What it takes to keep a siberian husky 
Keeping a siberian husky:
Kennel: Siberian huskies require a very strong and preferably a 6 ft. fence. Some learn to climb or jump and vault themselves over a fence. If they are kept outside they need to have shade and water available at all times. Summer is hard on them because of all their fur and they need to have cool water to be able to put their feet in and drink to cool off. Winter for your siberian husky is just right as long as they do have some kind of shelter to get in out of the elements. There are various surfaces that people use for their kennels. We use a strong fence buried under road gravel. It has to be renewed with more 2-3 times a year. We formerly used farm lime washed in every couple of months to freshen up and absorb odors but have since switched to Sweet PDZ as it works so much better to control odor. Our kennels during the summer are opened up on the sides but always covered with a metal roof. We have a fresh source of water all day during the summer in every pen. We use 3 ft. long x 1 ft high sheep tanks with a continual supply of running water. I realize with water limitations in some places this would not work. Our dogs love it and it keeps them cool. Children’s solid plastic swimming pools work real good also. During the winter the pens are completely enclosed with strong reinforced plastic.
outside of our kennel one of the large pens
Exercise: All of our dogs get to run in 2 separate pastures that are all totally fenced in. We have 2 so we can separate them if we have bitches in season. Otherwise they all run together and get along fine except for a few misunderstandings once in a while. We never leave them alone while they are out running. You never know when they might figure out how to climb the fence. They are very smart!!! We have tried exercising with our ATV and it works fairly well. If you join a kennel club one of the neat things to do with your siberian husky is agility. It is good exercise for them and also for you. If you have places to sled or go skijoring or ride your bike with an attachment for your dog they will love it. They also like to dig and seem to hear or smell small creatures so hopefully you don’t mind a few holes here and there in your landscape.
Temperament: Siberian huskies love people and love kids especially. We have had only two that were shy. They like to be around people or other dogs and like to give kisses. We have had several of our dogs do pet therapy at nursing homes and the residents love them.
They seem to relate to little kids very well and would do great in a place with children as a companion or an incentive for the children to apply themselves more verbally or physically. Most cannot be trusted around small animals including cats. There are however some people that have been able to have them with their cat if introduced when young. They see most small animals as prey and they have a very high prey instinct. They are very independent and sometimes it takes some strong commands and training or they will be the master and not you. They are very intelligent and it really does not take that much training for them to learn simple obedience commands.
Even though siberian huskies love kids never leave a small child or baby alone with them or any dog especially when they are initially getting to know each other. You need to be able to read the temperament of your dog and evaluate all possible scenarios that could happen when it concerns a small child or baby. Use every caution when it relates to your children and your dog.
House dog: Most siberian huskies are perfectly happy being a house dog as long as they get to go out on a leash for walks or run in the yard for their exercise. They can be perfectly happy taking over your couch or your bed or just laying at your feet. If you want a dog that will fetch toys they are not the ideal dog for that. They may do it a couple of times and then simply look at you with a (you threw it so go get it yourself) stare or just quit fetching. They can be trained in obedience but have the same attitude about it as they do fetching. They can also do agility with the same attitude. Some of our dogs love to get in the show ring and others will do it but don’t really want to. Most of our siberian huskies love stuffed dog toys that squeak and will play with them until they are all torn apart. Make sure you don’t leave any food out that they can get into as mine are always looking for something to eat. One last thing and it is by no means trivial. If you don’t like dogs that shed or it really bothers you to have hair from your dogs on your clothes or your couch, your carpet, your bed or for that matter anywhere, a siberian husky is not for you. They usually shed twice a year and at least one of these times quite a bit. Siberian huskies on the whole keep themselves very clean and usually do not have a doggy odor (very big plus) like some dogs but they can’t comb themselves when they are shedding and it will be up to you to keep them brushed especially during shedding season.
Should I breed my dog: Below is a a document that I have provided a link to that has a wealth of information about what to do before deciding to breed your dog. It is a well written article and I think that you will find it very useful. With this last litter of mine I have encountered several problems that I had never had previously. Although I have had siberians for years I am always learning something new. I hope this information is useful to you.
Have you checked the clearances of the dog or bitch that you plan on breeding to your dog? Have you researched your dogs pedigree and what kennels lines would be appropiate to breed to your own line? What are you trying to do to maintain or better in your own breeding program?
Another useful site to refer to for siberian huskie related information is the SHHF. 
Showing a siberian husky: I have not mentioned anything in my website about showing a siberian husky, however I am always willing to share any information that I can with people that have an interest in this endeavor. We do encourage obedience training with any new puppy
whether you learn and do it on your own or at a training facility as you will be happier with a dog that is not misbehaving and you can walk with and have better control. We have had siberian huskies since 1993 and have shown for about 12 years. It takes alot of time and money to show on a regular basis and the average person just has a hard time doing this. However we have spent alot of time and money trying to either buy or breed to get the best representatives of the breed according to the standard. Also like most breeders do we have our own preference and ideas as to what best represents what we think the siberian husky should look like. We also strive for that dog that has that fluid effortless gait in the ring. Our kennel is small but we have been very competitive with the dogs that we have shown. One thing we haven't been able to do is to try our hand at sledding. Our dogs get to do alot of running on our pasture area but it would be nice sometime to actually have our dogs pulling a sled.
We breed only our show quality dogs that have had various testing to make sure that they are free of any genetic problems that we know and
therefore we would of course like to have some of our puppies go to show homes.
*** I have had several people ask me why I sell my puppies either pet or companion or for show. One reason is that if I don't think that I would
want to show or breed this dog to carry on our kennel name and our standard of quality to the standard of the siberian husky, I certainly
don't want someone else selling puppies from a dog I sold them that I thought should be a pet only. That is why I sell all my pet quality with
a limited AKC registration. With a limited AKC registration a person is not able to sell any puppies from this breeding as an AKC registered
puppy. They may do obedience, agility or rally with this dog in any AKC show but just not conformation. Pet quality puppies have nothing
physically wrong with them. Usually it is just that it doesn't quite fit the siberian husky standard for AKC show purposes. It could have
too tight a tail, too round of eyes, it's gait may not be very good, ear-set may not be right, too big ears, too long a muzzle etc. Some of
this is the judgement of the breeder and could very well be decent enough for another. I can put in my contract that the puppy is to be spayed
or neutered and require proof of such and then give them their AKC papers and may do this in the future.
If I sell a dog as a show prospect you are given a full registration and any mentoring and of course I will reimburse or take back any dog if after
an owner has given proof that said dog is not able to show. Undesended testicles, hip dyslasia, cataracts are certain problems that would
definitely have to be verified by a veterinarian before reimbursement would be made. I will take back any dog without any question ( if you just
decide you don't want the dog without some reason for not being able to show) but there will be no refund and cost to return said puppy will be
at your expense.
When a dog is sold as a show puppy I do expect that this puppy will be shown. I will sell a puppy to people if they want to breed only with
special approval. Some considerations will also be given to people that want a show potential puppy that do not want to show.
With all my puppies I want to impress upon the new owners that I will occasionally contact them to see how the puppy is doing. I would like
to be kept informed as to how they are progressing. The health and well being of my puppies are very important to me as a breeder and as
a pet owner.
More important however is that they go to a home where they are going to be loved and appreciated for being a beautiful and intelligent dog
that will give you many years of companionship and love.