What is the difference between “pet” and “show” quality?
“Show Quality” is a term that is often misunderstood and misused. It can mean something as simple as a puppy with no disqualifying faults (as listed in the breed standard) at the time of sale. The serious buyer looking for a potential winner or breeding stock had best spend time going to dog shows and talking to exhibitors as well as studying the standard for the breed. Serious and disqualifying faults to avoid include overshot or undershot bites, missing teeth, long or curly coats, light eyes, hip dysplasia and unstable temperaments. All lines carry one or more of these traits, and a responsible breeder will be able to give you a candid description of what is in your animal’s genetic background. Be aware that the nicest puppy in the litter can mature into a very mediocre adult. Be prepared to critically evaluate your dog, because even if you paid a good price you may still end up with a pet. “Pet Quality”: many time breeders will offer puppies with serious faults for lower prices than
If you have no intention of showing or breeding your Siberian, a breeder may recommend a “pet” quality dog rather than a “show” or “breeding” quality dog. Generally, at the time of selling a dog, a breeder will evaluate it based on the Siberian Husky Breed Standard. This is a word description of what the perfect Siberian should be. Unfortunately no dog is perfect, so a breeder may evaluate the faults of a dog, and that some dogs with few faults demonstrate “show” potential while others with more or more serious faults do not. Many of these faults are not even noticeable by others, and should not keep the dog from being a wonderful pet. Should the breeder feel the faults are significant enough that the dog should not be bred, he or she may sell the dog on a contract requiring spaying or neutering, or on an CKC “Non Breeding registration” which makes offspring from the dog ineligible for registration. However, even if a dog has such a fault to keep it from being bred, it can still make a
