Dr. Karen Greig completed an extensive DNA study of these fabulously interesting (& extinct) NZ dogs. All were closely related. I'm quoting from her article herein:  "Two dogs tested from the Cook Islands showed more genetic diversity between them than did all 35 dogs from New Zealand. Two-thirds of the New Zealand dogs shared exactly the same haplotype (a set of markers usually inherited as a group from a parent), while most of the others differed by only one or two mutations. Additionally, the study found that there was no geographic patterning to the New Zealand dogs; dogs from two different sites were as likely to be related as two dogs from the same site. This discovery means that early New Zealand dogs were all descendants of a small group of very similar dogs, which were equally and quickly distributed around the whole country." 

Excerpted from a 6/22/2018 Otago Daily Times article (of which the author is not noted) "One of the strategies people used was to take their domesticated plants and animals on voyages with them, to assist with establishing their communities on new islands.

While it was known dogs were part of these migrations - archaeological evidence suggests dogs were introduced to Australasia and the Pacific via maritime Southeast Asia around 3500 years ago - that evidence had been patchy in places, and the origins and dispersal routes for dogs still weren't clear.
The new study, led by the University of Otago's Dr Karen Greig, aimed to investigate how dogs ultimately fitted into the picture of human settlement - and how their genetic traces linked up with current human migration models.
They drew on molecular genetic analysis of DNA extracted from dog bones and teeth that had been excavated from archaeological sites across Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands.
The team specifically targeted the mitochondrial genome, because its high copy number in each cell meant there was a better chance of it surviving in archaeological samples.
They also sequenced the mitogenomes of dingoes from Wellington Zoo.
"Dingoes are descended from dogs introduced to Australia several thousand years ago, and are currently one of the earliest known dog introductions to the region," Dr Greig said.
"We used next-generation sequencing technology to generate the ancient and modern genetic sequences, and this technology enabled us to obtain far more data for each archaeological dog specimen than had been possible previously."
That meant they could pick out particular similarities and differences between the genetic lineages of the archaeological samples, the dingoes and also some mitogenomes from modern village dogs published from a previous study.
The data revealed there were at least three different dog introductions into the Pacific region - and in addition to the dingo introduction, each had a different time-frame and dispersal pattern.
"This suggests perhaps that people faced some challenges moving, establishing and sustaining viable dog populations on newly colonised islands."
They also found some evidence for dogs being associated with the Lapita peoples, who were the first groups to colonise islands beyond the Solomon Islands.
"But we also found evidence for a later and much more successful introduction, with dogs sharing the same genetic lineage being found in archaeological sites across the Pacific, including New Zealand," Dr Greig said.


"

noticed that I've been reincarnating old posts from 2019 & 2020? Good! Also, I've attached Ekim's testing...he too is a double dilute...(& DM-Clear!)...

With his saturnine eyes & turn of lip, I can easily imagine the dynamic & sensual Baron George Haas II- a bon vivant...living it up in the early 20th century. He is said to have loved well & have been well-loved...with loads of mistresses, friends & the rare ability to mingle elegantly with the lower classes. This garnered him that which is rarely achieved- respect. He had it in spades from the townspeople, his tenants, staff & peers, he had it from his pets. This says a great deal about the man! It is said he could be found at the village pub, beer in-hand, perhaps discussing his beloved dogs, his lioness, politics, art, farming & nearly anything else of merit. For me, he looks the part of Vronsky...Tolstoy's male counter-part to Anna Karenina's febrile & of-the-planet lust for earthly pleasures & the tangible.
Whatever the case, he could not bear to never gaze upon his pets again after their departures...& thusly had them taxidermied. They remain in the castle to this day, where visitors abound!
Where does the beautiful Baron Haas roam? A hunting trail? His rooms? A hallowed ground? Tis Halloween. Perhaps he will visit my dreams.

It is the cultural development of canine races that compel me to continue my tenure as an armchair caninologist. My podium, adorned with degrees from a Crackerjack box sits as a fixed & teeny monument to this singular pursuit.

This then, is the micro-study of human French Shepherds or "Tchangues" ("big legs") & fleetingly, their dogs. The startling & surreal antique fotos from SW France are enough to grab anyone's attention! Ethnically attired people on stilts in the flat-lands, surrounded by sheep (it's fodder for an album cover). But the marshy landscape of SW France required a "lifted" approach for the shepherd. How else to surveil & supervise one's flock? Therefore, the shepherd had his pair of stilts & an elongated shepherd's staff & voila-a tripod. The rest is his-story. Did I mention that they often knitted while astride? Or that knitting was strictly a past-time for male society?
Oh, the dogs themselves...I almost forgot!
The how's & why's of the dog's uses, colours, coats & temperaments in society is intrinsically connected to their roles in our lives today. This is why I am here & what moved me to obtain my dogtorate.
Scroll down, please...

