Greenland Dog
Greenland Dog
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| Other names | Kalaallit qimmiat (Qimmeq) Grønlandshund Grünlandshund Esquimaux Dog Canis lupus familiaris borealis |
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| Origin | Greenland | ||||||||||||||||
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| Domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | |||||||||||||||||
| Classification / standards | |||
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| FCI | Group 5, Section 1 Nordic Sledge Dogs #274 | standard | |
| CKC | Group 3 - Working Dogs | standard | |
| KC (UK) | Working | standard | |
| UKC | Northern Breed | standard | |
The Greenland Dog (Greenlandic: Kalaallit Qimmiat, Danish: Grønlandshunden) is a large breed of husky-type dog kept as a sled dog and for hunting polar bear and seal. They were brought from Siberia to North America by the Thule people 1,000 years ago, along with the Canadian Eskimo Dog that is genetically identical.
The first dogs arrived in the Americas 12, 000 years ago, however people and their dogs did not settle in the Arctic until the Paleo-Eskimo people 4,500 years ago and then the Thule people 1,000 years ago, both originating from Siberia. Dogs first appeared in Greenland around 4,000 years ago. The Inuit dogs from Canada (Canadian Eskimo Dog) and Greenland (Greenland Dog) descended from dogs associated with Thule people, who relied on them for transportation from Siberia. In 2015, a study using a number of genetic markers indicated that these were both the same dog and should not be treated as separate breeds, that they maintain an indigenous heritage that predates colonization and the timing corresponds with the arrival of the Thule people, and that they were distinct from Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Huskies and Malamutes. The maternal DNA sequences of the Inuit dogs were classified as haplotype A31 that indicates a common female ancestor, and this haplotype could not be found in other modern dogs but the nearest match was with a 1,000 year–old dog from Florida.
In 1975, a study was made of ancient canid remains dated to the Late Pleistocene and early Holocene that had been uncovered by miners decades earlier around Fairbanks, Alaska. These were identified as Canis lupus and described as "short-faced wolves". The collection was separated into those specimens that looked more wolf-like (i.e. the Beringian wolf), and those that looked more dog-like and in comparison to the skulls of Eskimo dogs from both Greenland and Siberia thought to be their forerunners.
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Wikipedia