I've been reasearching and reading through the standards on the breed and there were a few things which stuck out to me and sparked my curiosity.

It says the front paws or rather the toes should point outwards slightly. Mind if I ask why is that?

Correct me if I'm wrong but the toes of wolves are pointed straight out infront of them I believe. And their gait and structure of legs [front being directly parallel to the back] is what allows them to walk in a straight line, the backfeet falling into the same footprint left behind by the front feet.

Does the tamaskan follow this same path? It says they have a strong and flowing gait, rather wolf like.

Something else I was wondering, and this is justa general question between dogs and wolves.

I've read a dog's lower jaw is "turned bakwards" in comparison to the wolf. When they say "turned backwards" are they refuring mainly to the shape of the jaw or the way it connects to the upper jaw and skull? Or is it simply something to do with the way the bite is?


EDIT:

I just remembered something else I wanted to ask! The acceptible breed colors...I know this is a pic of a malamute but his coat struck me. If it was not for the fact his face is white would a coloring such as this be considered a acceptible or un acceptible for a Tamaskan?



It looks almost sable in color...

actually most wolves have pointy out toes...lol
I tried to search the internet for one but its suprizing how many photos of wolves cut off their feet.
Finally found one on flikr

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and another

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I don't think I know what you mean when you say turned backwards, but you should ask Blustag, she is the wolf expert.

The malamutes colour is acceptable, except for the masking and we do have Tamaskan that are this shade of grey.

I love the coloring on the malamute in that picture.^^ The tamaskan was created by crossing german shepherds, malamutes, and huskies correct? I was hoping a color palet of this type was accepted and existed in the tamaskan, I showed my mother the tamasken and she really liked the ones who were gray/black/white patterned.

Okay I'll be sure to double check on the jaw with Blustag.^^ Thank you for that.

I read these dogs are strictly tested for hip problems and have their eyes closely examined. It is common in most large breed dogs to have hip problems but knee problems in larger breeds is also pretty common. The knee joints are sometimes too shallow and the knee slips out of place. Are knee problems a current problem in the breed? The only way I can see the knee not being a problem is the way the legs are designed in the lower portions. I've seen a lot of larger breed dogs who seem to have weak hocks, and with such a large slant it puts more pressure on the knee, thus slippage occurs. Given the standard for the tamaskan's hocks...I would go as far to say I would not expect many knee problems in the breed. I merely ask the question just as more background information.^^

As far as the eyes go, is the reason for the mandintory [can't spell] eye test for the fact these dogs are suspetible to eye infections or serious diseases or even the retnal distachment? I just want to make double and tripple sure of things as all.

Forgive me if this seems a bit too forward but I was wondering about a price range on pups. I would guess the price depends on the breeder and if you are importing an animal. Seeing as these dogs are so rare in the US..and even getting one from a breeder in the US, I'm guessing the pups would range in the upper hundreds to lower and even mid range thousands.

I was hoping to find an estimate range. I'm very interested in owning one of these dogs and I just wanted to get an idea of how much money I need to put away so I can aquire one of these beautiful animals.^^

I think the price range in the US is around $1500/$2000 USD but if you want to be sure you should ask a breeder. Tarheel is located in North Carolina so you could contact them.

I thought there was a breeder in PA according to the Roster on the official site I suppose you could call it. Or are they not breeding anymore? I'll definately keep this one in mind though, thank you.^^

Ah, okay that would make sense then.^^

What is the average life expectancy of this breed? Is there a difference between expectancy in male verses female? I found an article that said they can live from 13 to 16 years. Is this accurate?

I have a question which might be a little odd....some dog breeds its reccomended to get a dog of the opposite sex because there is an agression between them. Has any sign of this come up in the breed? Is it recommended to get a dog of the opposite sex?

Some dogs seem to mature faster than others...interesting how breeds vary huh?^^ So if she's seven months I'm guessing she wouldn't be fully mature until she's two? Or right around there?

Okay so I'll have to see about the one in North C. then.

If I was to have more than one Tamaskan it would be a good idea to have a decent age difference between them. Alright I'll definately keep that in mind.

I'm not to sure if I want a male or female yet, I just wanted to ask so that way when I picked out my pup I would know if I should stick with one sex or the other.

