German Shepherd Husky Mix – Gerberian Shepsky
German shepherd Husky mix, also known as Gerberian Shepsky, is a mixed breed of Siberian Husky and German Shepherd. Both these dog breeds have their specific characteristics, for which most passionate dog lovers prefer them.
| Labels | Breed Specs |
|---|---|
| Name | Gerberian Shepsky Aka Spesky |
| Height | 20-25 Inches |
| Weight | 45 – 90 Pounds |
| Size | Medium – Large (Full Grown) |
| Age (Lifespan) | 10 – 13 Years |
| Colors | Brown, Black, White, Cream, Red, Blue (Two color mix) |
| Price (Cost) | $360 – $900 |
German Shepherds are loyal and gentle family dogs with the most intimidating characters, just like their size. While Huskies are admired for their beauty and attractiveness, the fact that they can be sometimes difficult to handle because of their energy and demeanor makes them difficult to handle.
Both breeds have pros and cons in their characteristics, but each of them is perfect for active families devoted to investing in their space and time for their lovable pets. In addition, there is another most suited option for the unsure owners who are confused about choosing either of these purebred dogs- the Gerberian Shepsky.
The best thing about this dog hybrid is that it brings out both the parents, both in character and looks. Owners and breeders refer to this dog as a designer dog, meaning that it is designed to contain the best overall characteristics of both the breeds and thus can satisfy those unsure pet owners, indecisive of which one to buy.
Is a Gerberian Shepsky a good blend of two?
Before moving on further to discuss its physical and behavioral characteristics, let us first find out, if this hybrid is a good mix of two or not. Well! Gerberian Shepsky is a hybrid of two pure intimidating breed dogs and is designed to contain special characteristics of both of them. So this might not be a small toy dog for fashionistas or a purebred show dog.
This breed contains striking blue eyes and the gorgeous form of the Husky, but it can have a variety of colors, traits, and coat patterns when crossed. Even though the brown color is a common variant in the breed, they are also found in black, cream, red, golden, blue, and grey. However, white colors are most loved and admired among most owners because of their snow-white fluffy physical appearance and ice-blue eyes.
So, there are quite a lot of options for you to choose between the dog colors, but the color is not the only thing to consider while deciding whether it will be the best option for you or not. What you must be considering the most in this hybrid type is its size that might suit some and not others.
It is to be noted that these cute little pups can grow up too big that it might be difficult to handle for some.
German Shepherd Husky Mix; a Quick Look
Gerberian Shepsky Characteristics
This dog type is a blend of both German Shepherd and Husky; it is sure to contain a mix of both breeds. This doesn’t mean all the mixed breeds have the same characters; some might turn up more like their mother and others like their father’s parent. However, the 50-50 breed is more unlikely, and the hybrid will always show up more dominant traits of either of the two parents.
Following are some of its characteristics that you must know before purchasing them for yourself.
- Life-Span
These little pups can grow up large and can live a maximum of up to 10-14 years. Thus, the German shepherd husky mix life span is quite impressive, and hence you can buy a little pup yourself, train it as you like it to grow up, and see it turning out to be a young breed that will satisfy you with its characters, traits, and even the behavior.
- Physical Appearance
Huskies are referred to as one of the most attractive dogs worldwide, and the fact that these are the mix of the Husky and the German, they turn out to be physically even more attractive.
This hybrid dog is extremely beautiful with amazingly startling light golden or blue eyes, just like its Siberian Husky parent. Besides this eye color, they can also have odd-colored eyes: both eyes having different colors. They have long and pointed heads with fierce jaws and teeth. The long and lean body gives an overall elegant appearance to the dog.
It is known that all Gerberian Shepsky breeds are not alike, so the possibilities are that they have either black, blue, brown, cream, white, red, and even blue.
The hair can be either short, medium, or long and even can be sparse, normal, or dense in appearance giving the dog an attractive physical appearance. The texture of their coat varies from straight, wiry, wavy, curly to corded.
- Adaptability Level
German Husky Mix is a great dog that is naturally adaptable to various environments; however, they can survive cold better than they can survive the hot weather, but they love both types of weather.
These dogs are descendants of the dogs adapted to colder environments, so they are well-adapted to cold environments. They can survive temperatures as low as below -10 to -15 degrees, provided that they stay dry.
Gerberian Shepsky is also good at adapting to a hot environment and can act energetically and playfully around the area.
