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The Canaan Dog is the national dog breed of Israel. It may have existed in the Middle East for millennia.

The Canaan Dog, known in Israel as (Hebrew: כלב כנעני‎, lit. Canaanic dog, Kelev K’naani), is a typical pariah dog in appearance. They are a medium-sized dog, with a wedge-shaped head, medium-sized, erect and low set ears with a broad base and rounded tips. Their outer coat is dense, harsh and straight of short to medium-length. The undercoat should be close and profuse according to season. Colour ranges from black to cream and all shades of brown and red between, usually with small white markings, or all white with colour patches. Spotting of all kinds is permitted, as well as white or black masks.

Dr. Rudolphina Menzel, having studied the desert pariah dogs and the variations in appearances, classified these canines into four types: 1) heavy, sheepdog appearance, 2) dingo-like appearance, 3) Border Collie appearance, 4) Greyhound appearance.

Dr. Menzel concluded that the Canaan Dog is a derivative of the Type III pariah dog—the collie type (referring to the type of farm collie found in the 1930s, which was a medium dog of moderate head type more similar to today’s border collie, not the modern rough coated collie).

In writing the first official standard for the Canaan Dog, Dr. Rudolphina Menzel wrote: “Special importance must be placed on the points that differentiate the Canaan-Dog from the German Shepard [sic] Dog, whose highly bred form he sometimes resembles: the Canaan-Dog is square, the loin region short, the forequarters highly erect, the hindquarters less angulated, the neck as noble as possible, the tail curled over the back when excited, the trot is short (see also differences in head and color)”.^[1]

Type varies somewhat between the American lines of Canaan Dogs and those found in Israel and the rest of the world, with many of the American dogs being rectangular in shape.

Size

Males

• Height: 20–24 inches (50–60 cm)
• Weight: 40–55 pounds (18–25 kg)

Females

• Height: 18–20 inches (45–50 cm)
• Weight: 35–42 pounds

Temperament

Canaan Dogs have a strong survival instinct. They are quick to react and wary of strangers, and will alert to any disturbances with prompt barking, thus making them excellent watchdogs. Though defensive, they are not aggressive and are very good with children within the family but may be wary of other children or defensive when your child is playing with another child. They are intelligent and learn quickly, but may get bored with repetitive exercises or ignore commands if they find something of more interest.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia