Sundog 101

A Tamaskan Dog is a highly intelligent and independent arctic breed with a set standard. To see the foundations of the breed you can check out our breed timeline. But suffice to say Tamaskans can only come from approved breeders/mating. There are a number of official clubs and registries, but all universally require that dogs be microchipped, registered, and under return contract to their breeders. Past that please note that you will see variations is style between kennels and registries as we are still outcrossing to maintain and establish the breed while also preserving diversity.

Yes you can, but it is still new to the breed. Intact dogs can show with the IABCA, ARBA, ICE and ICKC. Some of those organizations also have companion/altered classes as well. Dogs young enough to not need to be altered and those altered dogs can participate in AKC affiliated programs through the Canine Partners program if following the contracts from the program. There are also other sports we can participate in such as barn hunt, Rally-O, Parkour, agility, weight pull, dock diving, trick dog and many others depending on the regulations and restrictions on each dog (requirements to be zero content, altered, etc.). Hopefully we will continue to all explore new sports with our dogs. 

At this time each club has their own health testing standards. The strictest of these is the NTC. You can view each club’s testing requirements on their own sites, but some of the basic tests needed to breed are hip x-rays, elbow x-rays, eye exams, basic cardiac, DNA parentage confirmation, and DM testing as the basics. Additional tests required by some clubs are temperament testing, S-Locus, pituitary dwarfism, a full DNA panel (like Embark or Wisdom Panel), Patellar exam, etc. Some clubs also have additional testing standards for outcrosses or specific litters/generations that may be unique to the club, outcross/parent breed, etc.

Breeders may test additional aspects based off their personal preferences, lines, and the risks of the breedings or programs - especially if using an outcross with their dogs in order to guarantee the best possible chance of success and health down the line.

If you are looking for a Tamaskan breeder please see our official organizations page and check out the breeders affiliated with the registries  listed there and the participation and notes with organizations on any breeders (if they have any). Please note that updates do not always hit the sites or the clubs may not list a breeder or have announced a breeder until they have a planned litter to minimize confusing or false announcements. You can always ask a breeder if they are affiliated and then confirm it if needed. Note also that being a registered breeder means you agree to the code of that club/registry. It does not mean that their ethics, dogs, program, or other aspects will match your standards or that you will be a good fit for each other. (think of it like seeing a gov. ID and assuming that just because someone lives in an area and hasn't been awarded keys to the city, or arrested, doesn't make them in agreement/disagreement with the local gov. policies or practices. Being compliant doesn't mean you will agree or have similar standards or practices.) You need to find the right breeder for you just as much as you need to find an ethical one.

If you would like to become an approved breeder you should contact the desired club to view their qualifications and requirements.

If you want the numbers the fact is that under half of a single percent of Tamaskans have successfully worked as Service/Assistance dogs for any amount of time at all. It is also difficult to identify and prevent a dog from washing out of training until after they are 2 years of age. In the existence of the breed all active and successful service dogs are very closely related from the same line. Many have tried and continue to do so - including myself and dogs from my kennel, but there are a vast number of added complications, considerations, and challenges.

I do have an article covering this topic: Tamaskans as Service Dog: Struggles, challenges, and truths.

I got Clara from White Elk Tamaskan. She was from their first litter (Explorer) off of Rhea and Darwin. They are located in Washington and I flew down from Fairbanks to meet them, pick her up, and fly her home. They have since retired all of their dogs and are not active at this time.

Clara meets new people every day and I am more then happy to allow people to meet her. It doesn't matter if you just want to see a Tamaskan in person, are interested in getting one, or want to meet her just because. You can contact us directly via email or our social media accounts. I will often share where we are on tiktok, instagram, or facebook if I am open to meeting when we do - so it's ok if you don't live in our area. Clara has been all over the United States and Canada and we don't see that aspect of our lives together stopping. Sassenach travels with us most of the time and we are now to a point where if I travel alone it could be either girl that is with me. I'm always more than happy to have her meet new people.

Loki does not live with me full time, he just visits often and goes with us to sporting events. While it is more difficult I can occasionally arrange for people to meet him as well.

