- American Eskimo
Dog: A Comprehensive Owner's Guide by Richard Beauchamp. Kennel
Club Books, 2004. Part of a series of books with excellent generic care
and training sections following breed-specific information involving
temperament and personality. This is a very good book for new or prospective
companion dog owners, but contains nothing of use to prospective exhibitors
and breeders in the way of history or evaluation of type and quality.
- A New Owner's Guide
to American Eskimo Dogs by Richard Beauchamp. TFH, 1999. A book
that fulfills the promise in its title, with lots of well-printed photographs.
A good start for the new owner, with introductory information for the
aspiring exhibitor and breeder.
- Guide to Owning an
American Eskimo Dog by Betsy Sikora Siino. TFH, 1997. A short
book with minimal information but lots of well-printed photographs.
More the sort of book one might buy if thinking about getting an American
Eskimo than an actual guide to having one.
- The New American
Eskimo by
Nancy J. Hofman and Cathy J. Flamholtz. 1996.
- American Eskimo Dogs:
A Complete Pet Owner's Manual by D. Caroline Coile. Barron's,
1995.
- American Eskimos
by Monica Sellers. TFH, 1994. Written by someone with a long history
with the breed, the first few chapters provide a good introductory look
at buying, raising and training an American Eskimo, including information
on showing and breeding, with a brief summary of the breed's history
and a few prominent breeders. The bulk of the book is generic and used
in every title in this series.
- The Complete American
Eskimo: A Special Kind of Companion Dog by Barbara E. Beynon.
Howell, 1990. This is an excellent example of the breed books this publisher
used to put out, comprehensive in its coverage of all aspects of owning
these dogs, and written by a breed insider (though she declines to call
herself an authority in the preface). This book covers breed history,
choosing and raising puppies, grooming, training, conformation showing,
obedience competition, other dogsport events, the standard and its interpretation,
and even has a chapter dealing with the breed's days as a favorite circus
performer. The only weakness of this book lies in its survey of prominent
breeders and kennels, all of which were current at the time of writing:
more discussion of those breeders who shepherded the breed through its
early decades, their dogs and their bloodlines, along with photos of
their best dogs, would have given added perspective to the breed's development.
Because the breed was recognized only by the UKC at the time of writing,
all information on registration and competition is discussed based on
UKC standards only, which is interesting and enlightening. The excellence
of this book begs for an updated and enlarged edition from Howell adding
a greater depth of breed history, AKC-specific information (in addition
to, not instead of UKC-specific information), more information on the
breed in Canada now that it is CKC recognized, and correction of the
typo that replaced "ruff" with "rough".
- The American Eskimo
by Nancy J. Hofman and Cathy J. Flamholtz. OTR, 1989.
- How to Raise and
Train a Spitz by Ernest L. Hart. TFH, 1969. An introduction
to care and training of what one might consider either German spitzes
or American Eskimo Dogs, as one pleased, part of a series of breed books
with generic care and training sections augmented by some breed specifics,
including histories. Outdated.
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- "Identification of
microsatellite markers linked to progressive retinal atrophy in American
Eskimo Dogs" by JA Moody, TR Famula, RC Sampson, and KE Murphy.
In: American Journal of Veterinary Research, November
2005, volume 66, issue 11, pg 1900-2. Through testing of 66 American
Eskimos, of whom 13 were affected by PRA, researchers identified the
location of the gene for PRA on the ninth canine chromosome, and established
linkage between microsatellite markers and the PRA gene locus, thus
making possible development of a microsatellite-based test to identify
carriers of the disease.
- Spitze sind Spitze
by Hartwig Drossard. Kynos, 2001. A German book discussing all the varieties
of German Spitz, including a brief mention of the American Eskimo Dog
as an offshoot of the German Spitz. In German.
- "unknown title"
by unknown author. Dog Fancy, September-December 2001.
Featured breed article.
