Dogs and Rewilding

Dude_McLean

Nov '14

Many indigenous peoples around the world used dogs, not only to help them move but help in hunting. Larger dogs carried packs and pulled carts.

There are many breeds that fall into the primitive breeds slot. Primitive dogs are versatile survivalists, capable of fending for themselves, At the same time domesticated enough to to be specialized in certain activities, hunting, guards, in general a protector for the group and family. Hunting is the primitive dogs oldest profession and primitive dogs adapt to hunting with people and for people. They know how to track game in the right direction, where to find the game, and how to treat a bird or smaller game mammals or a moose, wild boar or a bear. Some are chase and kill hunters. The will chase and kill any animal they can overcome. This can be a plus for the rewilder. For a hunter using a spear, a bow or atlatl aboriginal dogs are extremely helpful in locating, tracking and bringing to bay and killing animals. Hunting

with dogs is most likely one of he oldest forms of hunting the world over. To learn about primitive dogs I have in my library a book "Primitive breeds perfect dogs" by Vladimir Beregovoy and Jill Moore Porter. They go into small detail about these dogs. An excellent book but not cheap. In my library I have around 170 books just on dogs, this is one of the best overviews I have found. Interestingly the best dog books come from England. Another book is "Lost History of the Canine Race:" going back 15,000 years.

In my AO which is the high desert I chose a Scottish Deer Hound, a sight hound, they hunt by sighting the game and running it down, she will bring a jack rabbit back to me and put it in my hand. She will chase and bring down a deer. these dogs hit almost 40 miles an hour for

a sustained amount of time. In a related side note when my other dog was still a puppy coyotes had him on the ground and the deer hound killed two of them by crushing their skulls. Saving the pup. I watched it happen. Sight hounds are so fast, viper fast, the coyotes didn’t know what hit them. Fittingly her name is Arrow. The other dog is an Aussie Cattle dog or Queensland Heeler. I picked that one because they have a high prey drive and can withstand the heat and cold. He has brought back bushy tails and other smaller game. His name is Bodiddly or Dingo Dick, depending on my mood. So I have

Bow and Arrow. The Heelers were bred from Dingoes I feel these dogs are a perfect fit for the rewilder as are others of the primitive breeds like black mountain cur dogs type. I had an Akita for 15 years, a primitive breed she caught quail, doves and ducks, bushy tails, among others she must have ambushed them. Dogs will add to the larder and make hunting a positive outcome for the hungry.

Some other primitive breeds are the West Siberian Laika, The Basenji, so called bark-less but make a lot of noise. The Pharaoh hound a sight hound. Karelian bear dogs, New Guinea singing dogs, while rare they can be found. The Jindo dog is an excellent choice. The Bushmen dogs, dogs of the bushmen, every bushman village has these dogs that hunt with them, they are the only domestic animals they have, the Canaan dog, and the Carolina dog which is a wild dog found in the Carolinas, a fine dog.

Primitive dogs come from all over the world. The Akita with which I had a lot experience with, is a good choice as well, not as fast as some others however. All the primitive breeds are stubborn as hell and will take a firm master but a fair one, they will not tolerate being hit. they are smart and learn fast. You hit one and you lost the dog.

You can find other primitive breeds by doing a google search. Almost any of them would be a good fit for the rewilder community.

By Dude McLean