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Canaan Dog Did You Know?
- The Canaan Dog is AKC's 141st breed.
- The Canaan Dog is the natural breed of Israel.
- The Canaan Dog dates back to Biblical times, originating in the Land of
Canaan.
- Drawings on the tombs at Beni-Hassan, dating from 2200-2000 BC, depict
dogs that remarkably resemble the Canaan Dogs of today.
- After the Israelites were dispersed by the Romans more than 2000 years
ago, the majority of Canaan Dogs avoided extinction in the natural reservoir
of Israeli wildlife, the Negev Desert. Some lived with the Bedouins, and
some were also guards for the Druze on Mt. Carmel.
- Dr. Rudolphina Menzel, who was asked by the Haganah (a Jewish self-defense
organization) to develop a guard dog for the isolated Jewish settlements
and supervise the aggrandizement of war dogs for Israel's approaching
War of Independence, sought out the Canaan Dog. The breed proved highly
intelligent and trainable and served as sentry dogs, messengers, Red Cross
helpers, and land mine locators. In fact, during World War II, Menzel's dogs proved
superior to the mechanical detectors.
- The Canaan Dog began competing in conformation in 1997 after a brief stay
in the Miscellaneous class during the '90s.
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