The Dingo (Canis lupus Dingo) is a domestic dog which has reverted to a wild state for thousands of years and today lives largely independent from humans in the majority of its distribution. The name "Dingo" mostly refers to populations occurring in Australia, though Dingoes have been proven to exist in Thailand through genetic analyses, where they mostly live close to humans. Also, there are dog-populations (e.g. the New Guinea Singing Dog), which bear similarities to the Dingo, but have yet to be proven if they are indeed the same animal. 

History

Since Dingoes were the only big placental mammals in Australia, apart from humans, and looked similar to dogs under human care but lived in the wild, their origin was a subject of much speculation and debate since the 18th century and especially in the first half of the 20th century. Later archaeological and morphological studies indicated a relatively late introduction and a close relationship to other domestic dogs. The exact descent, place of origin and time of their arrival in Australia were not identified, also not whether they were domesticated respectively half-domesticated at the time of their arrival and therefore are feral or completely wild dogs. A widely distributed theory says that Dingoes have evolved or were bred from the Canis lupus pallipes or Canis lupus arabs around 6.000–10.000 years ago (this was also assumed for all domestic dogs). This theory was based on the morphological similarities of Dingo skulls and the skulls of these wolves. However genetic analyses indicated a much earlier domestication. Analyses of amino sequences of the hemoglobin of a "pure" Dingo in the 70s supported the theory that Dingoes are closer related to other domestic dogs than to grey wolves or coyotes. Additionally it was assumed that Dingoes and other Asian domestic dogs are members of a group of domestic dogs that went feral very early. At the same time DNA-studies on Australian Dingoes and other domestic dogs were performed to differentiate between both populations in a reliable way and determine the extent of the interbreeding. At the first two examinations, during which at first 14 loci and later 5 of these loci were examined, no genetic difference could be found. Later on the analyses were expanded to 16 loci. This time Dingoes from Central Australia, the Eastern Highlands, Dingo-hybrids and domestic dogs of other origin were examined. The researchers were surprised that they could not find any differences no matter what kind of examination they used. It was reasoned that Dingoes and other domestic dogs have a very similar gene pool. However, since also only few differences in the enzymes of different species of the genus canis could be found, it was assumed that a lack of differences might not indicate a close taxonomical relationship. It was also reasoned that the degree of interbreeding in the wild is only hard to determine. During analyses in the end of the 1990s researchers also analysed 14 loci and detected a significantly lower genetic variability among Australian Dingoes than among other domestic dogs and a small founding population was considered. There was one loci found that might have been suitable for differentiation, but not in the case of interbreeding of a Dingo-hybrid with other "pure" Dingoes. Additionally it was suspected that findings of other suitable loci might be used to determine whether there are clearly separate sub-populations of the "pure" Dingoes. To determine the origin and time of arrival of Australian Dingoes, mtDNA-sequences of 211 Dingoes and 19 archaeological samples from pre-European Polynesia have been compared in 2004 with DNA-samples of 676 other domestic dogs and 38 grey wolves. The domestic dog samples came from China, Africa, Southwest-Asia, India, Siberia, the arctic America, Europe, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, New Zealand, Hawaii and the highlands of New Guinea. The Dingo-samples came from zoos, wildlife parks, Dingo-conservation-groups, Dingo-lovers and 192 wild living specimen from 27 areas scattered over the Australian continent, mainly from the Pilbara-region, New South Wales and the Northeast of Victoria. The wild specimen had been selected based on similarities of external appearance, to exclude the influence of Dingo-hybrids and other domestic dogs as far as possible. Compared to wolves and other domestic dogs the variation of mtDNA-sequences was very limited too. Among Dingoes only 20 mtDNA-sequences differing in 2 point mutations at most could be found. In comparison: 114 mtDNA-sequences with a maximal difference of 16 point mutations between the DNA-types could be found among other domestic dogs. Two of the Dingo mtDNA-types were similar to that of other domestic dogs (A9, A29), while the other 18 types were unique to Dingoes. In a phylogenetic tree of wolves and domestic dogs, Dingoes fell right into the main clade (A), which contained 70% of all domestic dog types. Within this clade the Dingo-types formed a group around the type A29, which was surrounded by twelve less frequent Dingo-types, as well as a set of other domestic dog types. This mtDNA-type was found in 53% of the Dingoes and was also found among some domestic dogs from East-Asia, New-Guinea and the American Arctic. Based on these findings it was reasoned that all Dingo-mtDNA-types originated in A29. A9 was only found in one individual and it was regarded as possible that this type is the result of a parallel mutation. Based on a mutation-rate of mtDNA and that A29 is the only founder–type it was regarded as most likely that Dingoes arrived in Australia about 4,600 to 5,400 years ago, which was consistent with archaeological findings. However, it was also considered that Dingoes might have arrived within a timeframe of 4,600 to 10,800 years ago, in case that the mtDNA-mutation rate was slower than assumed. Furthermore it was reasoned that these findings strongly indicate a descent of Dingoes from East-Asian domestic dogs and not from Indian domestic dogs or wolves. In addition these findings indicated two possibilities of descent: all Australian Dingoes are descended from a few domestic dogs, theoretically one pregnant femaleall Australian Dingoes are descended from a group of domestic dogs, who radically lost their genetic diversity through one or several severe genetic bottlenecks on their way from the Asian continent over Southeast-Asia Nonetheless, the existence of other mtDNA-types on the islands surrounding Australia indicate there have been other types apart from A29 and only one single founding event. These results also indicated that there hasn't been any significant introduction of other domestic dog on the Australian continent prior to the arrival of the Europeans. Also, a shared origin and some sort of genetic exchange between Australian Dingoes and the New Guinea Singing Dogs was regarded as possible. The current state of the Australian Dingoes was ascribed to the long wild existence of these dogs and assumed that they are an isolated example of early domestic dogs. Despite accordant claims,[89][90] these findings did not show that only Dingo females mate with non-Dingo males and not vice versa. The findings would not allow such a conclusion, since the mating of a Dingo female with a non-Dingo male could not be detected via analyses of mtDNA. Furthermore the researchers made sure from the start that Dingo-hybrids were excluded as far as possible. 

