Antique dog print - but which breed is it?

[jon koss]

Hi everyone - I have had this print listed in the collectibles area for a couple of eons. Just today I received an email that this pooch is not an Akita. Oy, the embarrassment. Can anyone ID the breed for sure?

Thanks,
Jon

 

[removed account4]

Hi everyone - I have had this print listed in the collectibles area for a couple of eons. Just today I received an email that this pooch is not an Akita. Oy, the embarrassment. Can anyone ID the breed for sure?

Thanks,
Jon

alaskan malamute?
(sled dog)

 

[Shmoo]

looks like an alaskan malamute. The husky's tail doesn't curl up like that.

purdy dog...

 

[Pinholemaster]

Handsome dog!

 

[Sirius Glass]

The curl of the tail leads me to think it is a Norwegian Elk Hound.

Steve

 

[MurrayMinchin]

Legs look too short to be a Malamute.

Murray

 

[noblebeast]

Looking through my Atlas of Dog Breeds book, I have to agree it is an Alaskan Malamute. They tend to be stocky looking compared to the more leggy Siberian Husky. And the markings are very like the other Malamutes I've seen - that mask around the eyes is very common with the breed, though this specimen has very clear markings. Judging from the pose I'd be willing to wager that the fido in your print was a show dog.

Joe

 

[johnnywalker]

Noblebeast, how did you rule out the Elkhound, which would have been my first guess as well. Too bad there's no indication of the actual size of the dog.

 

[noblebeast]

Noblebeast, how did you rule out the Elkhound, which would have been my first guess as well. Too bad there's no indication of the actual size of the dog.

Well, Johnny, In all the years I worked in Veterinary Hospitals, showed dogs, and perused many different breed books, I've never seen an Elkhound with facial markings as distinct as that. Which doesn't mean they don't exist in the Elkhound line, but markings like that are more common with the Malamutes. Second, the tail on the Elkhound usually makes a tighter, more complete circle. Again, that doesn't mean more relaxed tails can't exist in Elkhounds. Third, the fringe of hair, especially on the legs, seems to be more prevalent in Malamutes. Fourth, the body seems slightly long for an Elkhound, they tend to be more square. Fifth, there is a very pronounced 'stop' (the area between the forehead and where the muzzle starts) that is a Malamute trait. Sixth, Murray said the legs appeared too short for a Malamute, but I think we are seeing a distortion because the picture was not laying flat when it was copied so we are fooled by perspective to think that the legs on the dog are shorter than they would probably look if we had the print flat.

Plus, just to complicate things, there are a dozen or so separate sledding breeds that are rare and not AKC or UKC recognized, and we might even be looking at one of those.

But I agree, without something else in the picture to indicate the scale of the dog, we're just left with our best guesses regarding the possible breed. And I will admit that since you reside in the much colder North, you no doubt have seen many more of these 'Arctic' breeds on a day-to-day basis than I have. But based on the foregoing, I'd still wager that the dog in the picture is a Malamute. Of course it is very possible that the dog we are looking at is a mix-breed, in which case we can each call it whatever we want. I'm sure we can all agree however that it is not an Akita.

Joe

 

[johnnywalker]

I'm in the south of the north, so don't get to see that many far-north type dogs, and I'm sure you know them better than I do. The other problem with identifying this dog is that some of the breed standards evolve over the years - I wonder how old this photo is. As you say, he could be my favourite breed, the Ubiquitous Mutt.

 

[Frank Szabo]

A Keeshond, perhaps?

 

[jon koss]

Definitely an old photo - I would say around 1930, which is quite a while ago in dog years!! Crazily, this is one of the most gorgeous photos I have ever owned but I just cannot seem to find a home for it on my wall on account of the subject matter.

Thanks for all the help, everyone. I googled malamute and it looks like the closest match yet.
J

...The other problem with identifying this dog is that some of the breed standards evolve over the years - I wonder how old this photo is. As you say, he could be my favourite breed, the Ubiquitous Mutt.

 

[thebanana]

Maybe this is the answer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Eskimo_Dog

 

[pentaxuser]

Before Wikipedia, we could have asked Robert Service who wrote about a "bunch of the boys whooping it up in the Malamute Saloon" Probably better not to have asked "Dangerous Dan" who wouldn't have answered anyway once the lights went up. My dad know every line of the "Shooting of Dan McGrew" and could deliver it very well.

I have long since lost the book "Songs of a Sour Dough" unfortunately.

pentaxuser

 

[SteveinAlaska]

Just checked this out tonight. As someone who got paid $3.00 a week to feed and water 49 sled dogs in 1961-2 at the tender age of 13, my guess would be a malemute/ collie/ sheepdog mix. The head clearly looks malemute, body hair looks collie though. As for size, it would depend on the owner because there has been a lot of crossbreeding to have a dog sized for the work purpose. It broke down to having a dog for freight puller or a sprint dog for speed. After an absence of 25 years, I returned home to Fairbanks, Alaska to see a sport of very highly specialized racing dogs and what has become a very commercial sport. Ah, for the good old days!
As for the dog in the photo, he looks to be a good one.