Canaan dogs pariahs of the desert

Duncan Schroeter

Short description

Canaan dogs or “desert dogs” are one of the oldest dog types in the world but also one of the most recently recognized breeds and remain little known to many dog lovers. There are thought to be about 2000 registered Canaan’s in the world. The author first came across them while working in Saudi Arabia and recognized them as unique but struggled to find out any information of them although there is evidence that they have lived in the region for thousands of years. Over a period of time he gained the trust of three wild born dogs that eventually chose to live with him. Our understanding of the origin of dogs and their association with man continues to grow but just how and where they became domesticated may always be open to conjecture. Canaan’s have evolved naturally without human intervention and it is hoped that those now registered will not lose any of their unique characteristics as a result of human selection.

Author Bio

Duncan Schroeter was born in Pretoria, South Africa but spent his childhood in Zambia before studying medical microbiology in Harare, Zimbabwe during the colonial era. He has always had a strong interest in animals both domestic and wild. He has worked in pathology laboratories in Australia and Saudi Arabia where he became intrigued by the free living “desert” dogs.