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General
Appearance
Heavily boned, powerfully built, not too
compact and never appearing short on the
leg.
Characteristics
Sled dog capable of surviving in Arctic
temperatures and of pulling heavy loads at
steady speeds.
Temperament
Affectionate, friendly, loyal, devoted
companion but not a one man dog, playful on
invitation, generally impressive by his
dignity after maturity but tends to show
dominance to other dogs.
Head and Skull
Head broad, powerful, not coarse, in
proportion to size of dog. Skull broad
between ears, gradually narrowing to eyes,
moderately rounded between ears, flattening
on top as it approaches eye, rounding off to
moderately flat cheeks. Very slight but
perceptible stop. Muzzle large in proportion
to size of skull, scarcely diminishing in
width or depth from stop. Nose black except
in red and white dogs when it is brown. Pink
streaked snow nose acceptable.
Eyes
Brown, almond-shaped, moderately large, set
obliquely. Dark eyes preferred, except in
red and white dogs where light eyes are
permissible. Blue eyes highly undesirable.
Ears
Small in proportion to head. Triangular in
shape, slightly rounded at tips, set wide
apart, at back of skull. Ears forward when
erect. When dog is working sometimes folded
against skull.
Mouth
Upper and lower jaws broad with large teeth,
with a perfect, regular and complete scissor
bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping
lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
Neck
Strong and moderately arched.
Forequarters
Shoulders moderately sloping; forelegs
heavily boned and well muscled, straight as
far as pasterns which are short, strong and
almost vertical viewed from side.
Body
Strong and powerfully built, chest strong
and deep; back straight but not level,
sloping slightly downwards from shoulder to
croup. Loins well muscled, never so short as
to interfere with movement. No excess
weight.
Hindquarters
Hind legs broad and powerfully muscled
through thighs; stifles moderately bent,
hock joints broad and strong, moderately
bent and well let down. Viewed from behind,
hind legs vertical, standing and moving
true, in line with movement of front legs.
Legs indicate tremendous propelling power.
Dewclaws on hind legs undesirable.
Feet
Large and compact, toes close, well arched,
pads thick and tough, toenails short and
strong. Protective growth of hair between
toes.
Tail
Moderately high set, following line of spine
at start then curving gently upwards. At
rest may hang straight down. Well furred and
carried over back when dog is working, not
tightly curled to rest on back, nor short
furred and carried like a fox brush, but
giving appearance of a waving plume.
Gait/Movement
Single tracking at trot is normal but
movement not too wide or too close at any
gait. Easy, tireless, rhythmic movement,
produced by powerful drive from
hindquarters.
Coat
Thick, coarse guard coat, not long and soft.
Dense undercoat, from 2.5-5 cms (1-2 ins) in
depth, oily and woolly. Coarse guard coat
stands out, with thick fur around neck.
Guard coat varies in length as does
undercoat, but in general coat of medium
length along sides of body, increasing
somewhat around shoulders and neck, down
back and over croup, as well as in breeching
and plume.
Colour
Range is from light grey through
intermediate shadings to black, or from gold
through shades of red to liver, always with
white on underbody, parts of legs, feet and
part of mask markings. Markings either
caplike or masklike on face. Combination of
cap and mask not unusual. White blaze on
forehead, white collar, or spot on nape
permissible. Heavy mantling of unbroken
colour acceptable, broken colour extending
over body in spots or uneven splashings
undesirable. Only solid colour permissible
is all white.
Size
Height: dogs: 64-71 cms (25-28 ins);
bitches: 58-66 cms (23-26 ins). Weight
between 38-56 kgs (85-125 lbs), size
consideration not to outweigh type.
Faults
Any departure from the foregoing points
should be considered a fault and the
seriousness with which the fault should be
regarded should be in exact proportion to
its degree.
Note
Male animals should have two apparently
normal testicles fully descended into the
scrotum.
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