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Breed guide · Dogs
She dug a hole under the bougainvillea. It's the coolest spot in the garden, so I put her bed there.
Last updated 12 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
Tap a card to see what is going on.
At home
The lift, the neighbour's door, every rider with a parcel: all announced.
What's going onTheir ancestors were kept to bark when anyone came near the camp. Thank them for the first bark, call them away from the door, and reward them when they come.
At home
They keep their distance, and a stranger has to earn a hello.
What's going onCaution kept their ancestors alive. Ask visitors to ignore them and drop a treat on the floor. They will come over once they have decided the visitor is safe.
At home
Ask twice and you get a look, as if you should have made it worth their while the first time.
What's going onThey learn fast, and they weigh up every request. Keep sessions short, and make the right choice the one that pays.
At home
A hole in the garden, or a nest dug into the sofa or their bed.
What's going onDigging into cool ground is how their ancestors got out of the heat. Give them a sandpit or a digging box that is theirs, and look along the bottom of the fence now and then.
At home
They duck away from a hand over their head, and stiffen when held still.
What's going onLike many dogs from the desert, they do not like being held. Touch a paw for a second, then give a treat, and build from there. Every vet visit for the rest of their life gets easier.
At home
Hours of paw licking, chewing their legs, rubbing their face on the rug.
What's going onHip Dysplasia (a poorly fitting hip joint) and allergies are the two things most likely to show up while they are young. Licking for hours, or not wanting to jump into the car, is a reason to contact your vet the same day.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their day
Built for: Outside, at the edge of a camp.
In Dubai: Behind a front door that opens onto a corridor.
Their job
Built for: Deciding who was welcome, and telling everyone when they were not.
In Dubai: A corridor full of strangers.
Their visitors
Built for: Anyone who came near the camp.
In Dubai: A delivery every afternoon.
The barking, the caution with visitors and the digging mostly come from that.
You cannot give them a camp to guard. You can give them a calmer version of the job, and the ten things below are how.
Your plan is built around their breed: the risks on a Canaan Dog's record at every age, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
Hip Dysplasia (a poorly fitting hip joint) is the first risk on a Canaan puppy's health record, and screening for it is in their puppy plan.
As a puppy, or when they first come home
Why
Hip Dysplasia (a poorly fitting hip joint) is the first risk on a Canaan puppy's health record, and screening for it is in their puppy plan.
What to do
Book within two weeks of bringing them home. Bring every paper the breeder gave you, and ask for the parents' hip scores and eye results if you do not have them.
They were bred to be wary of strangers. Pushing a greeting makes the next one harder.
Every age, most of all the first two years
Why
They were bred to be wary of strangers. Pushing a greeting makes the next one harder.
What to do
Give them a bed or a crate that is theirs, away from the front door. Ask visitors to ignore them and drop a treat on the floor. When they bark at the door, thank them, call them to you and reward them for coming.
They will need nail trims, ear drops and vet visits all their life, and being held still does not come naturally.
Every age, easiest as a puppy
Why
They will need nail trims, ear drops and vet visits all their life, and being held still does not come naturally.
What to do
Touch a paw, an ear or their collar for one second, then give a treat. Build up over weeks. If they move away, go back a step. Start in puppyhood, when it is easiest.
Gastrointestinal issues (stomach and gut upsets) are on their record from puppy to young adult, and what they pick up on the pavement does not help.
Every age, most of all the first two years
Why
Gastrointestinal issues (stomach and gut upsets) are on their record from puppy to young adult, and what they pick up on the pavement does not help.
What to do
Keep them on a lead near bins and picnic spots. Teach "drop" by swapping what they have for something better. At home, lid the bin and keep the counter clear.
They are problem solvers. Finding their food tires them more than an extra lap of the block.
Every age
Why
They are problem solvers. Finding their food tires them more than an extra lap of the block.
What to do
Feed at least one meal from a puzzle feeder or a snuffle mat, or scatter it on the grass. Use part of their daily food as training treats.
Their coat handles heat well, but on a lead they cannot choose the shade, and hot pavement burns any dog's paws.
Every age, most of all puppies and from 7 years
Why
Their coat handles heat well, but on a lead they cannot choose the shade, and hot pavement burns any dog's paws.
