They are so gorgeous.....

what beautiful striking dogs

Not sure I understand what you mean.

Absolutely stunning dogs and fantastic photos! Is photography a hobby?They are very profesional looking

lol...Thanks helena...I'm sure hubby will appreciate it...lol...'oh no, not more!'

Thanks to Moli.

They do indeed have the look of wolves which in some areas leads to the breed being dismissed as nothing more than a new 'designer dog breed' personally I hate the term.

I agree that they do look like wolves, some more than others and I think there is nothing wrong with people appreciating the look of wolves and in turn enjoying how these dogs look...They can fall into the wrong hands that is for sure, with some people wanting them to up their image as it were, but that is no different to some big bloke who wants to push that he thinks he is a hard geezer and wanting himself a nice butch looking staffie or similar.

These dogs definitly do have a presence about them that can lead to the wrong people being interested but what needs to be realised when looking into having a certain breed of dog is as well as the 'look' that you appreciate, the character is equally important...

It would be no good to have these lovely looking dogs that have a look of the wolf, if it were not to have a solid and good character...

As well as the 'look' in my mind the breeds character is second to none, they are non aggressive (completly so in most all cases) so to bad for anyone wanting a good gaurd dog! (the look may serve as a deterant, but the friendliness of the breed would make them useless as a gaurd...lol) they are very dog friendly and they socialise very well, they are intelligent and quick although if at times stubborn! with learning and training.

They have an endless drive for mischievous behavour and they do like their fun, so maybe they arn't for the fainthearted as they can come across as a little boistrous and they do share some of the traits in their northern breeds of dog cousins which can sometimes make them a handfull to say the least so people must know that before leaping in and owning one for a few weeks and then thinking 'what have I let myself in for'! But personally I like that.

They hate being left alone for a long period of time so you can't leave one at home alone while you go to work for 8 hours...Even if I leave Keena with someone she knows, if we are gone she just howls and howls till we get back, though we are slowly working on it...Most people have good success with leaving them for short amounts of time but I feel it would be stressfull in any longer than a few hours a day as they thrive on interaction so much. Takoda isn't as bad as Keena long as he is amused.

Once they are settled with the family they will see you as there 'pack' and will want to do everything with you and be involved at all times so once you have a Northern Inuit Dog be prepared to share your whole life with it...lol...

They can also be known to have sensitive tummies like Huskies and GSD's, Keena did have but Takoda has had no real problem. Once they are settled on a good food that agrees with them though there should be no problem and some can also get car sick quite easily...We had 8 months of Keena being sick every single car journey! But she is completly over it all now and we have travelled as far as nearly 2 hours in the car stopped off to do what we are doing then drive back the two hours with success. Takoda has never been sick once in the car on the other hand.

But in general they are a very fit and healthy and hardy robust type of dog with lots of energy and enthusiasm.

If you don't mind some of these traits and can easily live with those things and still be very happy and with good training and firm but fair discipline then you will have a lovely dog that everyone admires and in return will love you 10 fold.

The one thing that is different about them and the northern breed of dogs in their ancestry is that in general they can be let off lead and succesfully trained a reliable recall and do come back. That maybe harder to teach in the Northern Inuit Dog than some other breeds, they do go through having selective hearing and indeed they do love to 'chase' so if my Keena is anything to go by it does take time and patience no doubt about that, but once you get there in the end it is well worth it. They arn't the type of dog you can just take to a small patch of grass on repeatedly through a ball for and have them play fetch for an hour, mine have never retreived a ball more than three times in a row and that was Kody, Keena will never play that game, there is no point as far as she see's it! So you have to make walks entertaining in other ways!

We don't have to have 8 foot high fences or walls around our garden and they never try to escape, we only have a four foot fence that they stand on hind legs peering over for a while being noesy and that is it. They want to be where we are too much and don't like the idea of escaping...lol

So the character traits and look combined for me make this a breed I really have fallen for.

just thought I would say a few things about them because I didn't want people to just see the words 'they look like wolves' and have the wrong idea about the dogs because it happens alot, although rarely on this board because we have been made to feel very welcome

Into the bargin Helena, hope the information has been usefull to you I'm sure with your experiance of GSD's you would adapt to the Northern Inuit Dog quite readily, but do some research first as I'm sure you would and find out all you can, good and bad before jumping in...

