General description, place of origin and use of the Taltan bear dog, its ancestors, recognition and reduction of the population, revival, current state of the species. The Taltan Bear Dog, or Tahltan Bear Dog, originated from the Taltan Indians in the northwestern territories of Canada and is a primitive dog breed that is considered extinct by many. However, a specialized breeding program by select individuals using the original pedigrees has helped this species grow in small numbers to this day. Currently, breeders keep the species very “closed” to preserve their integrity and true heritage, as well as to prevent commercialization associated with rare canines, which threatens to deteriorate the health of the tahltan bear dog.
This species has been highly regarded by the Thaltan peoples in the highlands of Northwest British Columbia and in the South Korean Territory of Canada. The size of the tahltan bear dog allowed the Indians to carry the animal in their backpacks or chests to conserve the energy of the dogs for hunting.
Taltan bear dogs are small animals, 31–38 centimeters tall at the withers and weighing 6–9 kg, very similar to foxes. Their heads are medium in size, with a domed skull and a pointed medium muzzle ending in a black or brown nose. The eyes are harmoniously set, they seem to be quite dark. Erect ears, set high. The neck is of medium length. The ribs emerge from the spine to form a broad back and then bend downward to connect to the ribcage. The limbs are strong and the paws are like those of a cat with springy pads and curved toes that allow the dog to easily run on a thin crust of snow.
The unique qualities of the breed representatives in comparison with other species are the peculiar “yodel” voice and bristly tail. It is short, only 15 to 18 centimeters long, and is covered with dense, stiff vertical hairs that swell like a brush. The coat is short but thick, glossy with a dense undercoat, which allowed the Taltan Bear Dog to survive in the harsh winter conditions of the North American continent. Most often, their "coat" is black with white markings, although there are other varieties, such as steel grays. Less desirable are finishes such as white mottled with gray or black.
Place of Origin and Uses of the Taltan Bear Dog
The representative of this breed has tremendous strength and courage even in a small pack. Named after the Taltano Indian tribes of northwestern Bristol Columbia, small chanterelle-like hunting dogs were commonly seen around Indian campsites during the 19th century. Talhtan bear dog assisted the local people in hunting numerous types of game, including elk, beavers, porcupines and especially large predators such as bears and big cats.
On the night before the hunt, the local Indians performed ceremonial bloodletting by thrusting a peroneal wolf or fox bone into the hindquarters of the dogs. In the morning during the event, two of these dogs were carried on the shoulders of the Indians in a sack until people came across fresh tracks of bears, at which point the "helpers" were released. The small stature and light weight of the Taltan bear dogs allowed them to run at full speed over the peaks, chopping snow bark in pursuit of prey, while it was difficult for a bear and other larger animals to wade through it.
Working in unison with humans, this pair of canines uses their keen hunting abilities to track the bear in a tree or elsewhere. A unique feature of the Taltan Bear Dog is its distinctive yodelling - a tall, quick barking style. When the victim was found, one dog irritated the bear by barking and rushing in front, while the other attacked him from behind. The task of these brave pets was to restrain the bear until the arrival of the hunters, who killed him with arrows from their bows.
An original diet of fish, meat and small pieces of poultry fed this small fox breed with an original short and erect brush-like tail.
The history of the ancestors of the Taltan bear dog
Although the breed's exact origins are inaccurate, oral history passed down from generation to generation by the Taltan Indians refers to wild dogs that were used to assist hunters armed with bow and arrows in hunting large and small animals. The Taltan Bear Dog is believed to have evolved from isolated stripes of Paleo-Indian hunter-gatherers who migrated from Asian regions to Alaska following large herds of herbivores around 13,500 BC. NS.
