History of blood
The Russian-European Laika was bred for hunting. In the selection work to obtain a new breed, aboriginal huskies from Finland, Karelia, Kostroma, Komi, Arkhangelsk and Votyak dogs were used. In the USSR, the breed was approved in the sixties of the last century with the main reference black and white color and exterior, which the breed inherited from the male Putik. The dog was born from a West Siberian Laika bitch and a dog from the Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. It was a successful experiment by Soviet livestock specialists. A seething mixture of the best qualities of almost all Laikas available in the Land of the Soviets resulted in a universal dog for hunting most popular species of game. Of course, a dog is not a robot; each puppy is born with its own character, which a hunter must take into account when taking a furry ball into his home. And you shouldn’t expect that one dog will be universal for every animal or bird.
Features of hunting with a husky
The material described above makes it obvious that the foundation for successful hunting with a husky is its careful selection at the beginning, and then the daily training of the dog. Raising a husky for hunting must include active, long walks between the owner and the dog. It is perfectly acceptable to include a human aid in the form of a bicycle or something similar. A novice hunter should also not be stingy when it comes to travel distances. Their long routes will be the key to the excellent development and health of a young dog.
As soon as the hunter goes through all the procedures for becoming a companion in the faithful ranks of game hunters, you can go on joint trips to hunt many animals. There is a division into several general groups for correct execution and obtaining a positive result at the end of execution.
Description of the breed
Due to the prevailing black color, a layman, even looking at a photo of a Russian-European husky, may confuse it with the East Siberian breed. This, of course, is at first, superficial glance.
The Russian-European Laika is a medium-sized dog with a dry body constitution. She is mobile, with an increased indicative reaction, and has a balanced temperament. Shows no malice towards people. When hunting, it gallops, rarely breaking into a trot.
The description of the Russian-European Laika begins with growth metrics. This dog is not large and not small - medium. Males at the withers are up to 58 cm, females - up to 54 cm. Adults weigh from 17 to 22 kg. They live on average up to 13 years. Dogs of this breed have thick hair, straight, coarse on top, thickened with soft undercoat. A lush collar of top coat decorates the neck, withers and shoulders. The coat is shorter on the head, muzzle and ears. On the hind legs it forms fluffy pants. The entire length of the tail is equally pubescent, with slightly longer hair on the underside, but without dewlap.
Black and white or white and black colors are the hallmark of the breed. The Russian-European Laika can be completely white, but with one black spot, and vice versa. But most representatives of this breed “wear” color in a ratio of ninety to ten or sixty to forty. Often, Russian-European Laika puppies are born almost white, which is a positive factor for further breeding in order to maintain the necessary balance of white color. In general, white huskies can show themselves better in a hunt; the animal does not immediately recognize them against the background of snow. The advantage for black dogs appeared due to the trend of keeping them in city apartments. Dirt on white dogs is immediately noticeable.
Exterior defects
In the classic description of the Russian-European Laika breed, in addition to the color requirements, the following unacceptable shortcomings and defects are indicated:
- Thinness or fatness.
- The body is too massive.
- Excessively elongated head, too pronounced or flattened stop.
- Upturned muzzle, excessive length or roughness.
- Large ears, low set, motionless.
- Rounded ends of ears.
- Heavy “stilted” step.
- Sloping croup, narrow or flat.
- The tan marks on the head differ from the main color.
Ways of learning
East Siberian Laika: description of the breed
Training puppies for hunting begins when they reach 2-3 months of age. It is best to take your pet to nature, but you can get by in urban conditions. At this stage, the puppy is trained on its own. Complete submission and obedience must be achieved.
At a young age, it is very important to praise your pet for its achievements. You cannot be aggressive or rude. Also, you should not allow your husky to be offended by other dogs or yard cats.
They begin training wild boars at the age of 8 months. In the early periods, you can teach hunting for small animals and game.
The first commands that a dog must learn are “sit”, “near”, “fetch” and “no”. The last one is especially important. It is recommended to take the dog out into the forest more often, so he can get used to the smells and surroundings.
Character
In terms of nervous balance, they are superior to the Karelian-Finnish ones, but are slightly inferior to the West Siberian huskies. This is more than justified by unprecedented passion, activity, endurance, excellent hearing, sensitive nose and vigilance. The Russian-European Laika requires space, so it is better to keep them in a private home, with the ability to move freely around the garden. Living in a city apartment is unacceptable for them. A compromise is possible in the case of frequent and long walks with physical activity. They need work so that they have the opportunity to throw out their accumulated energy, both physical and emotional. Therefore, if a dog is locked in an apartment for the entire working day, by the evening the owner will be greeted with “surprises” in the form of a gutted sofa, armchair, torn wallpaper, chewed slippers and couture leather shoes. You can buy a cage, but this is a solution if this is not practiced daily. If the owner does not have time for long active walks with a husky, it is better to think about choosing a different breed. If there is enough time for walking, and the owner of the husky is not a hunter, then engaging the dog in sports (agility, obedience, and others) becomes an option. But still, none of the dog sports will satisfy the husky’s zeal for hunting.
