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This essay originally appeared as Appendix C to the Articles of Incorporation for The Working Canine Association of Canada as submitted to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
ALTHOUGH THE ISSUE of distinguishability is properly one which applies primarily to distinct breeds as defined by the Animal Pedigree Act rather than to evolving breeds, nevertheless the special circumstances of the application for evolving breed status for the Seppala Siberian Sleddog, together with the possibility of protests from parties not privy to the entire body of facts relevant to this application, dictate that the breed's distinguishing points be enumerated and explained. This breed as it now exists or as it will swiftly become in its early developmental phase is distinct from other Arctic purebreds in no fewer than eight ways; they are explained as follows.
(1) Rigourous purpose breeding.
First and
foremost of distinguishing factors is that the Seppala Siberian
Sleddog -- alone of the presently-existing purebred Arctic breeds --
has been, is now, and will in future be rigourously bred exclusively
as a working sleddog. No other Arctic purebred of which we are aware
has a consistent history as a purpose-bred and selected working
sleddog, as opposed to a show dog, a pet, or a random-bred Arctic
native dog. No other Arctic purebred has a breed Standard which
places performance characteristics ahead of "conformation" or "breed
points" in importance. No other Arctic purebred is now required to
demonstrate working ability as a condition of full unrestricted
registration, as is planned for the Seppala Siberian Sleddog.
When we speak of purpose breeding we specifically mean
a system in which every animal selected for reproduction has been
required to demonstrate satisfactory working qualities as a
precondition to such selection. Other Arctic purebred breeds
(Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute, Samoyed, Canadian Eskimo Dog,
Greenland Dog, etc.) retain a "sleddog" identity mainly as a
recreational option or an adjunct to breed mythology. The Seppala
Siberian Sleddog in its final form will stand out as a breed in which
proven working qualities are "bred in" rather than merely hoped for
or referred to a romantic past.
In the words of our Standard, the Seppala Siberian
Sleddog "exists for the purpose of pulling a dogsled in cold
country."
(2) Greater genetic variability of type.
In view of
the utilitarian nature of the Seppala dog, it has never been
"developed," as have Arctic breeds that are routinely subjected to
dog-show breeding and judging, to display a high degree of "breed
type," nor has it ever been restricted to a single minutely-specified
type. Beyond having an Arctic double fur coat, sleddog feet, a
sickle-curved tail and upright ears, fewer visible type restrictions
apply to the Seppala dog than to any other Arctic purebred as their
respective current breed standards are now interpreted.
The Seppala Siberian Sleddog will be intentionally
heterotypic and heterozygous with respect to the usual cosmetic
minutiae of breed type as found in Siberian Huskies, Samoyeds, and
Alaskan Malamutes which are now felt to conform adequately to their
breed standards.
Despite the fact that the primary genetic source (A)*
of the Seppala Siberian Sleddog has in the past been nominally a part
of the Canadian Kennel Club and American Kennel Club "Siberian Husky"
Stud Book populations, the Seppala dog has never been bred to the
show standards for that breed and would, for all practical purposes,
be recognisable with great difficulty, if at all, as a "Siberian
Husky" by non-specialist all-breed dog show
judges.
(3) Distinctive temperament.
The Seppala
Siberian Sleddog has an unconventional temperament by comparison with
other Arctic purebreds. Due to its long history of purpose-breeding,
it is more trainable, more docile, less aggressive both with other
dogs and with humans, markedly more affectionate and attached, and
more anxious to please its owner. It has a "softer" temperament,
making it easier to correct and greatly lessening any necessity for
physical discipline.
It also possesses innate sleddog behavioural traits of
a generally higher order than those of other Arctic purebreds, making
tangling of lines, fighting with teammates or with other teams, and
quitting in harness relatively rare occurrences. It is innately
orderly, disciplined in harness, serious about its work, and
possesses high qualities of "attitude" or desire to work in
harness.
(4) Different physique.
The Seppala
Siberian Sleddog will be easily distinguishable from other Arctic
purebreds by its physical construction and musculature. Arctic breeds
today are generally "boxy" and square in proportion, possessing
little front and rear angulation of legs, shoulders and hips,
flat-crouped and without loin arch, and being usually short-legged
and tending to heavy bone. The Seppala dog is longer-bodied, lighter
in bone, more angulated, proportionally taller, showing a well-sloped
croup and an arched loin. It does not have the broad chest and wide
body of the Canadian Eskimo Dog and the Alaskan Malamute, nor the
"square" build of the Samoyed and Siberian Husky. It shows markedly
greater muscular development than the latter two breeds.
Greater physical variability will also be a factor, due
both to the general-purpose nature of the breed and to its
intentional heterozygosity.
(5) More variable and unique colour and markings.
The fact
that cosmetic selection is not a factor in the Seppala Siberian
Sleddog breed means that it retains, and will continue to retain, a
wider variety of colour and markings than is customary in the other
Arctic breeds. No consistent selection for particular colours and
markings has been practised in the past, and it will remain a basic
principle of this breed that such selection is strongly
discouraged.
In any event, whether in spite of or due to the evident
lack of selection pressure for specific colours and markings, the
Seppala Siberian Sleddog possesses a complex of characteristic
colours and markings which make it quite distinct and easily
recognisable when compared to other breeds. Typical examples have
been made available to A.A.F.C. in the photographic record of
breeding stock appended to the brief "The Seppala Siberian Sleddog:
An Evolving Breed in Canada's Yukon Territory" as "Appendix H: These
are the Dogs."
