Canadian Eskimo Dog

"Qimmit" and "Qimmiq" redirect here. For the documentary about the killing of the dogs, see Qimmit, a Clash of Two Truths. For the milk, see QimiQ.
Canadian Eskimo Dog
Other names
  • Qimmiq
  • Canadian Husky
  • Canadian Inuit Dog
  • C. familiaris borealis
  • Exquimaux Husky
  • Kingmik
OriginCanada
Traits
Height Males 58–70 cm (23–28 in)[1]
Females 50–60 cm (20–24 in)[1]
Weight Males 30–40 kg (66–88 lb)[1]
Females 18–30 kg (40–66 lb)[1]
Coat thick and dense, soft undercoat, stiff guard hairs, mane of thicker fur around the neck
Colour about any colour, with or without special markings
Kennel club standards
Canadian Kennel Club standard
Fédération Cynologique Internationale standard
Dog (domestic dog)

The Canadian Eskimo Dog or Canadian Inuit Dog[2] is a breed of working dog from the Arctic. Other names include qimmiq[3] or qimmit[4] (Inuit language word for "dog"). The Greenland Dog is considered the same breed as the Canadian Eskimo Dog since they have not yet diverged enough genetically to be considered separate breeds, despite their geographic isolation.[5][6]

The breed is threatened with extinction, with a 2008 estimate of only 300 purebred dogs.[7] Although once used as the preferred method of transportation by Inuit in the Canadian Arctic, by the 1960s traditional working dog teams became increasingly rare in the North. Contributing factors to the breed's decline include the increasing popularity of snowmobiles for transportation and the spread of infectious canine diseases.[4][8] Controversy surrounds the intentional killings of a debated number of Inuit sled dogs between 1950 and 1970 by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as recent efforts to increase the breed's population.

  1. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference NZKC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference nunavut was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ qimmiq[permanent dead link] at the Inuktitut Living Dictionary Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Inuit Sled Dogs in the Baffin Region, 1950 to 1975 Archived 2011-07-15 at the Wayback Machine Qikiqtani Truth Commission
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference brown2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "News | Canadian Eskimo Dog Foundation - Churchill MB Canada". Archived from the original on 2014-02-03. Retrieved 2014-05-05.
  8. ^ Canadian Inuit Dogs History