Taiwan Dog
Also known as: Formosan Mountain Dog ( 福爾摩莎犬 ) Takasago Dog ( 高砂犬 )
Breed at a glance
- Origin
- Taiwan
- Weight
- Males
- Height
- Males
- Colour
- Black, earthy yellow, or yellowish-brown
- Other names
- Formosan Mountain Dog ( 福爾摩莎犬 ) Takasago Dog ( 高砂犬 )
Study
Taiwan Dogs are originally native Taiwanese dogs, descendants of the South Asian hunting dogs called "pariah dogs" [ dubious – discuss ] which ancient local inhabitants used to live with in the central mountainous districts. This breed was the loyal companion of the ancient hunter in the wild forest. In 1980, a cooperative study was carried out by the research team of Dr. Sung Yung-yi (宋永義) National Taiwan University , the Japanese Gifu University and Ota Keming's(太田克明) research team from Nagoya University . Scholars targeted native Taiwan dogs as their subject, by visiting 29 tribes of local inhabitants. As a result, it was confirmed that the present Taiwan Dog is a descendant of the South Asian hunting dogs. This project was originally Ota Keming's idea, as he was tracing the origin of Japanese indigenous dogs, so he sought Dr. Sung Yung-yi's help in completing his research project. [ citation needed ] Of the 46 purebloods that Sung Yung-yi found during 1976–1980, blood tests showed that they were related to dogs found in southern Japan and that they were descendants of the South Asian Hunting Dog . [ citation needed ] Little known outside of Taiwan, only "purebred" Formosans are recognized with a pedigree from the Kennel Club of Taiwan (KCT), the Taiwan Kennel Club and the international canine organization known as the FCI. [ 21 ]
intro
The Taiwan Dog ( Chinese : 台灣犬 ) is a breed of small or medium dog indigenous to Taiwan . These dogs are also known as the Formosan Mountain Dog . [ 1 ] Taiwan Dogs have been genetically traced back between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago, making them one of the oldest and most primitive dog breeds in the world. [ 2 ] They are well-adapted to the uneven and thickly forested terrain of Taiwan, having become a semi-wild breed prior to the arrival of several colonial reigns and foreign powers. Notwithstanding these adaptations, Formosans retained the potential to be trained and are now used as hunting dogs, guard dogs , stunt dogs, rescue dogs, or simply as companions. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] Formosans are classified into one medium type and two small types. [ 5 ]
Breeders
Most of the foundation stock owners and breeders are hesitant to make public appearances. They stay behind the scenes and sell only males to those who have Formosan Dog kennels and attend local dog shows. The most well-known and high-profile breeder is Ming Nan Chen. Like many born in the 1950s, Chen owned a Formosan as a child. In the 1980s he started a business dedicated to creating a purebred Formosan close to the one in his childhood memory, beginning with a single puppy that he purchased for NT$30,000 (about US$910.00) from an aboriginal man. [ 23 ] However, some argue that credit must be given to those breeders, as they are the ones who are keeping the bloodline pure. After two or three decades of breeding, training, improving and purification, it is now unable to fully distinguish the indigenous and the new breed. Further, it is also due to the subjective preferences of breeders and their belief of what the pureblooded Formosan should look like, which they created a different trend of the "pure-blood." Many claim that their Formosan Mountain Dogs are pureblooded. Such breeders also applied the "new type" of Formosan Mountain Dogs to the FCI to develop a "standard", which may be very different from what it originally should have looked like. In 2015 FCI proved the "standard" of Formosan Mountain Dogs. [ 24 ] Breeders also created a conflict in debating for the future of the Formosan Mountain Dogs, as maintaining its purity or modifying through hybridizing it into a new type. For breeders who support purity, they believe that there is no need in improving the breed through hybridization. However, breeders who support modifying believe that, since Formosan Mountain Dogs have been accidentally crossbred for centuries and it is not possible to identify and maintain its purity, then we should seek a "new type" of Formosan Mountain Dog with improvements. These two different points of view are still an ongoing debate and remain controversial. [ 25 ]
Movement
Formosan dogs are particularly agile; they are known for their hopping skill, especially when they are hunting small animals, such as rats. When they are startled or trying to intimidate their target, they will hop sideways back and forth. Unlike Rottweilers and German Shepherds , Formosan dogs do not hold their bite on their target. This habit is adopted and may be traced back to early boar hunting. Taiwanese aborigines used five to six Formosan dogs to circle a wild boar and each dog would work to wound the boar. They would release their bite once they had attacked it and wait for the next attack again and again until the boar was exhausted enough for their master to move in for the final kill. [ 8 ]
Appearance
