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truce Ka'imiloa Chrisman, M.®.
<br /> (44-2344 Mamalahoa Highway)
<br /> P.O. Box 1723
<br /> Honoka'a, Hawaii 96727-1723
<br /> (808) 775-9003
<br /> May 16, 2001
<br /> DOGS IN H~W~I'I:
<br /> FACTS AND IaELEV~NT CONCLUSIONS
<br /> INTRODUCTION:
<br /> All dog breeds are descended from wolves. Some greatly resemble wolves (husky)
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<br /> whereas others bear little resemblance (Pekinese, Chihuahua). Closest to wolves in form
<br /> and character are "half breeds" of wolf and husky or perhaps German shepherd. Half-
<br /> breeds may not tame well and at times have proved unmanageable or even vicious. On
<br /> the other side of the coin are small "pet" dogs the size of cats, some of whom are
<br /> extremely docile and even timid as the result of many years, even centuries, of selective
<br /> breeding.
<br /> Other breeds have been very carefully created for such tasks as wolf hunting (Irish
<br /> wolfhound), fox hunting (foxhound), rabbit hunting (beagle), gamebird hunting (setters
<br /> and pointers, spaniels), fetching (retrievers}, fighting (pitbull), guarding and attack
<br /> (rottweiler, German shepherd, doberman), watchdogs (terriers), war (mastiffj, racoon and
<br /> deer hunting (hounds), hunting and show (poodles), tracking (bloodhound), samaritan
<br /> work (St. Bernard, Labrador retriever), badger-catching (dachshund}, sheep herding
<br /> {border collie), cattle herding (border collie, heeler), providing food (Hawaiian poi dog),
<br /> being lap dogs (lhasa apso, cocker, pomeranian, miniature poodles, etc.) and various
<br /> other purposes.
<br /> Some dog breeds are quite recent and others have been around for several thousand years
<br /> or more. Nonetheless, many dog breeds will go wild by choice or after becoming lost,
<br /> and will not seek to return to humans or "civilization", running off at the first sight or
<br /> sound of man. "Pack" formation with its wolf-like pecking order rapidly develops.
<br /> Phenotypic return to a more wild or wolf-like form also rapidly develops in just a few
<br /> generations. Pack behavior such as mass killing of sheep by wild dogs is notorious. All
<br /> dog breeds retain some traits of their wolf ancestors such as perineal scent identification,
<br /> scent marking with urine, submissive and intimidative postures, and turning around
<br /> repeatedly before lying down as if to matt down a bed.
<br /> Thus it can be summarized that all dogs retain some of their wolf ancestors' traits, many
<br /> dogs can successfully go wild without any training from their domestic parents, many
<br /> dogs retain traits to hunt, retrieve, fight, guard or kill, and some even look much like
<br /> wolves. Dogs, therefore, run the gamut in both appearance and genetic tr its all the way f ~t~
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