Utonagan

Infobox Dogbreed
country = United Kingdom

name = Utonagan
notrecognized = true

The Utonagan is a dog breed (Canis lupus familiaris) The Utonagan strongly resembles a wolf but in fact has no wolf content at all, consistlng of only three breeds of domestic dog: Alaskan Malamute, German Shepherd, and Siberian Husky

Appearance

The Utonagan is medium in size and well-muscled, but with a slender build so as to resemble a wolf as closely as possible. The breed has a thick double coat that appears quite different in winter and summer. The guard hair is straight and slightly coarse to the touch. The pelage can be silver grey, cream, or brown with black overlay and a characteristic wolf mask. It also comes in all white and all black.

Temperament

The Utonagan has a superb temperament and makes a wonderful family dog and companion. They love the company of people, and get along well with cats and smaller dogs if introduced to them at an early age.

The Utonagan is not a guard dog, and will lick a stranger rather than bark at them. Utonagan will, howl from time to time.

Care

The Utonagan needs companionship and attention, and can develop destructive behaviour if left alone for long periods. Unlike some of their ancestors, Utonagan will return to their owner when called if trained properly. Most Utonagan adore being trained and are eager to please their owners.

The Utonagan's coat is very easy to manage and (roughly) only requires a twice weekly brush. However, when the dog is moulting, its coat will require more attention.

Health

Some have thick coats that keep them warm in cool conditions but they have great difficulty staying cool in summer. This becomes a problem when walking the dog during hot weather, so owners must be careful not to over-exercise the dog and to keep water available when playing.

Utonagan can live up to 10-15 years of age.

Generally the Utonagan is an active agile and healthy dog, they should not be overtly exercised until their bones are fully mature.

Prior to breeding all breeding stock should be KC/BVA hip scored and eye tested clear.

History

The Utonagan and Northern Inuit were created from 5 rescue dogs of unknown origin, imported to the UK from America in 1987. Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute and German Shepherd were then added.

The original dogs were bred by Edwina Harrison, who would often advertise them as Wolf dogs in Exchange and Mart. See link to article in external links. Buck, the founding father, looked like a Malamute. His more wolf-like pups were prized for breeding.

The breed now known as the Utonagan and the breed known as the Northern Inuit originally came from the same stock.

The Utonagan Society developed its lines by returning to stock from the conceptual breeder, as such the Utonagan and Northern Inuit are therefore now two separate breeds.

Sadly because of this breeds beautiful good looks and charming personality it has suffered at the hands of unscrupulous breeders willing to put making money before ensuring the health of their dogs and subsequent puppies.As a result the Utonagan does suffer with some health problems due to these unethical breeders and the small gene pool.

The name Utonagan was taken, by Lyn Barraclough one of the original breeders, from a story "Adventure with a Totem" from Myths & Legends of the North American Indians by Lewis Spence. It was then suggested by Brian Jenkins her partner as the breed name.

It is originally from a Chinook tale where Ut!ô'naqan is interpreted as "Spirit of the Wolf".

ee also

*Saarlooswolfhond
*Czechoslovakian Wolfdog
*Wolfdog

References

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20030108020435/http://www.rwhirled.com/eq/eqletter/botc14.htm Edwina Harrison London Daily Mail - article by June Southworth]
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/nw/chinook/cht23.htm Chinook texts]

External links

* [http://www.theutonagansociety.co.uk The Utonagan Society] (est. 2002)
* [http://www.the-utonagan-association.co.uk The Utonagan Association]
* [http://www.britishutonagan.com The British Utonagan Association]