Siberian husky

A Siberian Husky is a medium-sized working dog in the Spitz Breed group. It is registered as native to U.S.A, but actually it's native to Siberia in Russia. It is also known as the Arctic Husky. It looks a little similar to a wolf, but it is not related with the wolf at all. The life expenctancy is 10 to 14 years. The age comparison between the dog and human is like adding 5 human years to find out the dog's age. For example, if the dog is one years old, it would sixteen in human years. At second year, it's 24, at third, it's 30. Many people get confused between Siberian Husky and Alaskan Malamute. Mostly, the Alaskan Malamute is larger. It has a lot of hair because of double coat to endure in the harsh weather in Siberia. Its main purpose is pulling sleds. 

Anatomy
A Siberian Husky is a medium-sized dog. It has a compact and furred body. It shares a lot of similar appearances with the Alaskan Malamute. A male is about 21 to 23.5 inches (53.5 to 60cm) and 45 to 60 pounds (20.5 to 27kg). A female is about 20 to 22 inches (50.5 to 56cm) and 35 to 50 pounds (15.5 to 23cm). It has lots of colors and patterns. Common colors are black and white, grey and white, copper-red and white, and all white. It looks similar to a wolf.

Body (Eyes, Ears, Nose, Tail) - The Siberian Husky usually has blue or brown almond shaped eyes. Sometimes, one of them is blue and the other one is blue which is called "Parti-colored". Its ears are triangular, erect and set on the top of the head. Its nose is also called snow nose or winter nose. It is black in gray and black dogs, and liver in copper dogs. Its tail looks like a fox's tail. It is not erect, and has medium length of hair. 

Coat - The Siberian Husky's coat consists of two different layers, an undercoat and a topcoat. It helps the dog resist the rough weather. It can stand up to the temperature as low as -58℉ to -76℉ (-50℃ to -60℃). It does not have the undercoat during the shedding twice a year. 

Reproduction
Dogs reproduce sexually. Sexual maturity starts around 6 to 12 months for males and females, but it can be delayed for big breeds. Adolescence, which dogs start looking like adults, happens around 12 to 15 months. Dogs are reproductive until old age. A female has its first estrous which means it hits the heat in about 6 to 12 months. This happens once for each 6 months. When this happens, vulva gets bigger and starts bleeding, but after a while, it goes back to normal. The stage is : Proestrus (9 days), Oestrus (9 days), Metoestrus (90 days), and Anoestrus (75 days). A pseudocyesis which is a pregnancy without conception, can happen.

Ejaculation happens in 80 seconds. There are three fractions of semen: clear fluid (Urethral Gland) 0.1 - 3.0 ml, milky fluid (Sperm Rich) 0.5 - 4.0 ml, and clear fluid (Prostate Gland) 1 - 30 ml. Sperm can survive in the virginal tract until the female ovulates. Pregnancy goes for 58 to 68 days. Each litter can have a different dad. A litter consists of 6 to 12 puppies. There is a reproductive disease called canine brucellosis, which sexually transmitted and increases the probability of spontaneous abortion. 

Ecology
Health - The Siberian Husky is relatively clean unlike other dogs. It is pretty easy to take care of. They shed their undercoats twice a year, and it takes up to a few weeks. However, they have occasionally problems with their eyes like juvenile cataracts, which can cause blindness by the age of 2 to 3, corneal dystrophy, which can cause progressive vision loss in the mid age, crystalline corneal opacities, glaucoma, which gives a lot of pain and can cause blindness, ectopy of the urethra and Progressive retinal atrophy(PRA), and central progressive retinal atrophy(CPRA). They also sometimes have zinc responsive dermatitis. Shaving its hair is not good, because then it loses the protection for the sunlight. It is more used in cold weather than hot weather. Its double coat also protects it from heat. 

Temperament - The Siberian Husky has a very favorable temperament. It is friendly, playful, energetic, devoted, sociable and fond of others, so it often regards strangers as a family member and doesn't like to be left alone. If it keeps feeling that way, it will be very destructive and sensitive. It is very intelligent and does not bark that much, so it is not a watch-dog. It howls, sings, and talks rather than barking. It only follows a command if it seems right, so it can also be very stubborn. It eats a small amount of food for its large size. Since it is a working breed, it loves running and being active all the time. The hyperactivity shows a characteristic of kenneled dogs. Training requires patience, consistency and knowledge of the Arctic dog's charateristics. It does not get along well with cats, or any small animals, rats, birds, or fowl. It really depends on how you treat it. 

History
The Siberian Husky is native to Siberia. It's an eskimo dog. It was mainly used for pulling sleds, herding reindeer and hunting by the Chukchi people. It was a great working dog with a good stamina in the Siberia's rough weather condition. It was brought into Alaska in 1909. A Russian fur trader, William Goosak brought a team that was composed of unknown small dogs to a 185km sledding race in Nome, Alaska, but no one cared about them. However, they made a great record. People started getting Huskies from Siberia to Alaka and participating in the race. In 1925, there was a diphtheria epidemic in Nome, and the medicine was in a city which was 270km far way. The situation was very urgent, but it couldn't be brought by train, so the participants of the sledding race made a team made up of 20 Siberian Huskies and brought the medicine to Nome. After that, they became famous and popular. It was registered by the American Kennel Club in 1930.