The Dingoes are very active and they should get plenty of exercise, if you raise them as pets. They are wild dogs, that if taken into a family, must not be chained up in a backyard, but should be taken in as part of the family. The Dingo dogs are not recommended for apartment life. Your vet will be able to help you to develop a caring routine that will keep your dog healthy. You should always keep up with your dog’s regular vet checkups to detect any health concerns early. If you keep Dingoes as pets, then it is very important to take good care of the dogs. You can consult with a vet in your area for better feeding recommendations. So, their diet should be formulated for a medium-sized breed with high exercise needs. The Dingo dogs are medium in size, but they are very active. Dogs are individuals, just like people, and they don’t all need the same amount of food. How much a mature dog eats depends on it’s size, age, build, metabolism and activity level. And one Dingo has been recorded to live just under 20 years. In captivity, they live for 14 to 16 years. Because of the Dingo’s preying on man’s livestock, the relationship between the two has been untidy and quarrelsome.Īverage lifespan of the Dingo dog in the wild is between 3 and 5 years, with few dogs living 7-9 years. With the European’s introduction of domestic sheep and rabbit, the Dingo population flourished. A direct descendant of the original pariahs from the Middle East and southeastern Asia, the Dingo became savage and returned to the wild. Originally kept by some Australian native groups as an emergency source of food. The dogs and people made their trek before Australia was cut off from the mainland and surrounded by water.Ĭaptain William Damphier, who wrote of the wild dog in 1699, first officially noted the Dingo. It is believed that the Dingo is the ancestor of all dog breeds (the base stock of the 600 true dog breeds). This suggests that no artificial selection has been applied over this period. The earliest known Dingo fossil, found in Western Australia, dates to 3,450 years ago, which led to the presumption that dingoes came to Australia with seafarers prior to that time (possibly from south-west Sulawesi in modern day Indonesia).ĭingo morphology has not changed over the past 3,500 years. It is a medium sized canine that possesses a lean, hardy body and it is adapted for speed, agility and stamina. Taxonomic classification of this dog is debated. It is also known by some other names such as Australian Dingo, Australian Native Dog, Maliki, Warrigal, Noggum, Mirigung and Boolomo. It is sometimes considered as a breed of dog, and sometimes a species separate from the domestic dog. (Carthey, 2012)Ī handsome male Dingo in the early morning, showing pointy erect ears and broad face.The Dingo dog is a breed of dog found in Australia. Cattle Egrets, which arrived in Australia in the 1940’s, are considered native because they came by themselves (but they came because of cattle, which humans introduced).ĭingoes may have been introduced by humans, but so long ago that native wildlife has adapted to them. A study on Dingo DNA suggested that Dingoes were in Australia sometime between 4,600 and 18,300 years before present (Oskarsson, 2011).Ĭane toads are not considered native – they were introduced by humans in 1935. But canid fossils are sparse, so it is possible that dingoes were in Australia earlier without leaving a fossil record. The oldest undisputed dingo fossil is dated at 3,500 years before present. Read this Australian Geographic Article on what makes an animal native. Because we believe that the Dingo was assisted by humans. In Australia we tend to regard all the animals and plants that were in Australia before 1788 as native – except for the Dingo. It would be like calling humans a subspecies of Gorilla. So it is simply not scientifically possible to classify Dingoes as a subspecies of Canis lupus (wolf) or Canis familiaris (dog) if the Dingo arose separately. Scientists have proposed that the ancestor of the Dingo – whether it was wild or domesticated – no longer exists. But what researchers have found is that Dingoes share little with either living domestic dogs or Grey Wolves. Or are they a wild (feral) version of a domesticated dog Canis familiaris that was traded in to Australia by seafarers from Asia? No-one knows the answer to these questions. A Grey Wolf Canis lupus: Dingoes are not descended from this animal eitherįor a long time, in Australia, the true status of Dingoes has been debated.Īre they a wild relative of the Asian / Indian (Grey) Wolf Canis lupus pallipes that found its way to Australia by itself?
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