The Pomeranian-Husky mix is a new breed of designer dogs, who often look like pocket-sized Siberian Huskies. Some viral pictures online shot this newcomer to the cross-breeding world to instant fame, and soon people were clamoring to bring home a Pomsky puppy of their own. While there is a lot of curiosity about the breed, there is relatively less information available such as Pomsky price. This is normal for any new cross-breed. While mixing two different breeds is held to be healthy for bloodlines when done responsibly, characteristics such as physical attributes and temperaments take several generations to develop into a standard. Till then every Pomsky puppy born is a gamble.
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How Much Are Pomsky Puppies?
A Pomsky puppy can cost anywhere between $800 to $5000. The asking price is unregulated, and a lot of unethical breeders take advantage of this. When you visit a pet store or a breeder and they sell you a “pedigree” Pomsky, be aware that the pedigree of this adorable cross-breed has not yet been determined. The more reputable breeders often price the puppies according to the value of their Pomeranian and Husky parentage. If the parent dogs have AKC papers that prove their lineage, then the price of their progeny would justifiably high. A Pomeranian can be priced between $600 to $1500, while a Siberian Husky can be bought for $300 to $2000.
No dog breed is uniform. Their parentage, the health of the bloodline, the prizes they’ve won, and even something unique about their look determines their price. The lower price tags are for puppies who might look close to the breed standard but don’t have a lineage or the exact structure that makes them valuable amongst breed connoisseurs. Demand determines the value of the dog. Which is really the true reason for the enormous difference in price tags for certain Pomsky puppies. With no breed standards in place, prices are not regulated. Each breeder sets their own pomsky according to the demand around them.
See: Pomsky For Sale.
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Are Pomskies Worth the Price?
This is a difficult question to contemplate. Every puppy that is brought home is an addition to the family, and there can be no value placed on the joy of living with a loving dog. However, when you buy a Pomsky from a pet store or a breeder, you are paying for the privilege of owning a certain breed. The reason breeds have standards in behavior and esthetics is that it ensures a degree of certainty regarding the kind of dog you take home. Pure-breed dogs have been nurtured and bred for generations until they achieved a certain homogeneity of character and physicality. When deciding which dog would suit your family, a lot of owners prefer to have the assurance of breed standards to base this decision on.
If we take one of the parents of a Pomsky as our example, the point is illustrated better. The original Pomeranian was a result of cross-breeding the German Spitz with certain other breeds. When Queen Victoria popularized a miniature version of Poms in 19th Century England, the world became mad for the toy breed. The smaller, the better. Breeders have since spent a century perfecting the genetic lines of Pomeranians. The initial Pom might have been a delight to look at, but his character could not be predicted by a breeder. He could have gone on to emulate his Spitz parentage or developed his own traits.
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Until a few decades passed, breeders could not establish a phenotype which would genetically guarantee a uniform temperament and personality amongst all Pomeranians. Once this was done, though, Poms came to be known as beautiful long haired dogs with a fierce sense of protective loyalty and a tendency to overestimate their chances in a fight against bigger opponents. Pomeranians are never over 30cm high at the withers and usually weigh between 4 to 8 pounds. When a dog lover buys a Pomeranian today, he knows that the breed has a tendency towards certain behaviors, as well as a weakness regarding some specific health issues. Knowing this helps the new owner understand if the dog would adapt well to his household, as well as realistically analyze if he can affordthe cost of treatment, should the dog fall ill.
Most dog owners don’t realize that breeders can’t know these features of a breed with confidence when the breed is only a few years old. Not enough generations have been born and not enough variety has entered the gene pool to bring about the distinct characters of a breed. Hurrying the process will only result in poorly bred blood-lines. While the puppies may look as advertised, they’re more likely to be prone to diseases caused by bad genetic health.
When you buy a Pomeranian-Husky, you may be expecting to bring home a dog with known flaws and advantages. However, as explained above, the breed is simply too new for these to be clearly known as yet. There is really no difference between adopting a Pomeranian-Husky mix and a mutt of any other combination, except that breeders are careful only to sell the puppies that most prominently display the features of their parents.
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In short, Pomskies are bought for the way they look and not for their personality. Therefore, if you choose to purchase a Pomsky, you take the risk of discovering the puppies character and health issues over time, on your own. On the bright side, every dog is an individual. And despite breed standards promising a particular type of behavior or immunity to certain diseases, owners have often found that there are always canines who buck the trend. Your Pomsky might grow up to be the most loyal and loving dog you’ve ever owned. See: Full Grown Pomsky.
So, ultimately, only you can decide if a Pomsky is worth the price you pay.
What Should You Know Before Purchasing a Pomsky?