(6) An historic pedigree barrier defining a separate gene pool for the past six decades.
The Seppala
Siberian Sleddog is, for all practical purposes, already a distinct
breed genetically by any reasonable standard . In addition to its
clear distinguishability of phenotype, source population (A)* has in
general been bred as a separate subpopulation of the C.K.C./A.K.C.
Siberian Husky for about six decades under a systematic pedigree
barrier which has excluded animals with more than five percent of the
mainstream "Seeley" bloodlines which gave rise to the show Siberian
Husky. The core population which will be used to start the evolving
breed is yet more stringently isolated, being approximately 99.5%
free of Seeley contaminant; it is envisioned that animals with higher
proportions of Seeley contamination may in future be accepted into
the breeding programme, once it is firmly established, on condition
that they be bred either to the more pure core bloodlines or to new
Siberia import stock, but not directly to one another, and contingent
upon a satisfactory inspection of each such individual prior to its
acceptance.
There is no substantial resemblance of the Seppala
Siberian Sleddog to any other purebred gene pool and no possibility
of confusion in this regard. Genetic isolation from the mainstream
Siberian Husky has been practised by major Seppala breeding kennels
from the earliest days of that breed's recognition by major
registries. Seppala dogs from source (A)* can demonstrate known
pedigrees of from eight to sixteen or twenty generations of inter se
breeding. Russian import dogs from source (B)* typically display
three generations or less of known breeding, but with no possibility
of any connection with any existing western breeds since 1930 or
earlier.
(7) Unique genetic input from new Siberia import stock.
One of the
planned genetic sources of the evolving breed consists of Russian
import stock stemming from the breeding programme of Sergei A.
Solovyev in Ekaterinburg, Western Siberia. This programme was founded
in 1990 by selection of authentic stock from several east-Siberian
villages. Since Siberia was closed to external trade from 1930 until
the recent breakup of the Soviet Union, there has been no gene flow
in either direction between native Siberian stock and European or
North American gene pools during that time. Thus the recent Russian
imports share a common racial origin with the Seppala dog but with
complete geographic and genetic isolation for six or more decades and
probably from ten to twenty or more canine generations.
The genetic input from Russian import dogs will be
effectively unique, as it has already been considered and
definitively rejected by The Canadian Kennel Club for inclusion in
its Siberian Husky registry. For CKC's purposes, the Solovyev Russian
dogs are considered to be neither registered dogs nor Siberian
Huskies.
Therefore it is obvious that the genetic input of the
Russian imports alone is sufficient to confer genetic
distinguishability to the Seppala Siberian Sleddog.
It is hoped that in future we shall be able to acquire
sleddog stock by direct importation from eastern Siberia for periodic
fresh genetic input to the programme.
(8) A distinctive, uniquely oriented breed standard.
The Seppala
Siberian Sleddog Breed Standard (1995) hereunto appended is unique
among the breed standards of Arctic purebreds.
No other Arctic breed standard places performance
characteristics and breed purpose foremost, subordinating questions
of breed type and conformation to utilitarian values. It contains a
section dealing specifically with performance in harness, and it
evaluates against a background of sleddog capability virtually all
the physical traits which it mentions, as well as questions of gait
or movement, temperament, and mentality. It states that correct
working mentality is "of paramount importance," and demands that
"utility and functionality" prevail when breeding decisions are
made.
While going into good detail with respect to physical
characteristics which bear upon breed purpose, it intentionally
leaves minor facets of breed type open within a fairly wide
range.
No other Arctic breed standard is conceived and
oriented in a way which unequivocally makes the fulfilment of breed
purpose the main touchstone of breed perfection. The Seppala Siberian
Sleddog Breed Standard (1995) is as unique as the dogs
themselves.
OBVIOUSLY,
THEN, both the present state of breed distinguishability and the
contemplated future state for the distinct breed-to-be partake of a
degree of uniqueness that goes far beyond the usual superficial
canine breed distinctions involving permitted or prohibited colours
and markings, specified physical proportions, and "breed point"
details of head shape, ear carriage, etc. The Seppala Siberian
Sleddog is set apart from other Arctic breeds in much more
deep-seated and fundamental ways than those which distinguish, for
example, English Springer Spaniels from Welsh Springer Spaniels,
Golden Retrievers from yellow Labrador Retrievers, Standard Poodles
from Portuguese Water Dogs, etc.
The Seppala Siberian Sleddog, both now as an evolving
breed and in its envisioned future state as a distinct breed, is
unquestionably readily distinguishable from all other presently
existing registered breeds and easily recognisable in and of
itself.
*Extract from Article IV., "Definition of Breed," Articles of
Incorporation:
"The Seppala Siberian Sleddog is an evolving breed presently being developed from two parallel genetic sources with a common origin: (A) the Seppala Strain of Siberian dogs descending from sleddogs owned, imported from Siberia, and bred by Leonhard Seppala from 1914 through 1931, and (B) modern Siberian sleddogs from various Russian sources."
To view or download the original version of this document in PDF format, CLICK HERE.
WORKING CANINE ASSOCIATION OF CANADA
J. Jeffrey Bragg, Chair
P.O. Box 21162
Whitehorse, YT
Canada Y1A 6R1
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