Fourteen ancient breeds of dog have recently been identified through advances in DNA analysis. These breeds of domesticated dog show the fewest genetic differences from wolves. The breeds are geographically diverse, including dogs from Siberia, Japan, Alaska, China, Tibet, and Africa. Genetic fingerprinting or DNA testing is a technique to distinguish between individuals of the same species using only samples of their DNA. Its invention by Sir Alec Jeffreys at the University of Leicester was announced in 1985. ... This Chihuahua mix and Great Dane show the wide range of dog breed sizes. ... Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris The dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is a domestic subspecies of the wolf, a mammal of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. ... Wolf Wolf Man Mount Wolf Wolf Prizes Wolf Spider Wolf 424 Wolf 359 Wolf Point Wolf-herring Frank Wolf Friedrich Wolf Friedrich August Wolf Hugo Wolf Johannes Wolf Julius Wolf Max Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf Maximilian Wolf Rudolf Wolf Thomas Wolf As Name Wolf Breidenbach Wolf Hirshorn Other The call... It has been suggested that Western Siberia be merged into this article or section. ... Official language(s) English[1] Spoken language(s) English 85. ... Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་; Wylie: Bod; Lhasa dialect IPA: [; Simplified and Traditional Chinese: 西藏, Hanyu Pinyin: XÄ«zàng; also referred to as 藏区 (Simplified Chinese), 藏區 (Traditional Chinese), ZàngqÅ« (Hanyu Pinyin), see Name section below) is a plateau region in Central Asia and the indigenous home to the Tibetan people. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ...

A Saluki

The identification of the fourteen "Ancient" dog breeds was established in the article "Genetic Structure of the Purebred Domestic Dog" by Parker et alia in the journal Science [1], Volume 304 (May 21, 2004) (PubMed link [2]). This study compared DNA from dogs of 85 AKC-registered breeds (5 individuals per breed in most cases); according to the Supplementary Online Information published with the article, "Particular efforts were made to sample the most popular breeds." As there are some 400 known dog breeds (of which the AKC recognizes 157), it is likely that an extended study would reveal additional "ancient" breeds. Image File history File linksMetadata Saluki_dog_breed. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Saluki_dog_breed. ... The Saluki is a breed of dog that is a member of the sighthound family, that is, hounds that hunt by sight rather than scent. ... Medline is a comprehensive literature database of life sciences and biomedical information. ... © The American Kennel Club (or AKC) is the largest registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. ...

The fourteen ancient breeds

Lhasa Apso

A Shiba Inu

The following are the dog breeds listed as ancient in the published study and their countries of origin: Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1464 × 1098 pixel, file size: 776 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Author is myself - Chris Burton(username burty1). ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1464 × 1098 pixel, file size: 776 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Author is myself - Chris Burton(username burty1). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Download high resolution version (600x736, 112 KB)Shiba Inu. ... Download high resolution version (600x736, 112 KB)Shiba Inu. ... The Shiba Inu ) is the smallest of the six original and distinct breeds of dog from Japan. ...

• Canaan Dog (Israel)
• Afghan Hound (Afghanistan)
• Akita (Japan)
• Alaskan Malamute (United States (Alaska))
• Basenji (Congo)
• Chow Chow (China)
• Lhasa Apso (Tibet)
• Pekingese (China)
• Saluki (Egypt, Persia)
• Samoyed (Siberia)
• Shar Pei (China)
• Shiba Inu (Japan)
• Shih Tzu (China/Tibet)
• Siberian Husky (Siberia)
• Tibetan Terrier (Tibet)

Country of origin Israel Classification and breed standards The Canaan Dog is a breed of dog that has existed in the Middle East for centuries. ... The Afghan Hound is a very old sighthound dog breed. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The Alaskan Malamute is a large northern dog breed originally bred for use as an Alaskan sleddog and is often mistaken for a Siberian Husky. ... Official language(s) English[1] Spoken language(s) English 85. ... The Basenji is a breed of hunting dog that originates in central Africa. ... Chow-chow is a combination of different vegetables: cabbage, carrots, beans, asparagus, cauliflower, and peas which are pickled in a jar and served cold. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་; Wylie: Bod; Lhasa dialect IPA: [; Simplified and Traditional Chinese: 西藏, Hanyu Pinyin: XÄ«zàng; also referred to as 藏区 (Simplified Chinese), 藏區 (Traditional Chinese), ZàngqÅ« (Hanyu Pinyin), see Name section below) is a plateau region in Central Asia and the indigenous home to the Tibetan people. ... Pekingese or Pekinese is an ancient breed of toy dog, originating in China. ... The Saluki is a breed of dog that is a member of the sighthound family, that is, hounds that hunt by sight rather than scent. ... For other uses of this term see: Persia (disambiguation) The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Samoyed The Samoyed dog takes its name from the Samoyedic peoples of Siberia. ... It has been suggested that Western Siberia be merged into this article or section. ... Å­Go to Shar Pei for a surprise! A Shar-Pei Is an awesome dog. ... The Shiba Inu ) is the smallest of the six original and distinct breeds of dog from Japan. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ... Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་; Wylie: Bod; Lhasa dialect IPA: [; Simplified and Traditional Chinese: 西藏, Hanyu Pinyin: XÄ«zàng; also referred to as 藏区 (Simplified Chinese), 藏區 (Traditional Chinese), ZàngqÅ« (Hanyu Pinyin), see Name section below) is a plateau region in Central Asia and the indigenous home to the Tibetan people. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... It has been suggested that Western Siberia be merged into this article or section. ... // / The Tibetan Terrier is not a member of the terrier group, the name being given to it by European travelers to Tibet who were reminded of terriers from back home when they first encountered the breed. ... Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་; Wylie: Bod; Lhasa dialect IPA: [; Simplified and Traditional Chinese: 西藏, Hanyu Pinyin: XÄ«zàng; also referred to as 藏区 (Simplified Chinese), 藏區 (Traditional Chinese), ZàngqÅ« (Hanyu Pinyin), see Name section below) is a plateau region in Central Asia and the indigenous home to the Tibetan people. ...

Controversy

There is some controversy over the results of the study, as some have noted that breeding between wolves and specific breeds in recent times may have led to inaccurate results. As a result of these breedings, the offspring would have gained genetic similarities with wolves and may mask the truth about the real differences between the breed and wolves before these interbreedings. It also overlooks other ancient breeds, such as the Norwegian Elkhound which is believed to have originated up to 7000 years ago. Likewise, this study only includes 85 of the world's more than 400 dog breeds, omits many primitive lineages, and clusters the breeds together into just four major groups called clades (Ostrander et al., 2004). The Norwegian Elkhound is a Spitz-type breed of dog, specifically a member of the scent hound family. ...

The study did have some surprises, especially the suggestion that three breeds -- the Norwegian Elkhound, Pharaoh Hound and Ibizan Hound -- are not as old as typically stated, but rather are more recent recreations of old types. Also, six pairs of breeds are closely related: Alaskan Malamute and Siberian Husky, Belgian Sheepdog and Belgian Turvuren, Collie and Shetland Sheepdog, Greyhound and Whippet, Bernese Mountain Dog and Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, and finally the Bullmastiff and Mastiff.

External links

• The Journal Science
• NY Times
• Working Dog Web
• PubMed abstract of this study
• Britain Hill - full report