- "Identification of
an intrinsic platelet function defect in Spitz dogs" by MK Boudreaux,
C Crager, AR Dillon, K Stanz, and M Toivio-Kinnucan. In: The Journal
of Veterinary Medicine, March-April 1994, vol 8, p 93-98. Case
report of the identification of an intrinsic platelet function defect
in two related "Spitz dogs" with histories of chronic intermittent
episodes of bleeding. In testing, two other "Spitz dogs" who
had no history of abnormal bleeding but were related to the two affected
animals also showed reduced platelet aggregation. This possible hereditary
hemostatic defect resembles one previously seen in Basset Hounds.
- Eyewitness Handbooks:
Dogs: The Visual Guide to Over 300 Dog Breeds From Around the World
by David Alderton, photography by Tracy Morgan. DK, 1993. Capsule introductions
to many breeds, including the Toy American Eskimo Dog, with photographs:
something of a dog-watcher's guide with no detailed information.
- "Prolonged proestrus
in a bitch with X chromosomal monosomy (77, XO)" by RM Lofstedt,
LC Buoen, AF Weber, SD Johnston, A Huntington, and PW Concannon. In:
Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association, 15
April 1992, volume 200, issue 8, pg 1104-6. A Miniature American Eskimo
bitch of stunted growth showed signs of proestrus, the period of coming
into heat, for almost eight months without actually coming into heat.
Her reproductive organs were found to be mostly normal, but not fully
developed. The bitch was found to be missing one X chromosome.
- A Celebration of
Rare Breeds by Cathy J. Flamholtz. OTR, 1985. Capsule descriptions
of a number of rare breeds, including the American Eskimo.
- The Care and Handling
of Dogs by John Lynn Leonard. Garden City, 1928. Among the breeds
discussed is the Spitz, in this case definitely meaning the American
Eskimo Dog.
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- "Pesty the Eskie"
by William Roland. These are clever dog's-eye view comics from the point
of view of an Eskie named Pesty. Available online
only, but listed here because the next few entries in this section aren't
actually "fun" at all.
- "Brooklyn Couple
Slain: Manufacturer and Wife and Their Dog Found Stabbed" by unnamed
reporter. In: New York Times, 31 January 1958, pg 4. Short
account of the discovery of the murders of a prosperous middle-aged
Brooklyn couple and their pet Spitz dog by stabbing. As of the time
of writing, the police had no suspects, no motive was known and the
murder weapon had not been found.
- "Dogs Wait for a Call
They'll Never Hear: Owners Died in August Crash" by unnamed reporter.
In: Washington Post and Times Herald, 16 October 1956,
pg A1. This is a tearjerker of a story about two American Eskimos who
were thrown free of the crash that killed their owners, Antonio Estrada
Marquez, an animal caretaker for the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
Veterinary Division, and his wife Emma Sutton Marquez, a poetess, and
a third dog of another breed. At the time of writing, the two dogs,
one badly injured, had been keeping a daily vigil at the site of the
crash in Greenville, Virginia, for three months.
- "Boy Injured, Dog
Killed in Freak 5-Story Plunge" by unnamed reporter. In: Washington
Post and Times Herald, 11 February 1955, pg 1. A 13-year-old
boy tresspassing on the roof of a Washington DC apartment building,
to escape capture grabbed his dog and ran to jump over the low wall
to the roof of the adjoining building...and fell five floors down the
building's air shaft. His white Spitz dog, Polar Bear, was killed in
the 70-foot fall, but the boy survived with undetermined injuries as
of the time of writing.
- "Tax Man Bites Dog's
Master" by unnamed Associated Press reporter. In: Washington
Post and Times Herald, 18 March 1954, pg 19. Cautionary tale
of a man who got caught claiming his dog, Daisy May, as a dependent
on his 1953 and 1954 income taxes. Well, heck, it was worth a try.
