Reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s works has always been an enjoyable past-time for me. In one such novel named “The hound of Baskervilles”, we are introduced to a character ‘Dr. James Mortimer’ who has a pet spaniel. The illustration of the pet spaniel intrigued me. I recognized it to be an ‘English Water Spaniel’.

On digging a little deeper, the even more interesting fact came to light. The ‘English Water Spaniel’ had long been extinct by the early 20^th century. The fact that the current dog breeds which we pet, have replaced some of the older dog breeds (in terms of evolution) has since been itching my curiosity. How many more dogs can we never get to pet again? The answer lies in the following paragraphs.

Let’s start with the ‘The English Water Spaniel’.

It was very popular in hunting waterfowl and for being able to dive like a duck. It resembles a cross between a Poodle and a Springer Spaniel or a Collie with curly fur and typically in a white and liver/tan pattern. It pre-dates the Irish Water Spaniel and has found place in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Breeds like Field Spaniel, Curly Coated Retrieve rand American Water Spaniel are said to have been genetically influenced by the English Water Spaniel.

‘The English White Terrier’.

This breed was invented in the early 1860s by a few breeders who were anxious to see a new breed from a prick-eared version of the small-white-working-terriers. This lead to the development of the Rat terrier, the Sealyham terrier, the Fox terrier, the Boston Terrier and the Jack Russell terrier.

The English white terrier breed lived for about 30 years before vanishing from this world. The ‘Bull Terrier’ is considered to be the descendent of the English White Terrier-and-English Bulldog cross. The growing unpopularity among the public due to the dog’s genetic problems lead to the unfortunate declaration the English white terrier as a mere ‘distinction without a difference’ by the Kennel Club Hierarchy.

A small note on the Kennel Club before we move onto the next breed.

It aims at preserving and protecting the dog breeds of British and Irish origin. In 2003, they started the compilation of the ‘Vulnerable Breed List’. Terrier Group has found the largest number of dogs in this list. The most drastic decline in popularity of a dog breed is seen in case of the Sealyham terrier. Alfred Hitchcock, a Hollywood director, was fond of Sealyham terrier. Approximately 1084 Sealyhams registered at the time of the registration of his first Sealyham terrier in 1938. But the annual registration amounts to a meagre average of 60 dogs.

Next comes the ‘The Otter-hound’.

It was a heart-throb for centuries when they were kept in packs at the time of Henry VIII. The British ban on otter hunting was the death sentence to this breed.

A worldwide census of Otter-hounds indicated the existence of fewer than a thousand dogs. According to the interpretation of ‘The British and Irish a Dog Breeds Preservation Trust’, the census count had made the Otter-hound “twice as rare as the Giant Panda”.

 ‘The Toy Trawler Spaniel’.

‘The Toy Trawler Spaniel’ resembled the ‘King Charles’ Spaniel’ of the 16th century. It is considered to be a descendent of the original ‘King Charles’ Spaniel’, and an older variety of ‘Sussex spaniel’.

Originally used as a sporting dog, it later became popular as a toy dog and show-dog. It was  considered extinct by early 1920’s.

‘The Paisley Terrier’

It was an extinct terrier breed from Paisley, Great Britain. Being the progenitor of today’s Yorkshire terrier, the Paisley Terrier was bred primarily as a pet and a show-dog version of the Skye terrier. It was also called the ‘Clydesdale Terrier’, named after another breeding location in the Clyde Valley.

‘The Moscow Water Dog’

The Moscow Water Dog was produced only by a state operated organization called ‘the Red Star Kennel’ which aimed at providing working dogs for the armed services.

It is also known as the Moscow Retriever, Moscow Diver, or Moskovsky Vodolaz, is a not-so-popular dog breed. This extinct dog breed is a descendent of the East European Shepherd, Newfoundland and Caucasian Ovcharka (Caucasian Shepherd).

‘The Pembroke Corgi’

Although not extinct, but this famous dog breed is one the verge of extinction. Being Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite dog, Corgis have lived with the Royal family ever since George VI saw “Dookie” and brought her home. She was entitled ‘the matriarch of the canine dynasty’ which resides in the Buckingham palace ever since. Interestingly, the Queen has been a proud owner of more than 30 Corgis excluding the current ones “Willow” and “Holly”.

We are bound to expect that the affinity of Queen towards ‘the Pembroke Corgi’ would guarantee the popularity of Corgis. Yet it is noteworthy that being a part of the royal family does not suffice to assure the sustainability of a dog breed. The Pembroke Corgi is now on the ‘vulnerability list’ of the British Kennel Club due to a scanty 241 registrations in the year 2013.

