There are actually several well-documented breeds of dog that were maintained by the Native Americans. It is true that among nomadic peoples there was much intermingling, but there were still types that is was possible for early explorers to identify and record.
And among those cultures that had a more agriculturally-based lifestyle, distinct breeds were fostered for various purposes. It's possible to control breeding of animals by more ways than simply surgical sterilization, and Native Americans were well informed about the principles of selection for purpose and even aesthetics. It was they, after all, who showed the first European settlers the basics of crop growth in the New World.
The Klamath dog, found in the Columbia River region of Canada and New England while the first nations were still extant there, was a short legged dog, but not dwarfed (ie, straight, not bowed legs, observers of these dogs knew the difference), piebald marked, with body colors of black, brown, or brindle. It had erect ears , a smooth coat, and a brushy tail. It was bred for elk hunting.
The Clallam dog was found in cultures that had their home in and around the islands of the Puget Sound. These dogs were bred very carefully for their wooly hair, which was spun into clothes and blankets.
Another short legged dog that went by many names seems to have been bred among similiar river valley cultures that spread from Virginia to California. This clever little breed of dog had many purposes, from hunting small beasts to acting as watchdog and caretaker of children, and even to the extremely important job of assisting in driving fish to weirs.
Anther breed documented among the Hare nation around Canada's Great Bear Lake, was a whippet-like dog, "white with dark patches" and very wide, webbed feet, which was bred to bay up moose and other large game. It was said that these dogs were even more highly valued than their children, as a good dog meant the difference between eating and starving! The Slavey, Beaver, and Dogrib had similar dogs. There is a painting by Audubon of the Hare dog.
Another purpose bred dog was found in the Pacific Northwest. The Tahltan Bear Dog was a small creature that was carried in a basket on the hunt until the large, more general purpose dogs bayed up a bear. Then the more agile dogs would be released to harass and distact the bear until it could be dispatched by the humans.
Another terrier type dog hunted otters for the Yahgan of Tierra del Fuego. It was a soft grey color, with distinctly webbed feet. They too were to lay low in baskets small enough to be toted on board punts, and then pursue and retreive otters that had been wounded by the hunters.
Another South American coastal people, the Chono, used trained dogs, probably of the same type as the Yahgan, to drive fish into nets. They also had another breed which they bred for their soft wooly coat, like the Clallam.
One of the earliest evidences we have for purpose bred dogs anywhere in the world, in fact, comes from South America, where in Patagonia there are fossilized remains of a wolflike breed, the size of a foxhound. This dog in fact matches descriptions of the dog which the people of that area used to hunt guanacos and rhea.
At some point which most likely coincided with the turn from hunting in this area, to herding, this same dog was transformed into a dog that resembled a small collie (not Lassie, but old farm type collie). There are still ancestors of this dog in that area today.
The Peruvians also bred a small pug-type dog which had no apparently purpose other than companionship and fancy. [
] The notable thing is that they did in fact maintain this ornamental breed - even in so-called primitive societies there is still room for aesthetics and the capacity for experimentation.
The Colima in Mexico seem to have been the ones to first isolate and purposely breed the hairless dog in the New World, in about 250 BC. This makes this dog one of the most ancient continuously purpose-bred dogs, currently in existance. As many know, the Xoloitzcuintli was a companion, a living hot water bottle for achy joints, and was a last shot in the locker to sacrifice to the gods in case of severe drought.
Amazingly, these early breeders seem to have understood very clearly the nature of the lethal gene they were dealing with, in breeding the hairless. They were careful to breed for complete dentition in favor of complete hairlessness, and kept the dogs with full coats for outcrossing. Instead of breeding for less hair, they rubbed the dogs with dipilatories (a practice still done today, by the way), for that "correct" look.
Primitive? I think not. [
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