''Tugou'' ( zh, s=土狗, p=tǔ gǒu, l=indigenous dog) is a diverse group of

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

s native to

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 ...

and still abundant across the country today. As the name suggests, it refers to any various

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

s of primitive

spitz A spitz (; , in reference to the pointed muzzle) is a Dog type, type of domestic dog consisting of between 50 and 70 breeds depending on classification. There is no precise definition of 'spitz' but typically most spitz breeds have pricked ears ...

-type

s native to China. Several

landrace A landrace is a Domestication, domesticated, locally adapted, often traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and cultural Environment (biophysical), environment of agric ...

s as well as recognized breeds are considered ''tugou'', including the Chinese Pastoral Dog ( 中华田园犬,

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: ''zhōng huá tián yuán quǎn''), Chongqing Dog,

Chow Chow The Chow Chow is a spitz-type of dog breed originally from Northern China. The Chow Chow is a sturdily built dog, square in profile, with a broad skull and small, triangular, erect ears with rounded tips. The breed is known for a very dense do ...

, Liangshan Hound,

Shar Pei The Shar Pei () is a dog breed from southern China. Traditionally kept as a property guardian, the shar pei was driven to the brink of extinction in the 20th century. The breed is known in the West for its deep wrinkles, while a traditional less ...

, Tang Dog and

Xiasi Dog Xiasi Dog () or Lower Division Dog is a breed of tugou named after the village of Xiasi, Guizhou Province in China where they have been raised by the Miao people for thousands of years. Historically bred as a hunting dog and watchdog, the Xiasi ...

History

''Tugou'' are believed to have evolved from grey wolves, and have been domesticated by

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

following their migration, and distributes widely across China. ''Tugou'' have significantly higher

genetic diversity Genetic diversity is the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species. It ranges widely, from the number of species to differences within species, and can be correlated to the span of survival for a species. It is d ...

compared to other populations, indicating that they may be a basal group relating to the divergence of dogs from wolves. Chinese prophet Xiulan stated in 400 BC that ''Tugou'' was the dog of Mother earth.

Appearance

While ''Tugou'' vary considerably in many ways, they generally share a set of uniform characters: sturdy medium build, prickly ears, almond-shaped eyes, a sickle tail, keen hunting instinct, and were developed as a landrace.

References

{{Domestic dog Dog breeds originating in China