Northern Inuit Dog and Utonagan - Owners Thread Discussions

To avoid the drama thats why i thought it would be best to ask on here as i am guessing you dont want to start the great NI debate again! LOL

So here are my answers based on my pair and the ones i have met at the shows ect

1) firstly NIs are gorgeous dogs, and you all of beautiful fur babies

Thank you!

2) do NIs like to live with other dogs like huskys n mals seem to do? (i ask this because you all have more than one ) i mean do they do better with another companion than on their own?

Yes they do like to be with other dogs, the few that only have one (they seem to be addictive so there are not that many with just the one as an only dog) seem to need more attention then my pair do. At the shows they love to run around with each other and really enjoy the company of other dogs.

3) im guessing that NIs arent for a novice owner? correct me if im wrong..

Unless you have a good mentor and are willing to do alot of work then no i wouldnt say they are for a novice owner. They are big, intelligent, strong dogs who can be quite willful when they want to be.

4) The NI arent KC reg but will they be in the future? how long does it take for a breed to be recognised?

This is something that i dont really see happening, the KC are not keen on new breeds. TBH though i am not bothered by it, i have lost most of the respect i had for the KC and think its still too much of an old boys club to make the changes it needs to.

5) how are they to look after maintence wise? are the a particularly healthy breed? do they shed alot or "blow coats" as at the minute im guessing they are similar to other northern breeds?(again correct me if im wrong)

They blow there coats twice a year and shed some hair all year round. They do have excellect coats for self cleaning though and no matter how muddy they get it seems to dissapear.

6) how are they with other animals, e.g. small animals cats, rabbits etc. and livestock?

Mine are awful with small furries but i think Cassie hasnt helped with this. I have met some that are fine with cats if raised with them and even house rabbits. Livestock again is a lot to do with how they are raised. Mine are fine with them because Cassie is fine so they take there ques from her, but i know of others that are not. They do have a strong prey drive though.

7) how long have the NI been around, i can remember hearing about them years ago, because my uncle first saw one and said he wanted one and i must of only been littlish

As far as i am aware the NI is a child of the 80's but when in the 80's they came about i dont know.

My two Ute's:


In answer to Murf's question: yes they do look the way I expected they would as adults. I expected them to look like a cross between a sibe & a gsd & they do(not forgetting the ?? collie added to the ute mix ) They also act the way I expected, more or less

Razcox... how do get a 'mentor' of a cross breed..how does that work :?

Well both of mine look as expected with regards to build ect but Raina is a different colour then i thought she would be. From her puppy colour i expected her to be a pale brown shade. In fact my friends puppy looked the same as Raina when they were little and he has turned out how i expected Raina too. I dont mind though as my girl is a stunning sliver with cream. Here are some pics though.

Puppy:



adult

LOL you find someone that knows how to train intelligent dogs and is willing to work with you!

ah i get ya

I love these two Bint, simply stunning xxxxx

Ref livestock, I know of quite a few people who use or have used ES Collars to combat their dogs desire to cause mischief or harm. Though I know at least one person with horses and her dogs are ace around them, they have been going to the stables since young xxxx

Razcox, wish I had known, Raina was just the same colour as Thunder and Silver Shadow when they were pups, I could've told you she wasn't to be a pale brown colour.

thanks for that

Nes - There was a dog the same colour and he went brown and another bitch was the same colour and went brown too. LOL I would change her though i love my silver princess

Oh and she LOVES horses but thinks they all like to play like one filly she met a few times! Either that or she tries to lick them and give there face a clean like they were just big dogs!

Shunka loves horses too but I am not sure they love him back!!! xxxxx

Will oblige with more pictures...Kiba at my wedding this year and on his first birthday.

Pictures of Kiba as a pup and now to show comparison:

7 weeks


5 1/2 months


1 year


Hope this helps

Anyhow here is my beautiful, beautiful Silver Shadow (RIP) as a pup and older xxxx:
8 Weeks Old , first howl:

Ref prey drive and family pets, honestly, I believe it is how they are born, not how they are nurtured (my opinion). (That being said, those with a lower drive, perhaps 'nurture' for them works). I say this as my first two were fab with my cats, I think that my girl and my pup would be ok too, however, there is no doubt in my mind that Thunder, given a chance would kill my cats. God Forbid it, but I do not trust him one bit with my cats.

thanks. thats helped alot. i love them and think theyre absolutely stunning

after looking through everyones pictures, can you get dark coated NIs or is this just the utes?

I think it's nature as well in some cases, as with any dog...but there is something to say for nurture in some cases...or perhaps it's just circumstance? Take one of my fosters...I was told he was a danger to small furries and shouldn't be allowed anywhere near them as he would chase and kill if he could.

He was introduced to my rabbits with no problems. On a lead at first obviously, and then after a good few times of visiting daily and letting them come to him he could go in their room and just sit and watch them without chasing at all.

I only hope my next pup will be the same and will accept the bunnies as well as my boy has.

Edited to add: I also think it's something to do with the way other animals react to the dogs. My rabbits know (or think) that nothing will hurt them so they don't run, don't make sudden moves and don't hide, they just go about their business as if there wasn't a huge hulking dog in the room. Whereas a lot of animals will run and that triggers the chase instinct if it is there. So if the dog meets a lot of animals that run when they see him/her then he/she will learn to chase earlier on in development?

awww gorgeous

They change so much, but yes, I would say yes:
Girl:


My Eldest:

Thanks , he had a fab character too. So well adjusted, if he had been a human he would have been an angel xxx

werewolf your dogs are gorgeous can you send them my way please...

I can only speak from my experiences. When I bought mine (I did debate ref Mal and Husky also), I was over the moon to be told how fab they were with other animals. I adore my cats and would never put them at risk. Whereas I was always led to believe that some of the breeds I had looked at could lull one into a false sense of security, eg be fine with the family cat for years and then kill it. Then, as I say Thunder came along and my opinions changed, to some extent. But as I have said before, this dog actually hunts when on walks and he will eat what he catches, though he wont eat moles, he just kills them. (of course we stop him killing as best we can and I am talking rodents etc not people pets). Perhaps it depends on how diluted the dogs genes are ref the mix.