The Taiwanese mountain dog, also known as the “Formosan Dog,” was traditionally used by villagers in Taiwan to guard their houses and aid them in hunting expeditions. For a long time, however, the indigenous Taiwanese dog has been accorded a distinctly lowly status.
Originally a hunting dog bred in high altitude areas on the island by Aborigines, the semi-wild Taiwanese mountain dog was well-suited to the uneven topography of Taiwan’s mountainous regions, and able to move agilely through the lush bush.
The Taiwan Dog, as it is now officially known, mostly has black or earthy yellow fur, or is of mixed coloring. It will generally have a life expectancy of from 13 to 16 years old, but when well looked-after can live up to 20 years, or even older.
Photo courtesy of a reader
照片：讀者提供
A healthy adult male Taiwan Dog is between 48cm to 52cm long, and weighs from 14kgs to 18kgs. The adult female can be from between 43cm to 47cm long and weigh 12kgs to 16kgs.
Through the hard work over 20 years of the Kennel Club of Taiwan and lovers of indigenous Taiwanese dogs, the representatives of over 70 attending countries at the 2015 annual meeting of the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) in Milan, Italy voted to officially name the indigenous Taiwanese dog the “Taiwan Dog.” At the same time, the FCI agreed upon the characteristics of the breed, acknowledging that the loyal nature of the dog made it suitable as a guard dog and a companion dog. This dog, which had been largely ignored up until this point, was finally given an official name: The Taiwan Dog.(Translated by Paul Cooper)
台灣土狗，又名「福爾摩沙犬」，是傳統台灣鄉下住民用來守護家園和協助狩獵的好幫手。然而，在大多數台灣人的心目中，台灣土狗的地位一直都很低。
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
照片： 維基共享資源
台灣土狗原本是台灣原住民在高海拔山區飼育的一種半野生獵犬，能夠在崎嶇不平的山路上健步如飛，也能輕易地穿梭於山區茂密的叢林灌木間。
台灣土狗今日已正式定名為「台灣犬」，毛色多為黑、土黃或混合花色。通常，台灣犬的平均壽命約為十三至十六歲。不過，如果細心飼養照顧，牠們可以活到二十歲，甚至更久。
健康的成年公台灣犬體長約有四十八到五十二公分，體重則為十四到十八公斤之間。成年的母台灣犬體型較小，體長約為四十三到四十七公分，體重則落在十二至十六公斤之間。
經過社團法人台灣畜犬協會以及台灣原生土狗愛好者長達二十年的努力，在二○一五年於義大利米蘭召開的世界畜犬聯盟全球會員國大會上，台灣土狗獲得七十多個與會國家代表投票認可，正式命名為「台灣犬」。同時，世界畜犬聯盟也在台灣犬的品種特性上達到共識，認為其忠心耿耿的天性適合擔任守衛犬和陪伴犬的職責。今日，這類以往經常遭到我們忽視的狗狗，終於獲得一個國際承認的正式名稱──「台灣犬」。
（台北時報林俐凱整理）
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