Northern Inuit Dog - Facts and Information

Appearance
The Northern Inuit dog might look like a Grey Wolf, but they are definitely not even close to its size. But this is still large dog. Because it is still relatively young breed, their size can vary quite a lot, but commonly the height is between 23-30 inches, which is 58-81 cm and weight between 55-110 pounds, which is 25-48 kg. The females are naturally little bit smaller than males.

They have very athletic and lets say slim built, but they do have a lot of muscles. One of the reasons why they look slim, are their very long legs. They have tall and pricked ears, narrow muzzle, long bushy tail and oval eyes. BTW they can have eyes in different colors, including brown, hazel, amber and blue.

The Northern Inuit dogs have thick and dense doublecoat. The coat resembles, just like everything else on this dog, the wolf coat. Most often you will find them in black and white coloration, but they can also be cream or brown.


Personality
Despite the wolf like appearance, this is not an agressive, wild or fierce animal, quite the opposite. The Northern Inuit dogs tend to be very friendly and affectionate, especially towards its pack and family. They are also very intelligent and bright.

This is a very social animal who needs to be part of the pack. They will definitely want to spend their day around the family and they will love to live with other dogs as well. If you will leave them alone for long time regularly, they might become bored and develope a separation anxiety, which can lead to unwanted behaviour.

Another thing that is important to know before gettin a Northern Inuit dog is, that this is very active breed. They love long walks or hikes and they make great jogging partners. They also like learning new things, so longer task oriented plays or training sessions might be a good way how to stimulate both – body and mind.

So even though, they are intelligent, friendly and social dogs, because of their energy level, accompanied with lets say independent nature and stubborn streaks, this is not a pushover to train and i would not recommend them for novice dog owners. They need firm and patient trainer. It is true, that this is not a dog for everyone, but if you are an active person who want to have a loyal dog companion by your side, than this might be a perfect dog for you.


Interesting fact
There are few very famous Northern Inuits in the world of showbusiness. And you watched Game of Thrones, you saw them as well. Northern Inuit dogs were cast as the direwolves in the Game of Thrones.


History
Even though, this is a young dog breed, the exact origin is not absolutely clear, because there are two versions and stories about the origin. The first says, that this dog was developed by Eddie Harrsion in late 1980s who crossbred several mixed-breed rescues with Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, and German Shepherds.

The second version says, that the Northern Inuit Dog was developed from Labrador Huskies and Canadian Eskimo dogs brought to the United Kingdom, where they were later crossbred with German Shepherds and Alaskan Malamutes.

There is no evidence, that a real Grey wolf was ever used in the breeding process, like it was for example in development of Czechoslovakian Wolfdog. So it is safe to say, that this is a dog and not a wolfdog. The Northern Inuit dog just resemble the wolf.


Health and Grooming
The Northern Inuit dogs tend to be relatively healthy and they have good lifespan for a large dog, which is between 12-14 years. The biggest health issues this dog commonly suffers from is hip dysplasia and ocassionaly cataracts, epilepsy and allergies.

As i already said in this video, this is an active dog and if you want them to stay healthy and happy, regular proper exercise is the key.

The maintenance is not hard. As you can probably imagine, just like most of the doublecoated dogs, they do shed all year long. To keep the coat in top condition, regular weekly brushing is needed. This will also removes the dead hair and minimize the shedding. Just like with all dogs, you should regularly check their eyes, ears and nails and clip them or clean them if needed.