- No one colour or colour pattern should dominate the breed with the colour and colour patterns of the Canadian Eskimo Dog ranging from: (a) An all white body with pigmentation around the eyes, nose and lips (e.g. not albino).
- (b) White body with only the smallest amount of red, buff (including cinnamon shades), grey or black around the ears or eyes.
- (c) White bodies with either red, buff, cinnamon, grey, or black head marks around ears and eyes or the entire head and the occasional small patch of the same colour on the body usually around the hip or flank.
- (d) Red and white, or buff and white, or cinnamon and white or black and white with about 50/50 distribution of the two colours, on various parts of the body.
- (e) Red body or buff body or cinnamon body with white on chest and/or legs and underside of body.
- (f) Sable or black body or dark grey body with white on chest and/or legs and underside of body occasionally extending around part of the neck in a collar-like fashion.
- (g) Silver grey or greyish white body.
- (h) Buff to brown undercoat with black guard hairs.
- Very common to dogs with solid colour to most of the head is a mask-like shading of white around the eyes and/or muzzle with or without white spots over the eyes.
- On very rare occasions the spots over the eyes as well as cheek-marks will be buff coloured thus adding a third colour to a normally two-coloured animal
About the Canadian Eskimo Dog
Origin: Canada
- Typical life span
- 10-15 years
- Size
- Large — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 30-40 kg
- Female
- 18-30 kg
- Height
- Male
- 58-70 cm
- Female
- 50-60 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Spitz and primitive types
- Origin
- Canada
- Also called
- Perro Esquimal Canadiense
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Canadian Eskimo Dog?
A powerful, Spitz-type working dog of the Arctic with thick double coat and imposing stature, known for exceptional endurance in sledding and hunting work. This primitive breed combines strength with hardy Arctic adaptation.
Canadian Eskimo Dog history and origins
Ancient aboriginal breed used by the Inuit people of the Canadian Arctic for thousands of years as a multi-purpose working dog for sledding, transportation and hunting. Nearly extinct with introduction of snowmobiles but saved through dedicated preservation and revival efforts.
Canadian Eskimo Dog appearance and size
Males typically weigh 30-40 kg and stand 58-70 cm at the shoulder; females 18-30 kg and 50-60 cm.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- For centuries this breed was used as a draught animal and was capable of pulling between 45 and 80 kg. per dog, covering distances from 15 to 70 miles per day. He was also used as a hunting dog, to locate seal breathing holes for the Inuit hunters. As a hunting dog he would also attack and hold at bay musk ox and polar bear for the Inuit hunters. In the summer the dog was used as a pack dog carrying up to 15 kg
- Behaviour and temperament
“The the Canadian Eskimo Dog should reflect the tough, hard-working breed that he is. He is not to be viewed as a domestic pet but rather as a primitive dog originally domesticated by Inuit for specific tasks in a harsh arctic environment. In general disposition, the mature Canadian Eskimo Dog is gentle and affectionate with the average individual, enjoying attention. Even with total strangers the dogs are rarely standoffish. Usually they will exhibit a rather quiet friendliness and harmless curiosity or become completely distant. The dog is very pack oriented and if raised as a group, dominant and subordinate roles will be acted out under the leadership of a totally dominant or boss dog. Behaviour within a group or pack is usually well structured and controlled but it is not uncommon to see battle scars or torn ears on dogs originating from kennel areas where the dogs are raised in groups or packs. Compared to modern domestic breeds, the Canadian Eskimo Dog has an almost over response to any stimulus whether it be food, work, defense or play. For this reason, the dog should be a companion for adults and is not to be considered a child’s pet”
Quoted from FCI standard n°211. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Large
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “For centuries this breed was used as a draught animal and was capable of pulling between 45 and 80 kg. per dog, covering distances from 15 to 70 miles per day. He was also used as a hunting dog, to locate seal breathing holes for the Inuit hunters. As a hunting dog he would also attack and hold at bay musk ox and polar bear for the Inuit hunters. In the summer the dog was used as a pack dog carrying up to 15 kg” That is a working purpose, not a measured exercise requirement — an individual dog’s needs depend on its age, health and household.
- 4 of 5
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 5 of 5
- Grooming needs
- —
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Canadian Eskimo Dog
What you get with the Canadian Eskimo Dog
- Purpose stated in the standard: “For centuries this breed was used as a draught animal and was capable of pulling between 45 and 80 kg”
- The standard describes the breed as: “The the Canadian Eskimo Dog should reflect the tough, hard-working breed that he is”
What you are taking on
- Expect a lot of shedding — “Subject to an annual moult usually in August or September, the coat is thick and dense…”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Canadian Eskimo Dog
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
Subject to an annual moult usually in August or September, the coat is thick and dense with guard hairs being hard and stiff.
This outer coat will vary from 3-6 inches (7-15 cm) in length.
In males it will occur in a mane-like growth over the shoulder and neck making the male appear much larger in size and taller at the withers than he actually is.
The undercoat is very dense to give excellent protection during the most extreme winter conditions.
During the moult this underfur will come loose in clumps over a period of a few days.
Females will usually have a shorter coat overall partially because of the additional moult that will occur following the birth of pups
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°211 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
What the standard penalises
What a judge marks the Canadian Eskimo Dog down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.
Severe faults
Marked heavily against a specimen in the ring.
- Head: Square muzzle or loose lips, round or bulging eyes.
- Neck: Long and thin.
- Body: Narrow chest, over-all lack of muscle, excess fat, sloping back, coarseness or lack of finer bones in bitches.
- Legs: thin, fine boned or cow hocked.
- Feet: Flat or open.
- Coat: Short, off prime
Disqualifying faults
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
- Blue eyes.
- Floppy ears, the exception being battle torn ears.
- Clipping or altering the coat by scissoring.
- No evidence at all of a curled or upright tail in male dogs (recognizing that a tail may occasionally be kept down as a sign of subordination or stress).
- Excessive undershot or overshot jaw
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Canadian Eskimo Dog in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Canadian Eskimo Dog
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Canadian Eskimo Dog on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Canadian Eskimo Dog owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No Canadian Eskimo Dog breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.