About Tamaskans
Tamaskan Dogs are highly intelligent and make wonderful pets, but are not for beginners or first time dog owners. I cannot stress this enough. Northern breed experience is highly recommended.
The Tamaskan Dog is a very social breed. They do best with companionship in the form of another dog. They also require a lot of human attention and interaction. When deciding if the Tamaskan is right for you, please take your lifestyle into consideration. If you do not have the time to dedicate to these dogs, please reconsider if this is the right breed for you.
Tamaskans strive when given a job. Several owners partake in sports, scent work, agility etc. with their dogs. There are even a few Tamaskans working as service dogs!
Tamaskans require plenty of room to exercise and are not typically suitable for apartment living. It is recommended that an owner have a fenced in yard with 6ft high fences. They have been known to easily scale smaller fences and some are even capable of getting over 6ft fences if bored or motivated enough.
Crate training is highly recommended. I prefer Impact Dog Crates. They are well constructed and will keep your pup safely inside
Puppies require extensive socialization. These are not your average puppies and a weekly puppy class is a fair start, but not sufficient alone. In order to make your puppy a well-mannered adult, you must take this seriously. Exposure, exposure, exposure! With all of my Tamaskans I have found that subjecting them to many different situations and environments, but allowing them to explore (or not!) at their own pace is key.
Some Tamaskan owners have reported that their dogs are sensitive to grains. While this may be true for their dog and likely is related to their dog's genetics, it is far more common for an individual dog to be sensitive to the protein source. Grain free diets are not required and with recent research coming to light, generally not recommended. I do not recommend raw diets either. A balanced home cooked diet via balanceit.com or formulated by a board certified nutritonist is more than acceptable for the dedicated owner to prepare. I personally feed Purina ProPlan and Hills to my dogs and have had no problems whatsoever. In general, any dog food which has been proven balanced via feeding trials outlined by the AAFCO is recommended and will be balanced and healthy for you to feed your beloved puppy or dog.
While the Tamaskan is a fairly healthy dog, there have been some diseases detected. These diseases include Epilepsy, Degenerative Myelopathy, Addisons Disease, Hip and Elbow Dysplasia, Juvenile Cataracts, Distichiasis, Corneal Dystrophy, Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency, Cryptorchidism and Subaortic Stenosis. Because of extensive health testing and responsible breeding, the amount of dogs affected are few. However, please make yourself familiar with each of these diseases and ask questions! All responsible breeders will be happy to discuss each of these with you to the best of their ability, as well as answer any questions you may have pertaining to risks within their lines.
Finding a reputable breeder is very important. BUYER BEWARE, there are several puppy mills claiming to breed Tamaskans. These dogs are lookalikes, but are not TDR registered Tamaskans. A true breeding Tamaskan Dog will have health testing completed and will have TDR issued paperwork. Asking a lot of questions will weed out these puppy mill breeders. If you are unsure of the breeder you are in contact with, please reference the TDR website. Do not hesitate to contact myself or the TDR directly if any questions remain. In addition, because this is a relatively new breed and they are sought after, most breeders have a fairly long waiting list. It is not uncommon to wait 1+ years for your puppy.