Huskies and Malamutes

Now I know that the two are completely different in temperment and care, but they are similar enough that one post should do.

I love the way that they appear. They remind me of wolves which are my favorite animal. I know that Mom thinks that they are ugly, but if I had to pick any dog breed I would pick a husky or a Malamute. Just seeing one of these puppies makes me grin.

Huskies are independent and strong-willed.

They are supposed to be good with kids, but would need to be trained to accept the cats.

They only shed twice a year, but need to be brushed every week.

Problems:

Huskies are prone to hip dysplasia. However, according to this article from the Siberian Huskie Club of America http://www.shca.org/shcahp4d.htm in a study done on 12,000 huskies only 2.2% were actually dysplastic. This was a few years ago, so the percentage may have gone up or down. Also, if the family history is available, we could check to see if any had hip dysplasia.

Another problem which I'm not sure is true is that huskies are highstrung. A lot of them get left at shelters because the people don't have the energy and time to give huskies the care they need.

Malamutes would be the better choice for us because they are friendly, affectionate, and loyal and generally do well with kids. They weigh about 20 pounds more than huskies. So about 75-85 pounds.

The only big problem that I can think of is that they can be huge. If we get it from the pound we won't really know if the parents were "giant" malamutes (around 140 pounders) or not until the puppy reaches full size.

Also, the profile says that they need at least an hour of hard exercise every day for either breed. I would be forced to exercise. T_T (This might actually be a good thing).