We lost our Darling Nikita a few weeks. She was 14. The typical lifespan for a husky is 12-15 years. I think she did very well. Even though she was a senior and we knew her time was nearing it was so very hard letting her go. Especially for my son who was “her boy”. Nikita waited for him to turn 18 and graduate high school before she let us know she was ready to say goodbye. She raised our son right along with me and my husband. She was the best.

What is considered a senior? It often depends on the breed. Dr Google says “Generally, small dogs are considered senior citizens when they reach 11 years of age, medium-sized dogs at 10 years of age, large breeds at 8 years of age, and giant-breeds at 7.” When you factor in that 1 in 3 dogs will develop cancer it makes that even shorter.

We have chosen to keep all our dogs here with us even after breeding retirement. So we will continue to face the emotional roller coaster of loving our seniors and watching for the time when their bad days outweigh their good. Our sweet Zuko just turned 12 and we already see changes in him. Joint supplements and nutrition are so far working great, and we will cherish every day we have with our Zuko and all our babies here at Supernova Siberians!

I also want to note that at this time we have made the decision to slow our breeding and to not to add more dogs to our pack. We love raising puppies and bring joy to families and I think I do a damn good job. But the emotional and financial toll of so many issues have played a huge roll in our decision. If at anytime this changes we will be selective on the puppies we bring in and do so responsibly.

**ATTENTION*** Our family understands how tough things can be in this economy. From inflation to shrinkflation to just plain greed! Because of this EVERYONE will receive our $100 discount normally reserved for our returning Supernova Family! We are willing to absorb the cost in order to ensure our babies find the best homes. Pure bred, well raised puppies should not be reserved for the elite! We hope this gift helps the average family add a beautiful Supernova Siberian to their home.

This discount applies to everyone including people who have already placed a deposit.

Due to what we believe is a slow down in the market (unless you have a massive nationwide social media following) we have decided to take a pause once again. We skipped all girls previous heats in 2023 due to the same issue.

We had 4 girls come into heat in the last month (march/april). We did pair Mazikeen with Jasper once but did not allow them to breed again once it became apparent that the market has slowed tremendously. We will not be disappointed if the breeding did not take, but as we all know it only takes once. We will see what happens. We had plans to put Reign with Tyrion to repeat their previous beautiful litter, but did not. We may place them together at the end of 2024 depending on the circumstances. And of course Nova and Riri are too young.

I am seeing to many good breeders still trying to place 4- 6 month old puppies and letting them go highly discounted, or free in order to place them. Similar to what we had to do last year. We are hoping that if we discount now we can find them homes by 8-12 weeks. As always they have a home with us until we can find their forever families.

Realistically, this may be the beginning of the end for us. We/I do this because my husband and family supports me and knows I love raising/training puppies and I love placing them in homes that will love them as much as I do. But if we can’t find families then it’s time to stop. We will wait n see how things go.

Winter and Jasper are expecting a litter the end of February. This is a planned (a bit late, haha) pairing and will be Winter’s final litter. Their previous litter was in 2022 you can see photos here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.337899885008756…

We will accept 3 pre birth deposits. Please understand that deposits are non refundable (but are transferable to a future litter), due to safety and bio security concerns we do not allow visits, though we can do video chats. We are completely transparent in how we raise our puppies and have years and years of photos and video on this page. Feel free to browse. We do ask that deposit holders pick their puppy in a timely manner as we often have families’ on standby waiting for picks to be made so they can pick their puppy and place their deposits. Delay in this process unfortunately causes families to go elsewhere leaving puppies without homes. We have over 12 years experience in breeding, I am proficient and educated in puppy development, puppy socialization as well as puppy foundation training. All of our litters are raised with Puppy Culture and I am a Certified Puppy Start Right Instructor. Please see our website for more info. www.supernovasiberianhuskies.com or email [email protected]

While I’m sure most of you only have interest in puppies, on the forefront of our thoughts lately have been our seniors. Nikita and Zuko especially. Though we have a few others getting up there in age.

