CANIS MAJOR

The great Overdog
That heavenly beast
With a star in one eye
Gives a leap in the east.

He dances upright
All the way to the west
And never once drops
On his forefeet to rest.

I'm a poor underdog,
But to-night I will bark
With the great Overdog
That romps through the dark.

Robert Frost

 

It is from Erathosthenes we learned the story of Laelaps, a hound so fast no prey could escape him. Laelaps was sent to Thebes to protect it against the predation of a demi-god fox which was ravaging the countryside. The dog was condemned to pursue the uncatchable fox until Zeus decided to transform them in stone and placed the dog in the sky, thereby solving the paradox. In the summer nights, the most brilliant star of the sky, Sirius, the Dog Star shines to remind us of Laelaps story. This star shines in the Canis Major Constellation, companion of Orion the Hunter. Hence, the Ancient Greeks honored and celebrated the bond between humans and dogs, and its role both as hunter and protector of agriculture. Recent investigations in their mitochondrial DNA established their origin at more than 100,000 years from wolf ancestors (Vila and al. 1997). Their extreme phenotypic diversity tells us a long story of companionship with man, following him from the Tibetan plateau to the deserts of Egypt, adapting to climate and our mode of existence. Nobody less than Charles Darwin himself paid tribute to our canine companion.

" When I visited during the voyage of the HMS Beagle, the Galapagos Archipelago, situated in the Pacific Ocean about 500 miles from South America, I found myself surrounded by peculiar species of birds, reptiles, and plants, existing nowhere else in the world......But it long remained to me an inexplicable problem how the necessary degree of modification could have been effected, and it would have remained for ever, had I not studied domestic productions, and thus acquired a just idea of the power of Selection.".

Pursuing on the subject, Darwin devoted a chapters on dog, marveling how the diversity of climate, landscape and civilization gave birth to a multitude of breeds displaying a great degree of differences in "the perfection of their senses, dispositions, and inherited habits. He also pays tribute to breeders:

"As conspicuous deviations of structure occur rarely, the improvement of each breed is generally the result of the selection of slight individual differences. Hence the closest attention, the sharpest powers of observation, and indomitable perseverance, are indispensable."

While tremendous press, rightfully so, has been devoted to the preservation of wildlife biodiversity, the plea of man best friend remains, for the most part, ignored. Today, a large part of the canine patrimony is endangered by the premise that dogs do not have purpose anymore, by fads and by breed specific legislation which attack the right of owning certain dogs.

Many dog fanciers still ignore what the acronym BSL means. BSL stands for Breed Specific Legislation, and it is the most important threat against canine diversity. It is transmitted by medias and the damage caused by uninformed politicians and public fear. It is a manichean vision of dogs, separating them between good dog and bad dog, according to their breed. It is totally ignorant of the facts that dogs, all dogs, from the tiny poodle to the placid Newfoundland are descendant of the wolf. Due to millennia of domestication, the risk of being injured by dogs is minuscule, only 0.07% of all injuries are attributed to dog bites. Basically all other activities we are engaging into present more risks than interacting with dogs. But still, as social predators, all dogs have prey and fight instincts, which under the proper circumstances, can present danger for humans.

The critical factors of risk is not the dog, but the irresponsible owners and the lack of education of the public on dog behavior. This has been proven again and again by the most authoritative sources and the whole of scientific literature. It is very unfortunate that media sensationalism obscured the facts behind dog attacks and doing so, maligned some breeds. Most would be surprised to learn that in reality, according to the American Temperament Test Society, one of the most respected organization on dog temperament testing, with an average of 83.2%, Buster the Golden rated lower than Jaws the pitbull 83.9%. In other words, Buster has more chance to react with inappropriate aggression. The criminal record of Jaws owner, his irresponsible behavior, have more to do with his dog being involved in an attack than Jaws breed. The lack of education on the specificity of a breed is also an important issue. Unfortunately, some people are attracted by breeds for which they are not prepared. Those dogs, in the wrong hand, create the problems. If we are to enjoy our dog companionship, it is the humans who will need training.

For millennia our species has cultivated a privileged bond with the dog. We are standing at a crossroad and have to choose if we want to continue walking the road together. This will require implementing effective legislation and public education. For those who ever experienced the depth of bond between themselves and a dog, or to quote Henry David Thoreau: "It often happens that a man is more humanely related to a cat or dog than to any human being. ", there is no doubt on the worth of the endeavor. Now that we established that the breed debate is irrelevant, and breed destruction a cruel and pointless exercise, some considerations must be presented on the importance of breed preservation.

