# American Indian Dog? Anyone hear of this breed?



## Sloth (Jul 29, 2008)

My sister fell in love when we met a beautiful dog at a craft fair. Owner said he was an "American Indian Dog." 

We go home, look it up. 

1.) The American Indian Dogs look nothing like the guy's shaggy beast, but my sister apparently doesn't care.

2.) There doesn't seem to be any "official" info on them anywhere. The only gist I'm getting is that a lot of people sell dog/wolf hybrids and pass them off as American Indian Dogs. But beware, because these aren't "true" Am. Indian Dogs. 

What are true Am. Indian dogs? Real ancestors from Am. Indians? If so, why isnt' that breed recognized anywhere? Why all the rumors that it's gone extinct? 

It all smells extremely fishy to me, but I can't talk my sister out of it. It's been over a year now, and she's still determined to buy one someday. Here's a "breeder" she found:

http://www.indiandogs.com/


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## PatchworkRobot (Aug 24, 2010)

I know nothing about them but I have a boyfriend who really wanted one once. I was always skeptical, especially since I was only able to find a few sites about them. Could be a specialized mix of some sort.


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## MafiaPrincess (Jul 1, 2009)

Some years ago there were multiple sites warning about a number of breeders of 'native american indian dogs'. I quickly googled, many of the links are now defunct. The main concerns were people seemed to be breeding dogs of indiscriminate health and types together to try to recreate a breed type that has been lost.. but doing it in a willy nilly no planning way to recreate a breed. True native american indian dogs seem to have died off as a breed. So people who claim to have them now are 'recreating' from breeds we have now. A breeder even trademarked 'native american indian dog'. 

If your sister wants one, and you find a breeder, I'd want health testing on the dogs, not a vet check. To meet the dam and sire if possible (some people had issues with temperaments in past if I remember some of the angry puppy owners). And really, I'd want to know if they had a goal or vision for breeding.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

The dog you saw at the fair was probably just a "rez dog", meaning one of the zillions of free-roaming, free-breeding dogs that live on the reservations. Can't really duplicate that kind of free-breeding, but if she wants one from a rez, there are a lot of rescues (in areas around reservations) that have rez dogs available.


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## Wag_More (Jun 7, 2011)

I was curious about this, so I dug a little. American Indian Dogs (AIDs, incidentally) seem to have been 'created' by a man named Kim LaFlamme. There are two accounts of how this came about:

*1)* Kim LaFlamme rounded up the last remaining dogs of this breed and 'revived' the nearly extinct breed. 

*2)* Kim LaFlamme (and now other breeders) looked at pictures of Native American domestic dogs, then started breeding different dogs together in an attempt to create a breed that looked like these photographed dogs. The pups were then sold as purebred Native American Dogs, revived from near extinction. 

I can't find anything conclusive, nothing to indicate which account is true. I did stumble across some information about the breeding being done in puppy-mill like fashion, and some complaints of medical and behavioral issues. I'm not citing my sources because there arn't really any reliable sources on the subject. One trend I did notice is that AIDs breeders all support* 1)* and basically everyone else supports *2)*. This proves nothing, but its a note-worthy observation. 

Note: American Indian Dogs are not to be confused with Native American Indian Dogs, apparently they're a whole different thing. 

If you really want one of these, then it'd be advisable to be comfortable with a complete unknown, because there is a good chance that the dog IS a complete unknown.. a mutt (and I say 'mutt' in an endearing way, lol). The medical background on the dog may be shaky at best, and behavioral and physical outcomes of the grown puppy may be unpredictable. I'd be hesitant to shell out much cash too. 

I'm not saying that these 'American Indian Dogs' arn't actually a breed that was recovered.. but lets face it, the dog breeding world is awash with con artists trying to make a fast buck, and something like 'ancient Native American breed of dog' is a winning formula. 



> The dog you saw at the fair was probably just a "rez dog", meaning one of the zillions of free-roaming, free-breeding dogs that live on the reservations. Can't really duplicate that kind of free-breeding, but if she wants one from a rez, there are a lot of rescues (in areas around reservations) that have rez dogs available.


"Native American Dog" does sound like a cheeky (and profitable) way to say rez dog, yep.



Edit: I got my dog, Aura, off a reserve. Aura's breed is mostly unknown (except that her mother was a husky) lol! Nobody tried to sell her to me as a 'Native American Dog' though ( but then, I didn't get her from a breeder). Its unfortunate this isn't a confirmable breed - if it were possible to confirm that these dogs are what they're claimed to be, I'd be interested in one.


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## Sloth (Jul 29, 2008)

Thanks for the replies! I'll show my sister this thread, maybe it'll help her understand the situation better.


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## GottaLuvMutts (Jun 1, 2009)

I know an AID, or at least something that the owner claims is an AID. Nice dog, pretty drivey though. If your sis wants one, she needs to be prepared for that drive. The one I know has the drive of an average border collie, I'd say. Good disc dog.


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## Lunachick (Dec 18, 2011)

I don't even remember how we discovered them, but years ago, my sister and I heard about Native American Indian Dogs and researched them. The ones we saw were gorgeous but none of them looked alike. Not consistently. There were a lot of variations in looks. Then we got confused when the Amercian Indian Dog came into the search. We found one on some breeders site called Ambrosia. Looked very similar to this one, but bigger and longer fur...









