Husky/Chow puppy

Question
Hi.  After 25 years of owning purebred chows, we just adopted an adorable little Husky/Chow mix puppy from a rescue group.  Needless to say, he is much more energetic then any of our chows were, but he is incredibly smart and sweet. I can train him to do almost anything from agility to sitting up and begging.  He has some odd habits and I am wondering if they are typical Husky traits.  When he plays with us he does this odd thing where he snaps his mouth open and shut almost like he is trying to talk but no sound comes out. He also uses his paws like hands constantly, from pouncing and digging in his water bowl for ice cubes (he LOVES water) to pawing at people, the door,  pouncing on bugs, batting at the Lhasa Apso's head, etc....   Totally unlike any of my previous chow puppies.  Since we have never had a Husky, I didn't know if these were particular Husky things or just him.
 He is such a character that we have fallen in love with Huskies although the 11 year old Lhasa isn't real thrilled with him!

Answer
My wife's family has a 17 year old Lhasa, and he's not too thrilled with the Sibes either.  As for the behavior, it is very common as both of my Sibes do the "phantom barking" and they love pawing stuff.  As for digging in the water, well, it's one of the messier traits, and common in actually several kennels more than the breed.

Congratulations and good luck!  Let me know if you need anything!