The Carolina dog is an ancient breed of medium sized wild dog that lives mostly in the Southeastern United States. They make good domestic pets with proper socialization and have been recently classified as a recognized Pariah and Spitz type domestic dog breed as well. Although re-domestication of Carolina dogs as a pet has recently become popular and the breed has been formally recognized, it is classed by the United Kennel Club in the Pariah Dog group.
Carolina dogs show admixture with other dog breeds. The Carolina dog was rediscovered living as a wild dog or free roaming dog by Dr. I. Lehr Brisbin, and originally documented in American dog breed publications in the 1920s. Brisbin proposes that the Carolina dog arrived with the first Americans. Carolina dogs often live wild in isolated stretches of longleaf pines and cypress swamps in the Southeastern United States. A breed standard has been developed by the United Kennel Club that now specifies the appearance of these dogs.
Discovery
One of the earliest publications to document Carolina dogs was the article "Dogs of the American Aborigines" by Glover Morrill Allen, published in 1920 by the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. Allen postulated that these "Larger or Common Indian Dogs" were descended from Asian primitive dogs: "The probability therefore is, that the Domestic Dog originated in Asia and was carried by primitive man both east and west into all parts of the inhabited world. That this migration began in late Pleistocene times seems highly probable." Allen cites late nineteenth century studies of skeletal remains of these dogs excavated from Indian mounds as well:
Cope (1893) was the first to describe the jaw of this dog from a specimen collected by Moore from a shell-mound on St. John's River, Florida. He was struck by the fact that the first lower premolar was missing and appeared not to have developed. The strong development of the entoconid of the carnassial, he also noticed. Moore, in the course of various explorations in Florida and Georgia discovered many remains of dogs, apparently of this type. In a large mound on Ossabaw Island, Georgia, he (1897) found several interments of human and dog-skeletons, the latter always buried separately and entire, showing that the dogs had not been used as food. Other dog-skeletons of a similar sort were found by Moore (1899) in aboriginal mounds on the South Carolina coast.
Later in the twentieth century these dogs were rediscovered by Dr. I. Lehr Brisbin Jr., a Senior Research Ecologist at the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Lab, who first came across a Carolina dog while working at the Savannah River Site.
Horace, a ginger piebald (white with brown markings) stray, was wandering the site's boundary when he caught Brisbin’s attention. Brisbin, who had seen many rural dogs chained to the back of porches and doghouses, assumed this was just a normal stray. Many of these dogs roamed the woods and would turn up in humane traps, and Brisbin began to wonder how many more of these were in the wild. On a hunch, he went to the pound and was surprised by the resemblance the dog had to dingos.
Description
Physical
Height: 17-24 inches (45â€"61 cm.) Weight: 30-65 pounds (15â€"20 kg.) The ears are characteristic and are erect, very long, and moderately slender, tapering way up to elegantly pointed tips and they can be individually turned to the direction of any sound, providing extremely sensitive hearing. The dog ranges in build from muscular yet slender and graceful to somewhat stockier animals. The dogs legs are also graceful but strong. The hind midsection is firm and narrow. The overall build in a healthy, properly fed Carolina dog is svelte to somewhat stockier, strong and athletic. Paws are relatively large and the snout and even the notably elongated, fox-like ears are nevertheless characteristically Spitz-like. The tail is most often upturned and often has a characteristic slight or pronounced shape called a 'fish hook' by some experts and owners. The coat is most commonly short and smooth, characteristic of a warm climate canid. Carolina dogs are a medium sized dog, that come in varying shades of reddish ginger, buff, fawn, black and tan or piebald with or without white areas on toes, chest, tail tip and muzzle. The eyes are at an oblique angle and almond shaped. The eyes vary in color, but are usually dark brown or medium to dark orange. The area along the edges of the eyes is often (but not always) a distinctive black "eyeliner" coloration which becomes more pronounced by contrast in lighter colored dogs. The lips are often black, even in light colored dogs. Frequently puppies have a melanistic mask that usually fades as the adult coat comes in.
Behavior
Studies by Dr. I. Lehr Brisbin Jr. showed that the Carolina dog has the unique behavior in the wild of defecating and urinating in streams, creeks and other bodies of water which suggests long-term adaptation to the wild via the behavior of hiding their scent in water in order to evade wolves and coyotes, which are known to frequently kill dogs.
Female dogs have three estrus cycles in quick succession, which settle into seasonal reproductive cycles when there is an abundance of puppies. Brisbin noted that this is most likely to ensure quick breeding in the wild before diseases, like heartworm, take their toll. Some pregnant dogs also dig dens in which to give birth. Unlike domesticated dogs or even wolves or coyotes, pregnant female Carolina dogs can dig very elaborate dens, unlike those of any other Canid.
