Canaan Dog Totally Explained

Everything about The Canaan Dog totally explained

The Canaan Dog is the national dog breed of Israel. It may have existed in the Middle East for millennia.

Description

Appearance

The Canaan Dog, known in Israel as (lit. dog of Canaan, Kelev K'naani), is a typical pariah dog in appearance. They have a medium build, natural upright ears, and a short to medium double coat, with a harsh, flat outercoat and soft undercoat. Colour ranges from black to cream and all shades of brown and red between, usually with small white markings, or all white with colour patches. Spotting of all kinds is permitted, as well as white or black masks. Boston Terrier markings are frequent. It almost looks like a dingo.
   Dr. Rudolphina Menzel, having studied the desert pariah dogs and the variations in appearances, classified these canines into four types: I) heavy, sheepdog appearance, II) dingo-like, III) noble, aristocratic collie appearance, IV) greyhound appearance
   Dr. Menzel concluded that the Canaan Dog is a derivative of the Type III pariah dog - the noble, aristocratic collie type (referring to the type of farm collie found in the 1930s, which was a medium dog of moderate head type more similar to today's border collie, and not the refined rough coated collie).
   In writing the first official standard for the Canaan Dog, Dr. Rudolphina Menzel wrote: "Special importance must be placed on the points that differentiate the Canaan-Dog from the German Shepard Dog, whose highly bred form he sometimes resembles: the Canaan-Dog is square, the loin region short, the forequarters highly erect, the hindquarters less angulated, the neck as noble as possible, the tail curled over the back when excited, the trot is short (see also differences in head and color)". (External Link

) Dr. Menzel defined the breed standard as being a range of types, of which two somewhat different types of Canaan Dogs are predominant. The first type is often called the "American Type", "Old Type", "Dugma Type" or "Classic Type", and the second type is often referred to as the "Israeli Type" or "Laish Type". The two variations are based on two dogs that are considered model Canaan Dogs. In their breeding programs, Canaan Dog breeders often try to re-produce the qualities of one of these dogs over the other.
The "Dugma (Hebrew: model or example) Type" follows the look of Dugma, a Type III pariah dog, caught in the wild, chosen by Drs. Menzel to be the type representative of their Canaan Dog.
The "Laish type" resembles Laish, a dog bred in by the Menzel's kennel and considered by them to be a very fine example of a Canaan Dog. Laish was the first Israeli Champion.

Size

Height: 19-24 inches (48-61 cm)
Weight: 37-50 pounds (16-25 kg)

Temperament

Canaan Dogs are natural, aloof, independent dogs. They are intelligent and learn quickly, but may get bored with repetitive exercises or become oblivious to commands if they find something of more interest. They are cautious with strangers, and will alert to any disturbances with prompt barking, thus making them excellent watchdogs. The Canaan Dog is territorial and should be kept in a fenced-in yard.

Health

In general, the Canaan Dog doesn't suffer from known hereditary problems.
Although the breed is one of the healthiest, Dr. George A. Padgett, DVM, listed diseases been seen, at one time or another, in the Canaan Dog in the United States: hypothyroidism, epilepsy, progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), cryptorchidism, hip dysplasia, osteochondritis dissecans (OCD).

History

The Canaan dog began in ancient times as a pariah dog in Israel. It belongs to one of the most ancient family of dogs, the spitz.
This dog is one of the oldest, dating back to biblical times. The caves of Einan and Hayonim are sites in which the oldest remains of dogs have been found (more than 10,000 years ago). In the Bible there are a number of references to roaming dogs and dogs that worked for man.Report on the Canaan dog by Israel Nature Reserves and National Parks Authority

In the Sinai Desert, a rock carving, from the first to third century AD, depicts a dog that in size and shape appears to be a Canaan type dog.
In Ashkelon, a graveyard was discovered, believed to be Phoenician from the middle of the fifth century BC. It contained 700 dogs, all carefully buried in the same position, on their sides with legs flexed and tail tucked in around the hind legs. According to the archaeologists, there was a strong similarity between these dogs and the "Bedouin pariah dogs," or the Canaan dog. A sarcophagus dated from the end of the fourth century BC, was found in Sidon, on which Alexander the Great and the King of Sidon are painted hunting a lion with a hunting dog similar in build to the dogs of Ashkelon, and similar in appearance to the Canaan dog.Where does the Canaan Dog come from?