The Pomeranian-Husky mix was first formulated as a way to bring down the size of the enormous, yet beautiful, Siberian sled dog breed. Dog lovers who yearned to own a Husky, but knew they didn’t have space or the time to exercise such an athletic breed, rejoiced at the chance to bring home a miniature of the irresistible Husky breed. With kohl-lined wolf-eyes and an adorable pouting frown on their faces, Husky puppies have won the heart of people for decades. With the Pom’s fluffiness mixed in with the blue eyes and distinctive features of the Husky, the Pomsky is the most huggable puppy you’ve ever seen.
However, it’s worth remembering that the Pomsky doesn’t always take after the look of its larger, much-admired parent. The arctic blue eyes that make certain Huskies even more valuable, make a Pomsky puppy astronomically more expensive. It’s a rare genetic trait and very few puppies inherit it. While breeders try their best to bring about litters that favor certain characteristics of their parents more than others, they can’t really predict the look or temperament of the Pomskies that are born. This is particularly important to remember since while some of these puppies – who are lucky enough to look a certain way – will be bought by dog loving individuals and given homes, others will most likely end up in shelters.
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There is also no guarantee that the Pomsky you take home will remain the size of a Pom. Given the large difference in the sizes of its parents, the Pomsky will likely never reach a Husky’s impressive height, but could very well become a mid-sized, energetic dog who will need just as much exercise and space as his working-class parent. A designer dog is not the same as a toy breed. It’s simply another term for a “custom” breed, created to bring about a combination of looks and personalities that breeder anticipate would be popular with the dog world.
The health of a Pomsky is also an undetermined mystery. The mixing of genes often gives rise to new weaknesses that had previous been missing in both parent lines. However, in these initial years, it is best to study the medical history of the parent breeds to know what new owners should watch out for.
Both the Pomeranian and Husky breeds have an average life span of 12-14 years, and both dogs rank low on the breeds at risk of hip dysplasia. This gives breeders hope that a Pomsky will also share a similar life-span and a natural immunity to the joint disease. However, Huskies have a tendency to develop eye problems, like, cataract and corneal dystrophy, as well as congenital laryngeal paralysis. Huskies used for ski races also suffer from gastric diseases and bronchitis. Pomeranians can develop deafness and a bone disease called luxating patella. A healthy life, with regular grooming, and a good diet helps keep many of these problems at bay. But it’s a good idea to know the possible health issues a Pomsky may inherit.
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What Should You Check When Buying A Pomsky?
A Pomsky is a recent cross-breed phenomenon from two old and established breeds. With such well-known parents, most dog owners assume that quality is guaranteed. But for reasons ranging from human greed to general misinformation, a lot of Pomeranian-Husky mixes are priced at ridiculously high numbers, simply based on the demand for the puppies.
Ideally, you should never buy a dog from a pet store, unless they are associated with a shelter or a reputable breeder. Use local listings to find pomsky breeders in your area, and talk to them about visiting their facilities. The first things to check before purchasing a Pomsky puppy is how the dogs are kept at the breeder’s place. Some have kennels, while others keep them in their home. Registered breeders work on both large and small scale. Some prefer to breed only one or two litters a year and focus exclusively on a single breed. While others have a larger business with several dog breeds and multiple litters a year.
The reason it is important to examine the space where the dogs are kept is to reassure yourself of the health of the litter as well as of the parents. The worst breeders try to minimize cost and maximize profit by scrimping on the care and effort that should be invested in the dog under their care. Their mental and physical health are neglected for breeding as frequently as possible. Such places are disguised puppy mills and should not be patronized by anyone who loves dogs.
The other reason is that a healthy parent will ultimately give birth to a healthier litter. Litters from puppy farms suffer poor health because of the appalling condition in which their mothers are usually kept. So, to be confident that your purchase of the puppy will not fuel the abuse of dogs and to be sure that your new puppy was born in a healthy environment, it’s best to take a look around the facilities. Most breeders will be happy to let you take a tour.
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Once you’ve spent some time with the litter and chosen the one you want to adopt, your next task is to talk to the breeder about the health of the Pomsky. Before adoption, the puppy should have a full check-up done. You are entitled to a health certificate from the doctor along with a written guarantee from the breeder that should last up to a year, covering any genetic diseases that might develop in that time. The other papers that you should ask for are the AKC registration papers of the parents as well as of the puppy. While the Pomeranian-Husky is not a registered breed, the breeder can still register the litter as a cross-breed. This allows you to hold the breeder accountable in the future if something goes wrong.
While a responsible breeder is careful about breeding healthy dogs and caring for every puppy in the litter, they may still try to evade accountability since genetic flaws in new cross-breeds are unpredictable. It’s up to you, as the new dog owner, to walk in there armed with knowledge such as the Pomsky price and walk out with your Pomsky and your peace of mind.
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