The history of the Canaan Dog is very interesting in that this breed, or one very similar in conformation, can be traced back to as early as 2200 B.C.  Then it disappears from written history to reappear again in the mid - 1930's, only this time as a pariah dog.  This dog is originally a middle eastern breed, found in  the area of Palestine, an area also known as Canaan in biblical history.  It was used by the people of that area for herding and as guard dogs.  The dogs earned distinction with these people sufficiently to be depicted in tomb drawings.  Apparently this breed developed within a very small area, geographically speaking, an area today known as Israel.
     In 1934, Professor Rudophina Menzel emigrated from Austria to Palestine, which at that time was under British mandate.  This little country would later become known as Israel.  Professor Menzel was an expert in the training of service dogs, and as such was asked by the Haganah (the Jewish Defense Forces) to create a service dog organization.  The commonly known breeds of dog at that time were not able to tolerate the heat and working conditions of the desert climate of Palestine and so Professor Menzel had to look elsewhere for service dogs.  She noted that the pariah dogs that were found locally, were also being used by the Bedouin for herding and for guarding their flocks.  These dogs required very little in the way of food, water, or comforts to survive.
     Professor Menzel investigated these pariah dogs and was able to classify five different types of dog based on their build and head shapes.  She decided to work with a "collie type", to form her foundation stock.  It was Professor Menzel who gave the breed the name of Canaan Dog.  The pariah dogs that the Professor started out with adapted very rapidly to life as a devoted and loving companion and guard dog.  During World War II and the Israeli War of Independence in 1948, these dogs served with the military as sentries, as messengers, and in locating land mines.  After these wars, Professor Menzel founded the Institute for Orientation and Mobility of the Blind.  The Canaan Dog again proved its worthiness by becoming very able guide dogs.
     In 1953 the Israel Kennel Club accepted the Canaan Dog Standard that had been prepared by Professor Menzel.  The Canaan Dog first came to the United States in 1965.  It was accepted into the Miscellaneous Class of the A.K.C. in 1989, and became part of the Herding Group in 1997.

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