Sharon:  I have done one inbreeding in my entire dog life. And that’s when I bred Chip to a Chip daughter. Because Chip was getting older and obviously producing consistent enough that could be like him or produce like him it would be good. We have a male from that breeding. We have let him grow up. We haven’t bred to him yet because right now we have a lot of Chip kids and grandkids so it’s just a matter of waiting for something with a little out cross to it to bring it back in.

What is the dog’s name? And will he be available for stud?

Monica: Free running is important.  You should have an area that the dog can run, move out and really extend themselves.   That is really, really important.  Food definately contributes to the conditioning, when you feed a really good quality food, that is.  Also grooming helps with conditioning the coat.  Regular bathing and grooming with a quality shampoo and conditioner is essential for a healthy coat.

Do you feel that the Siberian in which you started with is the same style you have today? How has your breeding program evolved?

Sharon: Well, when I started with the dogs I consider my real start, it was all Innisfree and I think that I have today is very much the same style. And that’s what I want and that’s why I line breed. If I start with that style it means I like it. Of course, you always want to better dog but bettering the dog means to me structurally, not the style. It’s making better movement, better structure on the dogs and fixing here and there what needs to be fixed but keeping it the same style. A lot of people tell me that they can tell a Kristari dog, just by looking at it.  I don't see it personally, maybe because we are so close to it, I don’t know about Monica but I don’t see that.

Monica: I can definately see it.  That was one of the reasons that attracted me to Kristari Kennels in the beginning when I originally started looking for dogs to import to Australia.  That was the style/type that I liked.

Sharon: I just tried to keep it similar in style to what I liked in the early 80’s and still do to this day.

What are most important characteristics in the Siberian Husky?

Monica: I think there are two very important characteristics.  Breed Type.  It has to look like a Siberian Husky, not an Alaskan Malamute or a Saluki cross.  The second is that it has to be able to move or it can’t do the job it was bred to do.

What are some of your greatest moments in the ring?

Monica:  I have to say that my greatest memory was winning my very first Best In Show.  There is nothing like the thrill of winning a Best of Show in my opinion.  It was with a very special dog of mine who I will always have a special place in my heart for.  I also get a great feeling of achievement when I finish a dog.  The most memorable moment in the ring here in the USA was the very first time I showed a dog here.  I showed a class dog and he won a 4 point major.  I thought to myself well that was easy, at the time I did not realize it was a major and then afterwards said to myself, what’s so hard about getting a major, when’s the next show?    

Sharon: For me, probably when Chief won the National Specialty.  To me he was a really great dog and produced really well. He was out of one of my top brood bitches, CH Kristari's Erlene, who I loved dearly and it was very satisfying to me to see something like that. But I have to say that when Chip won the Stud Dog class at one of the Specialties. That to me was a lot. Because he was one of my great producers and I personally adored that dog. He was very well received around the world. For him to win the Stud Dog class meant to me what I was doing was working. When I hear from other people that either call or email to tell me about there dogs winning that they got from me. That’s more important to me than going in the ring and winning or having a Top 10 dog. That everybody else can have the same success is satisfying to me.

Was Chip your top producing Stud dog?

Monica:  Those dogs have had 12 years to produce.  Chief actually sired a lot less litters than what Chip did.  I think Chief had about 20+ American Champions, and Chip has about 65+ American Champions and a ton of overseas Champions. 

Sharon: I don’t know exactly.

Monica: When you look at stud dogs it depends on how many times they have been bred to and what type of bitch they have been bred to.  Chief, even though Sharon had him he was away being campaigned and she did not have as much access to him.  He died when he was only 9 years old.  And when you look at the number of bitches he was bred to, his % was higher than Chips.

Sharon: And to be honest, Chief was a better dog than Chip. Structurally, movement and all that. Chief was just a better dog. But as Monica said, Chief was out being campaigned for two years on the West Coast and I was on the East Coast so I didn‘t breed to him. I do a lot of breeding so I didn’t have access to him then. Plus he was co-owned so he didn’t always live with me. Whereas, Chip except for a couple of years at Innisfree was with me all the time.

Don’t you think that Chip represented "Classic Siberian Type"? 
When people bred to him they were looking for "type"?

