DINGO

COUNTRY: Australia

HEIGHT: 19-22 inches

COAT: Short, harsh, double

COLOR: Red to light fawn generally; other colors, such as white spotted or black/tan, exist

OTHER NAMES: Warrigal, Australian Native Dog

GROUP: Souther

First skeletal evidence of the Dingo in Australia was dated about 3,000 years ago, indicating its progenitor probably trudged across the land bridge about the same time as the aborigine. The dogs and people made their trek before Australia was cut off from the mainland to be surrounded by water. The Dingo was first officially noted by Captain William Damphier, who wrote of the wild dog in 1699.

A direct descendant of the original pariahs from the Middle East and southeastern Asia, the Dingo became feral and returned to the wild. There these canines have remained to the present as one of the only mammals native to Australia. Aborigines adopted pups into their tribes from time to time and raised them as pets and assistants in the hunt. Dogs occasionally interbred with the Dingoes, and the wild dog actually contributed to at least one modern breed: the Australian Cattle Dog.

Today interbreeding domestic dogs with the Dingo is frowned upon. The Australian Native Dog never stood in good favor, since so much of Australian economy is dependent on cattle and sheep production. The Dingo has received much bad press as a livestock killer and is classified as vermin in his homeland, to be killed (eliminated).

But a few people are now concerned with the native dog as a "living fossil" and are working toward studying and preserving him. The Australian Native Dog Training Society, based in New South Wales, has raised and trained many Dingoes. Their members put them on display and hold obedience and trick demonstrations, and the society's motto is: "A Fair Go for our Dingo." These dogs redomesticate quite easily if raised from a young age by a family, but retain the pariah traits of flight and wariness. Early and continued socialization is a must to overcome their shy and sensitive nature. Obedience training is best accomplished by kindness, patience, and a firm but gentle hand. The Dingo chooses a mate for life, sometimes mourning itself to death after the loss of its partner. Females whelp one litter a year in the spring, similar to many of the pariahs. Often a litter is found in the hollow of a tree, totally protected from all sides, with the dams guarding the front. Even so, whelps frequently fall prey to snakes.

Dingoes have strong cooperative instincts and live in small packs. These groups habitually hunt by night. They work silently and only learn to bark from association with other canines, but they do have a wide range of vocalizations, from high yodels to low crows and howls. To survive in the wilderness, they have learned to play possum, shamming death. These dogs' hardiness and resistance to heat have helped them exist in a land that does little to succor their survival. The Dingo has managed to exist without human intervention—and in spite of human dislike.