Detailed informantion about the Classifying Dogs

In decades past, there have been varying theories about which animals the dog is most closely related to, Indeed even well-respected writers have changed their views with the passage of time. Now it seems that there is conclusive evidence that our domestic canine friend owes its direct origins to the wolf.

Wolves
Like dogs, wolves vary greatly in size, the largest being the North American wolf which migrated from Eurasia where it evolved. The European grey wolf, although still existing in central and eastern Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula and in Scandinavia, has now been eliminated by man in most of Western Europe. Smaller sub-species include the Red wolf; small and lean, it weighs only 15—30 kg (33—66 lb) but even this is now thought possibly extinct in the wild, although its blood appears to run through the veins of other wolf-like animals which can still be found, including the coyote.

Mexican wolf
The small Mexican wolf still exists in the mountain regions of central Mexico and the Asiatic or Arab wolf, likely to be progenitor of many Asian and European dogs, is still found extensively throughout Asia. This adaptable and sociable animal has certainly inhabited areas of the world from which the dog has emerged.

Other wolves
There are other fascinating sub-species of wolf which are now definitely extinct. The Kenai wolf of Alaska weighed in the region of 45 kg (100 lb) and was closely related to the Grey wolf, while the Newfoundland White wolf, again related to the Grey, was sadly driven to extinction near the beginning of the twentieth century, as was the small Japanese Wolf.

Coyote
The coyote is another closely related wild caned which, less sociable than the wolf, is a lone hunter although it does form packs with blood relatives in defense of territory or food. Now inhabiting Mexico and Alaska, and the Pacific coast to Central Canada and New England, the coyote moved both to the north and east as the wolf population in the United States was decimated by humans.

The coyote, like the jackal, is capable of breeding with both the wolf and with domestic dogs, but although somewhat similar in appearance to the dog we know as a domestic pet, the habits of both animals are further removed from the domestic dog than are those of the wolf.

The fox family
Throughout the world there-are many other wild dogs which are more distantly related to today's fireside companion than wolf, coyote and jackal. The fox family falls among these, as does the manned wolf, dhole and African wild dog. The latter has an unusual coat pattern and is renowned for its hunting abilities.

Dingoes
According to some theories, dingoes may have descended from the Phu Quoc dogs of eastern Asia, having been taken to Australia by seafarers. Although the men did not survive, the dogs did, and certainly many dingoes have been reared by Aboriginal families. Dingoes, though, developed a taste for killing and they prey on small marsupials, sheep, chickens and other domestic livestock. Indeed there are many who believe that this tantalizing, and often vilified, caned is largely responsible for the extinction of the Tasmanian wolf.

While some consider that the dingo may have arrived in Australia as long as 9,000 years ago, another theory is that it was once a domestic pet and has since turned wild although those who have tried to train the dingo have maintained that this could never have been so, for it is so difficult to train. None the less, there is no doubt that the relationship between the dingo and the Australian Aboriginal has been a close one, which has undoubtedly been highly successful for both.

It cannot be denied that there are people who tram and live alongside both dingoes and wolves without encountering major problems. Having said that it is of extreme importance that anyone taking part in such a program is utterly aware that, although there are similarities, these animals have many different behavior patterns from those we take for granted in the domestic dog, and that some individuals are more well disposed to human beings than others.

Pariah dogs
Although not recognized as completely wild, the Pariah dogs which scatter the world do not fall into any other category within this book and so are deserving of mention here. Pariahs, also called Pi dogs, are found widely in Asia and North Africa, primarily living as scavengers, forming packs and keeping strictly within the bounds of their own quarter; they are a well-defined group of natural breeds which have remained relatively pure-bred. Not all ownerless street dogs in these parts of the world are Pariahs, but the true Pariah is certainly not just a mongrel as many would say. However, some have been tamed by people and live more closely in the community and after two or three generations are born relatively tame.