ron2
Posted : 3/30/2006 7:58:24 PM
Yes. Though he may not look just like "Demon" from "Snowdogs", Shadow is very much a husky in temperment and metabolism and some physiology. Local owners of Siberians can see it in him. Just the other day, I took him to Canine Comissary in Plano, Tx and one of the clerks immediately spotted it in him. One lab breeder who has seen him has estimate him to be somewhere between 50 and 80 percent husky. None of what I knew about labs worked with him. When I started really learning about Siberian Huskies and applying that knowledge, then he responded, plus I now knew what to expect of him. Life got easier and he was happier. Since that is predominately what he is, regardless of coat coloration, that is why I've been headlong into husky stuff. He does do a few lab things. He has soft mouth (soft lips and pressure sensitivity, to not crush things in retrieval). He will point on prey. I've seen him follow a scent track on concrete in the rain. His ears do lop but he can also hold each ear up and sometimes, both simultaneously. Of course, the eyes. Brown is an eye color for both labs and huskies, but the light amber of his eyes is husky. The bushy tail, the short, pointed ears. His fur has several colors. Black, brown, red, white, and gray. His face is getting a siberian mask that makes him look like wolf dog. Marks of black, brown, and red, with some white showing around the eyes.
I believe part of the reason for a mix to be more like one breed than the other has to do with mtDNA, which comes from the mother or dam. For example, if you have a husky dam and a lab sire, your dog will be a husky with husky/lab appearance. The appearance will partly result from nDNA from both parents. Like a husky, Shadow is photosensitive. That is, fur grows or sheds depending on the length of daylight hours. He grows more fur in the fall and blows coat in the spring.