UPDATE ON THE GENETIC STUDY OF ARABIAN DESERT DOGS

Some results of the genetic study under way of our Arabian pariah desert dogs have been shared with me by Dr.Elaine Ostrander and her team at the National Institute of Health. All dogs have now been identified. (See below).

The dogs cluster in 2 groups, one showing a genetic connection to Basenjis. This is not surprising considering that Basenji dogs would have been established from dogs that moved to Africa through the middle-east so some of their genetic material would be expected to still be found among dogs of the middle-east. Basenjis have evolved separately now for some time.

The second cluster is with what is now human controlled “breed” registered as Canaan dogs. These have the same genetic origin with Canaan dogs having been selected from a small number based on appearances without reference to their genetic makeup, since such testing was not available when the breed was established several generations ago. It is to be expected that pedigree Canaan dogs would now have less genetic diversity than our pariahs.

The dogs included in this ongoing work include some born in Jeddah,  Al Qassim, Riyadh, Dammam, Doha, Dubai and other emirates  and Sohar. All of them have an ancient connection and are not mixes of modern dogs. Some had been adopted and living in homes or were in K9 friends, Dubai shelter and some were still living free but were being provided with food and water and had become accustomed to people. 

First is the overall tree as published previously by Elaine Ostrader et. al. It shows where Canaan dogs fit in the world of dog genetics but our dogs had not been included when published. 

The second diagram is an enlarged small section of this tree with our desert dogs added and shown in red. As explained by Dr. Ostrander :-

1. Small numbers on the lines in black are the bootstrap values.  That indicates how many times out of 100 we ran the same data and got the exact sample architecture of the tree. This tree is amazingly good with most data being at 100%. 
2. The Canaan dogs are not necessarily closet to the Saluki.  Remember that this is a two dimension graph that can exist in three dimensions.  So the branch with the Saluki can be flipped 180 degrees, putting them closer to anything left of the saluki.  What matters here is the branch position.  Like a real tree--what is relevant is what branch comes from which larger branch, not the twisted position of the single small branch. So focus on the branch structure. "

Photographs of the dogs included in these groups and identified follow. First those clustered with Canaan dogs then those clustered with Basenjis.

THANK YOU FOR ALL WHO PARTICIPATED IN THIS, WITHOUT YOU WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT. THESE DOGS ARE IMPORTANT AND DESERVE FULL RECOGNITION AS A PART OF THE NATIONAL HERITAGE OF THIS PART OF THE WORLD AND THE OVERALL WORLD OF DOGS. As more information comes to hand I will update it.

Clustered with Canaan dogs

(In order from left to right on the tree)

Dave and Roxx have rear dew claws.

Hannah

Figa

Pack leader

Jenny

Jimmy

Robin

Genevieve

Melli

Lilly

Hope

Faraji

Dave

Dasha

Coconut

Esra

Lucas

Lara

Luna

Rocky

Bobbi

Roxx

Aswad

Dolly

Pavlova

Tiara

Clustered close to Basenji

(In order from left to right on the tree)

Cookie

Foxy

Savvy

Sandy

Brandy

(no photo)

Shayboo

(No photo)

Nina

(No photo)

McKenzie

(No photo)

Spock

(No photo)

Max

Molly

Bella

Jasmine

(in front)

Jinn

(no photo)

Joann

Leila

(no photo)

Honey

Doodle

Tess

Ben

List of all dogs included 

30606 Pack Leader Carstens, 30609 Hannah Carstens, 30610 Figa Carstens, 30611 Dasha Carstens, 30612 Dave Carstens, 30613 Lara Carstens, 30614 Genevieve Carstens, 30615 Luna Carstens, 30616 Melli Carstens, 30617 Lucas Carstens, 30621 Habibi Groenewald, 30622 Coconut Schroeter, 30624 Bobby K9, 30625 Pavlova K9, 30626 Tiara k9, 30627 Molly Groenwald, 30628, Robin Hart, 30630 Max Beadle, 30631 Savvy Doust, 30632 Cookie Witt, 30633 Sandy Bennett, 30634 Shayboo Androski, 30635 Brandy Androski, 30636 Mckenzie Hassell, 30637 Nina Golez Chang, 30638 Spock Hald, 30639 Roxx Schroeter, 30640 Foxy Velasco, 30852 Jenny Carstens, 30853 Jimmy Carstens, 31081 Honey Carruthers, 31082 Tess Carruthers, 31083 Jinn Crowley, 31084 Joann Groenewald, 31085 Ben Groenwald, 31086 Jasmine Groenwald, 31087 Bella Groenwald, 31088 Doodle K9, 31089 Aswad K9, 31090 Esra K9, 31091 Glitter K9, 31092 Faraji K9, 31093 Dolly K9, 31094 Hope K9, 31095 Leila Kawpevis, 31098 Lilly Koerth, 31099 Rocky Koerth

Geographic areas and group

Al Khobar (Basenji group)

Max

Dharan (Basenji group)

Savvy, Sandy, Brandy, Mckenzie, Nina, Spock, Shayboo, Foxy

Dubai (Canaan group)

Coconut, Trixie, Bobbi, Pavlova, Tiara, Robin, Roxx, Glitter, Aswad, Hope, Feraji, Lilly, Rocky, Esra, Dolly

Dubai (Basenji group)

Doodle

Fujaira (Basenji group)

Honey, Tess, Leila

Jeddah

Cookie

Sohar (Basenji group)

Bella, Ben, Molly, Joann, Jasmine

Umm Al Quwain (Canaan group)

Pack Leader, Neo, Hannah, Figa, Dave, Dasha, Lara, Genevieve, Luna, Melli, Lucas, Jenny, Jimmy