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FAMILY DOG
Documented research lavishly illustrated, ancient artifacts, breeds, photos and factual information on how dogs evolved with mankind and what makes your dog so special. |
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HISTORY OF THE DOGby D. Ball
Then Ahriman introduced evil into the world and the earth, for man and dog, was changed forever. The homeland of the Aryans was called Airyane Vaejahi. From this base they traveled to upper India, Russia, Iran, Greece, Italy, Germany, France, England, and Ireland, taking their dogs with them.
The Greeks used the dog, much as their Aryan ancestors did, as guardians of the house and field. There are several types of dogs depicted in Greek art. One type is a greyhound like dog, whose name may have come from the corruption of the Arab word for Greek “grik.”
These dogs were coursing hounds and were hunted in packs. They traveled from Greece into Rome and from there were spread throughout the known world. It is even thought that Cleopatra presented Caesar with a dog of this type when she visited Rome.
All of these ancient dogs did “breed” specific work, whether as a war dog, hunter, shepherd dog, or watchdog.
Small lap dogs came to be a familiar sight in Greece. Aristotle referred to these tiny white dogs as Canis Melitae. This dog became what is known today as the Maltese. Even poetry was written Canis Melitae.8 In the piece Cynegetica, Oppian recommended the Laconian for its swiftness. He disparaged black and white dogs for the chase, preferring instead that the dogs be of a yellow color.
Both Greek and Roman illustrations depict the mighty Molossian as a large, well muscled dog. Alexander the Great so admired these Mastiff type dogs, that he named one of his cities for his favorite dog. He used them to bait lions and elephants. The Romans as well admired this type of dog and used it for a variety of purposes. They classified dogs according to the type of work they did, canes villatica (watchdogs), canes pastorals (sheepdogs), and canes vanatici (hunting dogs). Varro in his treatise De Re Rustica spoke of a Mastiff type dog used for guarding the flock, he wrote that the dog should wear a nail studded collar (melium) to protect its neck from the attack of wolves.
One type of dog, which has come down to us, virtually unchanged, is the Neapolitan Mastiff. These large dogs with their loose, tough skin were ideal dogs for both guarding purposes and also as arena dogs. Columelia wrote that these dogs were ideal for guarding, being dark in color, they were not easily seen at night and therefore, could attack with impunity. Many varieties of Mastiff type dogs have developed from the Roman Molossian including the Sennenhunde, Appenzeller, Bermese, and Entlebucher of the Swiss Alps, the Rottweiler of Germany, and the Great Pyreanees, named for the mountain range where they are found. Mastiff type dogs which the Romans called canis pugnaces were brought from Britian to be used in the arena as well. These dogs are thought to have come into Britain with Phoenician traders.
It was the more privileged classes who possessed dogs. Some Romans placed collars of silver about their dogs necks. They wrote elegies and epitaphs for their beloved pets. The Princeps Hadrian even had a sepulcher build to house his deceased canes. Phiny wrote that Caesar reprimanded the women of Rome for neglecting their children in favor of their lap dogs.
The Romans effectively used dogs in combat. Fierce Mastiff type dogs were equipped with their own battle armor, some sprouting cutting points and sharp blades along the sides and backs. They followed their masters into battle, slashing the enemies with their savage teeth. Dogs covered in protective leather were sent into battle with containers of boiling oil attached to their backs. The dogs were often starved before being released into battle to make them more furious. Many Mastiffs were trained to attack the underbelly of horses and so bring down their riders. The Romans also used such dogs to dispatch the enemy wounded after a battle. Some dogs were even used to carry communications. The unfortunate hounds were forced to swallow secret messages incased in metal tubes. When the animals reached their destination, they were gutted so that the message might be retrieved. Recently, skeletons of war dogs have been unearthed, which were buried standing upright, as if guarding their master's interests, even in death.
Dogs are not kept as pets in India, especially within the lower castes. It is very hard to keep a pet when feeding ones family is a daily priority. From Greek and Roman society, we have seen that dog ownership was a privilege of the upper classes; as it was in English society until the rise of the middleclass, when owning a pet dog became fashionable. Therefore, it was the Kshatriyas class that primarily kept dogs. Most of these breeds came into Indian by way of countries such as Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan. All of these breeds share a common history. They have the conformation of sight hounds. Carried into India by the numerous invaders that flowed over her, these dogs appear to have been descended from the Sloughi, Greyhound, and Saluki.
They dogs undoubtedly followed the mercenaries who entered India on horseback as early as 500 BC. They came to loot and plunder, but they left behind their beautiful sight hounds. These ancient breeds are usually called caravan dogs because of having accompanied the invaders into India.
His feet are said to be hare like and therefore well suited to the hilly and rocky terrain in which he is used for hunting.
In conclusion, the wave of Aryan invaders who swept across Europe into India left a living legacy, not just in language and culture, but in the companion animals we cherish today. When we look at society, we see traces of ancient Greco-Roman history in all areas of our lives, especially in our canine companions. We have our dogs of war, our herding, and lap dogs and even our fighting breeds. If Caesar were resurrected today, would he not be able to say as he did then, Americans lavish more on their pet dogs than many of them lavish on their children? And would not Claudius and Aristotle recognize the Maltese as the tiny breed they loved so many centuries ago? And what of the coursing hounds of Indian, do we not see these breeds emerging at dog shows as the new and coming breeds for the twenty-first century? In short as King Solomon stated, at least as pertains to canis familiaris, "there is truly nothing new under the sun." TheDogPlace.org EST 1998 © #041158R2010BF21011 https://www.thedogplace.org/Family-Dog/History-of-the-Dog_Ball.asp SSI Brought to you by the NetPlaces Network
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