Some believe that the above dogs are of Dutch &/or Belgian origin. Whatever the case & as is usual...once a culture modifies & moulds a type of animal for a distinct purpose, the animal becomes specialised, remodeled & therefore, intentionally bred. This is a fixed cultural state-a living preservation. Everything came from somewhere. Right? So, I am calling the 3 dogs above: "French Herding Dogs"...yes...I can see the relationship between the Dutch & Belgian influence...(see below). Can you?

Teit foto 1915; In Teit's (pronounced "Tate") own words, the below foto is of a "Thorough Bred Bear Dog"...Oh, to see the whole of the dog at left in foto (alas...we have only an ear & a mane...)...

Teit Foto 1915 ; Mary Jackson & Charley Quash
Fox-faced, short eared...& look at that tail!

    "Nanaook Edzerza Marten Trapping Party" 1926; Photo: BC Archives; in the right hand corner of the foto, an enigmatic (& now extinct) Tahltan Bear Dog rounds the corner!

   I spend quite a lot of time as an armchair caninologist, day-after-day hunting through archives, manuscripts, libraries...you name it... for rare images of even rarer dogs. The above are indisputably Tahltan Bear Dogs, the fotos of which you may never have seen before. Extinct now & enigmatic a century ago!

As regards the Teit fotos, I'd been searching specifically for the original fotos/negatives...& I found em!  I knew, after reading his comments regarding there being "not more than 2 or 3" in 1919...with a likelihood that they'd be "extinct by the 1930s", there had to be more than 1 original foto of these dogs-as Teit not only lived with the Tahltans...he married into the people themselves, thereby having a unique access & commitment to the gorgeous culture of the Natives of Northern British Columbia. Certainly, while Teit documented his adopted people in fotografs, in the very least the dogs might appear not only as direct subject-matter but in the background/s as well, and they do! 

Who was James Teit (he spelled his surname "Tait" until 1884 & converted it to the Nordic spelling "Teit" thereafter)? Freckled & robins-egg-blue-eyed...sensitive, liberal, passionate & energetic,  he was the  Canadian ethnomusicologist of the 20th century (in terms of preservation of indigenous song of coastal people). His grand efforts live on in the wax-cylinders which preserve North Coastal Indigenous music & songs. (I have included an audio sample of his efforts at the bottom of this armchair study) & in the materials he collected, his output was nothing short of massive.

Teit's fate unfurled in 1883, when his rather wealthy, entrepreneurial, maternal uncle, John Murray -who lived in Spence's Bridge, British Columbia (see fotos) , made an inquiry to Teit's parents- at home in the Shetland Islands-it was an inquiry of fortuitous scope! Would one of their children be interested in assuming responsibility for Murray's general store? 19 year-old  James Teit was all-in, arriving in  March-1884 at Spence's Bridge. It did not take long for Teit to steep himself in the culture & on September 1, 1892, Teit was married to Susannah Lucy Antko (a member of the Spence's Bridge Band, a division of the Nlaka 'pamux) (see foto). Unfortunately, Lucy died of pneumonia in 1899. Yet, Teit remained in Spence's Bridge, marrying Leonie Josephine Morens (of a local French pioneer family) in 1904, he was 40, she was 23. They had  6 children (5 of whom survived): Erik 1905; Inga 1907; Magnus 1909; Rolf 1912; Sigurd 1915; & Thorald 1919. Fluent in 3 indigenous languages Nlaka’pamux, Secwepemc and Okanagan (Syilx), Teit often facilitated delegations on behalf of native peoples, explaining convoluted western legalese to them while beating the ever-dead-horse cause of equal rights for all. His ethnografic work for & in conjunction with Franz Boas is vast & voluminous...as if he were driven by a gripping force...one beyond his inclination towards socialism & free-thinking equality...perhaps it was rather that he saw a great & grand people diminishing before his very eyes & he was in a race, if not to arrest the vanishing, to preserve the ancient traditions.

The Teit family lived in Spence's Bridge until moving to Merritt, British Columbia in 1919. The Morens/Teit family burial ground remains in Spence's Bridge to this day, with at least 3 of the Teit children resting there. The historic Morens home/orchard (which operated most recently as "Hilltop Farms") burnt to the ground in 2018.