‘The Sealyham Terrier’

Similar to the case of Corgis, the Sealyham terrier was a very famous breed whose popularity dropped drastically over time. Alfred Hitchcock, a Hollywood movie director was very fond of them.

In 1938, when Alfred had brought home his first Sealyham terrier, there were about 1084 registrations per year, but now, the registrations average to about 60 dogs a year.

We pet parents often overlook the fact that dog breeds come and go as trends and needs change. Along with the above mentioned dogs, the Spanish pointer, the Long-haired Greyhound, the Turnspit dog and the European water spaniel, are all extinct. Some of the ‘vulnerable’ breeds wait at ‘the point of no return’ and may never give us an opportunity to pet them again.

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By unique, we mean that these are not the kind of breeds that are spread worldwide like Labradors or German Shepherds. These breeds of dogs are specific to certain countries or states, where you may find them in huge numbers but are very alien to other parts of the world. So here is a list of the world’s most unique, unusual and rare dog breeds;

The Azawakh;

Originating in the Western African lands, these sight – hounds are otherwise rare outside the boundaries of their homes. They are very feline and timid in nature, but they are really affectionate if they get to know you. They are trained to chase gazelles and other animals in the deserts because of their agility.

The Carolina Dogs;

Carolina Dogs are also called the American Dingoes and are thought to be one of the oldest dog breeds in North America. These breeds have been introduced to the domestic sphere but there are still few of them roaming stray and wild.

The Catahoula Leopard Dog;

First originated in Catahoula Parish (hence the nomenclature), these are remarkable hunting dogs that are a pride to Native Americans.  And these dogs have leopard like distinctive markings which give them the second name.

The Lundehund;

The Norwegian native dog is one of a kind. These breeds have six toes on each foot, pricked ears that are controlled at will and it can tip its head entirely backward to be able to touch the back. This is one unlike any other breed.

The Mudi;

Natives of Hungary, these dogs are mid – sized herding dogs with a super furry body and smooth face. These breeds are rare but are quickly gaining popularity in the US at least because of their versatility and energy.

The Neapolitan Mastiff;

Have you seen the Harry Potter movies? If you have, you would have noticed Hagrid’s pet dog Fang which is a Neapolitan Mastiff. These dogs have layers or rubbery skin all over their bodies and grow to be extremely huge. As history tells, the Neapolitan Mastiffs, as the foremost allies of the Romans, made to wear body armour and blades to be able to run almost got to the brink of extinction during World War II. An Italian painter, set up a kennel to protect these huge dogs and bred few of them with the English Mastiffs to enhance the bloodline and thus came the evolved Neapolitan Mastiff.

The Xoloitzcuintli

Pronounced as Sho – lo – eets – quint – lee, they are very commonly referred to as the “Mexican hairless dogs” or simply “xolo” for short. These dogs are so old that they have had their moments of fame in history when the Aztecs actually worshipped them. Because of their rare nature, people who come across them (specially Americans), because of the absence of hair, tend to think these are the Chupacabras that are a mythological beast that appear to have the body frame of a dog. This bred hasn’t been inbred over the years and hence is more pure a breed than others and is very healthy. All it needs to maintain that health is a bit of sunscreen and moisturizer and regular bathing.

The Salish wool dog;

The Salish wool dog is now an extinct breed which were natives of what is now Washington state and British Columbia. These were long haired dogs of the Spitz type and were sheared like sheep and the wool was used to make the prized “Salish blankets” because the native Salish tribe did not have sheep or mountain goat for the purpose of a livelihood. These dogs were confined to islands and gated caves. The extinction began with European contact, when the European blankets became more popular and the onset of diseases cause the dogs to interbreed and now there are no more of them as a distinct breed with any of the significant features specific to the wool dogs.

The Thai Ridgeback;

Thai Ridgebacks like Rhodesian Ridgebacks, also have a line of hair at the spine growing in the opposite direction. These dogs are very strong – willed, confident, brave and powerful. They are used as livestock guardians by the local keepers.

The Pacchon Navaro;

The Pacchon Navaro dogs have a very unique nose that looks like the shooting end of double barrel guns. They are an extremely rare breed of Spanish hunting dogs which were previously believed to have extraordinary olfactory senses because of the look of their noses. But years later, persistent research has proven that the noses are just a unique feature and do not give them any kind of special advantage over other dogs.

The Tibetan Mastiff;

The last in the list are the Tibetan Mastiffs that are an extremely huge and hairy breed of dogs. They are fearless and are trained to guard herds, flocks, families and also entire villages. They can easily face predators as huge as wolves and leopards but the inner herding talent can be trained in a way that they can warn and lead herds to safer areas rather than having a direct confrontation with predators.

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