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50 free Siberian Husky trivia questions with answers — nature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Siberian Husky trivia quiz covers the breed from the Chukchi Peninsula to Central Park. Questions trace how Chukotka sled dogs reached Nome in 1908, dominated the All-Alaska Sweepstakes, and carried the diphtheria serum in the 1925 Great Race of Mercy that made Balto and Togo famous, plus Admiral Byrd's Antarctic expedition, the British Antarctic Survey teams and Camp Century's mascot Mukluk. The breed itself gets full treatment: the double coat that copes with minus 60, the almond eyes that may be brown, blue or one of each, snow noses, the 'Siberian swirl', why huskies howl and mimic sirens instead of barking, the 6-foot (or 8-foot) fence problem, and the genetics that link the breed to Lake Baikal dogs and the extinct Taimyr wolf. Pop culture rounds it out with Due South, Game of Thrones and the films Togo, Balto and Eight Below. Questions run from easy to expert with a difficulty score on each, so it works for a family quiz or a serious musher's challenge. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia and breed references and each question carries its citation. Also try our Dogs and Alaska quizzes.
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Q 01The Siberian Husky was originally developed by which indigenous people?
Chukchi
They bred the dogs for sled pulling and companionship on the Chukchi Peninsula in eastern Siberia, and other Siberian peoples such as the Koryak also keep them.
Q 02Which Russian fur trader introduced the dogs to Nome, Alaska, during the gold rush?
William Goosak
The first imports worked the mining fields and expeditions before anyone thought of racing them.
Q 03In which year were the dogs first brought to Nome to work as sled dogs?
1908
The people of Nome mockingly called the newcomers 'Siberian Rats' because they were so much smaller than the freighting dogs then in use.
Q 04The Siberian Husky belongs to which genetic family of dogs?
Spitz
Spitz breeds share the erect ears, thick coats and curled or sickle tails of northern working dogs.
Q 05Which similar-looking northern breed is noticeably larger than the Siberian Husky?
Alaskan Malamute
The Malamute weighs 75–85 lb against the husky's 40–50 lb, and the two share Siberian ancestry.
Q 06The Siberian Husky's lineage can be traced back to ancient dogs of which Siberian lake?
Baikal
The lineage is over 9,500 years old, and Arctic breeds also carry a little admixture from the extinct Taimyr wolf.
Q 07A 2024 genomic study split the breed's gene pool into how many distinct populations?
Four
They were the Show, Pet, Racing and Seppala Siberian Sleddog groups; the Show group had the least genetic diversity.
Q 08Down to roughly what temperature can a Siberian Husky's double coat protect it?
−50 to −60 °C
The same coat reflects heat in summer, but the dense undercoat is often shed out completely in warm months.
Q 09An excessively long husky coat, treated as a fault by the standard, is nicknamed what?
Woolly
It lacks the protective guard hairs, overheats the dog in harness and gets caked with snow and ice.
Q 10Which coat pattern is NOT permitted in Siberian Huskies by the AKC and the Kennel Club?
Merle
The pattern is associated with health problems and is treated as evidence of impure breeding.
Q 11Which of these eye colours or combinations is acceptable for a Siberian Husky under the AKC standard?
Brown and blue, one each
Blue, brown and black are all allowed, and having two different colours does not affect the dog's vision.
Q 12The AKC describes the Siberian Husky's eyes as having what shape?
Almond
They are moderately spaced and set slightly obliquely, giving the breed its watchful look.
Q 13The seasonal loss of pigment on a husky's nose is nicknamed '____ nose'. Which word fills the gap?
Snow
The technical term is hypopigmentation, and it is perfectly acceptable in the show ring.
Q 21Only about what percentage of tested Siberian Huskies show hip dysplasia?
2%
The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals ranks the breed 155th out of 160 for dysplasia risk.
Q 22Which breed is considered the direct progenitor of the Siberian Husky?
Chukotka Sled Dog
Chukchi teams have pulled sleds since prehistoric times, including for hunting sea mammals out on the pack ice.
Q 23The word 'husky' derives from a corruption of which term for the native peoples of the far north?
Eskimo
Settlers called the imports 'Siberian' because Chukotka is part of Siberia, and 'husky' because they were the dogs of the 'Huskies'.
Q 14What is the 'Siberian Swirl'?
A husky curling up with its tail over its nose
The heavily furred tail doubles as a scarf, trapping warm breath when the dog sleeps in the snow.
Q 15What shape does the AKC say a Siberian Husky's tail should curve into when the dog is excited?
Sickle
When relaxed the tail should hang low; it is expressive rather than tightly curled over the back like a Malamute's.
Q 16Under the breed standard, roughly how much should a male Siberian Husky weigh?
45–60 lb
Males stand 20 to 24 inches at the withers; females are smaller at 35–50 lb.
Q 17Instead of barking, a Siberian Husky usually does what?
Howls
They are also known to mimic high-frequency sounds such as ambulance sirens and even human speech.
Q 18How high a fence is recommended for a pet Siberian Husky?
6 ft
Some have cleared 8-foot fences, and electric fencing may not stop them at all; they are also diggers and chewers.
Q 19Where did Stanley Coren rank the Siberian Husky out of 138 breeds for working and obedience intelligence?
77th
His ranking measured only trainability, one of three kinds of dog intelligence, so it says little about the breed's problem-solving.
Q 20A 2024 UK study gave the Siberian Husky what life expectancy?
11.9 years
That is a little under the 12.7-year average for purebreds in the same study.
Q 24The 'All-Alaska Sweepstakes' race that Siberian dogs dominated ran from Nome to which town and back?
Candle
The 408-mile course was where the smaller, faster Siberian dogs first embarrassed the 100-pound freighting dogs.
Q 25Which musher, the foremost breeder of Siberian sled dogs of his era, drove Togo on the 1925 serum run?
Leonhard Seppala
He later moved to New England, co-owned the Poland Springs kennel with Elizabeth Ricker, and his dogs underpin the modern registered breed.
Q 26The 1925 serum run carried antitoxin to Nome to fight an outbreak of which disease?
Diphtheria
Twenty mushers and about 150 dogs relayed the serum 674 miles in five and a half days.
Q 27Which musher drove the final leg of the serum run into Nome with Balto in the lead?
Gunnar Kaasen
A later falling-out with Seppala saw Balto and his team sold to a circus operator and left in a Los Angeles dime museum.
Q 28Balto's bronze statue, unveiled in 1925, stands where?
Central Park, New York
Its plaque reads 'Endurance · Fidelity · Intelligence' and honours all the relay dogs, not just Balto.
Q 29Citizens of which city raised money in 1927 to rescue Balto and his teammates from a dime museum?
Cleveland
He lived out his days at the city zoo, and his mounted body is still on show at its Museum of Natural History.
Q 30Which dog made the longest and most dangerous run of the 1925 relay, crossing Norton Sound with Seppala?
Togo
He was overlooked in the newspapers of the day but became a foundation dog of the breed through sons such as Sepp III and Togo II.