Kintamani Dog Breed - Facts and Information

Appearance

Lets start the video with the appearance. For me, the Kintamani looks like a typical Spitz and you can definitely find some similarities with other Spitzes like Samoyed. Overall it is a well proportioned dog with rectangular body with average height between 17-22 inches, which is 44-57 cms and weight between 29-40 pounds, which is 13-18 kgs. The females are naturally smaller than males.

Most people love the appearance of the Kintamani, and i would say that it is because of their sweet expression and beautiful coat. Lets start with the coat. Kintamani is double coated dog with harsh outer coat of medium length. The coat is shorter in the face area, but the neck and withers are surrounded with a long coat. Accepted colors are white, black, fawn and brindle.

When you will see the head of the Kintamani, the first thing you will notice is their brown almond-shaped eyes and medium-sized, triangular ears, that are set high up on the head and stand upright. They have broad face, flat cheeks and forehead. I asked few people and all of them really like the face of Kintamani.


Personality
If we look to the FCI breed standard, we can find that it describes the Kintamani as watchful, intelligent, alert, gentle, loyal and easy to train. It sounds almost perfect, right? But they are also very independent and sometimes territorial, especially towards other dogs.

But when they are around their family, they are completely affectionate, friendly and loving. You can trust them to alert you, when something suspicious is going on around your house, which makes them good watchdogs as well.

They are not pushovers to train, which is cause by their independent nature, but thanks to their high intelligence, they are capable of learning a lot. Patient and firm training is required.


Interesting Facts
Most dogs do not like heights and they are definitely not good at climbing. But that is not true with the Kintamani. They will love to climb up to the roof or spend the day relaxing on the top of the garden wall. Because of this, make sure that your fence is high enough, so the Kintamani can not climb over it.


History

The Kintamani dog is native from the district of Kintamani in Bali, to be more specific, from the village of sukawana. But the certain origin of the breed is unknown. We know that they were bred in mountainous forest regions, which makes them pretty tough and versatile.

It is believed that they evolved from the Balinese feral dogs with little loss of genetic diversity. Many of the Kintamani still live the outdoor independent life, but very often they are taken as family pets.

In the year 2006, the breed gained recognition in Bali itself and In 2019, the FCI decided to give the breed a recognition.

There are many stories and rumors about the origin of the Kintamani. One story say, that one Chinese trader brought his Chow Chow with him on Bali, and this dog crossed with the Balinese feral dogs. Another rumor says, they might have come along with the Javanese traders or refugees in the 14th and 15th century respectively. But it is impossible to confirm or disprove these stories and it is really believed, that they evolved from the from the Balinese feral dogs with little loss of genetic diversity.


Health and Grooming
Kintamani is usually a very healthy dog breed. They are hardy dogs and they do not suffer from any major health issues apart from skin infections or stomach ailments.

And because they were never bred as working dogs, they dont have extreme exercise needs. Of course you must také them on daily longer walks to keep them happy, especially when they are younger. They also love swimming and they are very good at climbing.

The Kintamani requireres regular brushing to remove the dead hair and minimize the shedding, because as you would probably expect from a dog with coat like that, they do shed a good deal. You should bath them only when its necessary and as with all dogs, you should regularly check their ears, eyes and nails and clean them or clip them when necessary.