Now that we know some of the familial details of the Teit family...lets proceed to this sensitive Norwegian's description of the Tahltan Bear Dogs: He first describes them in 1919 at Telegraph Creek, BC (160 miles upriver from Wrangell) (of Dwarf Woolly Mammoth 3500 years-ago fame). Not until James Teit's research at Telegraph Creek were Tahltan Bear Dogs recognized as a distinct, culturally important breed. He refers to the dog in the foto at the top of this post as "Thorough Bred"...was which the common vernacular for indicating purebred status  at the time. That he went out of his way to fotograf the dogs in fotos 1 & 2 above...& refer to 1 as "Thorough Bred" indicates that while there may have been countless small, hairy Bear Dog types around...this one was distinctly a purebred. This reference was important to Teit, who was witnessing pending (& accelerated) extinctions of all-sorts.

In roughly 1939, the efforts of British Columbia Provincial Police Commissioner T.W.S. Parsons (see fotos of he & one of his dogs) and Constable J.B. Gray (who were both posted at Telegraph Creek) compelled CKC's 1941 recognition of the breed, and several years later, the American Kennel Club added them to their list as well. J.B. Gray acquired roughly 10 Tahltan Bear Dogs during his tenure at Telegraph Creek between 1936-1940 & later, one Harriet Morgan of Windsor, Ontario attempted to steward the breed along...yet, by 1975, only 6 purebred Tahltans remained...& in 1979 the Canadian Kennel Club rescinded breed registration of the Tahltan Bear Dog....& in the same year, the last known, purebred Tahltan Bear Dog died. Just. Like. That.

One can almost hear it.

  I hunt for fotos, engravings, art, etc.. because our emotional structure is strangely & more honestly bound to dogs than it is to our fellow human beings. This distilled droplet of truth reveals the intrinsic necessity of dogs in our lives...past, present & future. Their roles may change, but their rule shall never. When we commence to take living beings out of their rightful tenure in an extremely specific environment (& use in that environ)...we change things detrimentally. Forever.

    The Tahltan, by foto, presents in classic "Bering-Strait-crosser-Spitzy" phenotpye: erect ears, often Irish-marked & purported to be operatically "yippy". They were known (& valued) for identifying their quarry with yaps, yodels, chortles & the like...what sets them apart are their short (ish) tails...often described as resembling a shaving brush. 
​
The most famous Tahltan is the subject of a book written by none other than John Muir...titled "Stickeen"...from the location & peoples of which he came, Muir describes him as follows:
"Nobody could hope to unravel the lines of his ancestry. In all the wonderfully mixed and varied dog-tribe I never saw any creature very much like him, though in some of his sly, soft, gliding motions and gestures he brought the fox to mind. He was short-legged and bunch-bodied, and his hair, though smooth, was long and silky and slightly waved, so that when the wind was at his back it ruffled, making him look shaggy. At first sight his only noticeable feature was his fine tail, which was about as airy and shady as a squirrel's , and was carried curling forward almost to his nose. On closer inspection you might notice his thin sensitive ears, and sharp eyes with cunning tan-spots above them. Mr. Young told me that when the little fellow was a pup about the size of a woodrat he was presented to his wife by an Irish prospector at Sitka, and that on his arrival at Fort Wrangell he was adopted with enthusiasm by the Stickeen Indians as a sort of new good-luck totem, was named "Stickeen" for the tribe, and became a universal favorite; petted, protected, and admired wherever he went, and regarded as a mysterious fountain of wisdom.
On our trip he soon proved himself a queer character--odd, concealed, independent, keeping invincibly quiet, and doing many little puzzling things that piqued my curiosity. As we sailed week after week through the long intricate channels and inlets among the innumerable islands and mountains of the coast, he spent most of the dull days in sluggish ease, motionless, and apparently as unobserving as if in deep sleep. But I discovered that somehow he always knew what was going on. When the Indians were about to shoot at ducks or seals, or when anything along the shore was exciting our attention, he would rest his chin on the edge of the canoe and calmly look out like a dreamy-eyed tourist. And when he heard us talking about making a landing, he immediately roused himself to see what sort of a place we were coming to, and made ready to jump overboard and swim ashore as soon as the canoe neared the bench. Then, with a vigorous shake to get rid of the brine in his hair, he ran into the woods to hunt small game. But though always the first out of the canoe, he was always the last to get into it. When we were ready to start he could never be found, and refused to come to our call. We soon found out, however, that though we could not see him at such times, he saw us, and from the cover of the briers and huckleberry bushes in the fringe of the woods was watching the canoe with wary eye. For as soon as we were fairly off he came trotting down the beach, plunged into the surf, and swam after us, knowing well that we would cease rowing and take him in. When the contrary little vagabond came alongside, he was lifted by the neck, held at arm's length a moment to drip, and dropped aboard. We tried to cure him of this trick by compelling him to swim a long way, as if we had a mind to abandon him; but this did no good; the longer the swim the better he seemed to like it."