These dogs love hot and cold weather, but it is recommended not to leave them in a hot environment that exceeds 85 degrees Celsius, but the most suited and preferred temperature is 80 degrees.
The fact about gerberian Shepsky is that they are not suited for apartment living. They demand a lot of time and attention, and if the owner spends a good time training them, you will have them as the best of companions you can ever get anywhere around.
These dogs are not fit for apartment living because they get bored of things they are not interested in easily. Also, if you do not spend quality time with them and are not happy inside, they get serious behavioral issues. These behavioral issues might include hyperactivity, biting anything they encounter, random, often barking, and many others.
These issues might irritate your neighbors, and thus you might rethink keeping them at your apartment. However, this is why these dogs are preferred to keep in a house with an open area like a garden or garage that can provide them with a certain playing or enjoying area.
However, there are certain things that you can do to keep your dog happy and avoid it being subjected to any behavioral problems in the longer run.
You can do the following things:
Maintain a Gerberian Shepsky Breed Well
There is no doubt that this breed is exceptionally attractive, mainly because of its fur coat and big body. However, although the breed is naturally beautiful, you need to ensure their quality maintenance to enjoy their beauty forever.
Gerberian Shepsky loves extra care and demands more time from you; you can provide this care by maintaining their body well. This will enhance their beauty and increase your bond with your pets that are forever needed, especially if the pet is this giant German Shepherd Husky Mix.
To maintain their body you need to do the following things:
Note: There is one thing you must keep in mind: these Gerberian Shepsky get bored so easily, so ensure not to overdo the grooming.
Things You Can do to Make Shepsky happy
Spending quality time with these breeds to maintain their overlook is a great idea to make them happy and get closer to them. However, this is to say that you can do the maintenance thing only once or twice a week. So, to keep them happier and maintain closeness, it is highly suggested that you take out some time daily and spend it with them in the best possible way.
What you can do is:
This way, you can make your dog a cool-tempered, calm, and loving dog, and you will it satisfying yourself with its traits and behavior that is not common to find in any other breed of dog.
- All-Around Friendliness
These mixed-breed dogs can prove to be good friends to children, especially as a little pup. However, children should be taught to treat the dog well: with care, affection, and a lot of responsibility to never tease them in any sense. This breed, just like any other dog, doesn’t like to be mistreated or teased and can turn out a real danger for them.
This type of friendliness from Gerberian Shepsky is dependent highly upon their genetic inheritance and the training they have got from their owners.
Siberian Huskies are very friendly even with strangers. Still, when the hybrid breed’s genetics is bent more towards German Shepherd parents, it is more likely to be furious and non-friendly towards strangers and other dogs or pets in the house.
If this is the case, the Shepskies should be socialized at a very early age and should be trained to act friendly towards other pets and dogs. However, in many cases, this type of Shepskies might be furious towards strangers due to its protective instincts towards its owners.
- Health and Grooming Needs
Both the parent breed of these dogs are widely known as the heavy shedding breeds. This is because they usually have the thick double-coats that are best-suited for surviving the winters. However, during summers, these coats are to be removed naturally to live through summers as well. This removal of coats is known as shedding.
Like the parent breed, the same is the case with the hybrid Gerberian Shepsky: it removes its coats during summers. However, unlike its parents, the German Shepherd Husky Mix is a moderate shedder.
Keeping this in mind, it is highly recommended that you brush your hybrid dog with a de-shedding tool or a Furminator. Shaving your dog can never be a good option as it can do some serious harm to your dog’s health in the longer run. Instead, you can make it bath in a kiddie pool to ward off the effects of heat.
Note: Even though Gerberian Shepsky is a moderate shedder, but if you see the shedding becoming out of control, you can take your dog to regulate de-shedding treatments at the groomer. Also, you can use some de-shedding shampoo and conditioner to ease the problem.
General Health
It is important to consider your pets’ health if you are to keep them for a longer time. For example, as Gerberian Shepskies are known to lice for 10-14 years, you must check how well they can manage to live for that long and what health issues are common in their breed.
This is a widely known fact that hybrid dogs escape many health issues, which is also the case with these Gerberian Shepskies. Therefore, the best way for the owners to know about the health vulnerability of these Gerberian Shepskies is to figure out to which diseases or health issues were the parent breeds prone.
