Common and Village Indian Dogs

The Common Indian Dogs and Village Indian Dogs; The common Indian Dogs where actually the same type (breed) as the Village Indian Dogs. Same size, same personality, just a thicker undercoat in the Northern Common (Village) Dogs and thinner shorter coats in the Southern Common Indian Dogs. These dogs were known as the Common Indian Dogs because they were the most Common and more dispersed around the North and South American continents. The other types were more concentrated within their respective areas. Although the Plains Dogs were also found in all the other areas too, but mostly in the Plains.


Typical Common type Indian Dog
in the Oregon River areas


Old Mountain Man with his Indian Dog,
slightly taller than Plains




The Common types were referred to
as Village Dogs in the north


 

Of all the six slightly different working types (breeds), the Common and Village Dogs were the largest, 2” taller than the Plains type, but never over 55 lbs. Plus more than the other types they can even still be found in there original areas, far more easily than the almost, if not completely extinct Hare, Plains, Tahltan and Pueblo Dogs.

The Common types were more 'sight' hunters
in the forest areas


Black Bear - one of the first dogs in the
foundation lines of American Indian Dogs


Not too long ago , the American Indian Dog Registry found a very good Common Indian Dog example in South America, called street dogs, that live a semi feral life on the streets of large citys. Plus some Aztec Indians still use them for herding cattle and sheep. Also two Northern Village Indian Dogs that were used for long distance sled dog racing that are very good examples of the Common Northern types. Most of the Village Indian Dogs have now been assimilated into the “catch all” Alaskan Husky registry. The street dogs of South America are very similar to the primitive, feral street dogs in India, that are related to the old primitive aboriginal dogs of that part of the world. And let's not leave out the old primitive Dogs in Australia, the Dingo’s.

Blond sable – Northern type Common dog,
found with the Klamath Indians



Medicine Bow, a blond cream/silver sable -
(Commons have shorter hair than the Northerns)

All of these primitive dogs are probably, to one extent or another, related or have very similar ancestors. The only difference is that Native Americans also developed their dogs from crossing in coyotes thousands of years ago. Where as the dogs from Africa, India and Asia used jackals and small Asian wolves that are more Jackal-like than wolf-like. With modern DNA and logical research, it’s now known that the wolf was not the ancestor of the modern dog, but coyote and jackals were the modern dog's ancestors. Outdated research said all people and dogs migrated into the American continents across the Baring Straits. New, more recent research shows they also came up from the south.


Typical look of Old Common blood lines within the modern American Indian dog breed


Notice same color, size and markings
of the Old Oregon Common Dogs

Common Indian Dogs are closely related and also used to create the Plains Indian Dogs. They ranged from the Village and Inuit Dogs in the North, Canada and Alaska with the thicker, heavier under coats to the Sioux Dogs with more medium coats and down into the Americas with the thinner shorter coats. They were used for most of all the same purposes as the Plains Dogs, but more for pulling sleds through the snow in the north.


This modern American Indian Dog shows the
shorter hair of the more Southern types



Typical color, markings and hair length
of the Common Indian Dog, new and old


Arrow, a breeding female, typical Common
type look of modern American Indian Dog lines


Old Village type, used for pulling and hunting
(notice sable markings)

They had a very slight build like the other types, just taller. Long legged, similar looking to the Pharoah Hound, slender skull with high forehead and a knife-like sagittal crest or bump on the top skull, slender frame with lower slung chest. Large sharp erect ears. Thicker undercoat in the North and thinner silky or satiny in the South. Coat colors are the same as the Plains Dogs, agouti ticked (sable) in all colors. Two inches taller than the plains Dog, 20” to 22” at the shoulders and 55 lbs weight at the most. Light yellow, gray or blue eyes.

Village Dogs where used for keeping warm
at night – (a 7 Dog Night)


The Old Northern Village Dogs were more
Collie-like than the modern Husky


Besides the numerous accounts from The Elders, there are many archeological remains found. There were three crania from Madisonville, Ohio, two from La Moine, Maine, fragmentary skulls from Cuba, a skull from Peel River, Yukon, three complete skeletons at Slatford, Co., and one from Santa Barbara Island off the California coast. These remains and descriptions confirm the wide spread presence of the Common Indian Dog and Village Indian Dogs over the vast North and South American continents. Most of these carbon dated to over 12,000 years ago.

The Chippewa had the typical Old Northern Village type Indian Dogs


Northern Village Dogs were used for
guarding, hunting and pulling



Old Village Dogs had color down their muzzle
and spots above eyes



You can still see the Old Village Dog
in some modern lines


This American Indian Dog shows the color
markings of the old bloodlines.


Most Old Village Indian Dog lines are lost within
the Alaskan Husky breed.


Koda Chan, a blue eyed modern American Indian Dog who shows the Northern Village lines.



Nickia, a female American Indian Dog has same markings as the Old Village Dogs


Sierra” has that Old Village Indian
conformation for pulling and running


   

Since Common Indian Dogs were used in the mix (recipe) called Plains Indian Dogs, we have also used them in the modern day indian dogs, maintaining bloodlines of the Common and Village Indian Dogs within our American Indian Dog breeding program, for our recipe variables, to take our breed into the future and to maintain it's variability with newer outcrosses available.


 

Click on the links below to see articles and photos of both the
old and new American Indian Dogs.


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