While the other dogs do not live near or with me they are no less adventurous and their families no less loving and kind. Many of them meet up with others regularly and you can reach out to see who is opened to meeting if you like.

Please not that while I am always happy to let people meet the dogs we limit other dogs and animals from meeting them. I occasionally allow it but not on first introductions without all people involved being comfortable with all dogs involved. Meetings should be relaxed and comfortable, possibly even inviting you into our home and for dogs and other animals it can hide their natural personalities if individuals or animals are not fully at ease.

*Clara is my service dog and due to that I do not let her interact every time we happen to run into people. We ask that you please be respectful of this if you run into us in public. We are more than happy to make arrangements, even when we travel, to meet people so they can really have time to get to know Clara and learn about the breed when Clara is off duty.

Clara was welcomed into our pack as a breeding prospect. She has past all of the required health testing and additional testing for the NTC and the TDR. That said she is a G3 Tamaskans and with that gift of a dog more true to type I have the real challenge of finding a dog that not only compliments her but is not so closely related to her that we will have complications down the line or box ourselves into a more significant corner.

She is the foundation of Sundog and graced us with the amazing PT Boat litter in 2019. She will not be having any additional litters as she is now retired from our breeding program. 

Sassenach was kept as a breeding prospect. She had excellent structure and temperament scores when we assigned out PT Boat litter and she has been doing wonderfully with everything I throw at her. Genetically she already passes the testing standards of the Tamaskan clubs at this point. She has also completed a lot of her testing and everything looks good.  As she is now over three I am comfortable moving forward with the appropriate sire for a litter and timing within our family when I can make sure that time and funds allow for the quality of care and attention I put into a litter.

If we have a mating or are expecting a litter planned for her it will be announced on our site and social media. 

I trained Clara myself. I consulted with a number of different trainers and professionals, but I own and train for Sundog Training where we specialize in service dog and other working dogs.

Tamaskans are basically the exact opposite as a breed for what you want in service work. Their breed traits are in direct opposition to many of the idea traits for service work. We have a post to address more info on Clara's training, our stance on why Tamaskans don't make good service dogs on a whole, etc. that can be found here.

I will add as she is older that Sassenach is task trained. Every dog that lives in my home for over a month tends to end up with at least 1-4 tasks for me. Sass does work occasionally to give Clara a break or when a situation is better suited to her working style than Clara's. But I stand by our statements that Tamaskans are not typically desirable for service work.

A sundog is an atmospheric phenomenon that I felt embodied my experience and vision of the breed. It took me a bit of time, but I am very happy with our kennel name.. This is such a common question that we have a page dedicated with "Why Sundog?"

We do not endorse or direct everyone to any specific breeder. That said we chose White Elk to start our kennel and for good reason - they were the perfect fit for me and gave me a wonderful foundation to build on. That said everyone is different and will need different things in a dog and breeder. I do have individuals that I am close with in and out of the breed that are mentors, mentees, or just dear friends and you can find them/their kennel info on our extended family page

You should select a registered breeder in good standing (with the official clubs and registries) if you want a Tamaskan. No dog that isn't registered is recognized as a Tamaskan. If you want to support the breed, say you love the breed, want the breed to survive, etc. you must go that route and find a good fit from that selection. Supporting unregistered breeders will only create issues for the breed and its development. We are more than happy to talk to you about our experiences and relationships, but you truly need to look at the lines and behavior you want, the content level of the dogs, and the ethics and health testing you are comfortable with.

We always strive to do more testing than the standard in the breed. We want to set a good example for our owners, community, and others in the dog world. That means that we always are trying to go above and beyond and test or participate in projects that could benefit the breed or the dog community on a whole. 

At this time the NTC has the highest testing standards and we test our Sundogs to that standard and will evolve over time as standards increase or change across the breed. 

TDR Health Testing Standards:

• DNA profiling
• DM
• Hips
• Elbows
• Eyes

NTC Health Testing Standards:

• DNA profiling
• DM
• Pituitary Dwarfism
• S-Locus
• Hips 
• Elbows
• Eyes
• Patellar

We do eye exams annually, tested elbows before it was required and have have hips and elbows evaluated by BVA, OFA, and multiple specialists, compete a full embark panel on every dog in program, have regular blood work done, etc. to insure that our dogs are in optimal health.