In the case of Gerberian Shepsky, there are increased chances that certain eye issues (keratitis, corneal dystrophy, or juvenile cataracts), digestive problems, elbow or hip dysplasia, and even epilepsy can occur most commonly.
So, to keep your dogs safer and protect them from any health-related issue, you must set up a routine visit to the vet. It will help you diagnose any health issue so it can be treated well before time to save the life of your pet.
German Shepherd Husky Mix Size (Height and Weight)
Gerberian Shepsky is a mixed breed of both the German Shepherd and Husky; their height is also a mix. German Shepherds usually have a height between 55 and 65-inches, while Huskies have it between 54 and 60-inches.
While talking about German Shepherd Husky Mix, they mostly turn out to be in the height range between 20 and 25-inches. It is thus quite a large-sized dog that might turn out to be difficult to handle dog sometimes.
While considering the weight, it is quite obvious that Gerberian Shepsky is a bit difficult to handle because of its height; it is also difficult to handle because of its weight. They are quite large-sized dogs that weigh between 45 and 88 pounds in total.
So, if you are fascinated by the appearance of any German Shepherd Husky Mix puppy and wanted to adopt the one, bear in mind that they can turn out to be furious and big-sized animals that might give you a tough time handling them.
- Trainability
This hybrid breed is one of the most intelligent and smartest dog breeds on the earth. This intelligence is inherited from both their parents: Siberian Huskies and German shepherds are known for being extremely smart dogs.
As these dogs are a mix of both of them, their intelligence level exceeds them both. Their intelligence level can provide you with greater benefit and can be used for benefitting purposes, especially if you train them well and properly.
However, even this breed is not well trained but maintained well with a better pet-owner bond; its intelligence can turn out to be benefitting for not only their good but also for you. This is a great feature to have in the pet, as there are many instances these dogs can be proven helpful and beneficial to you.
As both the parents of Gerberian Shepsky: German Shepherd and Siberian Husky are intelligent and easy to handle and train, the hybrid is also not very difficult to train, you don’t need to put in a lot of time and effort into their training, and they will be highly responsive to your verbal commands and are reactive to the whistling as well.
- Physical Needs
This hybrid is a breed of German Shepherd and Siberian Husky and thus is extremely energetic. This energy is gifted from its parents: both Huskies and Germans are known to be highly energetic.
Huskies are extremely energetic, and they do need to get in a lot of exercises in a day to calm their inner self. If they do not get enough time to balance their mind and body, they are expected to be bouncing off the walls. Also, when they are under-exercised, they will bark, howl, dig, and even chew whatever comes to them for hours each day.
On the other hand, German Shepherds are also known to be extremely energetic: the fact that they are mostly kept to act as police, to search, guide, and even herd other dogs in general. These look like soft, mellow, gentle dogs, but even a little pup of almost 1 to 3 years has low to moderate energy and requires daily training for almost one hour.
Gerberian Shepskies is regarded as one of the unique and different dog types that have distinct personality traits and innate needs and demands. Considering this, it is said that this breed of the German Shepherd Husky Mix comes with the innate need for a lot of exercises.
Even though it is the truth that high-energy parents produce these mixed breeds, but they require you to take out some time to help them exercise. Also, it is highly recommended that you gradually increase the exercise timing, but some Gerberian Husky breeds can run up to miles.
Some recent studies have shown these breeds owners reporting that they never run out of energy and are ever-ready to play with kids any time, accompany you in your morning walk and evening walks, and even are hyper-energetic to chase squirrels once everyone else is tired and lazy after a lot of physical exertion.
However, if you ever fail to provide these breeds with enough exercise, you will make them get into mischief that can harm your house and furniture.
Best Tip: If you are out of time and cannot take your dog out for exercise every time, the best and most helpful way is to make some chewable toys at hand to keep them busy, stimulated, and occupied.
Even though Gerberian Shepskies is regarded as one of the most active and best partners to have at home, but it depends entirely upon you to shape their personality and bring the best out of them. They demand love, care, and time, which, when not provided, turn them up into behaviorally disorganized that both you and your neighbors would never want to have around ever.
Potential for Playfulness
Due to their high energy and need for exercise, these mixed breed dogs have a high potential for playfulness. However, to maintain a balance of energy, they always need a game to play with their owners. Playing games like tug of war, chasing the ball, and these dogs love others.
