TERMS DEFINED

Primitive: The only truly primitive dogs today are the Australian (and perhaps the Thai) Dingo and the New Guinea Singing Dog. These are the only dogs still living in a totally wild state. Although many have been tamed (as the first specimens brought to their native lands must have been) and so reproduced in and near Aboriginal habitation, they have never been domesticated. They are the proto-domesticate "generalized" dog and are, according to the available evidence, still close in morphology, and probably behavior, to the dogs of 15,000 years ago.

Aboriginal: The aboriginal breeds are autochthons. The alternative term "aboriginal" has been chosen because it is more general use. The Random House dictionary defines "aboriginal" as: 1. of or pertaining to aborigines; primitive. 2. native; indigenous; original. "Aborigine" is defined as: 1. one of the original or earliest known inhabitants of a country or region. the original fauna or flora of a region. all breeds are "native" to some area in that they were developed by natural and artificial selection as a local variety. Examples of native breeds would be the Australian Kelpie and Australian Cattle Dog. However, the only aboriginal dog of Australia is the Dingo.

Aboriginal Breeds: There are four basic categories or groups of aboriginal dogs: Nordic/spitz, dingo/pariah, prick-eared hound and gazehound. Click here to review our tentative breed list. Please let PADS know if you are aware of a breed that should be added or removed from this list. The listed breeds have been chosen for inclusion because to the best of our knowledge they fit more than one of the following criteria:

1. They were present in their area of origin before modern (3000 BC or so) non-native human intrusion;

2. They are documented, direct pure descendants of long-term pariahs;

3. They show few, if any, derived characters (other than hairlessness, drop ears and curled tails, which appear to be ancient mutations). A "derived" characteristic is one not found in any species of wild canid or in pariah breeds. Examples are: merle or dilute coloration, flattened muzzles, excessively.