If ever this becomes a true breed and the breeders are trusted sources, testing their dogs for good health, I would love love love one for myself, and I know my sister would too. It's just so confusing right now.


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## Sloth (Jul 29, 2008)

Lunachick said:


> I don't even remember how we discovered them, but years ago, my sister and I heard about Native American Indian Dogs and researched them. The ones we saw were gorgeous but none of them looked alike. Not consistently. There were a lot of variations in looks. Then we got confused when the Amercian Indian Dog came into the search. We found one on some breeders site called Ambrosia. Looked very similar to this one, but bigger and longer fur...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The dog in your picture looks very similar to the ones on the Song Dog breeder site. It seems like there's definitely a general "look" to these dogs, although, like you said, there's a lot of inconsistencies. At least they don't look wolf-y at all, so there's probably none of that "throw some wolf blood into the mix and call it an AID". They look like something that could possibly become a breed someday. And when/if they do, I'd be interested as well!


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## Kérstan (Dec 18, 2011)

Sloth said:


> The dog in your picture looks very similar to the ones on the Song Dog breeder site. It seems like there's definitely a general "look" to these dogs, although, like you said, there's a lot of inconsistencies. At least they don't look wolf-y at all, so there's probably none of that "throw some wolf blood into the mix and call it an AID". They look like something that could possibly become a breed someday. And when/if they do, I'd be interested as well!


I came across this "breed" at one point and thought they looked amazing.
[The above "look", anyways, seeing as their "look" is inconsistent.]

I too am interested in this "breed" and wouldn't mind owning one if the health and behavioral aspects are guaranteed. ^-^


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## MariJoy (Nov 10, 2011)

Wow, WHAT a great looking dog...Good luck with your search!


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## katielou (Apr 29, 2010)

From my understanding they are mixed breeds or "designer breeds" that breeders are far from honest about. They are suppose to have wolf dog mixed.

You just need to look at the website and google the breeder and read the horror stories of this "breed" to realize its a money making scam.
http://www.majesticview1.com/index.html


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## Spirit_of_Cotons (Jun 21, 2009)

Yes, I've heard of them and they're very pretty. The breed is so rare that's why it's not registered on any list. Unless I'm thinking of another breed, I always heard there was wolf in them. I think the breed came about by wild dogs just breeding from each other and then people got a hold of them and began to help the breed out. 

Anyway, I hear they're good dogs. If your sister wants one, she'd better do her research on them! You just shouldn't get a dog because "oh s/he is soo pretty!" They have to fit your lifestyle, but I'm sure you've told her this. Since they're rare, she may want to find other people with this breed and see how they are. Good luck to her.


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## LoveCWCs (Oct 21, 2011)

I have heard that these are just a way for unethical people to make money. Not that they aren't beautiful, but it's pretty sketchy. 

The Pharoah hound is another recreated breed, despite what everyone thinks. They, however, have strived for legitimacy and acheived it. 

I would say that there are probably a ton of husky mixes in shelters that would be comparible to these guys.


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## Lunachick (Dec 18, 2011)

Sloth said:


> The dog in your picture looks very similar to the ones on the Song Dog breeder site. It seems like there's definitely a general "look" to these dogs, although, like you said, there's a lot of inconsistencies. At least they don't look wolf-y at all, so there's probably none of that "throw some wolf blood into the mix and call it an AID". They look like something that could possibly become a breed someday. And when/if they do, I'd be interested as well!


It IS beautiful, isn't it? I don't think I've ever seen a dog like it, which was why me and my sister were so taken by it. The fur color is striking with those eyes.


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## JohnnyBandit (Sep 19, 2008)

Look up Carolina Dogs..... These are pariah dogs that are native to the Southeast US. They occurred like the Dingo in Australia in both a domesticated and feral state. 

These dogs have a fairly uniform look. They look very similar to Dingos. Smaller perhaps. They run wild in parts of Florida, The Savannah River Delta, Alligator River Bottom land, etc. A number of years ago, a researcher as USC (South Carolina) did some research on them. Interestingly they were found to be genetically VERY close to Dingos. It is thought that these dogs came to North America with the human migration just as the Dingos did in Australia. 


I ended up with an F2 offspring from some of the dogs trapped for research in the Savannah River Delta. I got the dog quite by chance as she was going to be put down as a confirmed cat killer. She had killed three cats (partially eaten two of them) I found her interesting and did not want to see this part of dog history put down. I got her in early 2003 and kept her several years. I saved her from death but she did not work out with my other dogs at all. They were relentless in picking on her. I re homed her in 2007 when I found the PERFECT home for her. She is happy and healthy to this day. I got reports for a while. They stopped sending them and I didn't push it. I do see them walking her in town from time to time. She seems happy and healthy. VERY sweet dog. Too much of a cuddler for me. Smart, very clean. Self house trained herself. Some obedience stuff she did not get well. Took a LONG time and a lot of patience on training her. I thought at times she had no problem solving ability. But she had amazing survival skills. She would kill and eat anything she could. She would dig for grubs and worms and eat them. She somehow could track moles, find them, dig them up and eat them. Grasshoppers, wasps, bees, I saw her eat all of these. if it was a small critter she would stalk it, kill it and eat it. She stalked my parrot the entire time she was here. Once my wife moved in with me prior to our marriage, with careful introduction and very close supervision, I got her to be okay with my wife's cats. But I never let her out of my site around the cats.


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