As the title suggests, I’m looking into the Husky/Samoyed crossbreed.
Over the last few months, I’ve been seeing loads of adverts for this mix, with puppies being sold at the same prices as KC-registered pedigree dogs. Of course, the photos are always adorable, but puppies always are when they're small, aren't they?
So, I was wondering:
- What do they look like as adults? (If you have any photos, I’d love to see them!)
- What’s their temperament like? (Even though every dog is unique, there must be some common traits.)
- Considering the risks of PRA, corneal dystrophy, and cataracts in Huskies, and hip dysplasia in Samoyeds, what’s the health outlook for these dogs?
The adverts are for puppies sold by 'pros' (well, registered as such on the site, anyway).
If any owners of this crossbreed are on this thread, please feel free to introduce your fur babies!
Translated from French
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There’s a lot of judging in your comments but not much actual information.
I’ve lived with Samoyeds for 35 years and have been breeding them for a long time now.
Samoyeds are very active for the first three years, but they do settle down after that. If they’re trained properly, you can let them off the lead and they have good recall. They’re very sociable, but you need to socialise them from a young age. They adore children and get used to pretty much any other animal (dogs, cats, rabbits, horses).
The downsides: they love to bark, so you need to nip that in the bud while they're still pups. Then there’s the coat (I’ve spent countless hours brushing my dogs over the years).
Nowadays, I have a ‘Samsky’ because one of my pups had a litter with a Husky—she’s actually my dog’s granddaughter. Why? Well, even though I think Samoyeds are the best dogs in the world, I’d finally had enough of all those hours spent grooming.
The Samsky is much more sensitive and keeps a bit of a ‘wild’ side, but they’re just as cuddly as a Samoyed. They might have blue eyes, or they might not. The advantage is having a dog that’s much more athletic than a Samoyed (who can become a bit of a couch potato quite quickly) but being able to let them off the lead without any issues—which isn't always the case with a pure Husky.
Personally, I think the cross is a real success, and I’m going to keep one of the pups from my litter.
Regardless of the breed, most dogs aren't happy if they don't get the chance to have a proper run, if their walks are limited to just a stroll around the block on a lead, if they don't get to play, or if they’re cooped up on a balcony. It’s not down to the breed; it’s down to the species. If they don’t like those situations, it’s simply because they’re dogs!
Personally, I think it’s better to go by breed stereotypes while being fully aware that nothing is set in stone. It’ll stop you from ending up with an unmanageable dog and finding yourself unable to adapt to them.
Everyone agrees that every dog is a unique individual. And we all know those exceptions that prove the rule. (My parents had a Fawn Brittany Basset who was best mates with rabbits and didn't have a single hunting bone in his body – he was absolute rubbish compared to any other dog seeing a wild rabbit dart right under its nose!).
Nonetheless, there are clear traits that are well-recognised in many breeds. Have you ever seen the look on the face of a sighthound that's never had the chance to run, a spaniel or a Bloodhound restricted to city pavements, a Jack Russell that’s never played, or a Husky whose only 'fresh air' is on a balcony (the one I knew actually jumped to its death)? Or a Newfoundland living full-time in a city centre, and so on?
Compare that to the face of a dog allowed to live life to the full, doing what it was bred for and selected to do for generations.
You’d have to be in total denial not to see that the latter are far more fulfilled than the former, wouldn't you?
Adopting a dog is a bit of a lottery! There’s no way of knowing what to expect until you’re actually living with them, regardless of the breed or crossbreed, the environment, or the training they’re given. Every dog is a unique individual with its own personality and needs. The theoretical traits associated with certain breeds can vary massively from one dog to the next—just as much as between different breeds, in fact. The only way to give them a good life is to accept them as they are and adapt to them, rather than blindly relying on breed stereotypes or any other preconceived ideas. If certain breeds end up in rescues more often than others, it’s precisely because the people adopting them have very stereotyped views of those breeds and are completely overwhelmed when they realise their dog isn’t exactly the dog they’d dreamed of.
I completely agree with you; if someone knows what to expect, they’ll make it work. As long as they actually know what they’re getting into, that is. But you only have to look at the reasons why people give up their Huskies to realise they’ve been poorly informed, or not informed at all, and just went for the looks. It’s great to be positive, but you can’t only look at the upside. :)
If someone is absolutely set on a specific breed, they'll do whatever it takes to make it work. I'm not saying I'm a know-it-all, but I think you have to follow your gut and believe in it when you really want something.
Someone who gives up a dog just doesn't have the willpower; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to actually go through with it.
I just like to stay positive and prefer to look at things from a different perspective.
I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound blunt, and I wasn’t saying you’re useless—I'm sorry if it came across that way. But you also seem to be one of those "know-it-alls", if we're putting it like that, because you’re relying on your qualification as a vet nurse and the fact you have four dogs to say something that I—and I’m sure a few others—find absurd, or at the very least, far too risky to be recommending to people. Right, here’s a little dig back: if you’re the type to recommend dog breeds that need much more than just a walk in the middle of the city to ordinary people just because you’re a vet nurse, then the dog world isn’t necessarily going to be any better off with you in it.
