The International Wolfalike Companion Registry – Est. 2017

Since its 1980s inception, the breeding world of the wolfalike type dog has been riddled with different opinions regarding its intentions. This has resulted in a vast number of different breeds and breed clubs. The majority of them emerged from the original idea of a “wolf for the sofa”, introduced by Edwina Harrison in the 1980s. These sofa-wolves now include the Northern Inuit, Utonagan and Tamaskan, but several other breeds also exist, all designed with the intention to improve upon the design of the wolfalike dog.

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Honiahaka Northern Inuits is a renowned breeder who had bred Northern Inuit dogs for a decade from the mid-2000s. Respected both inside and outside the industry for always putting the health of the breed first, Honiahaka discovered health issues and a narrow gene pool within the breed, thus realising that the way forward was to become an independent breeder. In doing so, they became free to introduce outcrossing to their programme. Through these outcross litters, they were able to preserve the bloodline of dogs they had developed the past years while also improving the health of the breed.

 

In 2017, the Honiahaka Wolfalike Companion Club had been founded for people interested in the wolfalike type dog. Its intention was to bring people together by organising various walks and events. Alongside the founding of the H.W.C.C., and the changes in the Honiahaka breeding programme, the seed of The International Wolfalike Companion Registry, (I.W.C.R) was planted.  It came to fruition when a breeder in Germany wanted to use a Honiahaka bred male for their Tamaskan female. They wanted to register these pups with an organisation which would act as a hallmark for guaranteed high standards and ethics in the breeding of future wolfalike litters.

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A breeding committee was formed within H.W.C.C., a breeders’ code of ethics agreed, and the I.W.C.R. born.

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Soon afterwards, Honiahaka registered their first outcross (Northern Inuit-Tamaskan) litter and a Northern Inuit breeder from Switzerland (Na’heestah) joined, registering their Northern Inuit litter. That first year saw in total 19 puppies from 3 breeders, with litters registered as Northern Inuit Dogs or Northern Inuit – Tamaskan crosses.

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The following year a German breeder, I-Berg, joined the registry and registered their Northern Inuit – Tamaskan cross litter, and Honiahaka registered two further outcross litters – one Northern Inuit – Caledonian Wolfalike litter, and one Northern Inuit litter from Na’heestah. In 2018, a total of 22 pups were registered.

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In 2019, The International Wolfalike Companion Registry, (I.W.C.R.) became a separate entity from H.W.C.C., The Honiahaka name had been dropped to clarify its separate existence from the Honiahaka kennel itself, and to give the registry a more independent and international approach.  That year saw three litters registered, two from Honiahaka and one from I-Berg.

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In 2020, one of the founders of the I.W.C.R., Valkyrie Wolfalikes, produced the first litter of the second generation of I.W.C.R. pups, from two parents registered in 2017. Although Honiahaka had registered one litter as well, it was a quiet year for the registry as the Covid-19 pandemic swept the world. There was a total of 17 pups registered – the lowest number since the registry’s foundation. Work was put in to review and rework the breeders’ code of ethics, the website and social media.

 

Since 2021, the registry continues to be a worldwide independent registry for different wolfalike type dogs whose breeders demand the highest standards of ethics and conduct.