Husky-Bichon Frise mix

Question
We have recently lost our collie-shepard mix dog (Shilo)to cancer. The most perfect temperament that suited our family. We now have the opportunity to get a ...are you ready a Husky-Bichon Frise mix. Right now the pups are 6 wks old too young to take. But if we do decide to take one, would you know what temperament he/she might have. We did see a picture..cute! The dad is the husky and it looks like the pups look more like the husky down to the one eye blue the other brown just like dad.

I am just concerned as it is part husky. I have 2 cats and 2 older children but do have young nieces and nephews who come to visit. Are huskies good with young children? If you have any tips or guidance it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Gail

Answer
First of all any time that you mix two breeds, you are often times less certain of the results.  Sometimes you end up with traits right in the middle of two breeds, other times you end up with getting only extremes from the dog.  Because of the difference in breeding, it is very difficult to select preferred traits when crossing breeds.  Obviously your collie-shepherd mix had traits that suited your family well, and that's always a good thing.

Now, I'm no expert on Bichons by any means, so I can't even begin to suggest what you might be ending up with.  My best guess is that you should look into the Bichon and realize that you should prepare for the worst (finding the most undesirable traits in both breeds, and seeing if that still works for you).  Realize that you might get extremes, but you might get lucky and find that some of the less desirable traits are moderated.

As for Sibes - your concern about kids and cats are well founded.  First, let's discuss the kids.  Sibes are great with kids overall: they are rambunctious, high energy, playful and very friendly dogs as a breed.  The problem: Sibes are rambunctious, high energy, playful and very friendly.  You see, while Sibes seem to love almost everyone, and love play, they lack loyalty, often times are difficult to obedience train and always are looking for opportunities to play.  In addition, their high energy and rambunctious attitude can seem mildly aggressive at times, or cause injury as the dogs don't always "mind their manners."  This often results in Sibes jumping up, accidentally scratching kids (sometimes on the face), and playful nips that are sometimes a little hard.  The key is supervision and training of both human and canine alike in how to react to each other.  With practice and diligence, Sibes learn quickly and understand that play with rules is better than no play at all.  So, as far as good with kids - they are great, but just keep in mind that it is your responsibility to make sure they are trained in how to behave.

As for cats - that's the issue.  Sibes were bred with an extremely high prey drive.  As one person so eloquently put it, what this means is that: "Sibes will chase what they see; catch what they chase; kill what they catch; and eat what they kill."  Well, actually, the eating part sometimes is more dog specific - many times they just like to chase and catch.  Unfortunately, with their rough play, catching and killing is all too common.  Now, the prey drive was bred into the Siberian Husky for a very specific reason - it helps them focus on running when pulling a sled.  What this does mean however is that just about any small animal can fall victim to this prey drive - especially one that is small and likes to run.

As for raising a Siberian with cats, that is often times the ONLY way to encourage a safe relationship.  If the Sibe is raised knowing that the cats are there and off limits, they are more likely to respect that.  Unfortunately, even this isn't always a foolproof method of protecting feline companions.  Generally however, a zero tolerance to any play with feline is beneficial, as well as ensuring that the cats have an escape route and safe place to hide away from the dog.  Keeping cats fully clawed also helps - as a cat scratch across the nose is a good reminder that cats are for snuggling, not eating.

I have heard and seen several cases where Sibes who grew up with cats were wonderful together, and have heard of accidents in which Sibes played a little too rough with a cat and caused injury or death.  As with anything, due diligence is helpful and always err on the side of caution.  This might be one trait that the Bichon cross will help with though, so keep that in mind.

I hope that helps in your decision, and if you decide to take the dog, feel free to write back and we can delve into some more specific examples and tips to make sure that things go as smoothly as possible.