Dog lovers are fascinated by curiosities about canine breeds. Although we always advocate for adoption and love mixed-breed dogs, data on how and where the breeds came about is always welcome, as it goes hand in hand with human history.
A factor that also largely determines the evolution of races is their degree of domestication throughout history. According to a 2016 study led by the University of Oxford and published in the journal Science , dogs would have been domesticated on both sides of the world, but later those from eastern areas would have emigrated with their peoples (mostly nomads) to settle down and mingle with the Europeans . This is how the races that would have evolved in those we know today would have been formed.
In this way, it would be explained that even today what is related to the domestication of dogs and the different breeds remains a mystery. The dogs would have been domesticated independently and evolution would have run its course.
What is certain is that even today there are many races that are still wrapped in legends and myths, more than in historical data. And it is practically impossible to know for sure the date from which a certain breed dates, firstly, due to the imprecision that often surrounds the study of animals, and secondly, because races evolve organically , with the passage of time, without clear divisions.
Among the oldest breeds, the spitz and primitive types stand out. According to the classification established by the International Cynological Federation, the races of this group, which form a category of the classification (group 5) share a clear characteristic: they are the races that have lost the least characteristics since their wild past (although many of them they were already companion dogs in the beginning). Many of the dogs on our list belong to this group, such as the husky, the Alaskan, the xoloitzcuintle or the basenji.
If you want to know some more, take a look at our gallery.