Differences in the Behavior of Landraces and Breeds of Dogs - Genetics and the Behavior of Domestic Animals - page 199

FIGURE 6.1 Mucuchies Venezuela village dog with pups “improved” by the introduction of
St Bernards. Photo credit: Gail Langeloh.

Boitani et al. (1995) noted that the stray dogs in Italy often resemble the
Italian maremma shepherd dog (20 30 kg), and in Patagonia, village dogs

often carry some aspect of the locally popular greyhounds. The Zulus in
South Africa will frequently introduce greyhounds into their local dogs
( Gallant, 2002 ).
The New Guinea singing dog is an example of a village dog that was
island-isolated for so long that it developed unique morphological and
behavioral characteristic. Larson et al. (2012) think that it now may be
extinct on the island as a breed due to the admixture with introduced
European breeds. The current breed of New Guinea singing dogs descended
from fewer than 14 individuals.

Behavior
Foraging
In Zanzibar, village dogs foraged in and around villages, in trash heaps, and
latrines. Dogs were common in and around marketplaces, fishing ports,
slaughterhouses—wherever human food was being processed. Killing domes-
tic animals for food was not observed, as was also noted in Italy by Boitani
et al. (2006) . From our own personal observations in South America, Africa,
and Europe, it was rare for village dogs to kill anything on its feet. However,
sick animals on the ground, including humans, could be killed and eaten.
Several people in Zanzibar reported that they fed dogs, but not routinely.
Most acted confused when asked what they fed to dogs. Food, especially
protein, was not abundant in human diets. Whether people liked dogs or not,
foraging behavior for the most part was independent of humans, except that
the source was usually human waste. Populations of dogs in places like the