Sharon: Yes, I believe that’s true. That classic, pretty, black and white, very
moderate size dog. Beautiful coat. Real, real pretty nice expression. Great
personality. That’s what people wanted. And to be honest with you, he didn’t
throw it. He did not produce himself. The only thing about himself that we
thought he produced was his expression, his personality and probably his
 soundness.

Monica: His eyes and eye shape he produces.  I think that he does produce a style of head.

Sharon: Yes, I agree n you bred to Chip you have to like your bitch because generally he produces the bitch and he would just add some of his characteristics.  If people came with a mediocre bitch and wanted to breed to Chip expecting to get a Chip we would say “no”.  He’s not the dog you need to breed to.  Basically, you are going to get a lot of your bitch. 

Sharon: It was frustrating to us too. We, also wanted something that looked like Chip that maybe structurally was a little better but had that look and we just didn’t get it.

Monica: That was why we did that inbreeding. We took a daughter that looked like him and bred him back to him.

Does he look like him?

Monica:  When you look at Dice from the side,
he looks a lot like him.  In fact, the older Dice
gets, the more he looks like him, sometimes
it is just like looking at Chip out in the yard.

Monica: Well I disagree with that (and for the record, not the first time we have disagreed either...lol).  Dice has the same eye shape and is very similar in the head.  His muzzle is just a little longer.  We are waiting for the right bitch to breed him to.

Monica: I would like to eventually.

Sharon: I don’t right now have any inclination to do that. I find there is a conflict of interest when someone is still breeding and showing and they are judging also. There is enough crap that goes around and enough innuendos and finger pointing at people, to judge and show… I just don’t want that kind of conflict.

Monica, since you have been here do you think that the Siberians are better today than when you arrived in this country?

Monica: Well, it’s not been that long, but I have to say that I was really surprised when I first arrived because I really thought of America as the Mecca. I’ve looked at a lot of books and looked at a lot of pictures of dogs and read about a lot of dogs and when I came over here I was actually surprised at the quality of dogs. I was a little let down. I was surprised at the lack of soundness that I saw. I think that was the big thing that I saw. I was expecting to see these really sound, nice moving dogs, oozing breed type. And I was a little miffed. Maybe my expectations were a too high but maybe that was because I was looking at a lot of the great dogs from the past.

Do you think people from other countries look at United States and think the dogs are better than they are?

Monica: I definitely think they do. I know that from the countries I visited and the dogs that I have seen overseas.  They seem to think that if it is an American Champion, that it’s absolutely fantastic and is far superior than anything they have which is just not the case. You can finish any dog. You can finish any dog if you have enough money and you have the right person at the end of the lead. It doesn’t matter how bad the dog is, you can finish it. Just because you have the word Champion in front of the name doesn’t mean it is great. This is were that there has been so many kennels that have been influential in the breed here and people overseas think that America is THE place to buy dogs.

Which countries have you visited?

I have been to and shown dogs in Thailand, China, New Zealand and Australia.

What did you think of the quality of the Siberians in those countries?

The quality overseas, what I saw in Thailand and China. There are some good dogs there but also there are some not so good dogs that were sent over there from the States. A lot of people use it as a dumping ground. They will finish the dogs and sell them off overseas. And some of the dogs I saw over there were absolutely appalling. Absolutely, appalling.

Sharon: The Siberians today have evolved a lot from 20 years ago. I thought the Siberian was in wonderful shape. They were sound. They were typey. They moved nice. It was great. And then, unfortunately, it came to an era where the Japanese started wanting to buy dogs. At that point, everyone and his brother was hiring handlers to finish dogs quickly so they could sell them overseas for big bucks. And that was when a lot of bad breedings took place because people were just breeding to get a certain type. The Japanese at one point wanted gray dogs, or they wanted blue eyed dogs, or red dogs. And people were just frantic because there was good money in it. They would sell dogs to these show homes, they thought were show homes. Most of them were using brokers to sell them overseas. I think that was part of the downfall of what happened with the Siberians which made them not as good as they were 20 years ago. Since then, that market started falling off when people started breeding dogs again. Then we got into fads. If the top Siberian was a little gray dog, everyone wanted to have a little gray dog. If the top winning dog was a tall dog, then everyone wanted a tall dog. Instead of doing what people believe should be the Siberian Husky they were breeding for a fad type of dog. I think we lost a lot of movement, soundness and type on a lot of the Siberians. Even though the Japanese market gone, other markets have opened up. It’s not the same of it was then. The Siberian is not near as good as it was 20 years ago.

