One of the oldest and most primitive dog breeds in the world is the Formosan Mountain Dog, also known as the Taiwan Dog. A genetic study confirmed that the breed descended from ancient Pariah hunting dogs from Southeast Asia that arrived in Taiwan as long as 20,000 years ago, and certainly before the first human inhabitants on the island, the Austronesians. Indeed, scholars from Japan Gifu University, the National Taiwan University, and Nagoya University carried out a cooperative study on the dogs in 1980, and after visiting twenty-nine tribes of local inhabitants, they confirmed that the present day Taiwan Dog is indeed a descendant of those South Asian hunting dogs.

The natural isolation of Taiwan kept the gene pool of early dogs intact for centuries. This changed in 1624 when the Dutch established a commercial base that essentially made Taiwan a colony.  The hunting dogs they brought with them led to a drop in the number of Formosan Mountain Dogs when natives were forbidden to own them, and any dogs left were either slaughtered by the Dutch, or cross bred with the Dutch dogs. It was the first time the genetic purity of the breed was diluted.

Cross breeding continued with dogs of the Japanese who ruled the island between 1895 and 1945, and things got worse when the Chinese occupied Taiwan.  Communist government officials and party members brought with them their traditional dog eating culture, and according to Dr. Sung Yung-yi, the man responsible for saving the breed, this was the single most devastating blow to the population of Taiwanese Native Dogs that nearly led to their extinction. Had it not been for Dr. Sung Yung-yi and other individuals keen to save the breed, it would surely have gone extinct.  It was those individuals who visited the twenty nine tribes mentioned earlier who discovered that purebred dogs were still to be found in the mountainous regions of Taiwan. The four year long Formosan Mountain Dog Search Operation lead the discovery of 160 Taiwan Dogs, only 46 of which were believed to be purebreds. A breeding program to rebuild the breed also helped raise awareness of the dogs among the non-Aboriginal locals in Taiwan. Thanks to their efforts, the breed was kept from vanishing forever.

The Taiwan Dog/Formosan Mountain Dog was added to the AKC Foundation Stock Service in 2017 and when fully recognized, it will be assigned to the Hound Group. There is renewed interest in the breed in its native country, and breed numbers are growing. Still, purebred Formosans are still extremely rare even in Taiwan, and while some rescue groups may think they are saving these dogs off the street, in reality, the only purebred Taiwan Dogs are in Taiwan where they are kept for conservation purposes.

Image: Formosan Mountain Dog © 2day929 | Dreamstime.com