Rimefang of the Ebon Blade “Kodi” is one of our co-owned boys from our 2022 Frostbrood Litter. We hope to see him become an approved stud someday!

Sindragosa of the Ebon Blade “Wrigley” as a tiny baby!

I found a breeder who isn’t listed on any of the official registry websites…what does that mean?

When you support unregistered breeders who claim to produce Tamaskan Dogs, either by purchasing a puppy from them, or by recommending that breeder to a prospective buyer, you are unfortunately guaranteed to be supporting unethical breeding practices. The Tamaskan Dog breed registries are careful to oversee and govern their registered breeders, to ensure the rules are being followed and that the welfare of the dogs is being protected.

Every single Tamaskan Dog that goes on to breed under the governance of a registry is required to meet that registry’s criteria to earn its breeding rights. This applies to ALL dogs, including Tamaskans that were already sold with “breeding rights” by their breeders:

• The dog must qualify to be registered with a specific registry. Registration rules are publicly listed on each registry’s official website - requirements may differ slightly between registries.

• The dog must not possess any Disqualifying Faults according to the Breed Standard. Case-by-case exceptions may be granted by a registry’s Committee of Breeders for certain DQ’s, such as, for example, the possibility of granting breeding approval for a dog who has floppy or only partially erect ears, when it is otherwise an exceptional example of the breed.

• The dog must pass a registry’s mandatory list of health tests before it is allowed to produce a litter. Certain generations of Tamaskans (usually 1st and sometimes also 2nd generation Tamaskans) are also required to undergo additional temperament testing and conformation evaluations before they can be granted breeding rights. If a dog has abnormal results for any particular test or evaluation, each registry has their own special committee of experienced and knowledgeable breeders and members, called a Committee of Breeders, that will review that dog’s breeding application. Part of their job will be to determine whether or not there were extenuating circumstances related to the abnormal results that should be considered before permission for that dog to breed is granted or denied.

• The dog must meet the breeding regulations for that specific registry. For example, some of the five registries have restrictions against breeding dogs who have immediate family members with significant and untestable health issues, such as epilepsy.

If and when a registry denies breeding rights to a specific dog, there is always one or more documented reasons why the denial was issued. This helps to keep the welfare of the dogs and future generations of the breed at the forefront of each registry’s priorities.

In addition, the breeders themselves must meet and adhere to a list of requirements and rules, in order to keep their kennel in good standing with their registry (or registries) of choice. Each registry has its own Code of Ethics, rules, and regulations, but in general, the five registries have fairly similar requirements that their breeders must follow. In the event that a breeder breaks the rules of the registry they’re affiliated with, that registry is likely to issue consequences of some form. This could be as simple as a written warning, citing the infraction, a suspension of the breeder’s kennel from that registry for a set length of time, or even permanent expulsion from the registry.

Unregistered breeders primarily consist of scammers who are claiming to breed and sell Tamaskans, when in fact they really have mixed breed dogs - usually some sort of northern breed mix. However, there are also unregistered breeders who were expelled from one or more registries, or who were denied permission to register as breeders in the first place (typically, this is due to their breeding prospect dogs failing health testing).

ICE GPIntl Nat Ch IABCA Intl Nat Ch Tarheel Queen Of Hearts “Talia” is our first and oldest Tamaskan. She’s still looking and feeling great at 10 years old!

Here are three of the most common scenarios for why a breeder would not be registered with one of the Tamaskan Dog's five official breed registries:

1. They do not even have Tamaskan Dogs in the first place. They instead have mixed breed dogs and only call them Tamaskans (or even "American Tamaskans") in order to charge higher prices per puppy. Unfortunately, being called a rare breed means more interest and sales will be likely for a litter, and they take advantage of the fact that not everyone knows how to weed out the scammers from responsible breeders. It's not a good feeling when you find out the dog you just spent thousands of hard-earned dollars to purchase isn't even the actual breed you wanted in the first place!

2. The breeder's dogs did not/do not meet the health testing or other requirements as mandated by the official breed registries, and therefore were not granted permission to breed. Failed health tests means that a dog is at significantly elevated risk of passing along those health problems to any offspring they produce. The health tests that each registry requires all breeding dogs to pass can be found on each registry’s individual website; some registries have slightly different rules and requirements than others.

3. The breeder themselves broke their registry’s Code of Ethics and/or breeding rules and regulations to such a degree that it warranted expulsion from the registry. Each registry has their Code of Ethics, breeding rules and regulations published on their websites.

Sindragosa of the Ebon Blade “Wrigley” is one of the girls we retained from our 2022 Frostbrood Litter. She is not a breeding candidate, due to having wry jaw, but is still a very loved member of the family!