Description of a Canadian Eskimo Dog.

The Canadian Eskimo Dog is generally considered to be a very old dog breed, possibly as old as over 1,000 years. It was first bred by the Thule people. Therefore it is related to the Greenland Dog, so much so that some authorities consider them the same breed. It was, and still is (to a very limited extent), used by the Canadian Inuit as multi-purpose dogs, often put to work hunting seals and other arctic game, and hauling supplies and people.

In the 1800s and early 1900s this breed was in demand for polar expeditions. When snowmobiles came into use the population numbers started rapidly declining, because snowmobiles are faster and need less care. In the 1950s there were approximately 20,000 dogs living in the Canadian Arctic, and had been accepted for showing by both the AKC and CKC, however in 1959 the AKC dropped the breed from its registry because of extremely low numbers. By 1963 there was supposedly only one dog registered with the CKC, and when this dog died there were still no others registered.

It probably would have gone extinct if not for the Eskimo Dog Research Foundation (EDRF). The EDRF was founded in 1972 by William Carpenter and John McGrath and was largely funded by the Canadian Government and the Northwest Territories, with some support from the CKC. The EDRF purchased dogs from the small (about 200 dogs) population remaining in the Canadian arctic from remote Inuit camps on Baffin Island, Boothia Peninsula, and Melville Peninsula. The EDRF then began breeding dogs in order to increase numbers.

The Canadian Eskimo Dog is still very rare, however it is becoming more popular in arctic tourism, with an increasing number of sled dog teams that serve tourists. This newfound popularity is because tourists often enjoy seeing the dogs in their natural environment doing what they are meant for. In 2001 the Canadian Eskimo Dog became the official provincial dog for Nunavut.