- "Soldier's Pet Dog,
Doomed in Bronx, Saved When Magistrate and Citizens Ask Reprieve"
by unnamed reporter. In: New York Times, 16 May 1944,
pg 12. Quite an adventure story! A soldier on a furlough home because
his seven-year-old Eskie, Snowflake, had been pining for him, refusing
to eat, quickly had his pet eating and enjoying life again. Then one
morning a few days later, while the soldier was shaving, Snowflake went
out the open door for a walk. The soldier, dressed only in underwear
and socks, ran after his dog and made it only halfway up the block before
he saw a man pick Snowflake up. The man was an SPCA agent who was taking
Snowflake to be put down because he was out without a muzzle or leash
as required by the Health Department. The soldier very understandably
hit the SPCA man, and wound up in court, where charges against him were
dropped. The soldier, his lawyer, the magistrate, and various other
citizens appealed Snowflake's death sentence to the Health Department,
and the Health Commissioner granted a reprieve. Private Osterman rushed
to the SPCA to rescue Snowflake, and man and dog were reunited. The
story is accompanied by a lovely photo of the soldier hand-feeding his
pal with a spoon.
- "Dog on Subway Tracks
Halts Train, Eludes Chase" by unnamed reporter. In: New York
Times, 11 May 1937, pg 28. Story of a subway motorman who, finding
a white Spitz dog trotting along the subway tracks from the 42nd Street
Station toward Queens late at night, halted his train several times
to shoo the lost dog out of danger, delaying the train by twelve minutes
in all. Other trains were cautioned to go slow, and twelve subway police
set out on foot to find and catch the dog, who eluded them and was last
seen leaving the 36th Street Station still looking lost.
- "Throngs Sigh Over
Cripple; Rides in Taxis" by unnamed reporter. In: Chicago
Daily Tribune, 12 January 1935, pg 1. A paraplegic begger has
been wringing hearts and lightening purses over recent weeks, appearing
in Chicago's Loop in a little cart drawn by "a white Spitz dog"
whose faithful head he strokes while holding out his hat to passing
shoppers for handouts. In fact, he travels to and from his corner by
taxi, employs a lookout for $1 per hour (this was apparently a good
wage during the Great Depression), "works" only 2-3 hours
per day, takes Sundays off, lives in a nice apartment, and supports
a wife who wears a coat with a fur collar. The police are on the lookout
for him if he comes back.
- "Fluffy, the Spitz
Heroine of a Queer Melodrama" by Albert Payson Terhune. In: True
Dog Stories by Albert Payson Terhune, illustrated by Diana Thorne.
Saalfield, 1934.
- "Dogs Save Family
in Fire: Repeated Barking Arouses Master and He Wakes Others" by
unnamed reporter. In: New York Times, 25 November 1930,
pg 34. Account of a Brooklyn family whose lives were saved by their
two Spitz dogs, Blackie (I'm assuming the name was ironic, as I've known
several white dogs of this name) and Peggy, who insistently sounded
the alarm and did not escape themselves until after they were sure the
family was safe.
- "untitled story"
by Oneda M. Brown (age 11). In: Washington Post, 18 January
1920, pg 53. This account of the many talents and virtues of the young
writer's Eskie, Kewpie, won her a prize of $1 and publication in the
"Cousins' Club" column of "Aunt Anna's Page for Boys
and Girls" in the newspaper.
- "Muggins" by
unnamed reporter. In: Life, 7 November 1918, pg 688. This
charming story tells of a five-year-old Eskie named Muggins who mans
a daily post collecting contributions for the Canadian Red Cross in
Victoria, British Columbia, and has so far brought in contributions
of more than $8,000. Most of the time Muggins worked a regular stand
across from the Parliament Buildings, but would always go with his owner
down to the docks to meet any incoming ships. Muggins had become so
widely-known for going collecting onboard ships coming into port that
passengers coming in from the US, Asia and Australia made betting pools
toward the ends of their voyage as to the exact moment the dog would
touch the ship's deck. If people ever failed to notice him, Muggins
would shake himself, causing the coins in his box to clink, and then
sit up in begging position.
