No group of dogs has had a more influential relationship with humans than the spitz-type breeds that evolved throughout the Arctic regions of the world, in what are now the Scandinavian countires, and in Russia, Alaska and Canada. The liaison between spitz-type dogs and many people living in these harsh regions is highly interdependent - it is likely the tribes of people along the Arctic seas and on Arctic islands, would not have survived without the help of these versatile canines.