Our puppies are all tested with Embark (at a minimum) before they are assigned to their new families, but may also have additional testing done. We also have a reward based program for those that fulfill their contracts and test hips, elbows, eyes, and patellar once the dogs come of age (regardless of if they are in pet or breeding homes). We encourage you to check out our testing and evaluation page to learn more about this aspect of our program.

The girls tend to cycle every 11-13 months. Because of this they dictate a lot of our planning by that even without any other considerations.

At this time Clara is not officially retired but the plan is to have her retired following Sassenach and Loki passing their testing. While we do have other dogs upcoming as well as part of the program it is to soon to announce them as breeding prospects at this time.

Therefor have litter as the dogs allow based off our testing and standards as well as their schedules, health, and wellbeing. We will never have more than two Sundog litters a year. While you may see me involved in raising and assisting others the NTC has a very clear rule about only having two nests/litters a year so even as we grow and add additional girls to our program this will still play into my choices. 

We will make litter announcements publicly and individuals on our waitlist will be privy to some mating/paring info a bit in advanced in order to make the best possible matches. Otherwise, regretfully, I have learned over my life that the best laid plans fall through and the coordination on some of these litters is massive. We see things develop unpredictable and so I rarely announce anything prematurely.

I use a number of resources in order to raise our Sundogs. You can check out our raising protocol page for specifics, but it is a combination of my experience over the course of my life as well as modern research. Programs like Avidog, Puppy Culture, ENS, crate and potty training, my experience through my mentors, time with exotics, and as a professional trainer all influence and shape my choices and my program.

Puppy Culture is one of many, but probably the most popular and accessible puppy raising protocol programs available. It is a wonderful resource and Jane (the founder/creator) has done a wonderful job developing the original program as well as the added portions over the years.

While I don't use it exclusively it is the one I send my puppies home with and the one I reference publicly the most because it is the more easily understood to the general public, puppy, owners, and breeders alike. To learn more about puppy culture, other programs I utilize, and our general raising protocols you can follow the links included in this section.

My last comment is to please be cautious. While Puppy Culture is a wonderful program I see commonly individuals who follow along with their litters but do not understand the protocols they preform or the logic and reasons behind them. This is a double-edged sword as even going through the motions sets puppies up for more success than not, but doing without understanding means that the finesse and finer points the program or similar programs offer is lost - not all puppy culture raised litters are raised the same and completing all the steps is not indicative of quality of completion and longevity of retention in the puppies of the benefits. Please review your breeders and make sure you, and they, understand the intent of the program(s) if you want a puppy raised via that program.

Yes! I start all my puppies off with positive potty "training" from the day I set up the whelping pen and beyond. The puppies are typically successful on grass and in litter boxes around the 5.5-6.5 week range with some variation between each puppy and other developmental factors. They vary in the consistency, skills, commands, and other applicable factors depending on what age they go home (8+ weeks).

That said it is always important to remember it is let training and giving them positive and appropriate options based off of their age. All puppies are sent home with multiple resources and supply options tailored to their future living situation to build on the success they had with me.

Yes! In our breed I think this is critical to their success and comfort in many aspects of their lives - from the journey home and everything the world throws at them... or they throw at the world.

Like potty training this starts practically at birth and is affected by the layout and development of their whelping area through go home.

 While every puppy and every litter will be more variable in this skill I set out to instill a comfortable sleeping and resting space for them. Crates grow in size, style, and layout through positive reinforcement and building duration and access over time. All puppies think of a crate as a safe, comfortable place that is their own by 8 weeks. That said I do not and will not rush them. While some puppies and litters will be able to be crated through the night by 8 weeks others may only be able to be crated for a portion of the night. I plan to write some articles/pages elaborating on this. 

