canaan dog

The temperament of the Canaan is a direct result of the fact that this is what is called a primitive breed. What is a primitive breed? It is basically a breed that has retained the characteristics that were necessary for survival, and has not been changed as a result of many generations of human selection. Most breeds of dog have been changed even to an extreme from what the natural dog originally was, both in appearance and in behavior. Dogs were selected over hundreds of generations to be more suited to the area in which they lived, the task they were expected to perform, and to be more amenable to living with and being trained by man. The result is what we see all around us a wide variety of breeds, with enormous variations in structure, movement, coat, external appearance, and behavior. Over the last one hundred and fifty years dogs have also been selected for the show ring which has resulted in many show lines being quite different in structure and functionality from what the same breed was when it was used as a working dog.
The Canaan is one of a very small number of breeds that has not been bred selectively in this way. The development of the Canaan has been controlled by natural factors: those characteristics, both structural and behavioral, that would allow him to survive most effectively were the ones that became set in the breed. Even once the breed began its history of close association with man and selective breeding some 65 years ago, the breeders (fortunately!) concentrated on preserving the natural dog and not in changing it. This was reinforced by the continuous introduction of new stock from the wild and the Bedouins.