Stickeen is described as having tan markings above the eye & was therefore a black & tan. Unfortunately, he was later stolen by a tourist...& we hear no more of the intrepid dog.
 

I'm so happy with our new source...it is local & FANTASTIC!!!!! Thank you to Mountain View Cane Corso /Dan LeGrand for supplying our beasts!

Another of the glorious aboriginal Caucasian flock guardians, this being one with an Armenian influence. Visit  Gampr Registry of America for more info! We can certainly see how this breed contributed to the Ovcharka.

I love Cam of the YouTube channel "The Sheep Game"...he gives me my sheep fix...I was THRILLED when this new video popped up in my feed this morning. I find the management protocols fascinating...& the shoe covers absolutely righteous.

We are absolutely, pawsitively thrilled to announce that puppies are planned for spring of 2023. Smoothies & Roughies anticipated.

We procure our yummy antlers from Mountain Dog...perfect dentition, occlusion & mandibular development all make for perfect mastication (step 1 in the digestive process)...natures toothbrush is alive & well here! These, fed in conjunction with dried fish skins...make our beast's teeth look perfecto!

I read this review on Amazon this morning, as I decided to order myself a 3rd copy of this book & I wanted to see what others thought of it...the review below (by "Amazon Customer") so beautifully encapsulates the state of the Anatolian in today's (the USA anyway)..Anatolian zone:

"​This book was authentic, thorough, and eye opening. I have several dogs of Anatolian origin working in the field with livestock. This book gives a perspective of these dogs enlightened by the necessary eastern perspective. The key points:

a. Turkish working dogs were developed as landrace breed based on performance traits. The application of western aesthetic criteria and breed standards via the kennel clubs will destroy the very genetic selection process that made the dogs legendary. The hyper-focus on appearance over temperament by those with a commercial interest, and the tendency of western buyers to fall into the trap, will accelerate the divergence and dilution of the traditional Coban Kopegi.

b The difference between Anatolian transitory livestock management requirements and western static livestock management requirements are inevitably diluting the lines of the dogs, especially as traditional selection processes for the dogs are discarded.

c. The variation in dogs such as Kangal, Yoruk (claimed as the modern Boz), and others has historically been very diverse and fluid, and that breeding with a primarily aesthetic focus from dogs with micro-regional traits excludes most of the gene pool.

d. The application of western standards to dog "preservation" dilutes the lines, not preserves them.

e. Defined breed standards in Anatolia along with those often encountered on social media are based on commercial interest and not pastoral traditions. The gene pool is being intentionally constricted and manipulated for profit in Euros and Dollars, which trump the Lira.

f. These blue collar dogs are being turned into dogs for the aristocracy and a show breed, not a working breed.

g. The shepherd community has been exploited by the kennel club/breeder community.

h. Traditional practices for caring for and developing this breed as guardians produce different results than western practices. The western system, due to worldview and legal reasons, cannot fully execute traditional Anatolian management practices.

All in all, this book is a must have for those owning Anatolian Shepherd Type dogs, or looking to purchase one for working purposes. I wish I had read this book before I accepted at face value the claims of some breeders in the United Stated and Turkey about what makes a Kangal a Kangal, etc. The truth is, the genetic potential of the dog, individual temperament, and early practices with pups are the key to producing dogs like the ones of legend. This book will help give an insight into the breed which may be useful when determining if the breed is right for you, whether your care practices can be tailored or modified, explain some of the behaviors encountered, and whether narrative controlled commercial interests are encroaching on your purchase decisions. I already held my dogs in high esteem..........this book took that esteem to a new level and also recalibrated the way I understand everything about them in a positive manner."

Puppies are planned for 2023
Serious dogs for serious homes!
The puppies will be born in our kitchen, but they will be placed with the goats at 2-3 weeks of age & will live with them until they depart for their new assignments.

Hence, my departure from this blog for awhile! I will commence writing again mid-July! I think of you all...& can't wait to reconnect in dogdom soon.