Canaan Dogs are believed to be one of the oldest breeds in history, dating back to ancient times. Canaan Dogs originated in Israel as a guard and herding dog, protecting the camps and flocks of the Israelites. During the second century, the Romans drove out the Israelites as well as the Canaan Dogs. Along with the Hebrew population, the Canaan Dogs sought refuge in the Negev Desert.
For centuries the Bedouins have used the Canaan Dog to herd and hunt and it is because of this that the breed managed to survive until the 1930's when Dr. Rudolphina Menzel used the feral "pariah dogs" to develop a breed that could guard remote Jewish settlements. They were first brought to the United States in September 1965 by Ursula Berlowitz.
The Canaan Dogs were admitted to the AKC as a Miscellaneous Class in June 1989. Although still relatively rare in the United States, the breed is slowly growing in popularity and often serves as seeing-eye and therapy dogs.
