Carolina Dog

About this Breed

Hailing from the swamps and bottomlands of South Carolina and Georgia, it is only within the last 40 years that written records of the Carolina Dog have emerged. First discovered by Dr. I. Lehr Brisbin Jr., the exact origins of the breed are debated, but experts agree that the Carolina Dog is descendant from the “pariah dogs” of Asia. These dogs accompanied their Asian companions across the Bering Strait between 7,000 and 20,000 years ago. Carolina Dogs are pack animals that are fiercely loyal to their families. This breed hasn’t been crossed by man or bred for a particular purpose. Mentally and physically, they represent how dogs would have evolved naturally in their environment (isolated stretches of longleaf pines and cypress swamps in the Southeastern United States).

Although descended from free-ranging dogs, Carolina Dogs can make good family pets with proper socialization. Carolina Dogs have been a UKC-recognized breed since 1996 and are now part of the AKC Foundation Stock Service (FSS). While debates rage on about the genetic origins of the breed and whether there are still pockets of feral Carolina dogs living in Southeastern US, AKC and UKC Carolina Dogs clearly have a unique and identifiable genetic signature.