- "Pet Dog Nearly Laundered:
Spitz Rescued Just as He Started Through the Washing Roller" by
unnamed New York World reporter. In: Washington Post,
4 November 1911. This is the story of Fedora, an Eskie belonging to
Col Frederick Cody of Detroit. The two were in New York, staying at
the Waldorf, when Col Cody returned to his room after breakfast and
found Fedora missing. He had left Fedora asleep under the sheets. It
chanced to be a Thursday, the day the Waldorf did a change of bedclothes,
and it occurred to the hotel detective that perhaps Fedora got caught
up in the laundry. Fedora indeed turned up down in the laundry room,
having been saved moments before by the washerwomen just as he was about
to go through the washing rollers. The relieved Colonel quipped to the
reporter that Fedora was an expensive pet, having cost $500 to purchase
and another $500 so far in lost-and-found rewards.
- "Pet Dog Suit for
$1,000,000: Chicago Families Quarrel Over Barking Spitz and Suit is
Brought" by unnamed reporter. In: New York Times,
11 August 1911, pg 1. Dr and Mrs WJ Morrison have filed suit against
their neighbors, the owners of their apartment building, and an undertaker.
The Morrisons' Eskie was allowed to run loose throughout the building
at all hours, barking and otherwise disturbing the neighbors, who complained.
Six men were sent by the building's owners for the purpose of barring
the dog from the property. Mrs Morrison became ill over the dispute
and was forcibly removed from the apartment by the six men and sent
off to the maternity hospital with which her husband was affiliated
(we are not told if she was pregnant) in a hearse (which is how the
undertaker became part of the suit). Dr Morrison meanwhile came home
to find himself facing six men who wouldn't let him into his apartment.
The figure of $1,000,000 was arrived at because the Morrisons felt they
should receive "at least that sum for the damage to their feelings
and those of the pet dog..."
- "Nat Goodwin's Mascot:
It is Laid up with Two Broken Legs, but the Comedian is Happy"
by unnamed reporter. In: New York Times, 24 September
1893, pg 2. Nat Goodwin, impresario of a troupe of traveling players,
was also the owner of Spot, a "little Spitz dog", who played
the part of a dog with a broken leg in the play "In Mizzoura".
Unfortunately, poor Spot's life since his arrival in Jersey City from
Chicago had been a case of life imitating art. Fortunately, the company
planned to keep Spot "so long as he lives, even if he persists
in breaking all four of his legs weekly, and the comedian will cheerfully
pay the doctor's and nurses' bills."
- "untitled entry"
by unnamed columnist. In: Christian Index, 8 April 1886.
In the "Secular" column, a collection of extremely miscellaneous
national and world news, for 30 March 1886 comes a notation that a man
in Newark, New Jersey, is dying of hydrophobia, as rabies was then sometimes
called, following a bite from a "white Spitz dog". For history
buffs, in that part of the column with tidbits from 31 March, Geronimo
surrendered unconditionally for what turned out to be only the first
time.
- "A Fright in Madison-Square:
A Spitz Dog's Mad Career Stopped By a Policeman's Bullet" by unnamed
reporter. In: New York Times, 4 May 1885, pg 8. This account
of an incident in Madison Square in New York seems to me to have left
out a few details: A "white spitz dog" was spotted hurrying
across the square with a wild look and headlong manner, which caused
everyone in the area to panic even though the dog didn't hurt anyone.
Even though it "charged" a baby carriage, all it did was to
jump over it without harming the baby. Then a police officer shot it
dead. The writer goes on to say jauntily, "After the body had remained
on exhibition a few moments it was carried around the corner and tenderly
placed in the gutter..." I can only suppose the people thought
the dog rabid, in view of comments in some of the other articles mentioning
spitzes during this period. Whether it was or not, one can't tell from
anything in the article. The humans involve certainly sound rabid.
- "Not a Place to Kill
Dogs" by unnamed reporter. In: New York Times, 22
March 1884. A man who dragged a "forlorn-looking Spitz dog by a
string" into a police station became irate when the police refused
to kill the dog for him, saying the police station was not a place for
killing dogs. Claiming the dog had bitten him, and he had chased it
all the way from Rivington to Mulberry Street, the man demanded the
police kill the dog, but Captain Heddon of the New York Police Department
was apparently not a believer in rabies, telling him, "I suppose
you're one of those fools that think you'll go mad if a dog bites you."
