Tamaskan Dogs

Tamaskan dogs originated in Finland and are known to be excellent in obedience, working trials and agility. Also called the Tamaskan husky, this dog is often used for pulling sleds across arctic places like its ancestors the Siberian husky and Alaskan Malamute are also capable of.

The Tamaskan dog breed is most noted for its striking resemblance to a wolf; in actual fact these dogs were bred to look like this and have no recent wolf ancestors.

This very intelligent dog breed is fairly rare, although examples of the breed are spreading throughout the world across the US, most of Europe and also Australia. The first registered generation of Tamaskan dogs were born in 2002 and first appeared in the US in 2005. The first litter of Tamaskans to be born in the US appeared in 2007. Since then the population of this dog begun to increase.

In general the Tamaskan dog tends to be slightly bigger than a German Shepherd, measuring about 24-48 inches tall at the shoulder and typically weigh 55-88 pounds; significantly bigger than their Siberian husky ancestors but smaller than the Alaskan Malamute dogs. They are athletically built and males tend to be bigger than females with a more heavier build and bone structure. Females of the species also look more feminine than females of other breeds do. The typical colours for a Tamaskan dog are: Wolf Grey, Red Grey, and Black Grey. Their eyes are almond shaped range from yellow to brown in colour with lighter eyes being very rare; if the eyes are blue in colour or of different colours the dog is not accepted into the breed.

Tamaskan dogs are very sociable animals and in general hate to be on their own. If they are left for too long without company their behaviour can become destructive and they may try to escape. They are popular choices for pets due to their wonderful temperament and the fact that most are excellent with children of all ages and the majority of small pets.

These dogs are often trained to be therapy dogs and sometimes guide dogs due to their high intelligence levels and their eagerness to work with people.

In general these dogs are very healthy, although there are some serious health problems associated with the minority of these dogs. Like most dog breeds, 10% of males are likely to have cryptorchidism – a problem with the testes, where one or both may be ‘hidden’ in the abdominal cavity. Out of all the Tamaskan dogs registered worldwide 3 have been reported to have been diagnosed with epilepsy. Hip Dysplasia is also a risk, like with all big dogs. This last problem is believed to have been reduced due to Tamaskan dogs with good hips only being allowed to breed.

Breeders of Tamaskan dogs are always looking to improve the breed by using more ‘wolfish’ looking dogs. These dogs are then selected for breeding depending on their health, temperament, appearance and intelligence. The ancestors of the Tamaskan dog include the Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute, German Shepherd and Northern Inuit.

August 22, 2010 · Maddia (Admin) · 2 Comments
Tags: , , ,  Â· Posted in: Dog Breeds

2 Responses

  1. pup - October 27, 2010

    Do you recommend that I buy a Siberian husky? My house has a medium sized backyard.

  2. Maddia (Admin) - October 27, 2010

    Hi,
    I cannot really say for you whether you should or shouldn’t get a dog, as I really know nothing about you, nor where you live. But here’s some basic information:
    It is important that what ever dog you get that you can provide the basic care it needs as well as extra things too.
    Like many dogs, Tamaskan dogs and Siberian huskies will need lots of exercise so you must be willing to take them for walks no matter what the weather! Huskies need lots of space to run around and a big spacious house. They’ll need to have exercise every day to remain healthy.
    If you are looking to train the dog too, I’d recommend you get a puppy, proabably no more than 6 months old as it is harder to train grown up dogs. Huskies, and other dogs with their breeding in them (i.e tamaskans) tend to be harder to train than other dog breeds.
    Also it may be worth me mentioning that a few people I’ve known who’ve had Siberian Huskies have found that they don’t always make that good pets as they’re working dogs.
    If you live in a warm/hot climate I wouldn’t recommend getting a husky or tamaskan dog, as they have a thick, double coat (for conditions in the arctic) and can over-heat fairly quickly.
    Hope this has helped :)