After giving birth or while pregnant, the dog carefully pushes sand with her snout to cover her excrement. This also helps to evade wolves and coyotes, showing further behavioral adaptation to the wild. Dr. Brisbin has noted that only the Australian dingo and one ancient Korean breed of dog exhibit this behavior.
The Carolina dog is highly proficient at locating prey with its elongated, swiveling, radar-like ears and equally proficient at catching small mammals, e.g. shrews and mice, using a pouncing technique similar to foxes. The dog also digs “snout pitsâ€, or hundreds of tiny holes in the dirt that perfectly fit its muzzle. More female dogs dig these than males.
In the wild, the Carolina dog usually avoids people, often living in sparsely settled land instead of the highly populated areas stray dogs commonly occupy. However there are sizeable wild populations in metro Atlanta's wooded areas even near industrial plants and major highways.
Carolina dogs were rediscovered by Dr. I. Lehr Brisbin Jr. on the Savannah River Site which by design was depopulated and secured of all trespass and traffic for decades beginning in 1950. The Savannah River Site was also one of two sites secluding South Carolina's deer population at the time of the discovery of the Carolina dog.
DNA testing
It was proposed that mitochondrial DNA testing might prove a link between primitive dogs and Carolina dogs. Brisbin stated, "We grabbed them out of the woods based on what they look like, and if they were just dogs their DNA patterns should be well distributed throughout the canine family tree. But they aren't. They're all at the base of the tree, where you would find very primitive dogs." This was not conclusive, but it did spark interest into more extensive DNA testing.
In 2013, a study looked at the mDNA haplotypes associated with samples of the Carolina dog. The study showed that 58% of the dogs carried universal haplotypes that could be found around the world (haplotypes A16, A18, A19, and B1), 5% carried haplotypes associated with Korea and Japan (A39), and 37% carried a unique haplotype that was not recorded before (A184) and that relates to the a5 mDNA sub-haplogroup that originated in East Asia. As the Australian Dingo and the New Guinea singing dog belong to haplotype A29 that relates to the a2 sub-haplogroup, there is no mDNA genetic relationship.
Also in 2013, another study of several dog breeds in the Americas â€" among them the Carolina dog, the Peruvian Hairless Dog and the Chihuahua indicated an ancient migration from Asia.
In 2015, a large-scale survey of autosomal, mitochondrial, and Y-chromosome diversity in 4,676 purebred dogs from 161 breeds and 549 village dogs from 38 countries was conducted. Testing for the degree of admixture with European dogs, the study found no yDNA haplotypes in indigenous North American dogs outside of the Arctic; however, the mDNA of Carolina dogs contained between 10% and 35% pre-Columbian ancestry (mDNA haplotype A184) that clustered with East Asia.
Breed recognition and domestication
Carolina dogs can be registered with the American Rare Breed Association and the United Kennel Club. ARBA includes the breed in its "Spitz and Primitive Group", which includes primitives such as the Australian Dingo and Canaan Dog. The UKC has classified them as a pariah dog, a class which includes other primitive breeds such as the Basenji of Africa and the Thai Ridgeback.
Carolina dogs are also registered with the AKC Foundation Stock Service as of July 2017 in the Hound Dog Group.
Temperament
Pet Carolina dogs require earlier and more thorough training compared to less recently domesticated breeds, but they bond strongly with their owners and are said to make excellent family dogs when adequately socialized. Even a well socialized Carolina dog may be aloof around strangers; in the wild, they treat humans with avoidance rather than aggression.
Though Carolina dogs may be more sensitive to hierarchy than other breeds, they're gregarious and playful, and can form close bonds with other dogs. They may be happier when owned in "packs" of two or more animals.
The breed requires space, daily runs, and a significant amount of time spent outdoors. Carolina dogs are natural runners, even in difficult terrain (they are able to leap easily down from abutments higher than 10 feet while running), and appear in canine agility competitions with increasing frequency to display this talent.
These dogs frequently dig nose holes outside, usually for hunting small rodents, insects, or grubs, or to eat soil minerals, and pregnant females are known to dig elaborate dens. Owners should not desire perfectly manicured back yards if they wish to own Carolina dogs. Because these dogs will often taste, and sometimes eat, small amounts of soil, yards should be chemical- and pesticide- free. Furthermore, any non-native plants, which the dogs may not recognize, should be non-toxic to dogs.
The Carolina dog has not only a strong sense of smell, but also exceptionally keen hearing, thanks to long, erect ears which can move independently. The dog also has distinctively emotional-sounding vocalizations.
See also
- Native American dogs
- Paleolithic dog
- Ancient dog breeds
- Indian Pariah Dog (from India), theorized as the ancient ancestor of, or related to, the Carolina dog.
- Pariah dog all breeds or subspecies of this type.
- Origin of the domestic dog
- Free-ranging dog
- Rare breed (dog)
References
External links
- Official United Kennel Club site, Breed information on Carolina dog
Subspecies of Canis lupus