Cursing and shouting, the bitten man told them they could then keep
the dog, but the Spitz was quickly taken off by the "troop of ragged
street lads" that had followed the man in, and was last seen "making
good time along Bleecker-street..."
- "Dying from Hydrophobia:
The Effect of a Dog-Bite Received Nearly a Year Ago" by unnamed
reporter. In: New York Times, 8 September 1883, pg 5.
Detailed story of the last hours of a ten-year-old boy who died of rabies,
the presumed result of a bite received almost eleven months earlier
from a "half-breed spitz dog" belonging to a neighbor. It
is mentioned here, as in other places, that people believed rabies could
be prevented after a bite by cauterizing the wound and killing the dog.
- "Fox" by Ella
Guernsey. In: Western Christian Advocate, 5 July 1882,
pg 210. Charming tale of the author's much-spoiled family pet, who ran
away from home when frightened by a thunderstorm, and was somewhat chastened
by the experience.
- "Hydrophobia: A Well-Authenticated
Case of This Terrible Disease in Philadelphia" by unnamed reporter.
In: Chicago Daily Tribune, 29 January 1879, pg 3. Detailed
story of the last hours of a wealthy young mother who died of rabies,
the presumed result of a bite received some three months earlier while
rescuing her little boy from a "Spitz dog". As of the time
of writing, the child had not shown any symptoms of the disease.
- "A New Cure for Hydrophobia"
by AV Forgey, MD. In: The Washington Post, 2 May 1878,
pg 2, "Letters to the Editor" column. In view of the "fact"
that the incidence of rabies has increased alarmingly since "Spitz"
dogs have become common, this physician writes to recommend to the public
a treatment for rabies he has invented and tried on himself: endermic
injection of gastric juice. He got his gastric juices from a rabbit,
but doesn't seem to specify any one variety or species for the source.
- "Hydrophobia: The
Spitz Dog Adds to High Reputation—Death of a Little Child in Philadelphia—No
Imagination in This Case" by unnamed reporter. In: Chicago
Daily Tribune, 21 November, 1877, pg 7. Details of the death
of a child less than three years old following what the parents thought
a trivial bite wound from a Spitz dog.
- "Obituary" by
unnamed writer. In: Forest and Stream: A Journal of Outdoor Life,
Travel, Nature Study, Shooting, Fishing, Yaching, 25 June 1874,
pg 313. Account of the death of Francis Butler—a well-known dog
fancier who was also a florist, a linguist, an author, a poet, and knowledgeable
in natural history—following a bite received while attempting to
treat a sick Spitz. Interestingly, Mr Butler "did not believe in"
rabies. The author refutes the "very absurd theory" that rabies
may remain latent for years before developing.
- "Death from Hydrophobia:
A Dog-Fancier Falls a Victim to the Dreadful Disease" by unnamed
reporter. In: New York Times, 18 June 1874, pg 2. Detailed
account of the death of Francis Butler—a well-known dog fancier
who was also a florist, a linguist, an author, a poet, and knowledgeable
in natural history—following a bite received while attempting to
treat a sick Spitz. Interestingly, Mr Butler "did not believe in"
rabies.
- "untitled article"
by unknown author. In: Forest and Stream: A Journal of Outdoor
Life, Travel, Nature Study, Shooting, Fishing, Yaching, 4 December
1873, vol 1, #17, pg 262. "The Kennel" column repeats (from
The New York Times) the sad story of a Mr.
Philip Meyers, who, after being bitten on the thumb while playing with
a "little white spitz dog," developed rabies and died.
- "Fatal Case of Hydrophobia
in Brooklyn" by unknown author. In: New York Times,
29 November, 1873. Tells the sad story of Mr. Philip Meyers, who, after
being bitten on the thumb while playing with a "little white spitz
dog," developed rabies and died.
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