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Page 1* THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE November 2, 1979
The cananlte dog is rough and ready—
How much is that doggie in the desert?
by Jerry Chesiow
Israelis are becoming
reacquainted with a good friend
that was left behind in the desert
when the Jews went into the
Diaspora nearly two thousand
years ago. The cananite dog,
“kelev cana’ani,” which probably
guarded the Israelite flocks three
thousands years ago, has been
rediscovered and rebred as the
watchdog most suited for special
assignments.
“Unlike the German shepherd or
the Doberman, which are personal
dogs that will guard you, your
children or your house, the
cananite is a territorial animal,"
explains Esther Simbling of the
Sha’ar Hagai Kennels near
Jerusalem, the only place in the
world where the cananite is bred.
“If you put a shepherd dog on a
cable out in the desert without
people around, he just might die of
loneliness. But the cananite, which
has survived for thousands of
years without man, in the harshest
desert weather conditions, does
not mind the solitude. And his
instincts make him a natural cable
dog. You put even an untrained,
six-month-old cananite puppy on a
cable and he will tell himself, ‘from
this end of the cable to the other is
my territory.’ He will bark at, and
perhaps bite any stranger who
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Although it is possible one of the
first breeds domesticated by man.
the cananite remained a desert
pariah dog, or a semi-wild dog that
helped shepherd the flocks of
nomads, until 45 years ago. Then
Dr. Rudolphina Menzel, a
professor of animal behavior, who
had been asked to develop a dog to
guard distant Jewish outposts in
Palestine, captured and bred 50
wild dogs.
What she came up with was a
square-built, medium-sized dog
that comes in shades of beige to
dark brown or black. It has short,
pointed ears, a wedge-shaped
head and a plume-like tail that curls
over its back when the dog gets
excited. It also has unusual eyes, as
Esther Simbling points out, “They
look like the eyes of a girl who has
put on too much mascara, with
their long, black lashes.”
Not only has Professor Menzel
succeeded in rebreeding the
cananite, but she has also had it
recognized by the Israeli kennel
club, which has accepted her
standards for “best of breed.” It
has also been recognized by the
worldwide dog federation
Cynologique and has participated
in international exhibitions. So
far, it has not been recognized by
the American kennel associations,
but Mrs. Simbling feels that this is
only a matter of time.
Israeli breeders are positive that
the cananite is one of the world’s
purest dog strains. “The cananite
was the only dog that was able to
survive without man in the Negev
desert," Esther explains. “He was
isolated from other breeds and
therefore, he remained pure.
Besides this, the cananite bitch is
peculiar in that she will often
refuse to mate with any male dog
that is not a cananite.
The only dogs that are mixed
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Israel’s sabra dog
with pedigreed cananites are other
cananites found in the desert. This
is because the line is still being
improved. Wild puppies are
trapped and brought to Sha’ar
Hagai. At nine months, they are
graded as adequate, good, very
good, or excellent. The very good
or excellent puppies are bred to
dogs with pedigrees of at least
three generations. And, if their
puppies come out looking like
cananites, the breeders assume
that the wild dog was also pure.
“The relationship between the
cananite and its master is perhaps
like the relationships between man
and the first dogs he domesticat
ed,” explains Esther “You feed me
and I’ll guard your territory and let
your kids play with me But don’t
expect much more. The cananite is
not the kind of dog that you can
train to fetch your slippers or the
newspaper. Although nearly every
cananite can clear a four meter
barrier, he will not do it on
command, especially if there is a
way to go around the obstacle. In
short, if you are looking for a
guard dog to watch over an area,
get a cananite If you want a slave,
he's much too independent for
vou."
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