Some Other Traits of Mix German Shepherd Husky
The fact that Gerberian Shepsky can only in rare cases turn out to contain equal 50-50 traits of both parents, their temperament can also differ from breed to breed depending upon which parent type has attracted most traits of.
Huskies are considered the gentlest and lovable pet dogs, so if the hybrid type inherits more traits of the mother husky, then they are also calm, loving, and gentle dogs to have in the house. While on the other hand, if it leans more toward the father German Shepherd breed, it is more likely to be furious and energetic.
The temperament of the gerberian husky also depends greatly upon certain upbringing characters. However, when provided with proper handling, care, and training, they can turn out to be extremely calm dogs that will be fun to own.
Generally speaking, the diverse temperaments of this hybrid type is pretty impressive. This type is playful and energetic and can make up good home partners for active pet owners.
It is completely impossible to define the personality of these dogs as a whole one unit or with some fixed specific traits. This is because these dogs exhibit a wide range of personalities, just like there is a complete range of breeds. In addition, the personality of these dogs greatly depends upon the genes of the parent dog that they have inherited in a greater proportion.
This might be the case with every other breed, though. Still, the main difference in the personalities of Gerberian Shepsky’s parent and any other breed’s parent is far more significant.
We say this because most of the hybrid dogs have parents relating to the same dog breed; however, Shepskies, on the other hand, have both the parents belonging to completely different gene pools. These both breeds have their tendencies and traits, which they inherit into their Shepsky hybrid breed.
So, if a Shepsky has attained more of its German shepherd parent traits, it is more likely to turn to be more loyal, intelligent, and focused. However, on the other hand, if its genetics leans more towards Husky parents, then it will turn out to be more affectionate and loyal.
Besides, when the hybrid has more genetic bend towards Husky, it will be much more difficult to manage and prone to wandering off. While if it has the personality traits matching more to the German Shepherd, they will be more likely to love to spend time with their owners.
Generally speaking, some species of Shepskies are considered to be more suspicious, while others are friendly with children. Nevertheless, the personality traits depend entirely on their genetic bend towards a certain parent and the way they are taken care of and trained by their owners.
Gerberian Shepskies is considered to be one of the most loyal companions and impressive athletes. They become connected with their owners with a stronger bond; however, proper training is required. When this dog is trained properly, is socialized, and given proper time and care, it becomes highly sensitive to its owners’ security and needs.
Despite its friendliness to people, it can deliver a fierce show to strangers and anything that seems dangerous to it when it comes to protecting its owner.
To Own or Not to Own?
Many factors categorize this hybrid dog as most worthy of keeping a pet at home; however, there are also some significant reasons it is not recommended. Following is a complete detailed description of why people prefer owning this breed and why most people do not like and recommend keeping this dog at home.
Shepsky Growth Chart
| Shepsky puppy age | Puppy weight in KG |
| Birth | 0.5Kg |
| 1 Month | 1.5 Kg – 3.4Kg |
| 2 Months | 4.5 Kg – 7 Kg |
| 3 Months | 9.1 Kg – 13.6Kg |
| 4 Months | 12.3 Kg -17Kg |
| 5 Months | 13.6 Kg -21.1Kg |
| 6 Months | 15.4 Kg – 24Kg |
| 7 Months | 15.9 Kg – 27.2Kg |
| 8 Months | 18.2 Kg – 29Kg |
| 9 Months | 18.2 Kg – 30.84 Kg |
| 10 Months | 20.5 Kg – 32kg |
| 11 Months | 20.4 Kg – 32.9 kg |
| 12 Month | 20.5 Kg -34Kg |
| 24 Months | 22.8 Kg -37.2Kg |
| 36 month | 22.8 Kg – 38.1Kg |
Reasons You Should Own a Gerberian German Shepherd Mix
Below are the five reasons why you should keep this dog breed as a pet in your home:
Most Joyful Dog Breed
The very first reason why everyone should own this German Shepherd Husky Mix breed is that they are the sweetest of all breeds. They are loving and always joyful. They love to play around and are always in a happy and fresh mood.
Their responsiveness, need for time and care, their ever-readiness for playing and going for a walk or any other activity is the most obvious evidence that they are extremely friendly and the sweetest dog breed on the earth.
Smartness/Intelligence
The second reason to own a Gerberian Shepsky is that they are very smart. They are highly responsive to whatever you are saying or training to them and thus are easy to train. You can make them follow your commands easily, and they are intelligent enough to grab whatever you say to them.