John Muir's book, entitled Stickeen: John Muir's Adventure with a Dog and a Glacier, published in 1897, is the true story of an Alaska glacier expedition with a Taltan bear dog named Stikin in 1880:
“In the summer of 1880, I set off from Fort Wrangel in a canoe to continue my exploration of the ice region of southeastern Alaska, begun in the fall of 1879. After the necessary blankets were collected and stowed and my Indian crew was ready to start, and the crowd of their relatives and friends on the pier were saying goodbye wishing good luck, my interlocutor, the Reverend S. Young, whom we were waiting for, finally boarded, and after a small black dog followed and immediately made itself at home, curled up in a ball among the luggage. I like dogs, but this one seemed so small and useless that I didn’t mind her leaving and asked the missionary why he took her.”
“Such a small helpless creature will only get in the way,” I said. This ride is unlikely to be a good one for a toy dog. Poor stupid creature in the rain and snow for weeks or months, and will require care as a child. " But his master assured me that he would be problem-free at all; that he can perfectly endure cold and hunger like a bear, swim like a seal, wonderful, wise, cunning, etc., making a list of virtues to show that he can be the most interesting member of the company."
“No one could hope to unravel the line of his ancestry. In all the wonderfully mixed and varied canine tribe, I have never seen a single creature like him, although in some of his cunning, soft, slippery movements and gestures they resembled a fox. The dog was short-legged and grouped, and the coat, although smooth, was long, silky and slightly tousled when the wind blew on its back. At first glance, its only noticeable feature was a short tail, which was about the same bushy and fluffy as a squirrel, and laid on its back. On closer inspection, you might notice his thin, sensitive ears and sharp and cunning eyes with tan marks above them."
Recognition and reduction of the Taltan bear dog population
It was only through the research of James Tate in 1915 that the talhtan bear dog became recognized as a distinctive, culturally important breed. However, contrary to this, according to James, there are "no more than two or three" individuals left, and they are likely to disappear. Tate also gave a hint that these dogs were often traded by “white people, small bear dogs were taken to different parts of the coastal zone, and in all cases, these individuals soon fell ill and died. Opinions about the reasons for the decline in livestock numbers vary widely, from disease and unusual heat levels and stress to not being able to live on a "wild diet."
However, by the 1930s, the Taltan Bear Dog actually remained fairly common in the area. Around 1939, the efforts of British Columbian Police Commissioner Parsons and Constable Gray contributed to the recognition of the CKC breed. A few years later, the American Kennel Club added them to its list.
After this recognition, it becomes unclear exactly what factor led to the rapid decline in their numbers. It is known that the Taltan Bear Dog was prized and widely exchanged among Indian tribes and at retail outlets throughout the region. This could serve as the crossing of many purebred dogs with other "brothers" of the era and the subsequent decline of true individuals.
The effect of this occasional trade on the decline of the breed population was further enhanced by the natural difficulties in breeding. Only three to four puppies were raised per year. It can be assumed that many "clean" specimens were sold, and the rest could not produce a significant number of offspring to maintain the breed.
In the 1970s, the last lines of purebred Taltan bear dogs were found in the small villages of Athlin, British Columbia and Carcross, Yukon. Tom Connolly, a major game hunter around the Atlin and Ross rivers, used bear dogs. After his death in 1970, his wife Shirley was officially the last person known to own them. With no new registrations and close to extinction, CKC removed the breed from the Sporting Group.
Efforts to revive the Taltan Bear Dog
The last hope for recovery may be Kim Laflamme, an Indian dog breeder in Oregon, who claims to have acquired two of Tom Connolly's six talhtan bear dogs.
Rumors that Tom Connolly of Atllin and Ross River, a major hunter who used the Taltans to hunt bear and elk, went on for thirty years or more. When Kim Laflamme finally found Tom, he was already very sick at that time, and his pets were not registered. In 1970, after Tom's death, his wife Shirley gave Kim two of these dogs (black and blue). They were included in his breeding program. Mrs. Connolly later sold all four of her talhtan bear dogs to a lady friend who moved with them to Southern California, where she traded in tribal descendants from them.
