General Appearance: "The Siberian Husky is a medium-sized working dog, quick and light on his feet and free and graceful in action," so begins our standard. But what is a Siberian really like?
If you are a "dog person" (no, I don't mean a dog-headed monster like the canine equivalent from the horror movie "The Fly") but are an individual who truly feels a rapport with our waggy friends, then perhaps you have lived with other breeds of dogs in your life.
Each breed has a standard that elaborates on the physical characteristics that distinguishes it from other breeds of dogs. But does our standard or any standard really describe what living with its represented breed in day to day life is really like?
Perhaps in the following proposed addendum to the standard of the Siberian Husky, you may recognize breed traits that apply to your Siberian Husky as they do to mine!
Head: Skull - Of medium size, able to be draped beneath the lace, dining room tablecloth as the Siberian peers up to plead for choice morsels of his owner's dinner; resembling a ravenous albeit, toothy bride. Fault - Extending the neck too far so that the tablecloth slides past the occipital bone down the neck destroying the aforementioned appealing nuptial illusion.
Body: Neck - Medium in length, arched and carried hunched into the shoulders to facilitate "kennel springing." The upper arm of the shoulder angles slightly backward to ease the shock of force as the Siberian, anxiously awaiting his release, springs off the floor of his kennel run straight into the air simultaneously bringing his four legs beneath him, achieving greater height on each leap. Fault - Leaping too high thus slamming the head on the kennel roof rendering the springee unconscious, possibly incurring serious injury.
Legs and Feet: Forelegs - The legs are moderately spaced, strong, but not heavy; able to propel the Siberian down the hall full tilt to his owner's bedroom to bound on the end of the bed. The Siberian Husky, by keeping his legs extended and rigid upon landing, rapidly "skates" the length of the bedspread to the headboard, whirls around back to the end of the hallway and joyously "bed-skates" all over again. Feet - Oval in shape, but not long. Paws must be medium in size and compact to bestow the most efficient effort at shredding it's owner's newspaper with one swipe as the owner is holding it in front of his/her face to read. Fault - Paws too large or clumsy to shred with businesslike proficiency.
Tail: The well-furred tail of fox-brush shape is set on just below the level of topline, and usually lies across the Siberian Husky muzzle as he assumes his characteristic, preferred posture; curled up into a tight ball on the living room couch giving an impression of terminal cuteness. Fault - Looking cute when noone is watching.
Gait: The Siberian Husky's characteristic gait is smooth and seemingly effortless as he "worms" along the length of his owner's bed on sleepy Sunday mornings; snaking his body ever closer; chortling loudly to express his bliss; turning himself inside out to solicit petting from his agreeable but drowsy master. If ignored, the Siberian has been known to initiate repeated, increasingly obnoxious, paw prodding to the owner's face and shoulder area to rouse him/her until the desired attention is surrendered. Fault - Blinding said owner due to poorly aimed paw prodding.
Coat: The coat of the Siberian Husky is double and medium in length and is shed once or twice a year in such volume as to seriously tax an industrial strength vacuum cleaner. The Siberian coat is commonly groomed by the lead dog in its pack who clicks his teeth together through the younger dogs coat for cleaning purposes. Fault - Not delaying shedding of the coat until after the entries have already been mailed to a major Specialty.
Color: All colors from black to pure white are allowed. A variety of markings on the head are common including a "lure-de-flea" shaped mask not seen in other breeds.
Temperament: The characteristic temperament of the Siberian is friendly and gentle and even nurturing towards his owner who he considers as just one of the pack. This may be demonstrated by the unique Siberian behavior of "shower licking." When the owner emerges from the shower or bath, the Siberian has been known to hastily lick the droplets off the limbs of said owner in distress as if fearful for the owner if he/or she remains damp. Such attachment to the owner is also reflected by the harmonious chorus of Siberian Husky voices that are raised in welcome to the owner as he/she returns to the homestead. This breed, perhaps more than any other, remains assured that the whole county knows how well-loved his master is or at least, the time that said master returns home.
Size: Height - Dogs, 21 to 23 1/2 inches at the withers or tall enough to see what's been left unattended on the kitchen counter. Bitches, 20 to 22 inches. Weight in proportion to height except for instances when the owner neglects to securely close the dog cupboard door. Fault - Failure to extract the head out of the dog food bag at the sound of footsteps and skedaddling quickly enough.
Summary: The most important breed characteristics of the Siberian Husky are the ability to display appealing tablecloth draping, kennel-springing, bed-skating, newspaper shredding, terminal cuteness, worming, incessant paw-prodding, industrial strength coat shedding, shower-licking, neighborhood watch welcome home singing, kitchen counter attacks, and bag raiding. In addition to the faults already noted, obvious Siberian deficiencies such as coming when called, being easy to catch if escaped, are undesirable even though they are not specifically mentioned.
Disqualification: Dogs over 23 1/2 inches at the withers and bitches over 22 inches or either not tall enough to reach the nearest human face to lavish with thorough and complete kissing. Now that's a Siberian Husky!