The Canadian Eskimo Dog (Canadian Inuit Dog) or Canadian Husky (Exquimaux Husky, Kingmik Dog) is an ancient Spitz type working dog that originated in the Arctic Circle. This is probably the oldest and most primitive of all Canadian indigenous dogs. The breed is believed to be more than 4.000 years old. It was first domesticated by the Thule people, a proto-Inuit tribe (the ancestors of all modern Inuit) that lived for centuries in the northern parts of Canada, Alaska and Greenland. According to certain historical evidence, the Thule had started to use these dogs sometime between 1100-1200 AD primarily as hunters assistants and guardians, but later on they began to use them for sled pulling as well. CED is closely related to the Greenland Dog, with whom it shares many similarities. In fact, these two breeds are often mistaken for each other, and they both have much in common with wolves. For a long time, the Canadian Husky was thought to be a tamed wolf or some close relative of the wolf. Even Charles Darwin, the famous naturalist and geologist, thought the same due to almost identical look and vocalisations. However, recent genetic study of this breed has proven that there are no significant traces of wolf genes in newer generations of Canadian Eskimo Dogs. Continue Reading →