Husky Mix: Size, Coat, Blue Eyes and What DNA Shows

A Husky mix usually means a dog with Siberian Husky ancestry. Siberian Huskies are medium-sized sled dogs with thick double coats and, often, blue eyes. In a mix, husky-type blue eyes come mainly from a DNA duplication near the ALX4 gene that's largely restricted to Siberian Huskies: it appears to act dominantly in Huskies, but mixed-breed dogs can carry it and still have brown eyes. "Husky" is also used loosely for sled dogs and other northern-looking dogs, and DNA can sort out which you have.

The Husky side at a glance

Will my Husky mix have blue eyes?

Maybe. A 2018 study of more than 3,000 dogs, with validation panels of nearly 3,000 more, linked husky blue eyes to a 98.6-kilobase duplication just upstream of ALX4, a gene involved in eye development, and identified it as the likely cause. The duplication is largely restricted to Siberian Huskies and is strongly linked to blue eyes, including one blue and one brown eye.

In purebred Huskies, the full study found the duplication appeared to act dominantly, so one copy was usually enough. But brown-eyed dogs of other breeds and mixed-breed dogs also carried it. So a Husky mix that inherits the duplication may well have blue eyes, but it isn't guaranteed, and a brown-eyed Husky mix can still pass the duplication on.

There are other routes to blue eyes too. Merle and white markings that extend over the eyes can make one or both eyes blue. Our guide to blue eyes in dogs covers all three.

How big will a Husky mix get?

Siberian Huskies are medium-sized: the CKC gives females 15.5 to 22.5 kg and males up to 27 kg. A Husky mix can end up anywhere between its parents' sizes, though not necessarily in the middle. A cross with a German Shepherd or a Labrador usually gives a medium to large dog, while a cross with a small breed, such as the Pomeranian in a Pomsky, is much smaller and harder to predict.

Our guide to how big a mixed-breed puppy will get explains how to estimate it.

Coat and shedding

The Husky's thick double coat is built for cold, and it sheds, especially when the undercoat comes out as the seasons change. The CKC says thorough, regular brushing is required. Most Husky mixes shed too, unless they inherit low-shedding genes such as furnishings from the other side. Shaving isn't the answer to shedding: the American Kennel Club advises against shaving double-coated dogs.

Our guide to the genetics of shedding explains why some coats shed more than others, and our guide to the best dogs for Canadian winters covers what a double coat does in the cold.

"Alaskan husky" isn't a breed

Many sled dogs called huskies aren't Siberian Huskies at all. The Alaskan husky is a sled dog bred for performance rather than looks, and it isn't a kennel-club breed. A 2010 genetic study of 199 Alaskan sled dogs found a distinct genetic signature built from several breeds: Alaskan Malamute and Siberian Husky ancestry was linked to endurance, Pointer and Saluki ancestry to speed, and Anatolian Shepherd ancestry to work ethic.

So a "husky" from a sled-dog line can show a surprising mix of breeds in a DNA test. Canada also has its own Arctic sled dog, the Canadian Inuit dog, which our guide to Canadian dog breeds covers.

Temperament

The CKC describes the typical Siberian Husky as friendly and gentle, with an outgoing personality and an eager, happy disposition. It's an active breed that prefers the outdoors and needs lots of regular exercise. A Husky mix may share some of that, mixed with its other breeds' tendencies. Breed is a loose guide to any one dog, though: a 2022 study of more than 18,000 dogs found breed explains only about 9% of behavioural differences between individual dogs.

Reading a Husky result in a DNA report

The PuppyGenes breed ancestry section estimates a dog's breed mix as percentages, including any ancestry that couldn't be resolved. Its physical appearance section includes an eye colour prediction based on ALX4, the husky-type route, with its own confidence; merle is reported separately in the coat colour section when the sample supports it. A few pointers:

• Around 50% Siberian Husky suggests one Husky parent, and around 25% a Husky grandparent, though real results rarely land on exact fractions. Our guide to breed percentages explains why.
• Sled-dog ancestry can come back as a mix of several breeds rather than mostly Husky.
• Closely related breeds are harder to separate, as are small contributions, especially where reference data are limited.

If you're weighing a test, our guides to whether dog DNA tests are legit and dog DNA testing in Canada cover what to check before you buy.