Chinese Shar-Pei Dog Breed Info And Characteristics

The Chinese Shar-Pei (meaning “sand skin” in the Cantonese language) or Chinese Fighting Dog is an ancient fighting and working dog that originated in the Guangdong province of China. This distinctively looking breed had descended more than 2.000 years ago, probably from now extinct Taimyr wolves and ancient Spitz type dogs that once lived in the Northeast Asia. That’s why Shar-Peis have some identical genes to the Siberian Husky, Greenland Dog and Finnish Spitz. However, they have much more in common with Mastiff dogs, which suggests that at some point their ancestors had reached Southeast Asia and started interbreeding with Molossoides. The first historical evidence of this breed can be found in the statuary works of art from the period of the Han Dynasty (200 BC). During that time, Chinese emperors often kept these dogs as pets, but they were also used for fighting. However, some scientists are still unsure whether these statues represent Shar-Peis or Chow Chows. The second historical evidence of the breed is a written document from the 13th century that refers to a dog with the wrinkled skin. According to it, these dogs were then mainly kept by farmers, who had used them in various ways, such as property guardians, livestock herders and boar hunters. In that period, people were still using Shar-Peis as fighting dogs too, a trend that continued to this very day, especially in Tibet. Continue Reading →

New Guinea Singing Dog Breed Info And Characteristics

The New Guinea Singing Dog (New Guinea Wild Dog, New Guinea Highland Dog, Singing Dog) or Hallstrom Dog (Canis Lupus Hallstromi) is an ancient landrace dog originating from, as its name suggests, the island of New Guinea. This is probably the oldest and most primitive breed of dog in existence. Experts estimated that the NGSD strain is approximately 30.000 years old, which is why they are nicknamed Stone Age Dogs. But first dogs were probably brought to New Guinea by humans about 6.000 years ago (according to some experts, it happened even earlier, 10-20.000 years ago). As a proof for this theory, scientists found a tooth of a Singer in the lowlands of Papua (eastern half of the island), estimated to be more than 5.500 years old. This is in fact the oldest of all fossil remains of this canine species. The NGSD probably descended from ancient Pariah dogs from Southeast Asia that were actually domesticated Asian wolves. The breed has remained literally unchanged from its ancestors, which is why it is often considered a living fossil. Continue Reading →

Canadian Eskimo Dog Breed Info And Characteristics

The Canadian Eskimo Dog (Canadian Inuit Dog) or Canadian Husky (Exquimaux Husky, Kingmik Dog) is an ancient Spitz type working dog that originated in the Arctic Circle. This is probably the oldest and most primitive of all Canadian indigenous dogs. The breed is believed to be more than 4.000 years old. It was first domesticated by the Thule people, a proto-Inuit tribe (the ancestors of all modern Inuit) that lived for centuries in the northern parts of Canada, Alaska and Greenland. According to certain historical evidence, the Thule had started to use these dogs sometime between 1100-1200 AD primarily as hunters assistants and guardians, but later on they began to use them for sled pulling as well. CED is closely related to the Greenland Dog, with whom it shares many similarities. In fact, these two breeds are often mistaken for each other, and they both have much in common with wolves. For a long time, the Canadian Husky was thought to be a tamed wolf or some close relative of the wolf. Even Charles Darwin, the famous naturalist and geologist, thought the same due to almost identical look and vocalisations. However, recent genetic study of this breed has proven that there are no significant traces of wolf genes in newer generations of Canadian Eskimo Dogs. Continue Reading →

Peruvian Hairless Dog Breed Info And Characteristics

The Peruvian Hairless Dog (Perro Sin Pelo de Perú, Perro Peruano, Inca Hairless Dog, Viringo Dog) or Peruvian Inca Orchid (although this is considered a separate breed by the AKC since it was created from a few dogs brought from Peru) is an ancient breed of Sighthound originating from, as its name suggests, Peru. Although it is considered an Incan Dog, the breed was in existence long before the Inca Empire. The evidence for that can be found in the pottery from the Moche, Chimú, Chancay, and Vicús, pre-Inca cultures from the coastal regions of Peru, in the form of ceramic hairless dog figurines as well as ceramic vessels with depictions of hairless dogs from around 750 A.D. However, scientists believe that the Peruvian Hairless Dog breed is much older (at least 3.000 years old), but they are still unsure how these dogs ended up in Peru in the first place. There are actually three theories about that. According to the first theory, Inca Hairless Dogs are descendants of Mexican Hairless Dogs, which were imported to Peru by Ecuadorian sea-traders. The second one says that they descended from dogs which had arrived in America through the Bering Strait crossing with the migrating tribes from East Asia. The third theory suggests that Viringo Dogs actually descended from African Pariah dogs (Mediterranean hounds in particular), which were brought to South America either by Asians, North Africans or Polynesians. Continue Reading →

Taiwan Dog Breed Info And Characteristics

The Taiwan Dog (Taiwanese Canis, Takasago Dog) or Formosan Mountain Dog (Formosan Native Dog) is a Dingo-like, versatile working dog originating from the island of Taiwan (Formosa). The breed is the descendant of the ancient hunting dogs of Southeast Asia, which had arrived in Taiwan sometime between 20.000 and 10.000 years ago. That’s why the Formosan Mountain Dog is considered one of the oldest and most ancient dog breeds in the world. For centuries, Formosans were mainly kept and bred by the Aboriginal Taiwanese people for hunting and guarding. Actually, they were the only breed of dog on the island. Unfortunately, that has changed with the arrival of Dutch colonists back in 1624. That was the first time foreign dogs were imported to Taiwan. Soon afterwards, they started crossbreeding with Taiwan Dogs disturbing the breed’s purity for the first time. In the coming years, numbers of purebred Formosan Dogs rapidly declined due not only to crossbreeding, but killing too, especially during the Japanese and Chinese rule of the island. Supposedly, the most brutal impact on the numbers of Formosans had the Chinese when they brought their traditional dog eating culture to the island. At the half of the last century, the Taiwan Dog breed was brought to the brink of extinction. Continue Reading →