They Keep You Active
These hybrid dogs are full of energy and ever-ready to go out and show some moves. This might be a good thing for you because if you are to own a German Shepherd Husky mix, you will have to stay with them to keep them happy and the best way to do it is; to play.
The fun outdoor activities: your dog always wants to keep you active all the time and increase your energy and overall fitness.
They are Curious
Sounds weird? But yes, that’s the good thing about Gerberian Shepskies. This is because it allows them to get involved in new things quickly without any fear. They will follow you up to the new places, adapt to new moves and tricks that you teach them, and most importantly, these dogs will keep you protected from any danger that they sense as strange or not good.
They make the best companions.
If you want a travel partner or want to have someone go hiking with you, this full-grown German shepherd husky mix breed is a perfect one. Wherever you go, you can take them along with you, and they will be extremely happy to follow you up anywhere you go.
4 Reasons You Should Not Own a Shepsky Mix
Following are some reasons why you should reconsider thinking of a German Shepherd Husky Mix for adoption.
Extremely High Energy:
The very first reason why you should not own this German shepherd husky mix is that they have extremely high energy within. Their extreme energy demands at least four times run per day for a minimum of a good three miles.
This high energy can also make these dogs difficult to handle, and thus for novice pet owners, there is a big NO! NO! for adopting this breed.
Extremely Needy
The second reason why you should not own this breed is that these dogs are extremely needy. They need consistent attention from the owners and are constantly in the mood of talking, playing, running, or any other thing.
This might turn out to be irritating for a lot of people who are a bit short of patience. To keep these dogs as pets, you first need to learn a lot of patience.
High Potential for Being Aggressive
The third reason why you should reconsider your adoption decision is that these dogs have the natural tendency to turn out highly aggressive sometimes. They can turn out to be aggressive towards strangers, children, and even other pets at home.
So, to keep their aggressiveness well in order, you must have to train them right in the beginning. It would help if you socialized them with the children or other pets in your homes right when you get them as a puppy to your homes.
They can Have Anxiety
It is found that these dogs can have major anxiety-related issues, so much so that you cannot control them. In their Anxiety, they can start howling, scratching the walls, and even biting the things that come along their way.
These dogs can have anxiety issues for many reasons, but the most obvious and significant one is the loneliness or the separation they experience from you.
So, the best way to treat this Anxiety is to train them at the beginning of their age to separate from you quite often and keep a distance for some time every now and then.
So these were some most important reasons you should and should not own this dog as a pet in your home. Then, you can look into the details more keenly and decide to make the best decision that prevents you from regretting in life later on.
What are some common types of German Shepherd Husky Mix?
The exact type of the dog is defined by the characteristics and traits that it has in it: meaning that the greater genetic bend to one parent categorizes the type of this hybrid breed. However, based on the color, and traits there are the following common types of German Shepherd Husky Mix:
- White German Shepherd Husky Mix: Just like the Gerberian Shepsky, these are also the mixed breed of German Shepherd and huskies, but the main difference lies in color, and that is “white.” The White German Shepherd Husky Mix name is set after its white color.
- Black German Shepherd Husky Mix: It is a mixed breed of German Shepherd and the huskies and are black.
- Pitbull German Shepherd Husky Mix: It is a mixed breed of German Shepherd, the huskies, and Pitbull. These short dogs are very popular these days and have all three dogs’ mixed traits.
- Wolf German Shepherd Husky Mix: It is a mixed breed of German Shepherd, the huskies, and wolf. These are amazing dogs and are popular for their characteristics.
- Rottweiler German Shepherd Husky Mix: It is a mixed breed of German Shepherd, the huskies, and the Rottweiler dogs in general and has all the best traits.
Some Final Words
This German Shepherd Husky Mix breed is a great breed on earth to enjoy companionship with. It has many characters that combine to make it one of the best and most amazing pet dogs that anyone could ever have.
Although certain traits make this dog’s adoption decision worthy of giving a second thought, it can be furious and difficult to handle for most novice pet owners who do not know how to handle big dogs.
The best way to make these dogs meet all your requirements and needs is that you provide them with suitable training right at the beginning of their age when you take them to your home. Then, you can make them obedient and responsive fellows whose company you will enjoy most of the time, even at home or going out for a walk to travel.
