ALASKAN NOBLE COMPANION DOG

Ann Dresselhaus, creator of the Alaskan Noble Companion Dog (ANCD), began this breed from purebreds and mixes that she chose for foundation stock.  A geneticist and well-respected canine enthusiast and breeder, Dresselhaus is extremely knowledgeable in a variety of areas, including the true creation of a new breed.  She has been willing to share that knowledge with us so that we are better informed and experienced in our pursuits for the Aatu.

ANCD foundation dogs came from all over the US.   During this process, Dresselhaus maintained an end goal in temperament and appearance, keeping the best one or two pups from each litter to continue.  The OFA and CERF website show quite a few Nobles listed as the ANCD breed or 'hybrids'  (simply mixed breeds). The Foundation stock dogs were listed under that category since they were not yet 'Nobles'.   [Note:  Do not confuse Ann Dresselhaus with Noble Pawz in Canada.  While NP does own one ANCD from Dresselhaus (Wicca), all other dogs are wolves or wolfdog crosses and not ANCDs.] 

The ANCD foundation stock came from an eclectic mix of seven breeds.  Dresselhaus used five dog groups/type, the seven foundation breeds being:  Retriever group (the Black Lab),  Northern working group (the Alaskan Malamute, the White Siberian Husky), Sheep Guarding group (the Great Pyrenees), Herding group (the White German Shepherd Dog, the Border Collie), and Sighthound group (the Greyhound).

With an end-goal clearly in mind, Dresselhaus created the following breed standard, in part:

“General Temperament of the ideal Alaskan Noble Companion Dog:

The Alaskan Noble Companion Dog is an eclectic breed and the ultimate generalist.   The ideal dog is capable of almost any kind of work including herding, carting, agility, obedience, lure coursing, tracking, mushing, therapy dog work, and some Schutzhund events.  Individual dogs will excel in various areas, but the breed as a whole is capable of producing competitors in any of these areas.   This is a low maintenance breed in the sense that it is robust and long-lived,  but higher maintenance in the sense that it has an active mind and body that prefer to be occupied with problems to solve and experiencing life to the fullest which includes a keen observation style.

This breed is a good companion indoors and out. The adult is not so high energy that it is bouncing off the walls of the house when left alone, but seldom is a 'couch potato' until well into old age (its later teen years).   He is capable of being an 'alert' dog that knows when something is worth paying attention to by directing your attention via voice and body posture.   He is friendly enough to get along casually with other dogs.   Attempting to bite another dog is a disqualification.

Individuals of the breed may be somewhat aloof to strangers, but not apprehensive, standing their ground and showing confidence to meet overtures without themselves making them, while others may be openly extroverted to all strangers.  They should be observant and vigilant of new situations and people, not switching loyalties easily yet all must be capable of eventually warming up to a friendly stranger.


General Conformation of the ideal Alaskan Noble Companion Dog:

The ideal Alaskan Noble Companion Dog is between 26" and 33" tall and weighs  60-110  pounds. The females may be much smaller than the males occupying the lower end of the weight and height spectrum.

The ideal eye color is yellow, green, grey, or blue with amber (or gold) being common.   The lighter the eye color the better, with dark brown eyes being considered a minor fault. 

The body color should be as gradually blended as possible giving a natural progression from one color to the next with a minimum of sharp transitions.   White markings on the feet or chest are to be minimized.   All colors including solid colors, dilute colors, and white are acceptable with multiple-banded fur being very common giving the appearance of many color hues in the same dog.  A tightly curled tail as in an Akita or an Alaskan Malamute is a fault.  The tail curvature is to be minimized.

Coat ranges in length from that of a typical German Shepherd to that of a longer-haired Alaskan Malamute with the ideal lying somewhere in-between.  The ideal coat length and thickness, achieved by a thick seasonal undercoat beneath coarse guard hairs, does not require daily brushing, yet is long enough and thick enough to withstand the coldest North American winters in the dog's prime.  When in full coat, a substantial neck and cheek ruff should be visible. The neck and cheek ruffs should be maximized.  Curly hair is a fault.  Slightly wavy hair is a minor fault.

Front legs should appear close together from the front compared to most other breeds, similar to the larger Sight Hounds. The dogs should move effortlessly, single tracking while moving at a trot, appearing as if the body is suspended in the air from above like a marionette. Solid color nose leather is desirable.  Black is preferred to pastels.  Distinct spots on the nose are a fault.”

With a better understanding of our dogs’ pedigrees and a clear vision of the ideal Aatu, we are very excited about introducing this breed and what it will add towards the achievement of the ideal Aatu Tamaskan breed standard.

 



ABOUT MYSTIQUE

Mystique has beautiful yellow eyes and is going to be a BIG girl, topping Takeia in both height and weight.  She has huge paws and a wonderful conformation.  She is extremely lean and lanky.  She is very wolfy in appearance.  She does have a mask, although it is not as pronounced as Takeia or Dakari.  She has a wonderfully long tail with a great carriage and a very wolfy gait.  At just shy of 6 months she was already as big as my two adults.  She is definitely more wolfy in behavior, a little shyer and more reserved than Takeia and Dakari but does great in public and on leash.  She absolutely loves her humans and loves to have her head and faced stroked.  She is submissive in temperament and is not in competition for alpha position of the pack.  She is happy to just be with her canine companions.  Mystique is not a picky eater and is happy to eat anything she is given (llamas, chicken, goat, duck, beef, etc.).  She is a little thief though and loves to take things that are not hers. She has become less destructive with time.

I am very pleased with her development physically and temperamentally.

BREEDING: Mystique should produce both light and dark masked puppies based on pedigrees.  I am hoping she will produce some phased with yellow eyes.  She will be bred with Dakari when she is of age (spring 2013) and has passed her health testing, and we have several other stud considerations (including Dakari x Takeia pups) in order to diversify our lines further.  I am hoping to keep the yellow eye gene prominent, as Takeia also carries the gene through her mother.