Meet Kona.
This beautiful dog is a Golden Husky – a cross between a Golden Retriever and a Siberian Husky.
Aptly, Kona lives in the Golden State where you can find this Instagram star exploring roaming hills and beaches on the west coast.
With an incredibly infectious smile, it’s easy to see why Kona has over 20,000 followers on her Instagram page.
We spoke to Kona’s owners Taylor and Brenna to learn more about Kona, the Golden Husky (Goberian) hybrid breed and their social media success.
You can follow Kona on Instagram here (@konathegoldenhusky) if you want to see more of their pictures!
1) What attracted you to the Golden Husky / Goberian cross breed?
Kona the Golden Husky (Photo: @konathegoldenhusky / Instagram)
Since I was a kid I had always wanted a Siberian Husky. However, following months of research I learned that Huskies can be difficult dogs to own, especially for a college student. I learned a Golden Retriever would be a better dog in college and ultimately decided that was the breed I wanted to get. While we were in the process of searching for a dog, a friend of ours let us know that their friend’s dog had just had puppies, Golden Husky puppies. We thought that would be a perfect mix of personalities and took a chance!
2) How did you end up with Kona? Did you find a dedicated Goberian breeder?
We get this question all the time and it’s actually a funny story. A friend of a friend had a Golden Retriever that had “accidental” puppies with their neighbor’s husky (he jumped the 7 foot fence to get to her). The timing just happened to work out when we were looking for a dog! We actually haven’t heard of any dedicated Goberian breeders but think that they would be an excellent idea.
3) Can you describe Kona’s personality? Does Kona have more Husky or Retriever traits?
Kona the Golden Husky (Photo: @konathegoldenhusky / Instagram)
I think most of the time we see a pretty even mix between the two breeds, but at times she might show more Golden traits. She is a very social, gentle, and affectionate dog and will always seek out attention from anybody around, which probably comes from the Golden Retriever side of her. However, she can also be very stubborn at times, especially when we want her to do something she doesn’t want to. This probably comes from her Husky side.
4) Does Kona require a lot of exercise?
Absolutely! We try to take her, at the very minimum, on a walk every day. If she doesn’t exercise for a day and is cooped up inside, she can get a little stir-crazy and will pace around the house. We love taking her outdoors on hikes, trips to the beach, and playdates with other dogs. These activities are crucial to her health and well-being.
5) How hard was it to train Kona?
Kona the Golden Husky (Photo: @konathegoldenhusky / Instagram)
It was actually pretty easy! She is an extremely smart dog so she was able to quickly pick up on most things. Kona is also very food-motivated, which definitely made the training easier. I think the hardest part of her training was the potty training. One of our favorite stories from that phase is when she was a puppy, she ran over to my Dad’s office, looked him straight in the eyes, and laid a huge poop right in front of him. Almost as if she was only doing it because she knew she wasn’t supposed to (again, the Husky stubbornness).
6) Does Kona shed a lot?
Yes and no. Both Huskies and Golden Retrievers “blow their coats” twice a year during Spring and Fall, which means they shed their entire undercoat within the span of about a month. For these two to three months of the year the shedding is a mess and covers everything in sight with her white undercoat fur. However, for the rest of the year she has very little to no shedding at all. Overall, the shedding is very manageable if we stay on top of it.
7) How does Kona cope with the California heat?
Kona the Golden Husky (Photo: @konathegoldenhusky / Instagram)
The summers here can get pretty hot, and she mostly doesn’t do too well with the heat. During the summer we try to take her out to play in the early mornings or late evenings when it’s a little cooler outside. She LOVES to swim so most summer days Kona can be found swimming in the pool or laying around on the AC vents inside of our house.
8) Do you think Golden Huskies/Goberians are family-friendly dogs?
Definitely! Kona is a very loving and social dog, but is also extremely loyal and protective. I think the Golden Husky breed combines excellent traits from both breeds that can lead to a great family dog. She’s also great with little kids!
9) What advice would you give to someone thinking about getting a Golden Husky/Goberian?
Kona the Golden Husky (Photo: @konathegoldenhusky / Instagram)
Do your research on both breeds! It’s important to understand that both Golden Retrievers and Huskies are very active dogs and they need to exercise! If you can’t provide an active lifestyle for your Golden Husky it might not be the dog for you. But if you can, you will have a great relationship with your pup and will thoroughly enjoy taking them everywhere with you.
10) Why did you decide to start an Instagram account for Kona?
We started out taking lots of pictures and videos of Kona to document her life for ourselves, but thought it would be fun to share all of the amazing experiences we have with her. We love to take her on trips with us and wanted a way to share pictures and videos with our family and friends. We didn’t intend for her page to get a big following, but we love sharing Kona and everything we do with her followers!
11) What does an average day look like for Kona?
Kona the Golden Husky (Photo: @konathegoldenhusky / Instagram)
On a typical weekday we have to drag her out of bed so she can go out for a small walk and potty trip in the morning before we leave for work. Then we let her roam the house while we’re gone at work, and we have a camera we use to watch her look out the window and move from sleeping spot to sleeping spot throughout the workday. She always greets us when we get home from work then we’ll take her for another walk. After that we take her to workout with us at our dog-friendly gym and she plays with the other dogs! By that point she’s pretty tired until she hits a second wind later in the evening where she takes out every toy she possibly owns for us to play with her.
12) Do you have a favourite place to go exploring with Kona?
We have so many! Kona has been on trips with us all over the United States, so it’s definitely tough to decide. I think our overall favorite is actually right in our hometown, where we have huge hills and Kona loves to run and free roam. We personally enjoy going to other places, but Kona is the happiest when she’s in her hills. A close second would be the beach, specifically any dog-friendly beach in the San Francisco area where she has lots of friends to run with!
13) Do you have a favourite Instagram post of Kona?
Kona the Golden Husky (Photo: @konathegoldenhusky / Instagram)
Our favorite post right now is this reel we posted for the “Go Little Rockstar” trend. Kona started out as a little, wild puppy just growing up with a college kid and has turned into a wise, adventurous dog. We love that we are able to show her so many different places, and smells of course!
14) Can you tell us your favourite Kona story?
We have so many great stories, it’s tough narrowing it down to one. But one memory that comes to mind is on a trip to our family cabin in Idaho. We were on a bike ride through the valley and Kona was running free through the open fields. Suddenly Kona took off in the distance (which is very unlike her) and pounced on something in the field. She came trotting back to us with a gopher she had caught and dropped it at our feet. She was extremely proud of her catch. Luckily the gopher was fine and we let it run back off into the field, but it was amazing to see Kona go into her instinctive hunting mode.
15) What advice would you give to yourself if you could go back to when you first got Kona knowing what you know now?
Live in every moment! Time goes so fast, and before we knew it Kona turned 5 years old. Having a dog is the best thing in the world, and the relationship people have with their pups needs to be cherished. Take every opportunity you have to play with her, take her with you, and be with her. Dogs are just a part of your world, but to them you are their whole world. We love Kona and wouldn’t change a thing about her!
