1. How would you describe the Eurasier?
Medium size spitz breed, loyal & gentle, calm & attentive, who love its family, suspicious about strangers without aggressiveness, very adaptable (can live in a small apartment or a big farm), low barker, love kids and pets. |
2. What is the lifespan of the Eurasier? When is he mature?
Generally Eurasiers live 11 to 14 years. Some lines are physically full mature only at 3 or 4 years. |
3. What is the temperament of your dogs?
They are raised in our home, with kids and other pets. So they are social with them. Never aggressive or shy. Some kept their "suspicious about strangers" temperament trait but many just love people... because of their socialization. Some live in family or friends home... Many of them do show and/or obedience and/or agility and/or pet therapy. |
4. What kind of training and discipline are recommended for Eurasiers?
The Eurasier is a very intelligent breed. It learns things very quickly. It can be a bit independent but if you have a great friendly relation with it, the Eurasier will impress you! The most important period for future training is the first socialization weeks (from birth to 8 weeks of age). The socialization should begin at birth with manipulations and when eyes and ears are open, with other stimuli. Socialization involves exposing the puppy to normal, everyday sights and sounds that it will encounter during its life as well as exposure to people outside of the family unit and new environments (outside breeder's home).
A puppy that is exposed to loud household noises, cars, large gatherings of people and other stimuli will come to accept "unusual" without over-reaction.
Puppies should never be allowed to use their teeth even in play session!
This is a totally unacceptable behaviour. Tug-of-war games should never be encouraged because this kind of play can develop aggressiveness.
Socialization, handling and training contribute to the future success of a puppy. |
5. Does the Eurasier bark excessively?
Usually quiet, the Eurasier is a low barker. Only sounding the alarm when necessary. But since the Samoyed and WolfSpitz (Keeshond) are in its background... some Eurasiers tend to bark more. |
6. What is the best age to acquire a Eurasier puppy?
Between the 8 and 10 weeks, every puppy of all breeds is in a fear period. So this is really not the good timing to change a puppy from one home to a new one!
Before 7 weeks the puppy needs to be with its littermates to learn many many
things and it also needs contact with its mother.
So the best age is 7 1/2 weeks... or after 10 weeks depending on what the breeder done with the puppies. If he worked hard to well socialized them and go "outside" its family and house to see different environments, the older puppy have lot of chances to be well socialized and well prepared for its future life. |
7. Does the Eurasier have any specific health problems? What about hip dysplasia?
Hip dysplasia is present in nearly all medium and large breeds and the Eurasier is
no exception but it is not yet a serious problem in the breed. Breeders should be conscientious about x-raying their breeding stock.
It is also highly recommended to do patella and eyes certifications / testing.
Patellar luxation is actually the most common problem in the breed.
Few Eurasiers were also diagnosed with eye sickness and thyroid problem. |
8. What grooming is required in caring for a Eurasier?
By its nature, the Eurasier have less "doggie odour" than many other breeds.
He blows its undercoat 1 to 2 times a year. Except in the shedding period, he loses less fur than many other breeds (German Shepherd, Labrador...).
A weekly brushing is recommended. Daily brushing during shedding period. |
9. Is the Eurasier good with kids?
By definition, the Eurasier is a family dog who loves kids. He is loyal and affectionate with family. How the Eurasier will react to small kids depends on the individual temperament of the dog and on its early socialization at the breeder's home. Most Eurasiers will be affectionate. Both kids and dog should be supervised at all times to ensure that play remains gentle and to make certain that neither one hurts the other. Our puppies know many kids and love them. See also question number 19. |
10. How is the Eurasier with other family pets?
Generally it doesn’t have hunting instinct ... but some have it. Our puppies are well socialized with other pets (rabbit, cats, birds). Puppies usually adapt very well to having other pets in their home and often take them in their pack. |
11. How is the Eurasier with other dogs?
Generally it will never be aggressive with others... but if someone attack it, the Eurasier can fight very hard until the other one will go away... many Eurasiers will also just turn their head and don't pay attention to the other dogs. The Eurasier prefer to go away than fighting... |
12. How can we see if a puppy is a pet or show quality? What determines a show potential puppy? A pet quality puppy?
Experiences breeders are able to see if a pup have a great conformation (you have to know the breed standard for that!), if it have the temperament and expression the conformation dog needs. Also some of them do temperament test.
As a behaviour specialist and a dog trainer since many years, I can see in my puppies if they have working abilities or not, if they have show potential or not.
A puppy with some conformation faults should be offered as a pet. These faults may range from a bad bite (overshot, undershot), missing teeth, monorchidism, hernia, entropion, kinky tail ... These puppies have a genetic heritage that should not be passed on the future generations, but themselves can still make excellent companions.
A responsible breeder will sold all his puppies with a non-breeding agreement.
By the ONU international law, breeders can't require that the puppies will be spayed or neutered. But using the non-breeding agreement like the one from the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) is a legal option. An experienced, responsible breeder will generally have a good working knowledge of how his line will grow
and will do everything he can to match the new owner with the "right puppy". The breeder should have enough experience and knowledge in dog's psychology, behaviour, socialization and education. |
13. I want to do obedience and agility.Is the Eurasier good for this kind of work?What determines a potential puppy for working?
The Eurasier was created as a companion dog. It is not a real working dog. But some of them can work very well: obedience, agility, tracking, search & rescue,
pet therapy...