The Canaan dog was the guard and herd dog of the ancient Israelites, guarding their camps and flocks. They were plentiful in the region until the dispersion of the Israelites by the Romans in the 2nd century. As the Hebrew population dropped, the majority of the dogs sought refuge in the Negev Desert, a natural reservoir of Israeli wildlife. Avoiding extinction, they remained undomesticated for the most part, although some lived with the Bedouins and earned their keep by guarding the herds and camps. Some were also guards for the Druze on Mount Carmel.
   The Canaan is very similar to the Jindo dog, both in looks and characteristics. There is a legend that the Jindo arrived in Korea with one of Genghis Khan's generals and his army which eventually got stranded on the island of Jindo and incorporated itself into the local community. Perhaps they followed the army back from Canaan; this would explain the similarities in both look and character as well as their restriction, in Korea, to the island of Jindo. Unsurprisingly the Canaan dog is considered a national treasure in Israel as is the Jindo dog in Korea.
   They survived this way until the 1930s, when Dr. Rudolphina Menzel came up with the idea to use these intelligent scavenger dogs mainly found in the desert, as guard dogs for the scattered Jewish settlements. Prof. Menzel was asked by the Haganah to help them build up a service dog organization (later to become Unit Oketz). She captured and acquired wild and semi-wild Canaan dogs. She worked with semi-free and free-living dogs of a specific type, luring them into her camp and gaining their trust. She also captured litters of puppies, finding them remarkably adaptable to domestication. The first successful adult she called Dugma (meaning example). Dr. Menzel found the dogs be highly adaptable, trainable and easy to domesticate. It took her about 6 months to capture Dugma, and within a few weeks she was able to take him into town and on buses.
   She began a breeding program in 1934, providing working dogs for the military and she gave pups to be pets and home guard dogs. She initiated a selective breeding program to produce the breed known today as the Canaan dog.
   In 1949 Dr. Menzel founded The Institute for Orientation and Mobility of the Blind, and in 1953, she started to train Canaan dogs as guide dogs for the blind. Although she was able to train several dogs, she found that the breed was too independent and too small for general guide dog use, although some of her dogs were used successfully by children.
   Her breeding program was concentrated with the Institute, where a foundation of kennel-raised Canaan dogs was established, carrying the name "B'nei Habitachon". She later supplied breeding stock to Shaar Hagai Kennels which continued in the breeding of the Canaan dog. After her death in 1973, Shaar Hagai Kennels continued the breeding program according to her instructions. In addition, a controlled collection of dogs of the original type was continued, primarily from the Bedouin of the Negev.
   Collection of wild Canaan dogs has all but ceased. The last two dogs that were collected in the Negev in the mid-1990s, and most of the Canaan dogs living in the open were destroyed by the Israeli government in the fight against rabies. Even the majority of Bedouin dogs today are mixed with other breeds, although Myrna Shiboleth visits the Negev annually, looking for good specimens living by the Bedouin camps, that she can breed with her dogs and strengthen the gene pool.Dogs of the Desert

Breed recognition

The Canaan dog was first recognized by the Israel Kennel Club in 1953 and by the FCI (Federation Cynologique Internationale) in 1966. The first accepted standard was written by Dr. Menzel.
The Kennel Club in the United Kingdom officially recognized the breed in 1970.
In 1986, the first Canaan dogs were brought to Finland from Sha'ar Hagai Kennel, in Israel.

Canaan dogs in the U.S.

On September 7, 1965, Dr. Menzel sent four dogs to Ursula Berkowitz of Oxnard, California, the first Canaan dogs in the United States. The Canaan Dog Club of America was formed the same year, and stud book records were kept from these first reports.
In June 1989, the Canaan dog entered the American Kennel Club Miscellaneous Class and dogs were registered in the AKC Stud Book as of June 1, 1997. The dogs began competing in conformation on August 12, 1997.

Canaan dogs in Canada

The first Canaan dog came to Canada May 16, 1970. The dogs came from a kennel in Delaware.
The Canadian Canaan Club (CCC) was formed in 1972, and the first executive of the Club was elected on March 15, 1973. The club has since been dissolved.
The Canaan dog obtained entry into the Miscellaneous Class of the Canadian Kennel Club on December 1, 1975. In January 1993, the breed was accepted in the Working Group, as the Canadian Kennel Club didn't have a Herding group at that time.

Further Information

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