Around the late 70's, the Southern California Rare Breed Dog Association tried to get these last bear dogs from friend Shirley Connolly, including a breed book, to found a breed revival club. Controlled selective breeding that was ignored would actually "revive" the species.
Shirley warned the organization that the CKC and AKC were not listening at the time to her husband, Tom, as there were not enough breeds left to record them. The AKC and CKC did not allow him to register his talents as they were not recognized in the "closed" studbooks. In 1974, the AKC canceled its recognition after twenty-six years of no new registrations.
Breeders and clubs that really cared about the preservation of the variety finally realized that these pure blue blood registries were not interested in the small Indian breed and were only interested in the large number of popular, generally correct dogs. Breeds that could be promoted, sold and bred in every backyard for the AKC's financial gain. At that time, there were so few Taltan bear dogs, their gene pool was associated with only four individuals, turned them into unhealthy inbreeding mutants.
This was my first lesson for Kim Laflamme and his rule not to open the registration book for different talent lines, believing that any new pedigrees would harm an almost extinct breed that was already at risk. At that time, at least, there were still some individuals that to some extent contained the blood of the talhtan bear dog. They could have been used to save the species, including other purebred Connollys. Kim was pleased that this tactic had paid off in preserving this valuable canine species.
In 1986, Laflamme tried again to approach the Rare Breed Association for recognition and assistance in rescuing the talhtan bear dog. Presumably, a “breed” is not considered “real” if it is not recognized by the AKC. To be accepted by the AKC, you must first place the pedigree book in the Rare Breeds Club (1st in the chain of command) and then in the AKC "mixed breed" category.
After another two years of collaboration, the organizations wanted Kim to follow the rules of their AKC marketing strategy, relinquishing full control over the selective breeding program that was so important to the health and the actual "preservation" of the variety's traits. In the early 90s, two ladies attempted to open their own Taltan Bear Dog Club by transferring them to the newly opened Rare Breed Club based in Washington DC.
These advertising marketers again wanted to take over the leading breeding book of the species, preventing the founders and the board of directors of the talhtan bear dog club from overseeing their own breeding program, using a code of ethics and rules that had to be set up to actually save the species. Their competitiveness tactics by inbreeding to create certain colors, blue eyes, and so on will simply destroy the variety, not preserve it. This can be seen in the example of all the "fashion breeds", when they get them, they start to promote through marketing programs to increase popularity, only for financial gain.
Any breed should be at least popular enough for a select few, a few special owners to maintain and pay for itself, but not be sold from the backyards of ignorant breeders. In particular, show breeders are extremely harmful in this regard, who reproduce only an inbred pair of their favorite champions over and over again, generation after generation, until they become one clone or copy of each other, with many genetic health problems, both physically and mentally.
The current state of the Taltan bear dog
More recently, since 1998, the talhtan bear dog is generally considered extinct. This belief was represented by the Guinness Book of Records, which tracked the last few remaining talents over the years, and after their death declared the species "extinct." But, most likely, these were only individuals registered once by the CKC / AKC. They didn’t even bother to ask the Talents themselves which dog was this? Most likely, these canines have survived among the talented peoples, they just do not seek to declare about it.
It is historically known that Taltan dogs were highly regarded and sold south to other Indian nations. The Pueblo Indian dog is a very similar species that Laflamme believes has close genetic ties to the Taltan dog. For the past few decades, Kim Laflamme has had a clean line of Taltans and Pueblo Dogs. He recently donated one of his last talhtan bear dogs (which has some Pueblo blood) to British Columbia, where they hope to revive the breed by crossing it with the remaining bear dog "bits".
Even now, there are people who want to profit from this unique breed and there are rare advertisements showing information about the sale of purebred Taltan Bear Dog puppies. However, due to the extreme non-prevalence of this almost extinct breed, it is unlikely that the animals sold are exactly what they claim.
