The Yakutian Laika is a rare breed of sled dog (husky, huskies) from the coldest region of Siberia. They are a medium size dog with a double coat, pointed ears and generally a curly tail. Many people don't even know that a Siberian Husky actually should not have a curly tail.
Most people do not realize that the Siberian Husky is actually an American breed. The country of origin even by the Russian Kennel Federation is listed as the United States of America because while the breed was started with some dogs imported from Russia, the breed was actually developed here.
The Yakutian Laika (Laika means dog or barker) or Yakut Husky which is actually a Russian breed developed in the Yakutsk region of Siberian and around the coldest city on earth Yakutia.
For some people they may look like a Samoyed with added color or even a Border Collie mix. They are often mistaken for Wooly Coated Siberian Huskies. The big difference being that the coat of the Yakutian Laika is correct and so it can be bred for properly for heating and cooling of the dog where the coat of a wooly husky is not correct for that breed and will vary so much it's not likely to be functional. Wooly Huskies tend to be very hard to groom. We really encourage people who are looking for a wooly husky puppies to learn about the Yakutian Laika. They are a true primitive breed so some do have a strong preference only for the people they know well. However, they bond very strongly with their owners and tend to be more off lead reliable than Siberian Huskies overall.
Our own puppies are started playing on the ranch off lead and moving about in a changing environment so that they learn to rely on us and are generally easy to bond with. They are primarily a sled dog. That is their primary purpose. They are also used some for herding, very little for hunting. They are not the right breed if you are looking for a major hunting dog. They do have a slightly protective nature and can be considered a watch dog as they definitely want to alert you if something is going on. But, they really are more alerting you so that you can handle the situation.
General Appearance: The Yakutian Laika is a medium-sized working dog. The functional double coat and plumed tail identify him as a dog capable of surviving severe arctic weather while its strong, compact, well-muscled body identify him as capable of performing a number of tasks upon which the inhabitants relied.
Eyes – The oval eyes are wide apart and evenly set. Any color is permissible including brown, blue, bi-eyed or parti-eyed.
Size, Proportion, Substance: Height – Dogs 21.5 – 23.5 inches; Bitches – 20.5 – 22.5 inches. Deviations from these heights should be penalized Substance – Any appearance of excessive or weak bone should be penalized.
Proportions – The length of the body from the point of the shoulder to the buttocks is slightly longer than the height of the dog from the ground to the withers by 10-13%. Length of leg from elbow to ground is slightly more than the distance from the elbow to the top of the withers by approximately 55%. Coat: Double coat of medium length. The undercoat is soft and dense. The outercoat is straight and coarse to the touch. The forelegs and trousers are heavily feathered. The Yakutian Laikas carry a mane on the neck, particularly in the males.
Color: Any color, color pattern, or combination of colors is acceptable, including dogs with minimal markings. The only acceptable solid color is white.
* Note that the Russian National breed club has made a clear statement against the breeding of blue Yakutian Laikas so we will not be intentionally breeding for blue here at NorthStar. Blue dogs can be affected by issues from "Color Dilution Alopecia" and though I am not aware yet of cases of it in the Yakutian Laika there are only a few blue Yakutian Laikas so it cannot yet be excluded as possible. We have very few dogs that carry dilute at all, and though the first blue (blue agouti really) Yakutian Laika puppies were born in our kennel to a female owned by someone else at the time. We only have a few dogs that carry the gene and we can easily avoid it in breeding plans. We are happy to discuss which lines do and do not potentially carry the blue dilute gene in our Yakutian Laikas.
