A dog preserved from the time the bond began…

New Guinea Singing Dogs have co-existed with humans on the island nation of Papua New Guinea for thousands of years prior to their documentation by explorers and the Australian military in the 1800s (Troughton, 1971). Singers are not native to the island and pinpointing how they arrived is still up for debate. However, the generally accepted assumption is that they traveled with seafarers to the island thousands of years ago.

These dogs, like all other domestic dogs, are descendants of the gray wolf. New Guinea Singing Dogs are unique in that upon arriving in the Oceanic region of the world, little has changed genetically as their population has been left mostly untouched on the island for generations. Dogs of similar build and behavior have been previously photographed and documented on other islands. However, most of these populations have been lost due to cross-breeding with outside breeds.

The New Guinea singing dog (NGSD) has carried a number of names and classifications, including Papuan dog (Canis papuensis), Hallstrom’s dog (Canis hallstromi), Canis familiaris, Canis familiaris hallstromi, Canis lupus familiaris, and dingo (Canis lupus dingo) (Dwyer & Minnegal, 2016). Given all the names by which the NGSD has been called, it is unsurprising that there has been a lack of consensus regarding their classification as a domestic dog (Voth, Dwyer & Minnegal, 2016), a feral dog (IUCN 2019), a village dog (Dwyer & Minnegal, 2022), a free-ranging dog (Brisbin & Risch, 1997), a wild-living dog (McIntyre et al., 2019), or a wild dog (Koler-Matznick et al., 2007).

The lack of an agreed-upon identity has impacted the New Guinea Singing Dog in numerous ways. The first New Guinea Singing Dogs acquired from Papua New Guinea were kept in zoos, not unlike other early primitive breeds including the Basenji. New Guinea Singing Dogs imported to North America were distributed to zoos and collections. The first pair of New Guinea Singing Dogs imported into the United States arrived in 1958 and 1959. Breedings from this pair in 1962 began the dispersal of offspring into zoos and private collections. No additional New Guinea Singing Dogs were imported into North America until 1980 when a male named Dinkum was imported. A female named Olga, imported from Germany in 1987, was bred with Dinkum, and the majority of New Guinea Singing Dogs in North America today, carry the genes of these founding dogs. It was also at this time that many zoos eliminated or reduced New Guinea Singing Dogs in their collections due to a lack of interest in keeping domestic dogs for exhibition. Today there is only a small population of less than a few dozen living in zoos, collections, and animal parks.

The 1980 also marks the period when most private owners began acquiring more of these dogs as companion animals (Flamholtz, 1991). Owners describe life with New Guinea Singing Dogs as similar to life with other primitive domestic dogs, such as Basenjis, Shiba Inus, Akita, Chinese Shar Pei, Chow Chow, and Canaan Dogs (Flamholtz, 1991; Sumridge 2021). In addition, New Guinea Singing Dog owners have shared that they frequently take their dogs out in public, participate in numerous activities, and even compete in dog sports (Flamholtz, 1991; Koler-Matznick, 2016, Sumridge 2021). Additionally, New Guinea Singing Dogs were shown conformation in the United Kennel Club in the 1990s and can still be registered with the American Rare Breed Association. New Guinea Singing Dogs are smart, affectionate and versatile dogs. They have been titled in numerous sports including rally, scent work, Barn Hunt, coursing, and have served as therapy dogs, medical scent detection dogs, and even service dogs.

Today the classification and identity of New Guinea Singing Dogs are still frequently misunderstood. New Guinea Singing Dogs are not a unique species separate from the lineage of domestic dogs. However, this confusion and misinformation have caused some institutions to classify NGSDs as “exotic animals.” This means that owners in some states are now required to have a permit, and in other states, keeping them as companion animals in flux (Koler-Matznick, 2016; USDA, 2016). It is vitally important for the lives of the dogs living in North America and abroad that this misunderstanding be resolved.

References

American Rare Breed Association. (2023). American Rare Breed Association – Group 5. Retrieved March 1st, 2023, from https://www.arba.org/Pages/gallery-group-5-breeds.htm

Brisbin, I. L., & Risch, T. S. (1997). Primitive dogs, their ecology and behavior: Unique opportunities to study the early development of the human–canine bond. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 210(8), 1122–1126.

Dwyer, P. D., & Minnegal, M. (2016). Wild dogs and village dogs in New Guinea: Were they different?Australian Mammalogy, 38(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1071/AM15011

Flamholtz, C. J. (1991). A celebration of rare breeds (Vol. 2). OTR Publications.

IUCN Alvares, Francisco; Bogdanowicz, Wieslaw; Campbell, Liz A.D.; Godinho, Rachel; Hatlauf, Jennifer; Jhala, Yadvendradev V.; Kitchener, Andrew C.; Koepfli, Klaus-Peter; Krofel, Miha; Moehlman, Patricia D.; Senn, Helen; Sillero-Zubiri, Claudio; Viranta, Suvi; Werhahn, Geraldine (2019). "Old World Canis spp. with taxonomic ambiguity: Workshop conclusions and recommendations. CIBIO. Vairão, Portugal, 28th - 30th May 2019" (PDF).

Koler-Matznick, J. (2016). Why the New Guinea singing dog should be considered a companion animal and not subject to regulations as an exotic animal.

Koler-Matznick, J., Yates, B. C., Bulmer, S., & Brisbin, I. L. J. (2007). The New Guinea singing dog: Its status and scientific importance. Australian Mammalogy, 29(1), 47–56. https://doi.org/10.1071/AM07005

McIntyre, J. K., Wolf, L. L., Sacks, B. N., Koibur, J., & Brisbin, I. L. (2019). A population of free-living highland wild dogs in Indonesian Papua. Australian Mammalogy, 42(2), 160–166. https://doi.org/10.1071/AM18039

Molly H. Sumridge, Malini Suchak & Christy L. Hoffman (2021) Owner-Reported Attachment and Behavior Characteristics of New Guinea Singing Dogs Living as Companion Animals, Anthrozoös, 34:3, 375-392, DOI: 10.1080/08927936.2021.1898218

Troughton, E. (1971). The early history and relationships of the New Guinea Highland dog (Canis hallstromi). Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 96(2), 93–98.

USDA. (2016). New classification of the dingo and New Guinea singing dog. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/downloads/tech-notes/tech-note-New-Classification-of-the-Dingo-and-New-Guinea-Singing-Dog-April-2016.pdf

Voth, I. (1988). Social behavior of New Guinea dingoes (Canis lupus f. Familiaris): Expressive behavior, social organization and rank relationships [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Ludwig Maximilian University.