Bas Reliefs Assyrian Room British Museum

The history of association between man and the dog is an ancient and special one. Not surprisingly for such a close association, this relationship has followed a similar course since the earliest days of evolution of the dog from the wolf and its domestication, which is believed to have occurred about ten thousand years ago.

Early Man was a hunter and gatherer and so it is likely that the first dogs were used as hunting and tracking aids. As Man evolved to become a farmer and domesticator of animals he had need of a dog to guard his newly acquired stock and so evolved the livestock protection dog (LPD).

The 'Cradle of Civilisation' has long been held to be in the Middle East, between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, which is modern day Iraq. If this is so it is likely that the first livestock protection dogs were first to be found here. Four thousand years ago this area was known as Assyria and Babylonia and artwork from this period depicts hunting and war dogs, which bear a striking resemblance to modern day LPDs Trade flourished at that time and later movements of people from east to west, particularly when the Turkic peoples fled from the marauding hordes of Genghis Khan, may well have brought these dogs to the country we now call Turkey. Of course much of this is speculation but the scene is set.

We hope that you enjoy your journey through the web site of the Anatolian Shepherd Dog Club of Great Britain, which is devoted to the preservation of this remarkable piece of living history.

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