In the meantime, our Sundogs have the foundations, are encouraged to build and continue to use those skills, know that as they grow they may struggle off and on with these skills more than many, but that they can be successful and comforted with this skill. even with one generation I can see progress in behavior, comfort, and communication through our crate training program. I can't wait to see our dogs be even more successful as I build on and continue to tailor the program to fit our dogs.

Yes I do. But we only open applications to fill the waitlist based of upcoming plans, needed homes, and other applicable factors.

The only way to receive one of our puppies is to apply and be accepted onto the waitlist. We do not open applications by request and we do not make exemptions to open the list.

You can learn all about our application processes here.

We operate off of a strict waiting list policy. When we have openings on our waiting list we open our application. If you are interested in adopting a dog we encourage you to follow the Tamaskan Dog Rescue page and follow the Sundog Tamaskan facebook page where we post and share any adults or litters with availability.

While I understand the idea of picking a puppy I am concerned about the success of every puppy and every family welcoming one into their home. We tailor the process based off your needs and wants, pair that with health testing, structural and temperament evaluations, and knowing these little puppies and observing them for their life to date to assign the entire litter - even our own breeding prospects. 

So, no one truly picks a puppy from our program in the traditional sense, but you always have a choice and we encourage you to make the one that is best for you.

An article about puppy selection, assignment, etc. coming soon!

 There are a lot of factors to consider when setting the price of our puppies. Stud fees, the manner of mating (live cover, distance to mating, testing for ovulation, artificial insemination, etc.), size of the litter, etc. that are all fluid costs depending on the exact situations surrounding the litter. The average price, internationally, for a Tamaskan Dog is $2000-4000 USD with various inclusions, contract stipulations, follow up support and raising protocols, all influencing the determination of price. To see what we include with our Sundogs you can check out this link. If you would like a more specific answer or idea please contact us.

The purchase price of one of our puppies includes all expenses of raising and testing our puppies to the age of go-home (eight+ weeks) and full lifetime support.

Some of the included items follow:

• First Round of Vaccinations
• De-Worming
• Microchip
• Registration (with 1+ tamaskan club, AKC Companion, IABCA, etc.)
• FitBark
• Embark Test Results
• DNA Parentage Confirmation
• Puppy Binder (parents medical testing, pedigree, medical documents, microchip papers, contract, support materials, puppy culture booklets, etc.)
• Chew toy (s)
• Litter Themed Toy
• Food Packet
• Puppy Culture Support & Documentation
• Puppy Go-Home Bag (this varies with each litter)

We feel that we are ultimately responsible for the lives, welfare, and safety of the dogs that we are responsible for bringing into this world - regardless of where they are or who long it has been since they were in our care. We always strive to find the best possible homes for all of our dogs where they will be cared for and loves as if they said with us throughout their entire life.

If for any reason, at any time, you can not keep for or fully provide for your dog per our contract standards the same contract requires that you return them to us. You will not be given a refund, are responsible for all cost and expenses to return the dog to us. We will then find their new forever home.

We understand that with a rare breed like this finding the right breeder in the right location is practically impossible. This means that in order to find the best possible homes for our dogs we are regularly going to see them leave our area.

We prefer our families to pick up their puppy in person but will deliver puppies as well. We have placed dogs all over North America and had individuals drive and fly to pick up dogs from us in the past or attend workshops. Commonly distant adopters fly to pick up a puppy and (depending on the puppy's size) fly back with the puppy in cabin (this is how I pick up puppies regularly).

For individuals at greater distances or where a puppy is too large to fly in cabin they can fly accompanied or unaccompanied in cargo. We prefer our experiences with Alaska Airlines due to their policies and cargo area for live transport, but we have since moved out of their standard area. While they are preferred we will utilize other companies and re-evaluate once puppies are on the ground to select the safest and most secure option(s) - this may or may not include air travel depending on the situation at that time. We will not allow transport on a sub-par flight and will only allow unaccompanied transport on direct flights in very specific situations.

We will allow dogs to be shipped internationally. Please note that the countries and allowances vary in their rules, regulations, and standards for pet travel. Because of this we make this decision on a case by case basis. Please note that most European countries are simpler and more affordable to transport to then Australia.

If you submitted a complete application and have not heard back from us please be patient and understanding. We review applications once every two weeks. Typically it will day 2-4 weeks for an application to be reviewed since the number incoming can vary and we have limited time to review each week, but it may take longer if we are preparing for a litter, have additional vet appointments, or have a litter on the ground, or other life events happen. We post when all responses have been sent out regardless of the timeline.

There is only one individual reviewing all of the applications and caring for our dogs. We have a wonderful support system, but this is also not my day job and something we do for the love of our dogs and the breeds. If you think your application has been sitting longer then normal, or want an update please feel free to contact us. We are always more than happy to update you on if everything a submitted and/or where int he review process your application is.

I feed PMR (Prey Model Raw) and a number of different brands of kibble to my dogs. Clara is on PMR and occasionally gets kibble are a treat/reward, but not as her main food. There are numerous Tamaskans that are known to have a grain intolerance so many feed grain free foods. Clara has never had any adverse reaction to any foods we have given her (kibble, dehydrated, freeze dries etc.), but every dog is unique and needs to be looked at as an individual.

I do not typically feed puppy food or specialty foods per research and experience, I look at each dog and what they need. I also encourage individuals to note that recently grain free foods that have legumes are noted to have multiple possible medical side affects but you should remain up to date on applicable research for yourself.

Our puppies will be given raw and a variety of other foods as they grow to gauge tolerance and build exposure. We always love seeing our dogs continue on raw and other high quality foods, but we need to note that raw should only be fed it if it balanced and formulated properly. If you can not balance it it is critical to get a well balanced pre-made option or to feed a kibble that is balanced properly for your dog. The biggest issue we see with raw is a lack of proper balance and education and while it can have amazing benefits it can only do that if executed properly. To that end we also love Rogue Pet Science and Nupro supplements for our breeding dogs and pets.

All puppies are kept up to date with the vaccination protocol that can be found here until they go home. So wherever they are in that schedule when they go home at 8-12 weeks is how far we will go into their shots. 

We do a full puppy panel for all incoming dogs, and do regular vaccines every year as needed. Rabies is given per law by a licenses veterinary every a year after the first shot then every three years for adults. We give the parvo/distemper vaccination on a regular schedule as well. 

Bordetella, lime, canine flu, covid, etc. are given based off our veterinary recommendations based off our area and what is prominent in our community or where we will be traveling. We will not over vaccinate, but at the same time we want to make sure that all of our dogs are protected from anything they could be exposed to. Dogs that are not traveling or going out to a wide variety of unpredictable locations are titer tested as they age and vaccinated according to the advice of our medical team.

Tamaskans are a double coated breed and therefor have a thick undercoat and a top coat of guard hairs. We use a number of tools and will add a grooming post to our page soon, but we recommend never using a furminator or other blade set in a similar brush as it can and will cut the guard hairs. We use a undercoat rake, grooming stone, comb, curry comb (rubber brush), and a force dryer for the vast majority of our grooming.

We do not need to brush or bathe regularly, but because of the amount of public access and interactions of the dog we typically bathe and force dry them ever other week. We do nails weekly or as needed, ear are checked regularly and cleaned only as needed, but because the are upright they rarely need cleaning (literally only before shows). If they are blowing coat we brush and pull daily until the transition is over over 1-3 weeks and may bathe or pull out the force dryer just to get more out in a sitting.

I (Kelly) have been educated, audited, and certified as a trainer through a few different organizations. We use positive reinforcement training over all, but have a very thorough understanding of all four quadrants of training. Especially on intelligent and independent dogs like Tamaskans we encourage positive reinforcement training. These dogs are extremely intelligent and smart enough to refuse commands. They also do not react well to being hurt or forced to do things and will either shut down or are intelligent enough to lash out or refuse to follow a command - leading to a communication breakdown that can be difficult or impossible for a team to recover from. In order to completely avoid this break down in communication through our years of training and working with dogs we see a mutual benefit and level of cooperation with dogs that are trained using positive methods and tools.

We will be adding a set of articles and resources to cover more information, specifics, etc. soon.