HISTORY
OF THE
NAID
The beginnings of a sensitive, intuitive, highly intelligent, pack-family oriented dog
Breed History & Preservation Breeding:
Why does it matter to the NAID?
Breed Origin & Goal:
The NAID began much like any other breed or breed in progress: with a handful of dogs from various lines that had the phenotypes and temperaments that the founding breeder desired and specific intentions in mind. Possessing a keen interest in her own partial Native American ancestry, culture and tradition, as well as 25+ years of experience as a breeder of old-line collies and wolfdogs, the founding NAID breeder utilized her passion and experience to work towards establishing her own line of wolf-alike, land-race-mix/primitive dogs. Her specific interest was in recreating the essence of the working “spirit dogs” found throughout history in various North American Indigenous cultures. Dogs who possessed similar base structural attributes, with unique colorations, that lived and worked with their humans, engaging them in dynamic relationships as highly intelligent, independent equals with common working goals – as opposed to the master/subservient roles that have become more commonly expected of domestic dogs in modern society.
To this end, foundation NAID breeding dogs in the late 1990s and early 2000s included some influence from various well-known, low content wolfdog lines that consisted primarily of old-line Alaskan Malamute, German Shepherd, Norwegian Elkhound, Samoyed and traces of Collie and Siberian Husky. These lines were then interlaced with significant, complimentary influence from imported land-race, northern breed and primitive dogs from Europe and Indigenous reservations with distant ties to traditional working dogs of generations past.
Arguably, what initially evolved from said efforts was a breeder-specific subline of no/low-content wolfdogs with varying degrees of stable temperament. Some litters, specifically those more infused with wolf heritage lines known for their gentle and social nature, produced a more human-centric temperament and workability that was on par with the land-race/northern breed ancestry that made up most of its core. Other litters produced behaviours that one would typically expect from a more independent low-content wolfdog or a selectively friendly primitive working dog (like the Qimmiq/Greenland/CED dogs). In some instances, particularly during the early days of the breed, there were also dogs that presented with unbalanced temperaments or fear issues (issues beyond what one can expect from a northern breed/land-race/primitive breed dog) in certain settings that the founding breeders worked towards eliminating from their lines via more selective breeding efforts.
Founding Breeds
The NAID originates from Northern Reserve Dogs, crossed with Working Breed Dogs (Alaskan Malamute, Siberian Husky, German Shepherd Dog) and low-content Wolf Dogs.
Characteristics
The unique genetics of the NAID have produced an independent, but pack-family oriented dog that is intelligent and sensitive.
Uniquely Its Own
While the NAID was developed from a variety of breeds, it has since developed a unique genetic signature, currently being developed through the NAID Embark Project.
Evolution:
Over the course of time, other experienced breeders began to take interest in the NAID and, as they worked collectively with the founding breeder, a more consistent phenotype and gentle temperament began to emerge that made the NAID clearly distinguishable when compared to other dogs of similar foundational breed make-up.
After breeding within the same small gene pool for several generations to cement these core traits, efforts were once again made to seek out and incorporate much needed diversity into existing lines. This was to ensure two things: that the deleterious effects of chronic inbreeding would not pose a risk to the breed-in-progress and to dilute any lingering content from existing lines in a way that preserved desired phenotypical attributes, but reduced/eliminated undesirable intensities. To this end, between 2010 and 2015, additional land-race/northern breed dogs were incorporated and, in some instances, diversity out-crosses to far more domesticated breeds were attempted, on a trial basis, to varying degrees of success.
For several years, the result of these diversity efforts was a more consistent standard seen through several distinct diversity lines that individually excelled in sporting and working trials or as well-rounded domestic companions for suitable working-breed experienced, active homes. Depending on the breeder, some lines continued with very little or no lingering primitive content, while some larger traces of content continued to exist for some breeders given their specific working preferences and diversity efforts.
The Future of the NAID
However, the NAID has now come to a precipice where the breeding community is both large enough to require more organized planning, including more thorough documentation of all breeding efforts, and still small enough that the deleterious effects of higher inbreeding coefficients in some breeder lines could threaten the overall integrity of the existing gene pool.
To this end, embracing the key elements of preservation breeding, the NAID Project has been born. Its mandate is to maintain a sustainable breeding population by preventing the loss of genes necessary for core function, between one generation and the next, by selectively breeding existing lines to healthy, complementary outside diversity lines. In congruence with this endeavour, the NAID Project has established a breed registry to replace what existed in years past. Said registry will be for all existing and future owners with dogs that originate from recognized foundation lines and will contain extensive documentation on past/current health and temperament observations submitted by owners and breeders alike.
A significant push for all breeders to begin thoroughly health and temperament testing their dogs is expected in these endeavours, if they wish to be in good standing in their community. In forming partnerships with professionals, such as Embark and other genetic testing agencies run through prestigious universities, and utilizing their undeniable expertise to effect positive changes, the NAID is well on its way towards developing a unique genetic signature and a small, but respected place in the land-race/primitive breed community.
