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Dog Breeds

Searching through recorded histories of the canine race, one can find many breeds that are no longer familiar, although their blood undoubtedly still runs through the veins of many others dogs that are with us today.

Reviving breeds

Sometimes breeds thought to have become extinct, or on the verge of extinction, have been revived by one or more people who have felt that the breed should be saved by whatever means possible. Invariably this has involved incorporating other selected breeds in a carefully planned program and it has, understandably, taken many generations before breeders felt they had even begun to achieve their aim. In some cases their long term efforts have proved successful, in others they have been less so, and the breed which has emerged seems not quite to faithfully represent the original.

Alco

In 1840 the Alco was described as 'still to be fully made out' and for a long while was known only from a drawing by Fernandez who gave it the name Michua canens and, to add further confusion, the Alco was also called Yzicinte potzotli.

Viewed by some as a race of shepherd dog, it had a small head, short neck and a very bulky body. Its color was said usually to be white and yellow, but according to Buffoon's Natural History it was white and black, with rufous spots above the eyes. Certainly it was a lap dog kept by womenfolk, but opinion was that it sometimes returned to its feral state.

One specimen of the breed was brought to the UK from Mexico and upon its death it was stuffed and shown in an exhibition of Mexican curiosities in London. Although called one 'of the wild race', when it appeared in England many considered it to be a Newfoundland puppy, even though the connection between the two breeds is hard to imagine. This dog was 'small with rather a large head; elongated occiput; full muzzle; pendulous ears; having long .   soft hair on the body. In color, it was entirely white, excepting a large black spot covering each ear, and a part of the forehead and cheek, with a fulvous mark above each eye, and another black spot on the rump; the tail was rather long, well fringed, and white.'

Carrier dog of the Indians

The carrier dog of the Indians, also known as the Techici of Mexico, was a long-backed, heavy-looking animal with 'a terrier's mouth, tail and colors'. The hair was smoother than that of most terriers, short but not woolly. The ears were cropped and in comparison with the body length the legs were reasonably short, but not bent.

Dog of the North American Indians

Another dog found in North America was called the Dog of the North American Indians. Classified as a watchdog, it was an indigenous breed but may have been more wild, or at least feral, rather than truly domesticated. Those pictured here in 1840 were described as equal in size to 'a spaniel' and of' unmixed blood', although 'hostile to the white man'. A distinctive feature was the head which formed an equilateral triangle when measured from the nose tip to the tip of each ear. The coat color was similar to that of the wolf, and though the dog reputedly looked savage, it was said never to utter a howl or a bark.