Far away from towns and villages, in a small mountain country, there are still some places cut off from modern civilization, where on alpine meadows with rich and diverse vegetation cattle herds are grazing; mountain peaks retain there snow caps and crystal clear water in creeks is icy cold. Here, life is going at the same pace as it was for thousand of years in the past. Here, there is no electricity, running water or regular communication with the outside world.  People live in small collapsible houses built out of thick felt called yurta.  The only mean of transportation is horse. Only some contemporary household items remind us of present time and not in the remote past.  These are exactly those conditions, under which the Kyrgyz sighthound Taigan had been formed. The Taigan is mentioned multiple times in Kyrgyz epos “Manas”.

The Canaan Dog holds a special and unique position in today’s cynological world.  On the one hand, this breed is fully recognized by all of the world’s kennel clubs and is gaining more and more popularity as a pet and family dog in various parts of the world.  On the other hand, in its land of origin, Israel, this breed also still exists as a wild or semi wild dog that must fight for its survival.

What kind of breed characteristics of the appearance, psyche and behavior of our breed and what distinguishes it from other Spitz-like dogs (Laikas), including its German and Scandinavian descendants and, from now popular youngest cousin, the Samoyed?  As we know, all Laikas and Spitzes are weakly differentiated into different breeds and some of them are very similar to each other.