Help with naming oldest dog breeds, please!!??!

[RubyR]

I'm doing a dog behaviour course at the moment and I've got to research what the oldest recorded breed of dog on each continent is and I'm stuck and need help desperately. I've not had much luck on the internet and each time I read about a different breed it is rather bland and says 'this is one of the most ancient breeds'.

As an aside, I rung a woman about going to view a Springer pup tomorrow and was really excited but the family have just decided to keep the pup for themselves!! Really disappointed. I was already starting to look at puppy classes in the area.

 

[Tia]

Salukis are the oldest dog breed in the world, as far as I am aware and Cretan Hound is the oldest in Europe.

I'll have a look on the Internet and see what I can find for the other continents if you like.

 

[Selkie]

I thought everything came from wolves

 

[RubyR]

[ QUOTE ]
Salukis are the oldest dog breed in the world from as far as I am aware and Cretan Hound is the oldest in Europe.

I'll have a look on the Internet and see what I can find for the other continents if you like.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks thats a great help. I'm starting to stress out!!!!

 

[Tia]

Seems to be;

Australia - dingo

Asia - Basenji

Middle East - Pharoah Dog

Here's the link - http://www.workingdogweb.com/DogFacts.htm . It's not clear cut though as there are a number of dogs who are ancient breeds, particularly in Asia.

 

[ShadowFlame]

Chow Chows are supposed to be one of the oldest breeds in the world.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

The thing is, that f. ex. Egyptian tomb-paintings (about 2000 - 1800 B.C.) shows Mastiffs, Pariahs/Sight hounds, Spitzes and Dwarf/Toy dogs. And if somebody saw a painting that resembled a then existing breed, they generally presumed they had a genetic relation.

So the big question is if you're supposed to know the ones with TRULY KNOWN history, or if it's the presumed ones = vague assumptions like "this is one of the most ancient breeds", that you're supposed to know about?

DNA has revealed that f. ex. wolflike breeds like Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute are no closer related to wolfes than Chihuahuas, Dachshunds or Poodles! So in your shoes, I would either look for breeds like the Maltese with historical evidence for existing in the 17th century OR I would look more for the type of dogs that was known.


But a book about genetics in dogs (from 2002, so it's not that old) that I have, suggest that :
In North America the Malamute type and/or Coyote resembling dogs was first.
In South America the Xoloitzcuintli/Mexican Hairless was first.
In Northern Europe it was a Spitz of medium size with curled tail, prick ears and thick ½-long coat. This spitz type have numerous look-alikes today for you to choose between as being the most "true". It also evolved into terriers and toy breeds such as the Maltese.
In Tibet, Persia and northern India, the ancestor to the Tibetan Masiff was first.
In Africa Pharaoh Hound and/or Basenji could be the first.
On the Arabian Peninsula and a bit into the Southwest Asia the Greyhound was first.
And in Australia the Dingo was first.


Wrote this without having had the time to go and look at the site Tia had a link to, so I'm looking forward to see what it has to say (and hopes I'll have the proper time to look at it tomorrow).


from Sweden.

 

[abbie77]

as far as i knew it is the pharoah hound as they were dogs of the eygyptians

 

[Lucy_Nottingham]

yup pharoah hound were the egyptian dog (supposedly) so they would be one of the oldest!
not sure about otehr continents.
But surely wolves will have to be in there, seeing as they are the basis for the domesticated canine!

 

[Enfys]

My daughter has just done a comparison of dog breeds for school, she chose GSDs and Pugs. So, I can tell you that GSDs, as we know them are only about 100 years old, whereas Pugs, (apparently, according to the breed information we found) were used by the Chinese Emporers as lapdogs as far back as 400BC!