Seppala Siberian Sleddog is the name of the "evolving breed" recognised on 31 October 1997 by Agriculture Canada along with the charter of its governing body the Working Canine Association of Canada. The name may be legitimately applied only to dogs descended from the Parental Generation or P1 founders identified by W.C.A.C., or similar stock registered by the International Seppala Association in countries other than Canada.

Seppala Siberian Sleddogs or SSSDs are by definition descendants of dogs bred by the Seppala Siberian Sleddog Project in Canada's Yukon Territory. (It follows logically from this definition that dogs called by the same name from commercial U.S. registries such as that of the Continental Kennel Club are not authentic Seppala Siberian Sleddogs and should be considered fakes. They might be considered Racing Siberian Huskies but for the fact that they are often not registered as Siberian Huskies with any registry at all.)

The breed's two main genetic sources, as defined in the "Breeding Guidelines" of W.C.A.C., are pure-strain descendants of the ten Second Foundation dogs of McFaul/Shearer lineage, together with new Siberia imports, principally from the Sergei Alexandrovitch Solovyev bloodline developed from Chukotkan stock. SSSDs may have variable proportions of the two parent bloodlines, or may also be Markovo-Seppalas of pure McFaul/Shearer lineage.

At the present time the breed officially has "evolving breed" status in its country of origin and is therefore considered a breed in its developmental phase rather than a "distinct breed" by the statutory definition of the Livestock Pedigree Act.