Is An American Eskimo Dog Puppy The Right Choice For Me And My Family?

The American Eskimo Dog is loving, alert, beautiful, agile, highly intelligent, friendly, social, curious and strong. She makes an excellent protective watch dog but is not threatening or aggressive. It has a white or cream straight outer coat, with dense undercoat. There is a lion appearance as the coat is longer and thicker around the chest and neck. It has a thick tail carried on the back. Blue eyes in this breed is considered a defect and a problem of ill health or bad breeding.

She will do well in an apartment as long as she can get frequent long walks. A properly fenced yard is always preferable. She was bred to be a family dog and they need plenty of family attention. She is excellent with children. Of course, never leave very young children alone with any dog for any length of time, long or short, without adult supervision.
The American Eskimo Dog is often called a Spitz in America. The Spitz refers to a group of breeds, not an individual breed. He is also nicknamed the Spitz, which again is not a breed but a group of breeds including the Pomeranian, Samoyed, Shiba Inu, Siberian Husky and Finnish Spitz.
*Approximate Adult Size. There are three sizes of the American Eskimo Dog, Toy, Miniature and Standard. The Toy runs from 9 to 12 inches to the withers (tallest point of the back), the Miniature runs 12 to 15 inches to the withers and the Standard runs 15 inches to19 inches to the withers.
*Special Health Considerations. The American Eskimo Dog, like many large dogs, are prone to hip dysplasia, flea allergies, hot spots, cataracts, epilepsy, patellar luxation, and Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease. They have no tolerance for fleas and can develop severe flea allergies which can result in painful skin lesions. Their skin is naturally dry so they should not be bathed more than one every two or three months. All dogs should have their teeth brushed once a week.
*Grooming. The thick coat is easy to groom, brush twice a week with firm bristle. They are a medium shedder, one in May or June and then again in November and December. Many owners use an undercoat rake to groom which is available online or at better stocked pet stores.
*Life Span. They can live 12 to 14 years with proper nutrition and care, although there are cases of 20 year life spans.
*History. The American Eskimo Dog derives from the ancient Spitz family. Hailing from the coastal regions Germany, these dogs were traded throughout Europe. This family dogs probably came to America with German immigrants. They were used as family pets, watch dogs and circus animals. Circuses would sell puppies after performances and this the breed was spread throughout the US. They became popular during the 1930s and 1940s. They are known as the German Spitz in Germany. They were renamed during World War I to remove their national origin since we were at war with Germany. They were recognized as a breed in 1913.
SPECIAL GOOD POINTS
Good with children.
Highly intelligent.
Very obedient.
Good watchdog.
Can be protective but rarely will bite.
Do not smell like a dog.
They groom themselves.
Easily trained, especially early.
*SPECIAL BAD POINTS
They love to bark.
Can be willful.
Prone to weight gain.
Responds very poorly to harsh treatment.
Can take long to mature, up to two years.
Must be trained early as a puppy.
Can develop bad habits if not stimulated.

The American Eskimo Dog Breed Great Facts

I know that you find American Eskimo dog so irresistibly cute with all those fluffy hairs and stuffs. And he can be a real charmer too, American Eskimo dogs are naturally very friendly, playful and devoted, which no doubt you’ll find a very pleasing trait for an incredibly cute dog. But, do you know all there is to know about American Eskimo dogs?

American Eskimo dogs originate from arctic regions, accounting much for its fluffy fur. A member of the Spitz dog family, American Eskimo dogs resembles in temperament much like Siberian husky and the malamute in its playfulness nature but possesses more intelligence and thus high train ability than its arctic cousins. American Eskimo dogs are also very friendly, pack oriented that is devoted to every family member and suspicious to strangers. For that they make excellent family guard dogs, barking to announce strangers but won’t attack.

These traits make American Eskimo dogs highly suited as companion dogs. Their friendly temperament compounded with their high train ability factor makes them highly prized dogs as family pets. And because they are exceedingly cute, and provides a reason for taking care of (the hair requires substantial brushing) they are top notch choices for first time owners, even children, providing companionship or functioning as therapy dogs.

American Eskimo dogs, like most dogs of the polar region require a degree of exercise or playing, especially when pups where they tend to be so playful with exhaustible energy. And the transition from pups to full grown dogs tend to be slow, so the burden of constant outdoor activities tend to be a burden for some. But this aspect could be a beneficial factor, giving an individual reason enough to sport on their runners and sweats.

The amount of hair on American Eskimo dogs can be a problem. It requires cleaning for one. Though normally American Eskimo dogs are adapted to colder climates thus having a lesser pronation to “doggy sweat” smell, they will still stink enough with dirt easily adhering to their coats. The fur underneath their eyes can stain too, with tear stain if not clean regularly. The routine to keep a clean American Eskimo dogs is therefore a shampoo once a week interspersed with coat brushing.

With regards to tick and fleas, the amount of hair on American Eskimo dogs can be a problem too. Their long hair means a bigger habitable environment for fleas, so an anti flea shampoo should be routinely used aside from regular shampoos the dog may use.

Lastly, with white fluffy hair, red lapping tongue, a few other dogs can be as cute as an American Eskimo dog at play. And playing is what they like best. So make sure if you’re bringing home an American Eskimo dog, you’re ready to spend some quality park time with him.