I know my puppies and can say who will have working abilities. I have experience in litter's temperament evaluation since 1988. |
14. I need a pet therapy dog. Do you think the Eurasier will do a good job?
Yes if it was well socialized / educated and if it have working abilities the Eurasier can make a great pet therapy dog. But the Eurasier will not make a good service dog (guide dog for the blind, help for handicap) because of its reserved nature. I worked with Mira Foundation for many years as a volunteer in puppy’s education... my experience showed me that Eurasier are not the kind of dog for that job. |
15. What are your requirements of ownership?
A person who can be a partner with my puppy.
A person who cares how the dog behaves and consistently requires civilized behaviour: this means socialization & education.
A person who works at establishing a positive relationship with its dog and provides the necessary environment to keep its Eurasier safe and trustworthy.
A person who will see all the qualities of its dog and really love him.
A person who will trust my judgement and who will develop a friendly attitude with me. |
16. Does the Eurasier can live outdoor? Is it and outdoor dog?
The Eurasier can live outdoor but it will not be happy to live fully time there.... The Eurasier needs to be part of the family and much prefers to live inside home with humans of its family. |
17. I have dog's allergy. Does the Eurasier’s coat give allergy?
Funny, I also have dog's allergy!!!
It is another reason why I choose the Eurasier. Their undercoat is wool and many people are not allergic to it. What I can do is to brush my dogs and send you fur... that way you will see if you are allergic or not. |
18. What are your guarantees when you sold Eurasiers?
All my puppies are sold with a LIFETIME guarantee for all genetic diseases. Dogs are living things so they can have health problems.... if it is genetic I want to know it to do my breeder's job and prevent other case in my breeding program. I work hard to well socialize my puppies and know they will not be aggressive.
All puppies are sold: dewormed, vaccination up to date, tattooed or microchipped (permanent identification is one of the CKC rules) and CKC registered. |
19. We are a young couple with no kids. Will a Eurasier adapt well if we have kids in a near future? Or will he become to be jealous?
Many people ask if Eurasiers are good with kids or how they will react if kids arrive later. Our breeding program is based on Eurasiers with exceptional, stable temperament. Usually, Eurasiers show gentle behaviour with kids, almost as if they know that they must be gentle with these little people. Of course, kids and dogs (of any breed) should always be supervised.
If you do not have kids, but would like your Eurasier (and dogs of any breed) "child-proofed", it is very important to socialize the puppy with young nieces, nephews, cousins, and neighbours, always in carefully-controlled situations where the puppy enjoys the interaction and does not get hurt, since it will never forget an unpleasant or painful experience. |
20. We both work 9 to 5 so our puppy will be home alone during the week days. Is the Eurasier puppy can be alone during day?
Today's lifestyle is such that most people must work full time, and even in family situations, it is often the case where both adults are out of the house all day.
This is something that hinders many people from keeping a dog as a pet; however, since it is such a common way of life, it really depends on how much time the owners are prepared to spend with the dog when they are at home.
The first year can be challenging with a puppy. Sometimes I also have young adult or older puppy that can fit your lifestyle and environment.
If you are prepared to spend quality time upon your return, to take your Eurasier out for some play and exercise, and then to keep it with you during the evening (and possibly overnight, sleeping in a crate or on a blanket or mat in your bedroom), it will receive the benefit of your companionship at that time and become a happy, secure adult.
If you are not prepared to provide that companionship, if it is simply taken for a quick walk (or yard time) and then returned home, you will not have a happy, well-adjusted dog, and you need to decide if you are truly ready for dog's ownership.
A lonely and bored dog will become frustrated, and this will be reflected in destructive and noisy behaviour, making dog ownership an unpleasant experience.
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21. While we both had dogs as kids, neither of us has ever been the responsible person for caring and training the dogs. We are looking for a loyal but gentle and loving dog who would make a good companion and easy to train. Should we be considering a Eurasier?
To own a Eurasier, you must be prepared to dedicate a fair amount of time to the puppy for socialization and training (and for adult's exercise). This is not particularly time-consuming -- 30 minutes, two or three times per day. Once this "basic" training and conditioning is in place, the groundwork is set for the balance of the dog's adult life, as long as expectations are consistent throughout its lifetime. While they are affectionate with immediate family, and usually reserved with friends and visitors (but not always), Eurasiers can have a dominant personality. This is a breed who needs a firm (but fair) hand. Harsh, physical training methods are not successful with Eurasiers -- they will be "aloof" and will not "understand" you when you will ask it something. |
22. What is the difference between a CKC and a UKC registered Eurasier?
If you want to bred your dog or do official Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) trials and show, don't buy a United Kennel Club (UKC) registered Eurasier. Unfortunately, the CKC don't recognize dogs registered with UKC.
UKC pedigrees are never recognized by the CKC.
To avoid problems, buy only CKC registered dogs.
A UKC dog can't be exported in any other country. UKC dogs are recognized ONLY in USA.
If you eventually want to bred, a UKC dog will be your death in breeding. |
23. What exactly means "suspicious" or "reserved" with strangers?
When a stranger comes at home, the Eurasier will sniff, looks and takes its time to be sure the stranger is trustable before let the stranger really pet it. The Eurasier should never show any sign of fear or aggressiveness toward strangers. A Eurasier who go back in the show ring in front of the judge is a fear Eurasier, not a reserved one. With its owner, especially on leash, the Eurasier should be confident even in front of strangers and let them touch it.
Reserved means that the Eurasier is not the kind of dog who will jump in a car with strangers for a car ride... The Eurasier knows and respect its family. |