Kintamani (dog)
Encyclopedia
The Kintamani is a dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
native to the Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n island of Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
. It is a popular pet for the Balinese and locally Bali's only official breed and efforts are currently under way to have the dog accepted by the Federation Cynologique Internationale as a recognized breed. It is an evolving breed indigenous to the Kintamani region which evolved from the local Bali street dogs, which are rather a feral
Feral
A feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...
random-bred landrace
Landrace
A landrace is a local variety of a domesticated animal or plant species which has developed largely by natural processes, by adaptation to the natural and cultural environment in which it lives. It differs from a formal breed which has been bred deliberately to conform to a particular standard...
distinctive to Bali.
Genetic Evidence
Genetic studies have shown that, despite evidence to the contrary, the Kintamani dog is native to Bali. Thirty-one highly polymorphic short tandem repeat markers from Kintamani dogs, Bali street dogs, Australian dingoes, and nine American Kennel Club (AKC) recognized breeds of northeast Asian or European origin were compared. The Kintamani dog was identical to the Bali street dog at all but three loci. The Bali street dog and Kintamani dog were most closely aligned with the Australian dingo, more distantly related to AKC recognized breeds of Chinese origin, and most distantly related to AKC breeds from of western EurasiaEurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
. Therefore, the Kintamani dog has evolved from Balinese feral dogs with little loss of genetic diversity.
Characteristics
These results come despite observable facts about the Kintamani Dog that make them more similar to breeds from elsewhere and which set them apart from the average village dog; facts which had lent credence to a local folk belief that the breed originated 600 years ago from a Chinese Chow Chow brought from abroad.The Kintamani looks something like a mix between the Samoyed and a Malamute. They have long hair, a broad face, a flat forehead, and flat cheeks like Chinese dogs such as the Chow Chow and are amenable to life as a pet. Whilst many live much the same kind of life as an average village dog, they dig holes to nest their young and some live in small caves among the boulders around Kintamani. They are locally considered good-looking dogs are more often sought after as good pets, whereas the Bali street dog cannot be reliably tamed, even when taken as a puppy. In contrast, the Kintamani dog is gentle around people, yet retains enough assertive behavior to render it a noteworthy (but not vicious) watchdog.
The withers height of the female Kintamani dog is 40–50 cm, 45–55 cm for the male, about the same as the stature of the Bali street dog. The desired physical traits of the Kintamani dog include erect ears, forwardly curved tail held at the midline, medium to longhaired coat, almond-shaped brown eyes, and black skin pigment.
Bali street dogs come in many colors and coat patterns, and they are almost always shorthaired and straight- to curve- tailed. Both still whelp in burrows dug into the earth, a feral dog trait. However,
Temperament
A fiercely independent breed, Kintamani's can be aggressively territorial while at the same tender and affectionate with their own families. While most dog breeds are disinclined to climbing and heights, Kintamani's will climb across roofs and spend parts of the day happily installed sitting or sleeping atop a garden wall. They are light-footed and move freely, smoothly and lithely, and will bark when confronted with an unfamiliar sound or sight.History
Genetic studies of the breed have shown that has probably evolved from local Balinese feral dogsFeral
A feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...
, and is distantly related to other Asian breeds. Folklore indicates that the Kintamani began with a Chow Chow
Chow Chow
Chow chow is a breed of dog that was developed in China, where it is referred to as Songshi Quan , which literally means "puffy-lion dog".- Appearance :...
around 600 years ago. The Kintamani achieved national recognition as a distinct dog breed in April 2006.
It is also possible that the Kintamani Dog came with the Javanese invaders from the kingdom of Majapahit in 1343 or with the Javanese refugees of the civil war in the 15th century. But of all the hypotheses, about the origins of the Kintamani Dog, only one is really plausible: that sometime between the 12th and the 16th century a Chinese trader named Lee landed in Singaraja
Singaraja
Singaraja is the regency seat of Buleleng, Bali, Indonesia. The name is Indonesian for "Lion King". It is on the north coast just east of Lovina...
in Northern Bali, bringing with him a Chow Chow
Chow Chow
Chow chow is a breed of dog that was developed in China, where it is referred to as Songshi Quan , which literally means "puffy-lion dog".- Appearance :...
dog which bred with the local Balinese feral dogs. Lee later in settled in the Kintamani region and raised his family there. Evidence that the Lee family lived in Kintamani exists in the form of a Chinese temple in which people of the Confucian faith still worship.