Friday, February 13, 2009

A Brief HIstory of the Ninja Dog

Descended from the primitive dogs of the ancient people of Japan, the Ninja Dog was bred to hunt small wild game. When discovered by the Western world, the breed was mistakenly believed to be a mongrel mix of several other native breeds, but it is, in fact, one of the oldest breeds in Asia.

Like its close cousin the Shiba Inu, the Ninja Dog almost became extinct during World War II due to bombing raids and distemper. In the years following the war, the breed resurfaced in the countryside a heartier, stockier type. While revered in his native Japan for his quick wits, stealthy hunting prowess and fierce loyalty, the Ninja Dog was virtually unknown in United States until the 1970s.

The first documented Ninja Dog in the United States was 1968, but the breed did not arrive in any noticeable fashion until 1975. Though the breed is more commonplace in the U.S. than most realize, Ninja Dogs have almost no name recognition and are often mistaken for terriers. The name itself has been co-opted by various dog-owning weaboos and otaku-culture fanatics who are known to make silly videos of their "ninja" dogs and post them online. This has done little to further the recognition of the Japanese Ninja Dog as a registered class of dog. To this day the breed remains shut out of the AKC Stud Book and has no official classification.

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