Also if you really are interested in a pup do alot of looking at different dogs, find out exactly what you like, look at the pictures of puppies dotted around the web and see how they develope, they change quite drastically from little pups to adults with their colouring and markings but you end up seeing a pattern that helps you to find the one for you. With Keena, she has turned out beautifully and I wouldn't change her at all but she was our first and we didn't know what we were looking for really but we were very lucky with her...With Takoda it was a little more calculated! and I knew what type of pup to choose that would grow into the type that I wanted. Both dogs also had great characters which has to be eaqual (sp?) to how they look as with any breed. Just study the pics and the breed and if you do become an owner you will have ended up with a very good dog.

Even if you never have a N.I.Dog at least now you know lots...lol

lol Charlie, actually I always end up getting frustrated taking pics!...They always seem to come out blurry and out of focus or the dogs never stay still long enough...lol...Definitly not a proffesional here!...Thanks for the compliment though

I know what you mean,for every 10 I take one will be 1/2 decent Yours realy are stunning,I think some people have a natural eye for it.My husband takes the most amazing photos with no effort or edditing

Just wanted to say a quick word regarding the term 'designer dog' that I mentioned in my post...

The reason why I do hate the term so very much for this breed is because to me the term 'designer' means acheiving a look at whatever expense is neccessary, disregarding health issues that may be a factor and producing something that has had no other thought put into it other than the said look...

In the terms of dog breeding that means producing dogs that are sickly, weak and cannot possibly have a healthy life from start to finish and that have known problems resulting in the quality of their life being poor...I have to say I think that alot of accepted breeds suffer from this also.

The Northern Inuit Dog was indeed bred for it's look but at the same time health and character have been taken strongly into consideration, if the overall health and character of the dogs was to have been poor and the breed was continued regardless just because of 'look' alone then I see the term 'designer dog' being given a place here but as I discussed in general they are a very healthy hardy and robust type of dog with great characters and that is what makes the term 'designer' dismissable by me, in my opinion

Ok, back to the pictures...lol

Well myschievous, I think you have now convinced me totally that they are definitely the next dog for me! Some of their characteristics do sound similar to that of the german shepherd, i.e. the wanting to be where you are, long interesting walks, not being left alone for too long etc. etc. My hubby once left our driveway gates open when I let the dogs out the back, and when I went out there, they were both sitting on our side of the open gates staring out into open countryside - not wanting to leave us? My dog who I have had for 9 yrs. now has always got her eye on me when we are out, so much so, that when I used to poo pick the horses field (here we go again!), a 5 acre field, she would find a suitable spot slap bang in the middle and sit herself down watching my every move, I suppose she could keep a better eye on me at a distance. None of mine have ever been any good either at guarding, although they have all put on a very impressive show, but always came running back to me should anyone actually dare to come through our gates. Having said that, I am sure I know them well enough that if anybody attempted to do me any harm, they would both fight to defend me, I know that, but guard dogs they aint!Lol! They look the part though and certainly sound it, and that's what matters in the end.

I have taken careful note of your comments regarding puppies and thanks for the advice there. I will be doing some thorough research now.

I can understand the worries too regarding the "designer dog" theory, as they truly are magnificent to look at, but then I'm a staunch german shepherd fan, and they won't possibly be everybody's cup of tea - let's hope!

Sadly, I don't think any amount of persuasion, creeping, or blackmail is going to persuade my o/h to let me have 3 dogs at the moment, even though I am home alone every day, with ample time to spend on them, in or out on that bike racing over the hills, but my mind is made up that this will be the next dog for us in a few years to come.

Now, if I could just persuade him that we needed a bigger place, things might be looking up! lol!

Thanks for taking the time to give me all that information, it really is appreciated.

No problem Helena