Northern Inuits Questions

I have two NIs, both two years old. One entire male (Spike) I have had from a pup and one neutered bitch (Blaze) I have had for five months. Neither dog has shown any signs of ill health so far.

Moulting: NIs moult like crazy!! I have noticed that feeding them raw salmon a couple of times a week drastically improves this and I wouldn't be without my furminator. Since taking these measures, vacuuming has reduced from 2 or 3 times a day to once every couple of days. Having said that, I do still find hair in my food, on my clothes... just about everywhere tbh so if you can't put up with dog hair they're not the dog for you. lol.

With people: Both dogs are extremely friendly. Even though they haven't been brought up with young children (my youngest is 13), they will happily let a random 5 yr old jump do what young children do with no problems at all. Having said that, they can be clumsy and getting bumped by a NI running at full pelt is enough to knock anyone off their feet.

With other dogs: They are both very friendly with other dogs but they do play rough. I wouldn't have an NI with a delicate little lap dog for fear of the little one getting hurt inadvertantly. My bitch has been known to growl at other dogs who have approached me - this has only ever happened at a show where there were scores of other dogs around and I'm not sure if this was the reason behind her behaviour as she's fine with other dogs we meet in the park or on walks. She never did anything worse than a growl and when I told her 'No' and stroked the approaching dog she was fine with them. Both my dogs ran free at the show with many, many others and they all got along just fine as a big pack - it was a beautiful thing to see.

Destruction: Neither of my dogs have been destructive at all. My dog chewed through my internet cable once while he was teething but that's the only damage either of them has done.

Separation Anxiety: My dog has been absolutely fine and can be left for a few hours alone no problems. My bitch has never been left alone and I'm not sure she would take it so well - she follows me EVERYWHERE and will lie behind a door waiting for me to come back even if I just nip to the loo. She doesn't cry or do any damage, but I know she misses me when I'm not around. I wouldn't have one on their own unless you can train it from a young age to cope with it but even then, they definitely prefer the company of another dog if there isn't a human around.

Exercise: They can go all day and keep going, but if for any reason you can't get out to walk them for a day or two they will be satisfied with a few romps in the garden and won't be crawling the walls. I have a couple of medical conditions which means I can't always walk them every day and they don't seem to mind at all.

Feeding: My bitch will eat anything. My dog is extremely fussy and picky and it's taken alot of effort to get him to eat enough. He looks thin but the vet says he's fine. I have to constantly swap and change what I give him to keep up his interest in food.

Prey Drive: If you get an NI you MUST work hard on teaching them not to chase prey from a young age. I have had big problems with my dog who has chased sheep three times. Although he wasn't aggressive towards them and seemed much more interested in a game of chase than a game of catch - this can obviously be a catastrophic problem and I would advise any prospective NI owner to be prepared to work on this from the beginning. Even if you don't live near livestock, you never know what the future holds and chances are your dog will at least come across cats at some point. They can live with cats but again, it will need some work.

Trainability: My dog is very intelligent and quick to learn. I would say NIs need a firm and experienced handler. I wouldn't recommend them for first time dog owners. My bitch is not so quick to pick up on what's required when teaching commands, I'm not sure if this is because of her nature or because she had no training at all until she came to me at 2 years old. They are both very good at recall and come back every time when called.

NI politics: It's a sad but true fact that there is no small amount of controversy surrounding this breed. As an NI owner you have to be prepared for alot of scaremongering, false information and name calling over the internet. If you're thinking of getting a NI I would strongly suggest that you VISIT owners and breeders IN PERSON as there is so much unreliable information on the internet. Sadly there are people with personal grievances against each other within the breed and this has spilled over into discussions about these dogs, even involving some who have nothing to do with the breed whatsoever. I know personal issues and politics shouldn't come into it, but in my experience it DOES - especially over the internet and it has tainted the reliability of internet research.

I absolutely LOVE NIs and have no regrets at all in choosing them, but they're not the breed for everyone. Hope this helps.

Can you please explain why these two accounts have shared the same PC at some point?

Ahhhhh I thought there was something a bit dodgy, Suzy has so many aliases you cannot belive anything he/she says! What a Starr!!

This seemed to be a genuine post and has yet again spirralled out of control about mindless drivel from what i can see. I appreciate that I am knew to the forum but know a little of the breed and indeed some owners and they are of the same mind as Kristina and Sallyinlancs. I have a GSD and don't they have the same potential health problems? Some of you guys really need to get out more

Edit to add: I have been reading the posts without becoming a member too. That accounts for me haveing read some posts beforehand.

You join and instantly post in this thread and then sign off, soups up guys

OOOhhhh soup...am here...any crusty bread on the go??


Know lots about NI then do you Catalyst??

Actually no I have been a member for a short while. But then again you clearly new that from looking at my profile. I was drawn to the NI thread as my friends have them and they are good looking dogs. The more I read the more I was getting annoyed by a few trying to assasinate the breed based on what seems to be hearsay? Just taking an impartial view as a newbie. And to be honest it seems that if this is the vain of the forum I may not bother tbh. See how it pans out.

I also love how these same said few jump on the Bandwagon.

I am just waiting to be accused of being a Wolf (look a like, NI maybe?) in sheeps clothing!!!

Did my thread not state that I knew a little about them?

Oh and yes, Sarcasm is one of my strong points...

Oh sorry never seen your thread...can you give me the link to it??

Oh goody.. I think we can cope with that..

Do you like soup?

Oh please stay, its friday night and the TV is poor. I have a feeling you could be fun

With a name like "Catalyst" maybe we could "convert" him!!

I am so pleased my persistance paid of so Suzy is Ursula theres a shocker maybe poor woman has 2 personalities neither great am sure she will be back as a new alias.

i think the new one.. could well be JK going on the spelling.. but would have needed help as the vocabulary is too good.

JK as in Rowling??

Vocabulary is not bad I suppose. I don't confess to speaking/Typing the Queens English. As for the spelling, probably a typo as I use fingers on both hands to type. And more than 2 at that.

Catalysis is the process in which the rate of a chemical reaction is increased by means of a chemical substance known as a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed. Thus, the catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations, although in practice catalysts are secondary processes.

How would I be converted then? And from what? And to what?

Can't be Janie....

Using big words AND a dictionary?? nah..def not

Thank you for the quote from another site! Welcome to Dogsey!