Some male dogs in certain breeds get very...hyper I suppose you could say when they hit sexual maturity so thats why I was thinking sticking with a female. I've only had female dogs and the male dogs I've been around if they were mature and not nutered they were hyper boys...>>

Females are a bit smaller than males, my mom got real wide eyed when I showed her the stats for just a female. She got really wide eyed when she saw the male stats. I had to explain to her when they say up to 33 inches at the withers they are talking top of the shoulder...so a tamaskan at 33inches is actually smaller than a Great Dane or Irish Wolfhound...>> -laughs-

(Wow! It's been a long time since I've been on here--sorry for the absence)

Yes, we have a Tarheel pup so she won't be ready to breed for quite some time (and this is of course dependant upon her passing her hip and eye exams)

But yes, the PA breeder listed on the site is myself and my husband (listed as Hawthorne). We hope to import a male from overseas as Freyja's potential mate. I've been looking at pedigrees, etc., and quite frankly have hit a snag on the personal side of things making that new puppy from overseas idea a little hard right now...but we haven't disappeared and do intend to breed in the future!

Good luck in your search for a Tamaskan!

No worries^^

I hope your pup passes her tests so she can become a wonderful mother and breeding addition to the US tamaskan line.^^ I hope your search for a male is successful too.^^

Thank you for the well wishes and perhaps some day down the line when you have a male and your female is of breeding age I might be contacting you about a tamaskan.^^

You have asked a lot of questions in diff places so excuse me if I have missed some out, just ask again.

There are no known knee problems in the breed, but this is not something we test for.

There is one dog in USA believed to have cataracts but we have never recieved the vet report and so we don't know if it is the genetic kind or not, testing in America is now mandatory, but it is still optional in the UK

I am not sure if I would be quite so generous with the life expectancy, perhaps the average of 14, but you have to understand that this is just guess work based on the expectancy of the dogs used to make the Tamaskan. The Tamaskan dog is very young and most of the foundation dogs are still alive.

I am not going to kid you by telling you Tamaskan are never aggressive
I have seen agression between males, but very rarely, but this can happen in any breed of dog for any number of reasons and the majority of the time I find it to be a fault with the owner and not with the dog.

I have 8 dogs, 4 males, 4 females.
2 of the males are tamaskan and their age difference is almost 2 years.
I have 2 one year old males ( one of them tamaskan, other a coydog), then a 3 year old tamaskan and a 9 year old malamute. No problems what so ever between them. Except when a neighbors female came in heat
Frankly i find males much easier to train and handle then females

there is some aggression between my males and males who come from different packs. Especially when on the leash. But I can still have them running free in the woods without any problems. Just not all 8 of them together Too much a risk with bullying ( don't know ow to call it in English, but what I mean is when they function as a pack with a strange dog)

I've looked at the Saarloos and they are a very beautiful dog. Those are actual decendants of wolf-dog hybrids are they not? German Shepherds were crossed with wolves...at least from what I've read, correct me if I'm wrong.

I know any animal can be aggressive under certain conditions and of course when in a pack position even domestic dogs still have that bit of wolf instinct for a pecking order.

I was more so attempting to get at if they were aggressive in the fashion of breeds such as Akitas [I think I spelled that right] a friend of my mom had one and even though she strictly trained him from a puppy he was naturally male aggressive and he would growl at her husband even at 8 weeks. Her husband was hard put but eventually established the solid role of alpha male and now the dog realizes his position and does not bother him.

I was learning towards a female since she's a little smaller and lighter weight than a male. And my mom nearly had a heart attack when I told her how big males got. That a lot of dog to train and control! I still live with my parents and probably will for a few more years so I figured a female might be a bit easier as far as space wise is concerned. But it really all depends on which pup I make a connection with as to what sex I get in all truth.

Males can get up to 33in at the withers and weigh up to 110 pounds right? That dog only weighs a couple pounds less than me! Big dog O_O; I like big dogs though. I find it so funny when they try to sit in your lap and they're nearly as big as you. Being sat on by a German Shepherd is an experience thats for sure! -laughs-

Eye testing is mandentroy in the US? huh I never knew that. I'll definately be sure to keep my dog away when another dog is in heat or its in heat if its not fixed because I wish to find someone to breed him/her with.

Wow you certainly have alot of dogs!

thanks for all the information!^^

The Czech Wolfdog and Saarloos wolfdog are both descendants wolf-GSD mixes, that's right.

Kal-le is one of the taller Tamaskan dogs and is 68cm to his shoulder and weighs 34kilos, what should be around 85 pounds and is full grown now. Magu is just 18monts and is smaller and weighs about 66pounds.

I know multiple akita's and no, Tamaskans are not as "difficult" to handle as Akita's. Both Tamaskan boys here can be aggressive towards other male dogs, but nothing like an average akita would be. And towards people (also strangers) they have no problems what so ever! Kal-le loves everybody, Magu would not come up to people he doesn't know, but he does not fear them or be aggressive. It just doesn't interest him

Wow, these were great questions. I am so glad you asked them, they were really informative.

Okay Karen, thank you.^^

Really? You think so Chelsea? I'm a nerd so I ask as much as I can possibly think of.