Africanis

The Africanis is actually an umbrella name for all aboriginal dogs from South Africa. This group is generally not recognized as a breed. Its exact origin is unknown, but these dogs are widely believed to be the descendants of hounds and pariah dogs of ancient Africa. They were possibly brought into the Nile Valley from the Levant. In Swahili language, this breed is called ‘umbwa wa ki-shenzi’ which means traditional dog or common mongrel.

These dogs are medium sized and have short coats. They are muscular and more long than tall. They can be found in various colors. Some dogs may come with a ridgeback. There is no certain standard for the appearance of these dogs. They are ideally suited to the climate and terrain of Africa. The beauty of these dogs lies in the simplicity and adaptability of their bodies. These dogs are slender built, active, capable of great speeds and supple.

These dogs have a friendly temperament and can be good guard dogs without being overly aggressive. They are independent by nature, but respond well to training. They usually make good pets and are safe to have around the house. They are also easy to maintain because their coats need almost no special care. Over hundreds of years, these dogs have developed strong immune systems which help them to resist internal and external parasites. They are naturally aligned to being around humans from their long history of thriving around ancient tribal settlements.

The earliest known presence of this group has been traced to Egypt in around 4700 BC. They then spread rapidly along the Nile into Sudan and elsewhere. Human migrations and trade took these dogs deep into the Sahara desert. The concept of domestic dogs first arrived in South Africa with the Bantu people in the early Iron Age. Since then, the gene pool of the Africanis has been enriched by a wide variety of hounds. Purer breeds of Africanis are still found in tribal areas which have been relatively untouched by the modern world. A steep decline in the popularity of these dogs as pets has endangered their future to some extent. For this reason, the Kennel Union of Southern Africa has recognized these dogs as an emerging breed. The purpose of this organization is to preserve the natural features of these dogs, rather than develop new breeds.

These dogs have been valued by traditional African tribes for their intelligence, loyalty, hardiness and hunting skills. What makes these dogs unique is the fact that they were shaped by natural causes, rather than human breeding efforts. In present times, it has become increasingly clear that these dogs are indigenous to the African continent and not merely mongrels of Western types. For a thousand years before any Western influence entered Africa, these dogs were accompanying tribal African hunters and were very common in Southern Africa.

Foreign influence on this breed happened only in the 19th century. The Greyhound was a particularly popular choice for cross breeding. In Zulu language, such crosses are known as Ibhanzi.