Tamaskan Dog

The Tamaskan is a Finnish breed made to look like a wolf without containing any — the wolf appearance is the whole design brief.

History

Breeders in Finland assembled it from the 1980s using Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute and German Shepherd stock, selecting hard for a wolfish outline. It contains no recent wolf ancestry, which matters legally as well as behaviourally: it is a dog, not a wolfdog, and is not subject to the restrictions those carry. The register keeps a closed studbook.

Temperament

The breed is known for being friendly, intelligent and highly pack-oriented, sociable with people and other dogs and prone to separation anxiety when left alone.

Care and training

It needs a great deal of exercise and company. Containment matters, as with its sled-dog ancestry. The thick double coat sheds heavily.

Health

Known tendencies include hip dysplasia, epilepsy and degenerative myelopathy, and a young closed population carries the genetic caution that implies. These are known patterns for the breed and a matter for a breeder and a vet; the measured facts are in the panel.