 2 years old, as that is the age that the hips can be properly evaluated and scored, eyes can be evaluated at a year and re-evaluated yearly, burcelosis testing weeks prior to breeding....but as they age the more complications can arise. The risk of C-section delivery increases as they age if they have not had a litter in earlier years. http://www.keahisiberianhuskies.com/health.html

At 15mos old I would not be worried at all. Most lines don't hit full maturity before 2yrs and as late as 4yrs. There's still growing in there I'd bet money on it.

Doesn't look like either kennel showed this week.

which kennel? I got the catalog at the show.

Thank you

Oh yes when you are talking about a National Specialty show you can expect Best of Breed to be a huge class that will take all day to judge. We've certainly been re-hooked into the splendor and excitement, you better believe we'll be attending next year in Detroit!

Denali

This was Saturday! 130 dogs competing for Best Of Breed, it was truly amazing to see

Aww thanks The judge really liked him too, just not enough to put him up. No hard feelings on our part at all though! He was really looked at numerous times by the judge and we could tell she was having a hard time picking between him and another dog...Denali just needs a little more growing up is all It was fun just being there!

Bathing- I rarely bathe my pets, only when they really need it or when they are near the end of blowing coat...so at most twice a year. However my show dogs get bathed frequently, right before the show and sometimes every day during depending on what their coats are doing and needing. You HAVE to use premium shampoos if you do this or you will burn the coat up (ruin/dry out/damage) Allergies- I am HIGHLY allergic to Labs, something about the course hair and oils in their coats makes me break out like no other. However, not a single problem with my 11 nordic breeds. It would be something to try to introduce the allergic party to before getting one just to be sure it doesn't backfire. Cats- Some do good with them, some don't. The only way to know for sure is to try to introduce the cat and dog with a lot of supervision. Siberians have high prey drive and small animals are food, or interesting toys that need to be de-stuffed...and some co-exist without issue with 'their' cat, strange cats and other small animals wandering into your yard may not fare as well though. I suggest LOTS of research, ultimately only you can decide if a Siberian is right for your family and lifestyle or not- Some suggested reading, one of the best books I have ever received (as a gag gift no less) is Siberian Huskies For Dummies. Other great books I've enjoyed are Siberian Huskies: A New Owner's Guide by Kathleen Kanzler (founder of Inisfree Kennels) and The Essential Siberian Husky. Get out there meet owners and breeders too! And good luck finding your match

I wish I could take credit for more than the photos, but alas I don't do Obedience (yet) with any of my Siberians....maybe someday!

I wear a dark suit when I show Denali too, since he's a gray light colors wash out his pretty coat color. Obviously I don't groom him in it which keeps me ring presentable too LOL

Easy enough to do, I posted I don't know how many of these SHCA posts LOL....but I wanted to keep the different events separate and not so photo heavy

Denali and I are in the Conformation Classes thread

Conformation starts as early as 6mos competitively, at 4 mos they can start doing puppy fun matches. Agility shouldn't start until they are at least a year because of all the jumping that can hurt their growth plates, and most Obedience Siberians are older more relaxed and listen well. Many of these excellent competitors are 4yrs +

I have been told by many of these competitors that it's a combination of the 'right' dog and tons of patients

He's a friend of mine on FB as well! He tagged himself in the photo already

This is for all the nay-sayers that tell us that Huskies can't do Obedience!

I wish I had more time too maybe someday! I don't like having to send my boy out with a handler but he loves her and she's so good with him. It was fun getting to show him myself this time! His pics are posted in the Conformation Classes post I just put up

Veteran Ch JoBear's Who Woulda Guessed "Woody", Woody has sinus cancer and is currently being treated. Woody is owned by my friend Joyce- Open Dog Competition- Here we are!! Denali and I in the ring! Karen Ramstead and her Open dog Wolvie!

It was nice seeing the multitude of colors represented in the BOB this year. Unfortunately Denali is not a finished CH nor did we win Winner's Dog so our competition ended the day before in the open classes. Someday though! I think we're going to be putting Denali away from the show ring for a while to focus on some other working aspects of the breed as well as let him mature a bit. Our judge liked him a lot but he's got some growing yet to do! It was fun none the less!

You would think! But these dogs aren't shedding and have been highly groomed before the event hardly a loose hair in the bunch!

it was a truly remarkable sight! But I suspect there is a reason that only one lady was 'crazy' enough to show team this year LOL, I know I'm not cut out for it!