Taiwan Formosan Mountain Dog

The Taiwanese dog is an ancient breed endemic to Taiwan, descended from the earliest hunting dogs of Southeast Asia. Dogs arrived on the island with the Austronesian tribes who settled Taiwan approximately five thousand years ago and subsisted on hunting and fishing. A study of dog genotypes living in Asian countries, conducted by Japan's Gifu University, Nagoya University, and Taiwan University, confirmed that the traditional Japanese breeds of Kishu, Shikoku, Hokkaido, Akita, and Shiba share common ancestors with the Taiwanese dog.In Taiwan's mountain forests, the dogs multiplied and became feral, like Australian dingoes, while retaining their trainability.