There are two small types of the Formosan Mountain Dog; one is about 40 centimetres (16 in) tall at the shoulder and the other is around 30 centimetres (12 in) . However, the latter one was not found during the research conducted by Dr. Sung Yung-yi (宋永義) in 1976. The medium type of the Formosan Mountain Dog has a shoulder height under 50 centimetres (20 in) , with a firm and fit body, slim waist, big chest and half-covered ears. The most common type of these three in recent years is the medium-sized dog. Its color can range from black to earthy yellow or yellowish-brown and the nose is black. Black coating on the tongue is one of the most distinguished traits of the Formosan Mountain Dog. [ 5 ] Dr. Sung of the National Taiwan University and Mr. Ming Jie, Xu of the Formosan Dog & Guard Dogs Breeding Center (台灣犬護衛犬繁殖中心) described a typical Formosan as having almond eyes, firm jaw strength, black coating on the tongue, a triangular face, thin prick ears and a sickle tail. The tail is upright or curved with a thick fur coat, but the belly is hairless; the tail is used to warm the belly and may even be long enough to protect the snout from insects. The dog is also well known for being well-balanced. [ 6 ] [ 7 ]
Crossbreeding
The introduction of a variety of foreign dogs to Taiwan in the past was also a big threat to preserving the bloodline of the Formosan. A lot of dogs non-native to Taiwan were brought over during the Kuomintang Era and many were released into the wild. These began mating with the native Formosans, making purebred Formosans harder and harder to find in the wild. [ citation needed ]
Breeding problems
The Formosan Mountain Dog was originally kept by Taiwanese aborigines as hunting dogs , but now purebred Formosans are extremely rare and valuable. Since pure Formosans are extremely rare, there is a high risk of genetic disorders and unstable behavior due to the shallow gene pool. For this reason, crossing Formosans with other breeds occurred often due to the lack of pure females with steady traits. This is one of the major reasons modern Formosans look different, compared to old photos or documents from the early days. Some insist it is a natural change which does not affect the whole breed, while others actively fight to preserve the "pure" bloodline. Nevertheless, this breed is now popular all across the island as a watchdog and companion dog. [ citation needed ]
Four catastrophes
There are four catastrophic events described by Dr. Sung Yung-yi that have been critical in the development of the Formosan Mountain Dog: the Dutch settlement of Formosa, the Japanese rule , World War II and the Kuomintang Era. [ 7 ] In 1624, the Dutch established a commercial base at Tayoan, the colonial capital (present-day Anping in Tainan ). After the Dutch made Taiwan a colony, they began to import workers from Fujian and Penghu (Pescadores) as laborers, many of whom settled there. The Dutch military presence was concentrated at a stronghold called Castle Zeelandia . [ 10 ] The Dutch colonists imported a hunting dog (known as the "Flying Dog" (Traditional Chinese: 飛狗)) to Taiwan and started to hunt the native Formosan sika deer ( Cervus nippon taioanus ) that inhabited Taiwan. The Dutch East India Company established a trading post whose main business was the export of sika skins to Europe. During the six decades of Dutch activity 2,000,000 to 4,000,000 sika skins were exported to Japan and China, [ 11 ] [ 12 ] contributing to the eventual extinction of the subspecies on the island. [ 13 ] The "Flying Dog" was thought to be a Greyhound or an English Pointer . [ 14 ] Exporting was reduced when the Dutch were forced out of Taiwan in 1684, but continued throughout the Qing period with a switch to Japan as the major export market. [ 15 ] During the settlement, the Dutch hunting dogs started to crossbreed with the Formosan Mountain Dogs; this was the first time that foreign breeds had influenced the Formosan Mountain Dog. Furthermore, the Dutch prohibited native tribes from owning dogs, slaughtering large numbers of the indigenous dogs. [ 16 ] The Qing Empire was defeated in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95. When the Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed on April 17, 1895, Taiwan was ceded to Japan, which sought to transform Taiwan into the supply-end of an extremely unequal flow of assets. [ 17 ] The Japanese made efforts to exert full control over the aborigines, the first time this had ever been carried out. The means of accomplishing this goal took three main forms: anthropological study of the natives of Taiwan, attempts to reshape the aborigines in the mould of the Japanese culture, and military suppression. During Japanese rule , Taiwanese aborigines were under repressive rule and the Formosan Mountain Dogs were intensively crossbred with Japanese dogs, due to the Japanese government relocating many remote high-mountain villages closer to administrative control. [ 18 ] Furthermore, Japanese immigrants massively explored the east coast, currently called Hualien and Taitung Counties. The east coast expeditions further provided a chance of crossbreeding Japanese dogs with the Formosans. At the end of World War II, for military purposes and preventing the U.S. Army from landing on the east coast of Taiwan, Japan started to build the Central and Southern Cross-Island Highway. During the construction, there were military dogs traveling with the