Rare Breed Monday: New Guinea Singing Dog

Image from dogsbestcollection.com

The New Guinea singing dog has been called a living, breathing, four-legged fossil. It is one of the rarest breeds in the world, if not even the rarest. According to New Guinea Singing Dog International, the breed has inhabited the island of New Guinea since the stone age. The breed was local to New Guinea until 1957, when the first singing dogs left the island.

The breed is named from its distinctive and melodious howl, and their dramatic ability to vary the pitch. They don't bark much, but they are vocal in other ways.

New Guinea Singing Dogs are agile and graceful, active, lively, and alert. They're known to be clever and curious, but they also have a strong hunting drive. The website dogbreedinfo.com states that while these dogs are gentle and affectionate with people they know, they tend to be aloof with strangers. They're hardy with a life expectancy of 15-20 years, but require large amounts of exercise.

New Guinea Singing Dog International has a great guide to the breed. These dogs are still close to the wild and not common as pets, but can be great for the right family. The guide emphasizes that these dogs have a strong hunting drive, they're excellent escape artists, they're not interested in entertaining humans through doing tricks, and they are extremely intelligent.


 

~ Maria Sadowski ~