There is one standard but there are different styles of Siberians being shown. Is it open to interpretation, or is it?

Monica: Totally it is. People’s opinion is what they want. Even still we have height requirements. I really believe this whole thing about under size dog should be a disqualifying fault, because if you can disqualify them for being over then you should disqualify them for under.

Sharon: I agree with that.

Monica: But what I consider medium or moderate can be totally different from what you may think is medium or moderate.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it's what your personal preference and opinion is. Sharon: And you can’t argue with that.

Sharon:  You can't argue with that.

Monica: No. It’s an opinion. You talk to any person, in any breed. And the first thing they always complain about is “look at that dog, that dog doesn’t conform to the standard…blah, blah, blah“. And yet you talk to the breeder or the owner of that dog will say the same about their dog. Unless you get exact measurements and exact what is expected, it is always going to be open for interpretation. And you know what? And you know what, in all honestly, there are things I prefer in a Siberian in regards to looks and type but I know they are not correct and I don’t breed for it. But it pleases my eye more so to see it. I wouldn’t necessarily put it up if I was judging. But for judges that are not breeders will put up what pleases them to the eye and a lot of that has to do with their particular breed and what their used to seeing.

Brighton

Chip

Sharon: My best buddy.

Monica: Chip was not a dog, he was a person. He lived in the house. He was just a member of the family. He’d come out the front with us and hang around. He was never a dog.

Sharon: He would go in a whelping box or go in with puppies and clean puppies. He would play with them and NONE of the bitches cared. He loved puppies.

Monica and Sharon at once: Oh, yea!

Rudy

Monica: Rudy oozes athleticism and everything a Siberian should be.

Sharon: He’s fun and he’s loving as can be.

Monica: He’s a pleaser. Definitely a pleaser.

Rosie

Monica:   I love Rosie.  Very affectionate.  She’s what I call a substantial bitch.  She’s
a beautiful moving bitch and she’s 10 years old now and she looks about 5.  You
could take her out tomorrow and show her. 

Romeo

Monica:   Romeo, he was fun. We use to call him Home Boy. And he actually
produced better than he was. He was a nice dog.

Sharon: He was moderate as moderate can be. He was moderate all over. Just a really nice to live with. Loved everyone. Didn’t have a problem with anyone. He was a good dog to live with.

Did I leave anyone out?

Monica: Yes, Tie.

Monica: Tie is my baby.  I loved him since he was a little guy.  I call him MyTie..... and that he is.  He loves to be cuddled yet is a very independent dog.  When I am away he sulks.

Monica:   He’s so sweet.  I love his movement, he is so light on his feet, I think he is one of the best moving dogs that we have.

I know that you have bred a lot of exceptional Siberians but can you answer these questions about the Siberians that are no longer with us.

Starting with, structurally best Siberian you have ever bred?

Sharon: Firechief

Best Brood Bitch

Sharon: Persian Rug

When bred, what did she produce?

Sharon:  There was nothing specific...she just produced really nice dogs...beautiful type.

Best Stud Dog

Sharon: Chip

And what would one expect to get when you bred to him?

Sharon:  Soundness with his expression.

Monica:  Chip tended to produce the bitch more in type but he would help with eyes, tails, coats and expression.  Because we line breed, our dogs/bitches are very typey and typically were line bred on Chip, so when we took our bitches back to him we doubled up on those characteristics. 

And today dogs:

Best Brood Bitch

Monica: Tara

When bred, what does she produce?

What is the difference in what they produce?

Sharon:  Tie produces more bone and maybe a little more coat.  Both produce similar movement.

Monica:  Rudy tends to stamp himself in his puppies.  He normally produces nice side gait, good size, a more athletic looking animal and pretty heads with a lovely eye.  Tie tends to produce a little more bone and he also produces very nice side gait and soundness.  We get a nice dark almond eye with good eye shape.