5 Guidelines When Purchasing a Siberian Husky Puppy
There are many potential perils when it comes to purchasing a Siberian Husky Puppy. The following 5 guidelines will ensure that you purchase a quality puppy that provides you with a lifetime of happiness and husky-love!
1. Purchase from an ethical Siberian Husky breeder
Puppy Breeders The dog breeding industry is unfortunately ripe with irresponsible and unethical practises. In the United States alone, there's an estimated 4000 "puppy mill" operations that cram thousands of breeding dogs into small cages for their entire lives, purely for the purpose of breeding puppies.
Due to their poor breeding practises, these puppy mills often produce puppies that are have all manner of inheritable diseases and temperament issues. The rule of thumb is to NOT purchase your puppy from pet shops or off unverified classified advertising. An estimate suggests that 90% of puppies sold at pet shops come from puppy mill operations, while "home-delivered" puppies advertised in the classified ads are often from the same unethical breeders.
Boxer Puppy Breeders Be sure to purchase your Siberian Husky from a responsible and ethical breeder, especially those that have a specific breeding program using championship dogs.
2. Make sure the puppy comes with a health guarantee
Puppy Breeders Always make sure to get a health guarantee when purchasing your puppy. Such a guarantee will ensure that your new Siberian Husky is in fit condition, and free of inheritable diseases. You'll find puppies that come with a health guarantee and/or health clearances are more expensive, but they can potentially save you from a lot of heartache. If you DON'T purchase your puppy with a health guarantee, your puppy may end up costing you $1000's in unwarranted veterinary bills. Many unwanted dogs have ended up at dog pounds simply because the owners could not afford such costs.
There are numerous health clearances that your new puppy should come with. These include a hip dysplasia clearance from the OFA and an eye-health clearance from CERF. These clearances are by no means a guarantee that your dog is free of all inheritable diseases but will provide you with the best chance of purchasing a healthy dog.
3. Check the pedigree of the breeding animals
Be sure to understand what pedigrees of dogs were used to breed the puppy you're looking to purchase. When it comes to Siberian Huskies, there should be a championship dog within 4 generations of a puppy's pedigree or else the puppy is most likely coming from an irresponsible puppy mill operation that does NOT care about the quality of dogs produced.
You should expect certain championship titles or top producing kennel names within the puppy's pedigree in order to ensure that you are purchasing a quality pup. Titles may include Ch. (champion) or SD (sled dog). Most specifically, you can expect sled dogs, show dogs or working dogs within the Siberian Husky puppy's pedigree.
4. Ensure the Siberian Husky comes with adequate industry registration
Every country has an equivalent organisation that is responsible for registering dogs in the country. Be sure that your new puppy comes with such registration. Within the United States, the official registrant is the American Kennel Club (AKC) while in Canada it's the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC).
One thing to beware of is that especially in the United States, the official registrant (AKC) has deregistered certain breeders due to their substandard breeding practices. Such irresponsible breeders continue to breed dogs, but instead register their substandard puppies with an alternative dog registrant such as the Continental Kennel Club because these registrants are known to register ANY dog simply for profit. Be sure NOT to purchase a dog registered with an alternative dog registrant.
5. Have you thought about adoption?
Last but now least, have you thought about adopting a Siberian Husky instead of purchasing?
Unfortunately numerous Siberian Husky Puppy are ending up available for adoption due to the fact that they are the most commonly lost breed of dogs, while also harboring certain wanted characteristics that some owners cannot handle.
There are Siberian Husky adoption centre all throughout the world and especially within the United States, therefore it shouldn't be too much trouble getting hold of an adoptable Husky. Especially for someone new to dog ownership, it is recommendable that you adopt an already house trained Siberian Husky puppy or older dog.
