Northern Inuit Dog

The Northern Inuit Dog is a young breed of a companion animal with a unique wolf-like appearance and easy-going disposition. If you are charmed with this noble “predator” then it’s the right dog for you. Because of its wild ancestry vast amount of socialisation and obedience training is needed in order to curb some aggressive inclinations of this breed.

Photo: © Shima Onida Northern Inuits (shimaonidawolfdogs.co.uk)

As the name of the breed suggests, the Inuit Dog played an important role in the development of the Northern Inuit Dog. This canine was an indispensable helper and faithful companion of the Inuit people. It’s thought that it’s closely related to a wolf. The Inuit folk may even have crossed domesticated females of this breed with wolves. They strived for creating tough working breed that would combine the wolves’ stamina with obedient nature of a domesticated dog. Multiple generations of careful breeding led to appearance of a large and strong Inuit dog that can operate tirelessly for hours in highly frigid climate. It’s notable for docile, devoted character and outstanding trainability.

The enigmatic wolf has always drawn human attention evoking both admiration and fear. Because of such human fascination with this formidable animal, some canine fanciers from Great Britain came up with an idea of following the suit of the Inuits and decided to breed the dog with the wolf-like conformation but kind and complaisant personality. To fulfil this goal they brought Inuit dogs to their homeland and mated them with the specimens of the Siberian Husky, the German Shepherd and the Alaskan Malamute. The breed’s name allows assuming that it has common ancestry with northern dogs although it’s the product of selective breeding of English breeders.

The Northern Inuit Dog exhibits all features of the ultimate family pet. This smart dog can be trained with average efforts. Thanks to its extremely sensitive nose it’s frequently used in search and rescue operations and excels in the role of a guide for blind men. Additionally, the breed becomes a tough competitor in agility and obedience trials, flyball and other canine sports. In the recent years the popularity of this dog grew tremendously and its puppies are continuously being exporting to other parts of the world including France, Germany, South Africa and America.

The Northern Inuit Dog is generally deprived of aggressiveness of its feral forefathers and commonly forms touching attachment to its human companions. Being a highly pack-oriented breed it tends to experience a serious separation anxiety if it has to spend the most of its days alone. It likes frisking with children and usually welcomes their rough games. Nonetheless families with toddlers should think twice before buying this dog since it may be too vigorous to be fully trusted around a small kid. Moreover the puppy of this breed must be carefully socialised to become a well-mannered member of a human society.

As a rule the Northern Inuit Dog looks forward to meeting people whom it commonly greets as old friends. However some of its members show nervousness or shyness in the presence of strangers. The breeds’ affable nature makes it a lousy guardian. At the same time this dog can be trained into a fairly reliable watcher because it is endowed with both vigilance and willingness to please.

The Northern Inuit Dog will make a great choice for multi-canine households as it stands out for a very friendly attitude to its counterparts. However, be mindful that this dog always seeks for establishing its status in a pack hierarchy and may come into a conflict with strange canines to assert its authority. Keep your pet on a secure leash in public places to avoid any unpleasant incident with both canine and non-canine animals. It’s a good possibility that this dog won’t pester an individual cat if you introduce the animals to each other in an early age.

The most common problems for the breed include:

· hip dysplasia;

· epilepsy;

· cataract.

The grooming of the Northern Inuit Dog is a bit of a challenge because of its thick double fur. Moreover this breed is a very intense shedder that will blow out its entire undercoat twice a year. During these periods the master should resort to daily brushing to keep the amount of the dog’s hair in the house manageable. On the bright side this breed will never need a professional care.

It’s prudent to begin training the puppy of the Northern Inuit Dog to all grooming routines as early as possible. Trim its nail at least every other month and regularly examine the dogs’ ears in order to timely notice the signs of infection. Bathing should be performed when needed.

The Northern Inuit Dog is a quick-witted yet somewhat obstinate breed that commonly learns new commands with average amount of repetitions. Given its propensity to independent thinking, don’t expect from it a complete obedience. Besides, the trainer should become an incontestable authority in the eyes of this canine.

It’s advisable to discipline this dog to regular training since an early age and encourage its interest with food incentives and praise. Any manifestation of rudeness in the behaviour of the trainer is perceived by the Northern Inuit Dog as the sign of disrespect so they must be avoided at all costs.

The Northern Inuit Dog certainly has energy to spare and needs lots of daily intensive exercises. Because of its rather big size and incredible vitality this breed will feel itself uncomfortable in a city apartment and fits best for rural environment. It should spend at least an hour every single day outdoors, preferably off-leash in the yard with a high fence.

This breed likes all typical canine games and absolutely craves for attention of its masters. Remember that such behavioural problems as immoderate barking, unpredictable aggressiveness and destructiveness are the direct results of the lack of physical exercise.