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The Greenland Dog is a large breed of dog bred as a sled dog. This is an ancient breed, thought to be directly descended from dogs brought to Greenland by the first Inuit settlers around 1,000 years ago.
Appearance: The Greenland Dog is a powerful,
heavy-built dog. It has a broad, wedge-shaped head, slightly
tilted eyes and small, triangular ears covered with thick fur
that prevents frostbite. It has strong, muscular, short-haired
legs. The tail is usually rolled along/across its back, but it
may also hang down in a wolf like manner.
When it lays down and curls up to rest, the tail often
covers the nose. Its coat is middle length and consists of two
layers. The inner layer consists of short wool like fur, the
outer layer of longer, coarser, water-repellant fur. The
thick, stand-off outer coat and dense underwool allow them to
withstand constant outdoor living in temperatures that can
reach -50 or even -75 degrees Fahrenheit.
A characteristic of most Greenland Dogs is the "úlo",
a triangular shaped area on the shoulders. It is named after a
common woman’s-knife from Greenland which is of the same
shape. Dogs are significantly larger than bitches at between
58 and 68 cm (23-27 in) at the withers; bitches are between 51
and 61 cm (20-24 in).
History: The Greenlanders used this dog-breed as a
sled-dog, and it is still used for that purpose. It is also
the dog that is closest related to the wolf . The Greenland
Dog is closely related to other northern hauling huskies.
At one time, there were dozens of breeds and varieties, but
many have disappeared due to modern use of snowmobiles and
other machinery, which has supplanted the use of these dogs.
Much crossing of types occurred as the modern settling of
northern areas provided contact between previously remote
areas. The Greenland Dog is one of the breeds saved and
fostered by fanciers, especially in the Scandinavian
countries. Sadly, the breed is no longer as numerous as
before, even in its native environment.
Before use of the more recent method of chaining sled dogs
when not working, the practice among the natives was to keep
them tethered with thongs of seal hide. Of course, dogs chewed
through their ties, so most working sled dogs had their
incisors broken (the small cutting teeth in the front of the
canines), which necessitated cutting their meat. Since most of
the dogs were fed frozen meat or fish, the rations were
chopped into small pieces which could be swallowed whole. In
The Voyage of the Fox, McClintock recalls how he once cut 65
pounds of seal meat into small pieces, and his 29 hungry
Eskimo dogs devoured every morsel in 42 seconds.
Greenland Dogs were also used by the natives as hunting
dogs, utilizing their keen sense of smell to find seals'
breathing holes in the ice. Once the hole was found, the dog
and master sat back to wait, as sooner or later the seal came
up for air and it would be speared. In the summer months, the
dogs carried backpacks of supplies up to 33 pounds.
Temperament: The breed remains principally a working
dog. They have the typical Nordic, good, loyal, affectionate
temperament, but when the dogs work in teams, they don't have
the opportunity to develop a relationship with one master.
They are independent and self-willed, and rowdy and boisterous
in their play. One must immediately show these pack dogs who
is the alpha male or they will try and take charge to fill
that gap.
Like the Siberian Husky, the Greenland Dog has a tendency
to attack and kill small animals, like cats, squirrels and
rabbits. It is also a little suspicious when it comes to
strangers. Training must be firm, but gentle and it takes a
lot of patience as the Greenland breed still retains a lot of
its wolf-like qualities. The Greenland Dog is not a good
first-time dog, since it takes one who really understands dog
behaviour.
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