Formosan mountain dog
The Formosan Mountain Dog (or Formosan) is a breed of small or medium dog. They live in Taiwan. These dogs are also known as Taiwanese Dog/Canis (Chinese: 台灣犬), Taiwanese Native Dog (Chinese: 台灣土狗) or Takasago Dog (Chinese: 高砂犬). They are well-adapted to the uneven and thickly forested terrain of Taiwan. They had become a semi-wild breed earlier.
Formosans can be trained as hunting dogs, guard dogs, rescue dogs, or simply as companions.[1] Formosan dogs can make good family pets but still have a strong hunting instinct.[2] However, now the pureblood Formosan Mountain Dog is still close to extinction. This is due to limited conservation efforts of the Taiwanese and their government.
Native Dog (Chinese: 土狗) is the common name in Taiwan nowadays to indicate that the dog is an offspring of Formosan with foreign dogs. It is commonly confused with the Taiwan Native Dog (Chinese: 台灣土狗).
References
- ↑ Meredith Dodge (2005-11-05). "The Formosan dog: A breed apart". Taipei Times. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
- ↑ Kim Dennis-Bryan; et al., The Dog Encyclopedia (New York: DK Publishing, 2013), p. 86
