The Tang Dog (唐狗) is an ancient medium-sized dog breed indigenous to
southern China
Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture.
Extent
The Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone between ...
. Tang dogs are prized as a companion and watch dog but are also occasionally used for hunting and as
meat dogs
Meat is animal tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, goats, pigs, hor ...
.
The breed is named for the
Tang Dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...
, a period of prosperity in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
.
Appearance
The Tang dog has a rich coat, compact body and short stature. It is a medium-sized dog with a ratio of shoulder height to body length of 10:10. The face has a bluish-black tongue, a large, broad nose, and long, slightly sloping eyes. Tang dogs are always solid colors, which may include cream, red or black.
History
Tang dogs are native to southern China and have been used for thousands of years in southern China as loyal gatekeepers.
In the 2000s, the Tang Dog Association was established in Hong Kong to raise people's attention to Tang dogs.
In 2017, a Tang Dog won the World Dog Show championship at the dog show held by the Chinese Kennel Union.
References
{{Chinese dogs
Dog breeds originating in China