About The Breed
The Canadian Eskimo Dog goes by many names; Canadian Inuit Dog; Qimmiq; Canadian Husky; Equimaux; Inuit dog. The Canadian Kennel Club only recognizes them as the Canadian Eskimo Dog and considers the Greenland Dog to be a separate breed- even though they are genetically identical. We prefer to refer to the breed as 'the Inuit dog’ as an over-arching term referring to all dogs originating from the Inuit peoples.
The Inuit dog was said to settle in the North American Arctic ~1,000 years ago with the Thule people, however evidence may suggest the breed is much older. Gnome studies in 2020 have confirmed they are the closest living relative to remains found in the New Siberian Islands that have been carbon dated to ~9,000 years old. This new discovery could mean that the Inuit Dog may be the oldest living domestic canine still in existence.
Primitive & Ancient
By the 1960’s, thousands of Inuit dogs had died as a result of the colonization. The forcing of nomadic Inuit peoples into settlements, many died from disease, abandoned due to lack of or mass culled at the hands of the RCMP. The breed was removed from the Canadian Kennel Club & the American Kennel Club- listed as extinct. In 1970, the Eskimo Dog Research Foundation and the Canadian Kennel Club refused to let the breed drift into history. Men traveled north to the furthest reaches of Inuit settlements to collect some of the last remaining dogs untouched by outside influence. Thus began a rebreeding program to return the dogs to the Canadian Kennel Club registry. In 1986, the first Canadian Eskimo Dogs returned to being registered with the Canadian Kennel Club. Today our numbers are improving but less than 400 registered dogs remain, making the Canadian Eskimo Dog one of the rarest breeds in the world.
The Rarest Breed
A product of “survival of the fittest”, the Inuit Dog has survived thousands of years in the worlds harshest and most rigorous locations. Not just a sed dog they are an all-around assistant in daily life. Considered the best form of transportation in the winter as a heavy draught animal, they capable of pulling twice their weight and still travel 70 miles a day over the toughest terrain in the world. In the summer they can pull fishing boats across the shore & carry a pack heavy laden with supplies for long treks through densely forested trails. It is said they can pull heavier loads greater distances and on less food than almost any other living animal.
A hunter by necessity, the Inuit Dog can be trained to utilize their keen noses and are extraordinarily brave when faced with large predators. They have been utilized to search for seal breathing holes in ice hidden by snow, to wind a herd of musk-oxen, and stay a polar bear for his owner to dispatch.
They are alert, suspicious and extremely astute in hunting, trail & ice sense. Once commands are learned, they are never forgotten- though not always heeded as their extreme intelligence will weigh the risks of following demands. Once traveled The Inuit Dog will never forget a trail.