An interesting retriever dog. This is probably a canoe dog (see comments). I had only read bout this breed, but I had never seen a photo of one!
This photo comes from Frederick Erb, Jr.’s How to Train Dogs and Cats (1904).
To show what kindness will do, in training animals, the picture of a retrieving wolf is here given. The wolf is a wild animal and is looked upon as dangerous. The cause of this is hunger and he will fight for something to eat every time. On the other hand, if treated kindly, as you would treat any other animal, the wolf can be taught to do almost anything – to retrieve, pull a sleigh, or small wagon, or many of the tricks a dog can do. But this can only be done by kind treatment, plenty of petting and by feeding him well.
The animal in the photo above is not a typical retriever of any sort.
However, it’s not a wolf.
It’s a dog.
Update: It turns out that this may be the fabled canoe dog on which this post is based.
These dogs could b ancestors of the St. John’s water dog.
That’s not a wolf, that’s a Canoe Doe of the type owned by the Chipewa Indians and some other tribes along the eastern US-Canada border.
First, look at the size of the dog. That’s a North American cottontail in the dog’s mouth, so the dog weighs maybe 30 pounds or so — basically a Corgi-looking dog without the dwarfism (i.e. longer legs and more balanced chest).
Canoe dogs seem to have originated in the Northeast and were supposed to be useful in hunting beaver — busting them out of lodges — and in retrieving small shot game on hummocky ground. See various mentions here >> http://books.google.com/books?um=1&q=%22canoe+dog%22
The dog was more or less extinct around 1900 and rare after 1850 from what I can gather. Killing the Indians meant a huge loss of quite a lot, including a loss of unique canine genetic material isolated for millenia.
Patrick
I’ve never seen a photo of one, but that does have me thinking.
I’ve written about the canoe dogs: https://retrieverman.wordpress.com/2009/08/11/the-amerindians-of-new-england-had-retrievers/
These canoe dogs could plausibly be an ancestor of the St. John’s water dog, although their owners who introduced them to Newfoundland were most likely Mi’kmaq. They also could have come from the mainland.
I need to do a post on this.
That’s the most interesting. And it really doesn’t look like a wolf either.
Food for thought: What is this dog’s coat like? It doesn’t happen to be a double coat, with a tough top coat that sheds water, and an undercoat that is just a tiny bit wooly and has good insulating properties? And does it have an otter tail?
The breed that Patrick is talking about definitely had a double coat. It was the regional dog for Eastern Canada and the Northeast, which are cold places. These dogs had to work in the elements, including very cold water.
Gosh, that dog really does have a Labradorish look. It could be an ancestor of the St. John’s water dog.
I’ve been teased by some people, when I was sometimes speaking about those Indian canoe dogs. Years ago, I red about them somewhere. I remember, that they were called womens’ dogs because when the men left for war, the dogs stayed home with the rest of the family. And that there were also yellow ones (of course).
I’ve been wondering where the hell is that source now (or have I been dreaming)??
I have not seen that before.
And the most friendliest look, that it by all means could be called “womens’ dog”?
Don’t you think the face looks a bit Labbish?
Sure, she looks like an early proto.
Her size is also perfect. It is fool to think that fishermen kept any bigger dog in their dories. A modern lab’s size is not the original size of the early fisherman’s dog.
I also re-think the name “labrador retriever”. Maybe some of the best fishermen’s dog came from there?
Labrador is part of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, but these dogs most likely came from Nova Scotia.
Came to think if Ben of Hyde got his funny tail from a Indian / Tahltan dog? Mean, from his granmama for instance..
Well, I mean do those Englishmen and they assistances knew the area? Maybe they called the whole area “Newfoundland”, because it was the only commonly known place in England.
I have also red 1800-century accounts where it’s written that it was quite common to go to Labrador to get wood to build a house. In Labrador there were the best (strongest) log-pulling dogs, and men, claims one text.
Is there any information as to where the photo was taken> very similar to a now extinct Tahltan bear dog or yes a canoe dog.
I don’t think it’s a Tahltan.
Tahltans were a bit smaller and had a little different head shape:
I think it’s a canoe dog.
I didn’t say it was a Tahltan, but very similar. Native dog.
see my article
http://www.sleddogcentral.com/features/little_wolf/precolumbian.htm
Very good article!
I have read both Thurston and Schwartz’s books.
The reason why I think this is a canoe dog is that I’ve read about dogs belonging to Northeastern people who used the dogs to retrieve ducks from the water. The dogs would remain hidden on canoes, and then jump out to collect the birds.
yes, and also they would canoe along the banks of small creeks and rivers until they spotted tracks after which they let the dog out to track larger game or go after birds. I think the dog looks like a canoe dog but realize that almost all native tribes had some kind of village dog. I have had native elders here in Alaska ask me to bring back canoe dogs.