Tracking the genetic background of Sasha the Husky

Times staff writer Jerry Hirsch continues his chronicle of Sasha, a husky he encountered on a street in downtown Los Angeles. Hirsch brought Sasha home, only to discover that she liked to wander -- and that healthcare for animals who like to roam is expensive. Look for periodic updates on Sasha in the weeks to come on L.A. Unleashed.

Sasha the Siberian Husky has a story, but she’s never going to tell. Lacking any knowledge of what befell Sasha before I rescued her from Spring Street near my office a few months ago, I decided to learn about her breed.

Nearly every inquiry pointed me to a May 2004, issue of the journal Science, in which researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle reported the first extensive genetic comparison of domestic dog breeds.

The Siberian Husky is one of the ancient breeds that are genetically closest to the gray wolf, thought to be the ancestor of canines. Of the 14, the Husky is a member of a group of seven with some of the oldest genetic patterns.

But while Sasha’s genetic pool is closer to a wolf than other dogs, that doesn’t mean she acts like a wolf. Huskies will moan and howl, but that’s about as far as it goes. The breed likes to hang out with people, not hunt them. The Chukchi tribes of Siberia, the source of the Husky name, used the animals to pull sleds and had the animals sleep with their children to help keep them warm. After feeling Sasha’s lush coat — she’s a living Cashmere sweater — I can see why.

Huskies are not particularly aggressive with humans or canines. But they will bolt unexpectedly, which is why you never let them off leash, ever! They are sometimes aloof, following commands at their pleasure, not yours. While at times irritating, none of this is wolfish. They don’t even make good guard dogs.

The genetic cluster of ancient dogs that include Sasha can be viewed as outcasts, pushed with migratory peoples thousands of years ago to what at the time where the remote outposts of the world.

There is the Basenji of Central Africa; the Saluki and Afghan Hound from the Middle East; the Tibetan Terrier and Lhasa Apso of Tibet; the Chow Chow, Shar Pei, Shih Tzu and Pekingese of China; the Akita and Shiba Inu of Japan and finally the closely related Arctic dogs: Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute and Samoyed.

The ancestors to these dogs probably came from Asia and migrated with nomadic groups south to Africa and north to the Arctic, the Science authors said.

There are more than 400 breeds of dog, most developed in only the last 300 years. Sasha and her fellow Arctic dogs, so isolated from other breeds, kept the closest resemblance to mother wolf.

Read earlier installments of Sasha's story here.

Comments

[TomH]

The magnificent Husky is one of the more gentle, affectionate, and sweet-tempered breeds. They were bred to RUN, and need lots of excersise and stimulation to prevent them from becoming bored and/or destructive.

They also enjoy digging very large holes, and can easily dig under most fences and gates. So besides not letting Sascha off leash (except in a well fenced dog park), make sure your back yard is "Husky proof" ... or she almost certainly will make a jail break, one day.

[Kaisa Lappalainen]

...“The breed likes to hang out with people, not hunt them”…
From the context I read that you are referring to…wolves hunting people…? Of course we all know that it is the people that hunted the wolves into near-extinction. The wolves rather wish to stay out of our way… But of course there is the distinction between the wild and the domesticated…
I strongly believe we need to speed up our graduation from the old tales of Little Red and Little Three Pigs and move onwards to the new era of different stories: our enemy is not “out there” in the “dark Nature” that any moment is waiting to “come and get us”…BUT, rather, the enemy is within us in our own fears of what we cannot have…because it belongs to the wild.

[Tanya Kane-Parry]

I rescued my first Husky off the streets of NYC, in the East Village. Over the past 18 years I have had three Huskies. Yes, they are bolters, diggers, somewhat indifferent to their human's "commands", and very, very smart. To new caregivers/companions of this breed, I like to point out that, compared to the Pitbull, whose attitude is "what can I do to please you, Human-Who-Feeds-Me?", the Husky's attitude is "What's in it for ME?". Contrary to many trainer's advice, I find treats/food to be a great motivator. On walks I keep a pouch filled with treats and as we work on NOT pulling on the leash, I use many treats to reward each positive step forward. Another critical issue is exercise - and a lot of it! We jog one hour every morning (attach the leash to a fanny pack that has poop bags and treats, so you can run freely and the dog is connected to your hips - a more powerful center of gravity as well as an umbilical connection to your breath), then an early evening hour-long walk or visit to a dog park, and then a late-night 30-45 minute neighborhood walk. Its really important that the Husky now all the smells and pathways around your neighborhood and back to your home, so that if and when the dog does bolt, Sasha will know her way home. Oh, and always give Sasha a treat when you come back inside from a walk, so that going home is perceived as a positive event. And finally, know that as Huskies have a high-predation level, they will hunt cats, squirrels and all things small and fuzzy. Oh, and notice how they hate to be left alone! Doggie Day Care is a great solution for this pack animal. Congrats on bringing this lovely being into your life. She is so lucky you saved her!

[Joe Call]

My wife and I found a husky one Christmas day during a snow storm. She was laying in the doorway of a pizzeria. After trying unsuccessfully to find the owners, we adopted "Boots" as a companion to our border collie. Boots had severe wanderlust and managed to escape from almost all barriers we tried. Because we had tags, she usually turned up, often in strange places. She did things like scale fences, dig under them, jump out of the back of a covered pick up truck and even leaped from a second story window without any injuries. One day she finally escaped and didn't return. For a long long time we still had hope she was out there wandering around and would some day turn up. She was a great dog with a remarkable personality.