The characteristics of the Russian-European Laika include negative qualities. They include willfulness. During a hunt, a husky can go far and not be called for a long time. There were cases when the dogs returned, but it’s worth noting that they returned on their own, on the third day. That is, the second negative quality is the tendency to escape. And third - vocality. This invaluable quality when hunting brings a lot of inconvenience to a city apartment. Which again confirms the unacceptability of keeping huskies in the city.
If there are children in the house, huskies will be great friends for them, even for very young ones. They have a low sensitivity to pain, which allows them to tolerate the pestering of children. Laika will never offend a child; on the contrary, they subconsciously strive to protect and protect them.
A Russian-European husky puppy is accustomed to pets, especially poultry and rabbits, from a very early age, in order to prevent “inclinations” towards them in the future.
Caring for the Russian-European Laika
Unpretentiousness in maintenance becomes one of the main reasons for hunters in choosing a breed. They are kept mainly in enclosures with a warm booth. In apartments, it is necessary to allocate a spacious place with your own couch, and in no case should children be allowed on beds or chairs for educational purposes.
Even if the dog has its own enclosure and a yard with a fence where it can move freely, active walking is required. It is also necessary to provide her with physical activity. It wouldn’t hurt to maintain communication with her (no matter that dogs don’t understand words). Otherwise, the husky will develop nervousness.
Although the dog is unpretentious in grooming, its thick fur will still have to be combed. Bathing procedures are not necessary for her; huskies are bathed no more than 2 times a year. But the ears and eyes require constant care and monitoring.
Teeth are brushed twice a week, either with a toothbrush or a special fingertip. Otherwise, tartar, caries and, as a result, tooth loss may develop. A dog without teeth is a disabled person.
A healthy dog's eyes are vibrant and shiny. Slight gray discharge in the corners of the eyes in the morning is acceptable. This is how the dog’s body cleanses the organs of vision from dust. And yet you should monitor them, and for preventive purposes, wash them weekly with chamomile decoction. In this case, the dog is not allowed to walk outside until the eyes (the fur around them) are dry.
Claws are trimmed once a month. In general, paws should be checked for damage after every walk or hunt. Unfortunately, broken glass and cans in the forest are the norm for our country. Not to mention the city. Since the husky must be taken out into the forest or field outside the city, the need for treatment against ectoparasites is natural.
Working qualities
The characteristics of the Russian-European Laika breed include, first of all, its ability to work in the field. It is used for almost all types of game. Laikas work on fur-bearing animals, boars, bears. The dog is trained to hunt hogfish, waterfowl, including wading birds. Works on them in the same way as a spaniel does. Precocity in work is a fairly common phenomenon in the behavior of puppies of this breed. As a result of appropriate training, already in the eighth or ninth month of life, squirrels and capercaillie are searched for, almost on a par with adult huskies.
About the use of dogs on water bodies
Laikas are often used when hunting waterfowl. The main task of the dog is to track down a bird hiding in the bushes. The pet then sneaks up on the prey and jumps to scare it away.
Use in ponds
The flying bird falls into the fire line area. All that is required from the hunter is a well-aimed shot. The dog will also bring killed game.
Laika is a unique breed and an irreplaceable assistant. The main thing is to have the right approach to choosing a puppy and its further training. In case of any difficulties or insufficient experience, it is better to entrust the training to a specialist.
Health
It is safe to say that the Russian-European Laika is a dog with good health. It is characterized by endurance and resistance to various types of diseases. No diseases have yet been found that are inherited by huskies.
In order to maintain the dog’s health, you will certainly need to provide him with a full walk, exercise him physically, feed him a balanced diet with a sufficient amount of vitamins and give him plenty of water. In this case, metabolic disorders become unlikely.
Hunters' opinions about the breed
On forums dedicated to hunting with dogs, there are many reviews about the Russian-European Laika. Most of them are positive. The owners note that these are serious dogs. Not everyone decides to have them, fearing aggressiveness. But they do not show aggression, but behave very self-sufficiently. Most owners live in enclosures with booths. According to the owners, the husky's fur deteriorates due to poor living conditions. Proper training is also important. You can train your dog not to pay attention to chickens and other domestic animals. This allows the poultry to roam freely around the yard. Many people note that huskies are good dogs, but not for keeping in apartments.
Selection and cost of a puppy
When choosing a puppy, you should decide on the purpose of the purchase . There can be two of them: hunting and exhibition career. In the first case, you need to look for parents not with a pedigree, but with hunting experience. Excellent hunters give birth to beautiful puppies that, almost with their mother's milk, absorb all the wisdom of their future business. Pedigree, of course, in this case will simply protect against deception when purchasing. But if you take a dog for a show career, then first of all you need to look at the regalia of the parents (what titles they have).
Puppies show their hunting qualities from early childhood, so a specialist can recommend a specific baby as a good assistant
In Russia there are nurseries and private breeders of Russian-European huskies, so there is no need to take risks by purchasing a baby without documents.
In any case, a husky puppy should be very active and inquisitive. The cost of babies ranges from 15–30 thousand rubles. For a spotted puppy, look at the location of the spots, the main thing is that you like the appearance.
White dogs are more valuable because they are considered rare.
There are nurseries all over our country:
- "Lika puppies" Pushkino, Moscow region;
- "Spindle" Osha, Omsk region;
- “Bombor”, Semyonovka village, Smolensk region.
