The American Eskimo - The Dog With 3 Names

Trick question - What is the difference between the German Spitz, American Spitz And American Eskimo?

Straight answer - Only their names!

The beloved American Eskimo comes from a family of dogs known as the "Spitz". They originally originated somewhere around Scandinavia and Russia. Now a Spitz is known for its many wolf-like characteristics. Such as the erect pointed ears, double coating and moderation in body proportion. And odds are, it may have just been one hundreds of thousands of years earlier. Or at least, lived with wolves.

Spitz migrated to various parts of Europe and Asia and when humans finally adopted them - they put them into subgroups. And subgroups were distinguished and called by region they were found in. Such as the Sweedish Spitz, Japanese Spitz, Russian Spitz, Japanese Spitz and German Spitz.

And if you look at all the various spitz subgroups out there, you'll find that your Eskie, tends to look a lot like their Spitz cousins! Sometimes - they're almost look-alikes. Like the Japanese Spitz!

Our American Eskimo originally came from Germany. So they called it a German Spitz over a hundred years ago. But German immigrants brought their beloved Spitz over to America. And since its now in America - they called it the American Spitz.

However, during and after WW1 - there was a lot of Anti-German sentiment running around. So the Eskies name was changed from the American Spitz, to the American Eskimo. It was considered more patriotic than calling it a Spitz. Its sort of the same thing as Congress attempted to rename French Fries to Freedom Fries. And in retaliation, the French renamed American Cheese to Idiot Cheese.

Ah History! So hopefully this clears up any misunderstandings about the actual name of the breed. Today, its known as the American Eskimo. And lets hope it stays that way for another couple hundred years!


By Erik Vasender

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