Canadian Eskimo Dog

The Canadian Eskimo Dog is actually an ancient breed, and is possibly the oldest breed in North America, along with Alaska Mulmute and Carolina Dog. The Canadian Eskimo Dog was developed thousands of years ago by people who did not have a written language. This means that very few are known to be sure of their lineage, and that what is said is far less than conjecture and speculation. It is clear that this breed was developed in the most parts of what is now Canada and Alaska and was mainly kept by Thuel Peeple and his descendant Inuit. The Inuit were once known as the Esquimax or Eskimo, a condition at the time when the Canadian Eskimo Dog was named. However, those terms are now considered ancient and somewhat invasive.At one point, it was believed that dogs were domesticated several times throughout history and Native Americans domesticated their dogs from the North American Wolf or possibly Red Wolf or Coyotes. Recent genetic evidence confirms that all dogs around the world are descended primarily from a much smaller group of individual wolves (Canis lupus), who lived somewhere in Asia, India, Tibet, the Middle East, or China. Dogs were domesticated thousands of years before any other species, at a time when permanent settlements did not exist. At first the dogs were wolf-like and accompanied by nomadic bands of hunter-gatherers, serving as hunting aides, camp patrons, sources of food and skins and companions. Direct descendants of the small, short-haired, brown-gray wolves of southern Asia, these early dogs were probably similar to the Australian dingo and the New Guinea Singing Dog. Dogs proved to be extremely valuable to early humans and also exceptionally friendly. Dogs quickly spread around the world, eventually coming to habitat everywhere that humans did with the exceptions of some remote islands. Some dogs spread to the north of what is now Siberia, where they encountered very different climates compared to India and Tibet. The cold winters of the region quickly kill animals suited to the tropical climate. This problem was solved by crossing the domestic dog with larger, longer-blurred and more aggressive northern wolves. These mating was possible because all dogs and all wolves belong to the same species and can be freely interbreed.The result of these northern wolf / domestic dog crosses was a new type of dog, known in the West as the Spitz. Spitz-type dogs became very prevalent in East Asia and Siberia and currently remain the most common dogs in the region. Spitzen became the lord of survival in the coldest climate found on Earth, equipped with long, thick hair, deep senses, and excellent instincts. The Spitzone proved to be extremely essential for life in the Far North, helping its masters find food, defend themselves from predators, and travel across vast stretches of snow and ice. Spitzen became so essential that it is widely believed that human existence was impossible without them in most of the Arctic before the 20th century. At the time when Spitzen first developed, the Earth was colder at the time. Polar ice caps had a large amount of water trapped, meaning that the beaches were significantly different than in modern times. At various points, the Bering Strait, which separates Alaska from Russia, was much smaller than it is today, and was completely absent for a long time, except in Asia and North America. However, there is a huge amount of controversy when Siberian hunter-gatherers migrated from Asia to North America sometime between 7,000 and 25,000 years ago, using either their legs or primitive camps. These mysterious colonists accompanied their dogs, which were of course Spitzen. Archaeological and historical evidence in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic is very difficult, so it is impossible to say much about the area or the early history of its dogs. The evidence which has been compiled suggests that the people known as Dorset dated to about 1000 a. Shortly before 1000 A.D, a new culture known as Thule now appeared in coastal Alaska. Thul path of life proved to be extremely successful for this region. The Thule people migrated entirely to Canada and Greenland, almost completely replacing Dorset in the process. Thule people used sled dogs to travel and transport their belongings across vast expanses of snow and ice. It is unclear how Thule developed this technique and dogs used to do it. Technology and / or dogs could have been developed by Thule himself, obtained from other Native American people, or brought from Siberia. No matter how they were developed.

Thule’s dogs became direct ancestors of modern day Greenland and the Canadian Eskimo Dog. Due to the overall lack of evidence, it is impossible to say when the Canadian Eskimo Dog was first developed. Some claim that the breed is essentially unchanged from earlier Spitzen, which would place the breed’s origins between 14,000 and 35,000 years ago, while others claim it was first developed by Thule 1,000 years ago. Virtually every date between the two extremes is possible and claimed, however.

Whenever the Canadian Eskimo Dog was developed, it became an essential feature of Inuit life. The breed named Qimmiq, as the Inuit, was not considered a member of the animal kingdom, but as a unique tool and occupation of man. This breed was necessary for the Inuit, who probably would not have survived the harsh landscape without it. The primary purpose of the Canadian Eskimo Dog was to pull the sleds. These slips carried the Inuit and all their possessions from one place to another and were the only means of transportation except walking. The dog herd allowed the Inuit to travel greater distances, as well as enabling them to reach places they might not otherwise have been able to. The Canadian Eskimo Dog also served as a camp protector, cautioning the Inuit from the point of view of predators such as polar bears and wolves. Some tribes used the Canadian Eskimo Dog to help them hunt. Dogs were used to track and attack organisms such as seals and polar bears, for which the breed is called innate hatred. Most people have worked with the breed note that it is exceptionally aggressive towards polar bears and seems to really enjoy hunting them. Canadian Eskimo Dogs consumed a diet similar to their Inuit masters, a diet that consisted almost entirely of meat.

The Canadian Eskimo Dog remained significantly more wolf-like than most modern breeds. Part of this is because the wolf in the Arctic is so well adapted to life that some changes to its form were necessary. Another reason is that only the strongest and the fiercest breed members were able to survive environmental pressures, which usually meant resembling the most wolves. Many claim that the presence of the breed is the result of recent and repeated crosses for the wolf. Recent genetic evidence has suggested that this breed is not closely related to the wolf, and has probably not been extensively crossed with it (although such crosses have almost certainly occurred throughout history). The study of the behavior of interactions between the Canadian Eskimo Dog and the Wolf also suggests that such crosses are not very likely. Canadian Eskimo Dogs and Wolves have very strong mutual dislike for each other. Bounded Canadian Eskimo Dogs routinely kill them and release the body, and the Canadian Eskimo Dog is actually terrified whenever a wolf is present.

Because of the breed’s endurance, speed and power, as well as its incredible ability to survive the coldest climate on Earth, the Canadian Eskimo Dog was a very popular choice with Arctic and Antarctic explorers. The breed has made several trips to both poles, and has been particularly supported by American, Canadian, and British explorers who had easy access to the breed. Unlike other sled dog breeds that became popular pets with acclaimed fame with polar explorers, the Canadian Eskimo Dog was never popularized with the general public. These campaigns at least made the breed familiar to the outside world, and by the late 1920s both the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) and the American Kennel Club (AKC) had given the breed full recognition.