Irish Wolfhoud/Siberian Husky

Question
Dear Labman,

I have a very small backyard and i was wondering which dog would be easier to maintain. A Husky or and Irish Wolfhound? Which dog is the fastest?

Answer
I know there are Huskies that can do OK with little space.  Not sure about Irish Wolfhounds.  Who know what a puppy you buy will turn out like.  

Finding a good breeder and purchasing a puppy that will make a good pet is very difficult. Almost nobody is intentionally breeding dogs to be nice pets. Most of your so called reputable breeders are breeding for show or something. They may say the puppies they don't keep for their purpose make great pets, but the truth is that the parents were selected for other than health and temperament. Often they keep the puppies in the kennel too long and they miss the important early socialization puppies need to live in the house with people.

Next are the disreputable breeders. Puppy mills breed any 2 registered dogs they can lay a hold of looking only at the money they can make selling them to pet stores. Pet store puppies are easy to find, but difficult to socialize into nice pets, perhaps difficult to even keep alive. You will not get what you pay for at a pet store.

Backyard breeders are only slightly better. At least there, most of the breeding stock is acceptable to live in somebody's home as a pet. Unfortunately many of them know nothing about what it takes to produce quality puppies. Some of them are breeding for the selfish pleasure of vicarious motherhood, and others the same greed as puppy mills. If you don't get good answers to questions about allergies or OFA and CERF certification, go elsewhere.

Avoid puppies forced to live in their filth or that saw little outside their kennel between 6-12 weeks. At 7-8 weeks, a puppy is quick to adjust to its new home, new people, and new things. Past 12 weeks, it may never adjust to its new life as well. Even some of the better breeders hold puppies too long without proper socilization.

One of the best sources for dogs with a predictable personality is the rescue dogs. These are dogs that lost their home, but were taken into a foster home to be retrained as necessary and placed in the right home for them. You may find a rescue near you starting at http://www.akc.org/breeds/rescue.cfm The rescues charge a fee to help cover their expenses, but is much less than the price of a puppy plus all its medical expenses the first year.