Appearance and Size

The Dingo shares many characteristics with South-East Asian domestic dogs and Indian pariah dogs. Eye colour varies from yellow over orange to brown. Build Dingoes have a relatively broad head, a pointed muzzle, and erect ears. Compared to other similarly sized domestic dogs, Dingoes have longer muzzles, larger carnassials, longer canine teeth, and a flatter skull with larger nuchal lines. The average Dingo is 52–60 cm tall at the shoulders and measures 117 to 124 cm from nose to tag. The average weight is 13 to 20 kg, however there was a report of a wild Dingo weighing 27 kg.  Males are typically larger and heavier than females of the same age. Dingoes from the North and the North-West of Australia are larger than Central and South-Australian populations. Australian Dingoes are invariably heavier than Asian ones. The legs are about half the length of the body and the head put together. The hind feet make up a third of the hind legs and have no dewclaws.  Dingoes can have saber-formed tails (typically carried erect with a curve towards the back) or tails which are carried directly on the back. Fur The fur of adult Dingoes is short, bushy on the tail, and varies in thickness and length, depending on the climate. The fur color is mostly sandy to reddish brown, but can include tan patterns and be occasionally black, light brown, or white. Completely black Dingoes probably were prevalent in Australia in the past, but have been sighted only rarely in recent times and are now more common in Asia than in Australia. Most Dingoes are at least bicolored, with small white markings on the chest, muzzle, tag, legs, and paws being the most common feature. In the case of reddish individuals, there can be small, distinctive, and dark stripes on the shoulders. All other color and color-patterns on adult Dingoes are regarded as evidence for interbreeding with other domestic dogs. 

Personality

Dingos are very often nocturnal in warmer regions, but more active during the day in cooler areas. Their main time of activity is around dusk and dawn. The periods of activity are short (often less than one hour) with short times of resting. They have two kinds of movement: a searching movement, apparently associated with hunting, and an exploratory movement, probably for contact and communication with other dogs. In general, Dingoes are shy towards humans. However, there are reports on Dingoes who were not impressed by the presence of humans, for instance around camps in national parks, near streets or suburbs.  According to studies in Queensland, the wild dogs there move freely at night through urban areas and cross streets and seem to get along quite well.The Dingo as a pet and working dog There is divided opinion on the topic of keeping Dingoes as pets and working dogs. For some people, the Dingo is by no means suitable for this while for others it is no different to other domestic dogs, and that to say otherwise would be far fetched. In this vein, Dingoes would have the right to be recognized as a dog breed and that domestication would be the only reliable way to ensure the survival of the "pure" Dingo. Dingoes can be very tame when they come in frequent contact with humans.  Furthermore there were and are Dingoes that live with humans (due to practical, as well as emotional reasons). It is known that many indigenous Australians and early European settlers already lived alongside Dingoes. Alfred Brehm reported of Dingoes that were completely tame and, in some cases, behaved exactly like other domestic dogs (one was used for shepherding heavy livestock), as well as of specimens that remained wild and shy. He also reported of Dingoes that were aggressive and completely uncontrollable, but was of the opinion that these reports should not get more attention than they deserve, since the behaviour depends on how the Dingo was raised since early puppyhood. He also believed that these dogs could become very decent pets. According to Eberhard Trumler Dingoes are very smart and affectionate. These characteristics were the reason why he never recommended anyone to own Dingoes if they could not provide the dog an enclosure (not a kennel) that was big enough and escape-proof and a partner of the opposite sex. During heat, Dingoes are even harder to manage than other domestic dogs, which combined with their attachment to their owners leads to problems, since they want to follow their owners all the time and never miss the opportunity to feed. They are supposed to find every weak spot of an enclosure or residence, escape for a while and stray through towns and villages. Their intellectual ability is supposedly connected to an enormous ability to learn and a lightning perception, but stops at the slightest hint of pressure. They would be suitable as shepherd dogs, as they see a purpose in it (keeping together a familiar group would be in their nature) and even today, some Dingoes are used as shepherd dogs. Similar to other domestic dogs they can be housebroken. In 1976, the Australian Native Dog Training Society of N.S.W. Ltd was founded, which was originally illegal because ownership of Dingoes was forbidden. The Dingo was officially recognized as Australia's national dog breed in mid-1994 by the Australian National Kennel Council, and a breed standard was published years later. However this does not legalize ownership in states where it is forbidden to own, breed or sell Dingoes. Today Dingoes are breed by certain clubs and private individuals in Australia and the USA. Whether or not Dingoes are allowed to be kept as pets differs from country to country, as well as between the states of Australia. For example: in South Australia Dingoes can only be kept in specially authorized zoos, circuses and research institutions. Ownership, planned domestication or commercial usage of Dingoes is considered unacceptable, since this would lead to the reintroduction of Dingoes in sheep areas. The Dingo is not regarded as a dog breed by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale. However the American Rare Breed Association (ARBA) regards the Dingo as a breed belonging to the Spitz and Primitive Group. Since 1988 the Dingo is also recognized as a dog breed by the Australian National Kennel Council (ANKC) where it is listed in Group 4. 

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