What to do
From May to September, walk before sunrise and after dark, when they want to move anyway. Put the back of your hand on the pavement for five seconds: if you cannot keep it there, neither can they. Take water.
A Canaan who decides the corridor needs guarding can be out of the door fast, and some dig under fences.
Every age, most of all from 6 months to 2 years
Why
A Canaan who decides the corridor needs guarding can be out of the door fast, and some dig under fences.
What to do
Clip their lead on, or close the inner door, every time the front door opens. If you have a garden, walk the fence line once a month and fill any holes. Make sure their microchip is registered to you with your current number.
They will tell you quietly that they are uncomfortable before they bark or snap. Punish the quiet warning and it stops coming.
Every age
Why
They will tell you quietly that they are uncomfortable before they bark or snap. Punish the quiet warning and it stops coming.
What to do
Watch for lip licking, turning the head away, the whites of the eyes and going still, especially when visitors are in. Give them more room when you see them. Never punish a growl.
Worming and parasite prevention start in their puppy plan, set for what dogs meet in Dubai.
Every age, all year
Why
Worming and parasite prevention start in their puppy plan, set for what dogs meet in Dubai.
What to do
Give prevention on the schedule your vet sets, every month of the year. After walks on grass or sand, look in their ears and between their toes.
Allergies and hip problems show in the skin and the way they move before they make any fuss.
Every age
Why
Allergies and hip problems show in the skin and the way they move before they make any fuss.
What to do
Once a week, run your hands over their ribs, spine, hips and paws, and look at the skin on the belly and between the toes. Weigh them once a month. Tell your vet about any redness, licking or stiffness.
Two of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
6 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 4 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
4 to 7 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
10 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Canaan Dog or desert dog
The Canaan Dog was bred from the free-living dogs of the Levant, and breeders kept adding desert dogs for decades. Many local dogs in the UAE look much the same. A pedigree Canaan comes with a known family history; a rescued desert dog may be a close cousin, with the same caution and the same love of a cool hole.
Colours
Most Canaans are either mostly white with a coloured mask and patches, or one solid colour, from black through sandy shades to red and liver, often with a little white trim.
The first six months
Their full vaccination course, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first, with hip screening in their first months. Start the one-second handling and the calm greetings now, while trust comes easiest.
Puppy health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the home ready
Give them a covered crate or a bed that is theirs, away from the front door, and a sandpit or digging box if you have outdoor space. Check any fence along the bottom, and plan a door routine so the front door never opens with them loose beside it.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Ask the breeder for both parents' hip scores and eye results. Hip Dysplasia and Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA, gradual loss of sight) are both on a Canaan's record.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
For a new puppy: First 30 days with a new puppy · Puppy vaccinations in the UAE · Heatstroke in dogs
When it is not behaviour.
She'll keep digging for the cool spot. If she stops getting up out of it, call your vet.
Before they were yours.
Long before breeds
The Canaan Dog comes from the free-living dogs of the Levant and its deserts. Bedouin families kept some of them to guard the camp and the flocks, and to bark when anyone came near.
What they still carryThe alert bark, the caution with strangers, and the digging.
1930s
In the 1930s those desert dogs were first bred as a breed, working as guard, sentry and messenger dogs. The name comes from the Land of Canaan.
What they still carryQuick to learn, quick to warn, and close to their own people.
From the 1960s
Breeders kept adding free-living desert dogs, so the breed never drifted far from where it began. The first Canaans reached the United States in 1965.
What they still carryA breed still very close to the desert dog.
1997
The American Kennel Club recognised the Canaan Dog in 1997, but the dog itself hardly changed.
What they still carryThe same dog the Bedouin camps knew.
Today
One of the few breeds living in the kind of climate they came from. In Dubai the job is the front door, and they take it seriously.
What they still carryA camp guard with a lot to say about delivery riders.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Canaan Dog suits you, so might these.
BasenjiThe same kind of dog: an old, natural breed shaped by hot country, smaller, and almost silent where the Canaan barks.
Desert and mixed-breed dogsAnother dog of this region, shaped by the land rather than by breeders, with every one a little different.
Rough CollieThe same alert, watchful temperament and readiness to bark, in a long-coated sheepdog that finds the heat harder.
Pharaoh HoundA similar size and a coat suited to warm weather, in a sleeker, short-coated hound built for speed.