“Small breeds are considered senior dogs when they turn 10 to 12 years old. Medium breeds are considered senior dogs when they hit 8 to 9 years old. Large and giant breeds are considered senior dogs at around 6 to 7 years old.”

You can find conflicting info on when a dog is considered a senior. So much depends on breed and breed size. But I think it’s easy to see the signs. From simple symptoms like greying fur to mild hip/joint issues to full on cognitive issues. Nikita is 3 months shy of her 14th birthday. Zuko is 11 and a half. Watching my babies age is tough. Nikita has some tough moments, she is hard of hearing and can get confused at times but for the most part she is happy to nap in my chair, in the chair on the porch or in my son’s room. She still walks the yard but mostly tries to avoid the younger bunch as they annoy her. haha We started a lil bucket list last year thinking we had less time with her, but she is hanging in there. We are thankful for everyday with her. When you acquire a puppy (however you chose to do so) they are forever. Don’t give up on them because they age. They need our love, and patience more than ever. We are keeping an eye on our older bunch and no matter how hard it is, we know that when the time comes that they have more bad days than good days, we will make the difficult decision to help them cross over.

So after our pups went all went home last summer we took a break. For the first time in 12 years we had a very hard time finding homes for our pups. Yes, we had 3 litters, but have had 2 and 3 litters at the same time in the past without this issue. I really took it heart. It is my job to find the best homes for our pups and to only breed if there are homes for our babies. Was it oversaturation in the market? The timing? Many breeders swear that the “J” months are the hardest to find homes. Was it that we only take 2 pre birth deposits (not locking a large about into buying from us with nonrefundable deposits)? Was it inflation and all the rising cost of owning and caring for a pet? I try keep my prices affordable to the average family in spite of all the work and care I put into our litters. I want to thank the few breeders who reached out telling me not to be hard on myself that it happens to everyone at some point. But even with that, we gave ALL our girls a break by resting them on their following heats and we as a family took time to regroup.

This was a blessing and just what I needed. I found out my mother had passed away on my birthday just as I was starting to see a doctor to make my health (mental and physical) a priority. A month later we lost our precious Ghost. I was a bundle of out of control anxiety and worries. I was glad to be under a doctors care during this time. My lab work showed I had metabolic syndrome and all that goes with it. My doctor and I agreed weight loss was (is) the starting point and the key to getting healthy, especially with my mom’s passing and my dad having triple bypass. I have spent the last 6 months on weight loss medication as well as eating clean and exercising. I am a little over halfway to my goal weight. More importantly my labs are normal or approaching normal. Essentially avoiding being put on 3 medications in the process. I feel great and have more energy than ever. I am working hard to get everything in the normal range.

In the last 6 months I have taken time for me, my health and self care. I have spent time with my family on outings and adventures. I also picked up a few new hobbies. I started rebounding as my primary form of exercise. I love it!! I got back into reading and loom knitting. I even started playing calm games on the Switch. But the best thing is that in December I started my very own sourdough starter and started baking bread and other goodies! I never thought I would love it so much!

We have decided to continue breeding but keeping our litters low while we test the waters. As many know females will sync up their cycles and we will try to be mindful if/when this happens. As far as offering puppy training sessions, I need to make it known that even with my Puppy Start Right Instructor certification as well as my extensive knowledge in puppy development, socialization and training at this time I can not make this my full or part time occupation. I would like to emphasize that my dogs are my world but not my entire world. I have a teen at home that I home school (we are on his last semester) and I help care for my toddler grandson who lives with me along with my oldest son. That is a full time job in itself. I am also still trying to manage and maintain my health and mental health. Which has to be a priority with my family history. I’d like to be around for awhile. 😀 I still hope that maybe in 6-8 months I can find the balance in my life to offer puppy socialization/training which is my true passion, but until then it is something I absolutely incorporate into my puppy raising program and I am available to answer questions to my puppy families and mentor others on the importance of puppy socialization (done correctly).

So that’s the a quick version on what I have been doing. I want to thank you all for your continued support. I may not always be quick to reply and I get forgetful, but I appreciate all your emails, messages and updates! THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!

-Missy