Origin
The Canaan Dog is Israel's national dog and although not everyone is familiar with the breed it is hardly surprising because they are among the rarest dogs on the planet. They are medium in size and boast having a distinctive wedge-shaped head. These lovely dogs only recently arrived here in the UK where they were an immediate hit, but with this said anyone hoping to share their home with a Canaan Dog might have trouble finding a puppy because fewer than 3000 dogs are known to exist in the entire world.
The Canaan Dog boasts being one of the most ancient breeds to have been developed in the Middle East where they were bred to guard and herd flocks of sheep. Over time and as the Israelites left their lands, they took their dogs with them, but only the fittest and strongest of these dogs survived the often harsh conditions they worked in. The dogs earned themselves a good reputation and were soon used by many Bedouin tribes of the desert to guard their herds and camps, a job the Canaan Dog did supremely well.
In the thirties guard dogs were needed to protect the many isolated settlements that were set up in Israel and the Canaan Dog was the perfect candidate for the job. At the time, these dogs were semi-feral which meant they could tolerate the harsh conditions of the region and today, many of them can still be seen guarding Bedouin flocks in the desert.
The breed has only just very recently been exhibited at shows here in the UK and as such, the Canaan Dog remains very much an unknown. They are still considered to be one of the rarest breeds on the planet although more interest in these dogs will ensure that with careful and selective breeding, the Canaan Dog may well become a popular choice as companion and family pet both here in the UK and elsewhere in the world.
