BREED DESCRIPTION OF THE NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN DOG
SIZE: TYPE 1: 55lbs. to 75lbs.
HEIGHT: 25 to 27 inches at point of shoulder
SIZE: TYPE 2: 76 lbs. To 95 lbs.
HEIGHT: 25 to 27 Inches at point of shoulder
SIZE: TYPE 3: 96lbs. to 145 lbs.
HEIGHT: 27.5 to 34 inches at point of shoulder
HAIR COAT: 2 DISTINCT HAIR COAT LENGTHS
1) Regular hair coat length 1 to 2 inches in length
2) Long hair coat 3 to 7 inches in length
COAT and COLOR PATTERNS:
The Native American Indian Dog comes in many colors. One Native American was quoted as saying there are as many colors of our dogs as there are colors of our squash.
BROKEN PATTERN: Gray or Black or both colored patches (or spots) with white being the base coat. 2/3 s of the tail white, as well as white underbelly chest and legs being white. The head markings may be a white star, arrowhead, blaze or a star and a snip or a star and a blaze.
(The Hare Indians of North Western Canada, as did several other Indian Nations in the lower 48 states referred to this coat pattern as the “Spirit Dog”. This particular color pattern was used during religious ceremonies and revered as being “sacred” by the Native Americans.)
MARBLE BROKEN PATTERN: Gray and or black patches with yellow on head and sides of body. 2/3rds white tail or a white tip, with white chest, legs and underbelly.
MARBLE ORANGE BROKEN PATTERN: Gray and or black patches with yellow and orange patches mixed through out. White facial markings and white chest legs and belly with 2/3rds of the tail white is common.
BLACK TORTOISE SHELL: A predominately black dog with an admixture of silver, rust, gray and white. The legs are black from the elbow to the knee and rust coloration from the knee to the toes. Black varnish markings on the tops of the toes is a classic tortoise shell marking also. A predominately white chest and white throat, accompanies a white or orange/ rust underbelly coat color. A tortoise shell may have a white tip on the tail but generally a black tip on the end of the tail is most common.
RED TORTOISE SHELL: A predominately red or rust colored base coat with an admixture of black on the legs, mantle, silver or white may be mixed in with the mantel as well. Black and or gray hairs mixed in with the red or rust of the head. The chest is white with a white or rust colored underbelly. The legs are red from the elbow to the knee with white or tan coloration from the knee to the toes. Varnish marks on the toes are also a common characteristic of a red tortoise shell as well.
(The Montagnais Indians of the North Eastern part of Canada revered this color of dog as highly “sacred” Dogs of this coloration were often sold in the mid 1880’s for as much as $35.00 per dog. To most, a whole years’ salary at the time.)
MINIMAL WHITE BROKEN PATTERN:
A minimal white broken pattern is described as a basically solid colored dog with white on chest , legs and belly with the typical 2/3 s of the tail being white.
BROKEN PATTERN TORTOISE SHELL:
Tortoise shell coat color with patches of white, white legs, chest and under belly and the classic 2/3s white tail.
RED: Red/reddish orange in color hair coat with a white chest, white underbelly and white or cream coloring from the knees down to the paws. Silver or white hairs may be mixed through out the base coat of red. White/peach coloration on the sides of the face and white/peach eyebrows, also a characteristic of a red NAID. A white tip on the end of the tail is highly unusual and not preferred. The eyes of a red NAID are always yellow/amber in color.
BLACK/SILVER: The base coat is black with a admixture of silver or white hairs running throughout the body. Chest, legs and under belly are white or gray/white. Often with white eyebrows and white on the sides of the cheeks and muzzle.
SILVER/BLACK: This coat pattern is of a silver/white base hair coat with black guard hair across the top of the back and shoulders. Black on the tail and a slight admixture of black hairs on the head and ears is also common with this coat color. Legs, and under belly are always white/ gray in color.
YELLOW: A predominately yellow dog with white or cream legs, chest, belly, and often with white or cream eyebrows and white on the sides of the muzzle/head. Often red or black or gray guard hairs cover the back and shoulders and tail of the dog. A white tip or a black tip at the end of the tail is common.
BLACK: Base coat of jet black with partial white paws, belly, white on chest and a white star, blaze or arrowhead on the forehead common. Some NAIDs are pure black also.
GRIZZLED: Base coat can be red, black or gray with black brindle stripes on the muzzle, head, legs and complete body or red brindle stripes on a black or gray base color. Spots of different colors are also common along with the brindle stripes. Light colored chest, legs and belly and or spotted or brindle striped, with a white or black tip at the end of the tail is also common. This coat coloration making for a very unusual marked and highly sought after coat pattern.
GRIZZLED BROKEN PATTERN: The above same coat markings can be accompanied by white patches throughout the dogs’ body.
BLUE: Base coat blue/steel gray in color with tan on the sides of the muzzle, on the front legs and mixed in with the dark blue on the medial hind leg. A black tip on the end of the tail is common but may be white in color as well.
BLUE BROKEN PATTERN: A blue/gray base coat with white patches throughout the body.
SILVER: A predominately silver colored dog with a gray base coat. A red or butterscotch color may be present.
CONFORMATION STANDARDS OF THE NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN DOG
EARS:
With the many Indian dog types represented in the Native American Indian Dog ear sizes and shapes may differ according to the Tribe of Indian that raised and bred these animals.
A round small ear in size and shape as well as a large, long pointed ear at the tip are the ears of the NAID. All NAID ears should be erect/prick ears.
A black ridge following the edge of the ear and encircling the ear tip is another classic sign of this breed. Ears with white bands and solid colored bands running horizontally across the back of the ear is a classic NAID pattern as well.
EYES:
1) SHAPE: Almond or slightly oblique.
2) COLOR: Amber yellow to brown
The eye should be bright, with the pure essence of play, frolic and mischief, with an almost human like intelligence and soul searching ability…all should be visible in the eye of the Native American Indian Dog.
HEAD:
Skull widths vary from type to type or tribe to tribe. A broad skull, with a well shaped tapered, somewhat long muzzle is desirable. An almost perfect triangular shaped head is also a Native American Indian Dog characteristic.
The teeth and jaw are straight and tight and the teeth should meet together for a scissor -like bite. The nose pad may be black, brown in red NAIDs or red tortoise shells or a spotted or striped nose pad ( a snow nose) is common amongst this breed.
BODY: The Native American Indian Dog has two distinct body types.
1) The larger dog types 2 and 3 have a somewhat long body and long back with a proportionately sized long leg to support and balance the body frame. A broad, deep chest to support a large muscular heart and great lung capacity is essential, as these dogs were used to hunt large game and pull a loaded travois loaded with up to 250lbs from sunrise to sunset. The top line is level with a slight slope at the withers for greater mobility and agility.
2) The smaller of the height sized dogs have a shorter leg and a short, strong back with sloping shoulders for greater mobility and a large lung capacity for greater endurance. This body type was designed to hunt small, quick moving game, and carry a back pack loaded with up to 50lbs. of supplies all day long.
LEGS and PAWS:
The fore legs on the short bodied dogs are heavy and thick and well muscled and the toes point slightly outward. The paws are oversized and appear as if there is no ankle or joint where the ankle and leg join together. The paws are webbed, allowing the dogs to be an excellent swimmers and well-suited for winter snow travel.
The hind leg should follow a straight line from the point of the hip down to the front of the hind toes. The hips are broad and square, ideal for heavy pulling and weight carrying on their backs.
The movement at a trot and lope should be easy and free moving or gliding as if trotting and running are effortless tasks.
THE TAIL:
The tail should be full and bushy and should hang straight down between the hind legs. A slight kink or curl at the end of the tail is acceptable and quite common. A precaudal scent gland should be visibly noticeable 1/3 of the way down from the dock of tail and contain a combination of hair colors ranging from of black, gray, silver white or auburn or any combination thereof.
HAIRCOAT:
The Native American Indian Dog has two distinct hair coats. An outer overcoat of a variety of colors and hair coat lengths and an inner wind-proof, water-proof hair coat that was used and still used today to make clothing and very insulated outer wear just as the Native Americans utilized for thousands of years.
The inner hair coat is short and dense and comes in white, gray, rust or black.
In a hot climate the Native American Indian Dog will adapt and not grow the inner wind-proof, water-proof hair coat. So they can and do adapt to life in a tropical climate.
They are a Nordic-type breed of dog and love it cold. After a pup reaches the age of 11 weeks old, it is virtually impossible to get a NAID cold.
The Native American Indian Dog is one of the few breeds of dogs that is considered to be hypoallergenic. Of course there is always going to be a select few who are allergic to all breeds, but as a general rule, the vast majority of the human race is not bothered with an asthma attack or an allergic reaction to the Native American Indian Dog.
INTELLIGENCE:
Exhibits an extremely high level of intelligence. The NAID is easily trained and is one of the rare breeds that still has the capacity to reason and problem solve.
They aren’t a barking breed and does not do well as an attack dog because of their friendly nature. They are highly protective of their pack (human and other animals) and will alert you to intruders.
SENSE OF SMELL AND HEARING:
The NAID excels with their sense of smell which has made them highly favored Search and Rescue and hunting dogs. The hearing ability of the NAID is acute as well.
TEMPERAMENT:
The NAID is a very social dog. They are a non-aggressive breed who would rather play and rough and tumble all day than pick a fight with a strange dog. They will expose their underbelly and throat in submission as opposed to fighting with another dog.
The NAID is known for their versatility and learning capacity. They excel at search and rescue, hiking and backpacking, handicap assist, therapy dogs, hunting, weight pulling competitions, agility, and are incredible family companions.
CONTAINMENT:
The NAID’s remarkable intelligence and family loving nature requires that it have a companion. If the NAID owners are way from the house more than 5 hours, then it is important to have another playmate to keep it company. They do not do well in apartments or as total house dogs. They need a 6′ fenced area to be able to run and play at will.
LIFE EXPECTANCY:
The NAID has a life expectancy of 14 to 17 yrs. of age with little known health or genetic problems, other than old age related illnesses.