 

When so much emphasis of the dog fancy is on conformation, it is easy to forget our dogs shapes came out of the function, not the fancy. Authors like Stephen Budiansky in the widely diffused article "the truth about dogs" depict dogs as "con artists, social parasites taking advantages of our human flaws, and to quote him: "Add up all the benefits that dogs provide us and compare that sum with the costs, and it is not a rational bargain on our part". While this may appears to be the case based upon the disputable psychological merits of dog ownership and superficial observation of the last 100 years of dog fancy where beauty and conformation prevail, this is totally oblivious of the fact that our dogs shapes came out of function, not on fads or esthetical whims of the moment.

In the millenia following, the dog and man life become increasingly intertwined, our companion into this big adventure called civilization, changing, adapting and diversifying to adapt to the new roles we wanted him to take in our life. Clearly the physical features and instincts displayed in the various breeds testify of their role not only as companion but as working animals. Chukchi tribes of Siberia raised huskies for centuries as light and tireless sled and herding dogs, the breed is believed to be as old as 5000 years. Australian Aboriginals entertained a mutualistic relationship with the dingo, arguably the oldest, semi-domesticated breed of dogs. Puppies were taken from wild litters and valued as hunting dogs, guard dogs, adapted to the arid environment of Australian outback. Statuary of ancient civilization also attests of the existence of distinct breeds: Assyrian mastiff-like representation, Roman sculpture resembling greyhounds among them. Body type defining dogs as hunter or guardians. The icy water of the Atlantic created the Newfoundland Dog, Lealaps had progeny in the form the great white European sheepdogs, Helen Keller benefitted from the devotion of the pit bull to guide her. All in all, over 400 breeds of dogs exists out of our fancy and our need. This is as much a genetic as a cultural heritage. If ecosystems defined our mode of living, they also defined our dogs.

Specific functions did not only define body type, they also called for a specific sets of instincts, referred also as drives. The adequate sets of behavior for a Newfoundland dog differs substantially from those required for herding by the Australian cattle dog. Some of the roles of dogs, namely as guardians of livestock called for protective dispositions. Other demonstrated the qualities necessary for hunting.

Some might think that the dog has lost its purpose, everyday its value is rediscovered. Various programs in the venues of society relies on dogs. Following is a list of some of those new roles. The US Department of Agriculture has the Beagle Brigade. It consists of a group of nonagressive detector dogs and their human partners. They help protecting agriculture by sniffing out foreign animal and plant pests and diseases. American Pitbull Terriers have been proven for their amazing qualities in search and rescue work as well as therapy dogs. In Africa, Earthwatch Institute established a program where Anatolian shepherds, by keeping cheetah away from livestock, allow a more harmonious co-habitation with human populations. As humans are encroaching more and more on natural habitats at a time where populations of large predators are returning, the use of dogs as non-lethal method of control is gaining interest. The Wind River Institute in Utah pioneers with the use of Karelian Bear dogs to teach bears to avoid human territory. A Cornell University study demonstrated the potential benefits of using dogs in orchards to protect trees against deer grazing. Since the 70s, extensive research has been pursued in the US (Green and Woodruff 1990) on Livestock Guarding dogs and has proved effective to protect sheep from predators. And of course, the unique dispositions of the Fila brasileiro made it one of the best all around cattle dog in the difficult conditions of tropical countries.

Many of the previous examples highlight the role of dogs in agriculture. Nonetheless it is hardly considered in that context. While the loss of agricultural biodiversity is of great concern for organization such as the FAO, loss of dog breeds, or breed working qualities is overlooked and remains the concerns of isolated individuals. Some government will take the step do the same as the Bulgarian government in the case of the Karakachan dog and list the breed as endangered species. Greedy breeders also capitalize on the rarety and marketability of certain breeds and tone down certain traits. They may make the dog more palatable for the average dog owners, but they sacrifice qualities essential for the breed to perform its function.

As dog fanciers, dog owners, dog breeders, dog lovers, we have a duty to fight for our friends. We cannot anymore hide, refuse to engage in the debate and leave the future of our dogs in the hands of uninformed and unscrupulous politicians, uneducated public and careless breeders. For all the joy dogs bring to our life, we are obligated to preserve their working qualities and their diversity. And more importantly, we owe it to ourselves and our children a future with them at our side.

Article provided by

Marie-Josee Garand Phd: