Eurasier

All coat colours are admissible, barring pure white, white patching, or liver.

The coat is medium-long.

The topcoat lies flat throughout the dog’s body, without being close-lying, and ranges from short to medium-long hair, depending on the area. The undercoat is abundant.

The eyes are dark.

The Eurasier is a medium-sized dog with a long coat, of a rectangular rather than square construction. The head strongly resembles that of its wolf ancestor: cone-shaped, with upright, medium-sized ears, a flat skullcap and a distinct, central wrinkle. The eyes are dark, not too deep-set, and almond-shaped. The limbs are rather big-boned and perfectly straight. The tail hangs low when the dog is at rest, but is worn curled over the back when he is in movement.

This dog, which was also known as the Chow-Wolf before the breed had been officially established, is very attached to his social group, but not overly clingy.

The Eurasian, as it is also commonly known, is very cheerful and mischievous when still a pup, both traits which can be put to good use in rendering training sessions pleasant. Once an adult however, inasmuch as he conserves a certain joviality, he does become more reserved.

This is a calm and even-tempered dog, that can nevertheless become animated and bothersome if his needs for exercise is not sufficiently met. You should not take his peaceful, docile, and centered nature for granted.

Known to be very reactive and sensitive to his owner’s commands, this is an intelligent dog who loves to show all of his skills off with pride and elegance.

The Eurasier breed’s official standards do clearly stipulate that this dog lacks any hunting instincts.

Despite his ample sociability, this dog remains somewhat reserved and will not- contrary to popular belief- easily tolerate a stranger’s presence.

Even without a pronounced guardian instinct, the Eurasian is a good protector, not least because of his strong attachment to his adoptive family. He will, however, never resort to aggression. 

With guests he doesn’t know, he will often just be indifferent until a proper and timely introduction takes place.

Despite a certain independent streak the Eurasier inherited from the breeds he springs from (the Chow Chow, Samoyed), he remains very attached to his family, and will not stand being excluded from it.

This dog does not like solitude, he is miserable when apart from his adoptive family. In this sense, it is absolutely inconceivable to have him reside outside of the house. He needs constant contact with members of his social group. 

However, if he has been positively and gradually exposed to spending time alone from a young age (i.e. when still a pup) the Eurasier will be able to tolerate his owners’ absences if they are kept short.

The training process if very simple in this dog’s case, since his many capacities predispose him to fast and obedient learning in various fields. He loves to please his master, not least by proving how easy it is to cooperate with him. 

Socialising the Eurasier- which should start taking place when he is still a pup- is also remarkably seamless, given how naturally open this magnificent Spitz is. 

Having said this, the Eurasier’s inborn social competence should never justify a lax approach on behalf of his owners! This dog still needs to be reared in a precocious, coherent, fair and consequential manner, without ever allowing brutality to be part of the exchange.

Very closely related to his wolf ancestors, this dog barks very rarely, and tends to be on the discrete side.

Like many dogs, even those who have no particular hunting or predatory instinct, the temptation could occasionally arise. 

If you want to minimise this risk, make sure you take the dog out on walks often enough (and beyond the confines of your garden!).

It is principally during the Eurasier’s first months of life that his mischievous side can result in damage, especially when his owners are absent.

Even if this dog is capable of restraining himself, it is not advised to allow him free access to food, as he could become overweight. 

His healthy appetite could be put to good use during training sessions: snacks will be a good source of encouragement for learning.

Even if he is neither ‘yappy’ nor aggressive, the Eurasier can be dissuasive if he deems it’s necessary. Wary towards strangers and attached to his family, he is a good ‘alarm dog’ in the sense that his infrequent, exceptional barking will constitute a telling alert, especially given his otherwise discrete behaviour.

The Eurasier can adapt to many living constellations. In fact, Eurasiers can vary significantly from one individual to another, because their personality adapts so extensively to their owners’ habits.

This dog is perfect for a first adoption, especially if you have a particular soft spot for primitive, wolf-like dogs. The Eurasier does indeed possess many of the physical traits that are sought-after, whilst being malleable in ways that his close cousins are not (personality-wise).

Naturally cool and collected in addition to being very sociable, this dog can indeed adapt to living in a flat, but must be walked outside at least twice a day. 

He would of course enjoy living in the country, or in a house with a garden-  yet even given the latter, the absence or restriction of daily walks would never be justifiable. 

What’s more, if living in the country, he should never be made to sleep outside and be excluded from the family’s day to day. This dog needs to live inside the house, by his owners’ side, in order to feel fully at peace.

It would be quite a stretch to say that the Eurasier is an athletic dog, since he’s generally quite ‘slow’ and fragile. Having said this, it is not uncommon to see this breed excel in agility. 

Do note that all sports and physical activities will have to wait until the dog is fully grown. 

Other than that- intense exercise aside- the Eurasian will require daily walks with his owner in wide open spaces to be fully content. He must be stimulated in many ways, be in terms of his sense of smell, or physically, mentally and socially.

It is only his size that could potentially render travel somewhat complicated, since this dog’s good nature and flexibility do allow him to follow his owner everywhere (with real, non-feigned pleasure).

This dog gets along very well with cats, even without having been exposed to them at a young age, as he adapts very well to the arrival of new family members, in whichever shape or form. 

Despite their prospective friendship, it is actually the cat’s reaction that could be much more unpredictable than the Eurasian’s. You should let the cat shy away and take refuge if he wishes to, or you might pressure him to the point of thinking clawing the dog is his only resort!

Renown for his great sociability, the Eurasian, as we anglo-saxons tend to call him, generally gets along well with all the dogs he comes across, whatever their size, age or personality. 

It is a dog that avoids conflicts. If he feels some animosity on the part of the dog with which he is interacting, he will quickly distance himself and will not hesitate to tend to his activities on his own. 

His natural capacities should, however, in no way justify an absent or mediocre socialisation process. He needs to be socialised from a young age, so as to further develop and reinforce his ‘canine code of conduct’.

Playful, gentle and patient, the Eurasian possesses all the desired qualities to be reared within a family with children. Despite his joviality and good-nature though, some rules of conduct will have to be implemented by the parents and respected by the children, to ensure the dog’s peace of mind.

Some examples may include:

• Do not disturb the dog when he is in his basket
• Always ask a parent’s permission before playing with the dog
• Do not tug at the dog’s hair or climb on top of him
• Put an end to all interaction as soon as the dog shows his teeth, growls or barks etc.

Despite this mighty dog’s appearance, the Eurasian is perfectly suited to the elderly: docile, still and not too demanding in terms of daily exercise, he can by all means adapt to life by an elderly person’s side. 

What’s more, the constant presence and availability of an owner will greatly please this dog, as he consistently craves human contact. 

However, do bear in mind that those owners lacking the energy to take the dog out on regular walks might have to consider professional dog-walking services.

Hair loss is significant during the Eurasier’s moulting season- i.e., spring. That is when brushes will need to be daily in order to gradually eliminate as many dead hairs as possible.

Life expectancy is 12 years on average.

The Eurasier is a robust dog, owing to the crossbreeding of particularly resilient dogs from which he springs. He gets sick only very rarely, and enjoys quite a long life.

When it gets hot, the Eurasian may not be as vulnerable to the heat as some of his peers, but should nevertheless not be exposed to the sun for too long. He will have to have access to all the fresh water he pleases, as well as a spot in the shade to retreat to. 

In the summertime, and especially during heatwaves, walks will have to take place early in the morning and in the late evenings, if he is to really get the most out of them.

The Eurasier’s thick top coat, coupled with his abundant undercoat, endow him with a very good resistance to challenging weather (cold and humidity).

Not in excessive need of physical exercise, the Eurasian can quickly gain weight if his nutrition is not properly calibrated. Calibrating his nutritional balance well in addition to daily walks will guide him back to his intended weight.

• Hip dysplasia
• Primary glaucoma (hereditary eye disease)
• Distichiasis (faulty development of hair follicles)
• Entropion
• Dandy-Walker Malformation (hypoplasia of the cerebellum)

This breed owes its existence to the famous ethologist Konrad Lorenz, who attempted to recreate a very ancient, long extinct dog, the Nenets Herding Laika. This ancient Russian dog was the result of a cross between the Wolfspitz (German Spitz) and a Chow-Chow, and lived in a state of wilderness. This same cross-breeding has allowed K. Lorenz to create, or rather re-create, the Eurasier, by commissioning it from the breeder Julius Wipfel, and deciding to add the Samoyed in the mix. In 1973, the Eurasier was officially recognised by the FCI and spread to Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Spain. Unfortunately, his distribution remained limited and this beautiful dog has never fully known much success, perhaps because of his resemblance to the Chow-Chow, the latter being more popular and heard of.