Greenland Dog Information

The ancestry of the Greenland Dog can possibly be traced back to dogs that accompanied people from Siberia over 12,000 years ago. As these people developed into the Inuit of today, they may have used local wolves for breeding.

Since transporting food up the mountain to the men building the Jungfrau Railway was extremely difficult for pack horses or mules, sled dogs came to the rescue. In 1913, the Samoyed arrived but were found to be too light to pull the heavy loads up the mountain. Raold Amundsen's advice was sought and he arranged for six North Greenland dogs to be imported. One of the Nordic breeds, Greenland's are often lumped under the description of huskies although they are a different breed. They were larger, heavier and stronger than the Samoyed's and more than able to do the job needed.

The Greenland Dog has a thick double coat that consists of a 1-2 inch undercoat with a protruding outer coat of coarser hair. They can be any color or combination of colors.

Males should be 23-27 inches tall and weigh 75-105 pounds. Females should be 20-24 inches tall and weigh 60-90 pounds.

These dogs are happiest in very cold temperatures and do not like the excessive heat.