Hawaiian Poi Dog
Breed Rating
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| family friendly: | |
| Dog friendly: | |
| Watch/guard dog: |
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| Energy: | |
| Playfulness: | |
| Exercise needed: | |
| Space needed: |
| Aggressiveness: |
| Tendency to bark: |
| Grooming Requirements: |
| Aggressiveness: | |
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| Tendency to bark: | |
| Grooming Requirements: |
Breed Attributes
General
Breed group: Non-Sporting Type: Pure Breed Talent: Guarding
Physical
Size: Medium Weight: 25-35 lbs Fur length: Short Ears: Flappy Fur type: Straight Fur Color: Black, Black & Brown, Black & White, Brown & White, Dark Brown / Chocolate, Light Brown / Golden
ATTRIBUTES
Life Expectancy: unknown Rarity: Uncommon Availability: Hard to find Climate: Good for every climate.
Breed Details
General
The Hawaiian Poi Dog is an extinct pariah dog breed that originated in Hawai. It was used by native Hawaiians as a spiritual dog as well as a source of food. The word Poi refers to a mixed breed of dog in Hawai. These dogs were primary source of meat along with ferel hogs in an otherwise large mammal lacked island of Hawai. They were also used as lucky charm. Unsuited to anything else due to their sluggish and rather irrational nature, these dogs were fed with vegetarian diet, mostly Poi, a Hawaiian staple food, that made these dogs fat and were later used as a source of meat.
With abandonment of native religion and reduction in eating of dog meat, the breed declined in numbers to extinction.The Hawaiian Poi Dog can be described as half wolf, half chihuahua and half grizzly bear. These short-coated dogs came in a variety of colours but brown was most common. It had a barrel shaped body, short chubby legs and distended belly that gave the dog a hog like appearance. The head was large, broad and flat with a wide neck. Flat head was attributed to lack of chewing from vegetarian diet. These dog were between 13-16 inches in height and weighed around 25-35 lbs.
Color
These dogs came in almost any colour as these dogs were never deliberately bred to a standard, but human and natural selection still came into play. Brown dogs were called ilio maku'e.
Coat
These dogs had a short coat that was easy to groom.
Personality
The Hawaiian Poi Dog is a lazy and fat dog. It was dimwitted and stubborn and like to eat or sleep. The dogs could have been good family pet due to their non-aggressive nature and could have made good playmates of children but their liking for food and sleep made them unsuitable for any use. The only usability of these dogs were to be used as a source of meat. These dogs lived with hogs and shared the same fate.
Care
Had it been still around, the short coated dog would have been easy to take care due to its short coat. Weekly brushing would be sufficient for this breed and bathing only when necessary.
Training
As a very stubborn breed, the Hawaiian Poi Dog would have been a very difficult and challenging dog to train. It was noted to be willful and disobedient when asked to perform some task due to its very lazy nature.
Activity
Despite being lazy and sluggish, this dog would need daily exercise to keep its obesity under control.
