American Eskimo Dog Breed Info And Characteristics

The American Eskimo Dog or American Spitz (Eskimo Spitz, American Eskimo Spitz, Eskie) is a Nordic Spitz-type dog that originated in the US at the beginning of the 20th century, but it actually descended from the European Spitz dogs. In fact, the breed was probably developed from a one variety of the white German Spitz, with influences from other similar breeds, such as the white Keeshonden, the Volpino Italiano, and the larger white Pomeranian. Although purebred, the white Keeshonden and the larger Pomeranians were excluded by the breed standard. So, they became pets of the working people, who brought them into the US in the 1900s. In fact, all these breeds were imported in America by German (mainly) and other European immigrants. At the beginning of the 20th century, these Nordic-type dogs became quite common all around the US, especially in the immigrant communities. At that time, these dogs were all referred to as the American Spitz rather than the German Spitz, and were mainly used as watchdogs and property guardians, as well as working farm dogs. They were highly prized for their incredible intelligence and trainability, but also because of their fluffy, cute look. Continue Reading →

Carolina Dog Breed Info And Characteristics

The Carolina Dog (Swamp Dog, Native Dog, Old Yeller Dog, Ol’ Yaller, Yellow Dog, Native American Dog, Southern Aboriginal Dog) or American Dingo (American Pariah, American Pariah Dog, Dixie Dingo, Southern Dingo) is an ancient landrace dog or a pariah dog that originated more than 10.000 years ago in East Asia. According to some DNA studies, this breed is actually a direct descendant of the original Asian Pariah Dogs, whose ancestors were the Asian wolves. So, this is definitely one of the oldest and most primitive dogs in the world. Based on its appearance, many experts believed that the American Pariah is the close relative of the Australian Dingo and the New Guinea Singing Dog, but a new study of this breed’s mDNA haplotypes confirmed that there is no direct genetic relationship between them. However, another, more recent genetic study confirmed that the breed definitely originated in East Asia, so there’s still a possibility that these three landraces are somehow related. With all that being said, you probably wonder, how this breed ended up in the North America then? Well, this happened some 8.000 years ago when the primitive Paleolithic men reached America through the Bearing Strait crossing. Their pariah dogs accompanied them at this long and perilous journey that led them through West America all the way down to the Southeast of the continent. The American Dingo is actually the direct descendant of these dogs, together with the Basketmaker Dog and the Kentucky Shell Heap Dog, which are now extinct unfortunately. Continue Reading →

Afghan Hound Dog Breed Info And Characteristics

The Afghan Hound (Ogar Afgan, Balkh Hound, Baluchi Hound, Barakzai Hound, Kuchi Hound, Shalgar Hound, Kabul Hound, Galanday Hound, Eastern Greyhound, Persian Greyhound) or Tazi Spay (Sag-e Tazi, Tazi, Tazi Dog, Da Kochyano Spay, Sage Balochi) is an ancient Middle Eastern Sighthound that originated in the Mountains of Afghanistan. Unfortunately, very little is known of the early history of this basal breed that predates all modern dog breeds. There are many theories among the breed fanciers about how it came into being (the most popular opinion is that these dogs had arrived in the region of Afghanistan from Egypt more than 4.000 years ago), but there is almost no evidence to support either of these. However, there’s no doubt that the Ogar Afgan has the identical ancestry with some other Sighthounds from the Tian Shan region, Turkmenistan, Arabian Peninsula, and the Caspian Sea area of Russia, such as the Tasy, Kurram Valley Hound, Barakzay, and the Saluki. In fact, the Tazi Dog is thought to be the closest relative of the Saluki, which is quite reasonable since they share many traits, including hunting together with falcons. They are both included in the group of 14 ancient breeds – the oldest and purest dogs in the world, closely related to the wolf. In this group are some of the most famous dog breeds around the world, such as the Pekingese, Basenji, Samoyed, Chow Chow, Siberian Husky, Shar-Pei, etc. Continue Reading →

Shih Tzu Dog Breed Info And Characteristics

The Shih Tzu (Shih Tzu Kou) or Chrysanthemum Dog (Lion Dog, Chinese Lion Dog, Xi Shi dog) is an ancient companion and lap dog, whose true origin is still veiled in mystery. However, there are actually three theories on how Shih Tzus came into being. According to the first theory, the breed originated more than 2.000 years ago in Tibet, where it was bred by lamas in lamaseries. The lamas gifted a few of these dogs to rulers at the Chinese Imperial Court in the 17th century, when the breed was finally given its present name. If this theory is correct, then this is officially the smallest of all Tibetan breeds. According to the second theory, the breed was actually developed in the 17th century in the city of Peking (Beijing), China, by crossing the Pekingese with the Lhasa Apso. The third theory suggests that the breed actually originated in China around 800 B.C. Anyhow, the recent DNA study confirmed that the Shih Tzu is actually one of the 14 oldest (ancient) dog breeds in the world, which are closely related to the wolf. In this group, apart from its “relatives,” the Lhasa Apso, Pekingese and Tibetan Terrier, are some of the most famous breeds around the globe, such as the Alaskan Malamute, Chow Chow, Siberian Husky, Basenji, Samoyed, Afghan Hound, etc. Continue Reading →

Pekingese Dog Breed Info And Characteristics

The Pekingese (Pekingese Dog, Pekingese Lion Dog) or Pekig Lion Dog (Peking Palasthund, Lion Dog, Sun Dog, Foo Dog, Fu Lin Dog, Chinese Lion Dog, Peke, Pelchie Dog) is an ancient companion dog that originated in the Western China. It is unknown how this breed came into being (its true ancestors are still unknown), but supposedly it is more than 2.000 years old. According to the Chinese (Buddhist) legend, this dog is an offspring of a union between a monkey/marmoset (representing grace) and a lion (representing nobleness). Of course, this is far away from the actual truth, but it’s still an interesting story. Namely, the lion fell in love with a lovely monkey girl, but he couldn’t marry her since he was much bigger than her. So, the lion asked Buddha to make him smaller. And so it was, Buddha fulfilled his wish, they were married and had a bunch of Pekingese babies. How sweet :) Anyhow, the recent DNA study confirmed that the Lion Dog is one of the oldest and purest dog breeds in the world. That’s why this toy doggy is included in the group of 14 ancient breeds, together with the Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute, Chow Chow, Shar-Pei, Shih Tzu, Saluki, etc. These dogs are also the closest relatives of the wolf, which is not something you might have guessed after the actual look of the Peking Lion Dog. Continue Reading →