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Breed Characteristics
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New Guinea Singing Dog
| Other Names | Dingo, Hallstrom's Dog |
| Nicknames | New Guinea Highland Dog, Singer, NGSD |
| Country of Origin | New Guinea |
| Weight | 18 - 30 lbs. (8 - 14 kg) |
| Height (at withers) | 14 - 15 in. (35 - 38 cm) |
| Coat | The coat is average to long in length. |
| Colour | Colours include red or shades of red with or without symmetrical white markings, black and tan. White markings are common, but should not form more than one-third of the body's total colour. White markings are permissible only in the following areas and may not form spots or patches on the body: Muzzle, face, neck (may extend onto the shoulders), belly, legs, feet and tail tip. |
| Litter Size | 4 - 6 puppies |
| Life Span | 12 – 15 years. Although many have been known to live much longer . |
| Origin & History | The New Guinea Singing Dog is native to New Guinea. Explorers in the 1800s described the varying popularity of the dogs in the lowland villages of New Guinea. In some they were treated as pets, while in others they were abused. By the 1900s, hybridization with imported dogs had made the native lowland New Guinea Dog almost extinct. However, in the 1950s two pure dogs were captured in the isolated Lavanni Valley in the southern highlands, and eventually sent to Taronga Park Zoo in Sydney, Australia. In the 1970s, another pair was captured in Irian Jaya's Eipomak Valley part of Indonesia. Virtually all Singing Dogs in Europe and North America descended from these pairs. This Dingo-type dog is a close relative of ancient dogs that were domesticated from Asian wolves between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago. The breed acquired its name from its howl, which is an undulating and modulating series of tones that blends into a swelling portamento. The musical quality of the sound is unlike that of any other dog, even the most beautiful voices of the scent hounds. The breed is quite rare in New Guinea today, but can be seen in a number of zoos around the world. Today the New Guinea Singing Dog is kept as a pet by some fanciers and is recognized by the UKC, which allows them to compete in competition. Currently the NGSD is classified as a domestic dog subspecies of Canis lupus, Canis lupus dingo. |
| Personality | The New Guinea Singing Dog is not like your average domesticated dog and is not recommended as a house pet for most people as it is closely related to a wild dog. If properly socialized, it can be tame enough to tolerate the handling of humans, getting attached to its owners. The NGSD’s most unique characteristic is its dramatic ability to vary the pitch of its howl. They do not bark repetitively but have a complex vocal behavior including yelps, whines and single-note howls. NGSDs are active, lively, and alert. They are constantly exploring everything in their environment, using all five senses, including taste. Their incredible structural flexibility allows them to pass their bodies through any opening wide enough to admit their head. Their hunting drive is very intense and may overwhelm any training when prey is detected. They use their acute sense of hearing in addition to sight and scent to locate prey. Although gentle and affectionate with people they know, they can be aloof with strangers. NGSDs can be aggressive toward other dogs, especially of the same sex. Its howl has an eerie yet synchronized quality, which gives the breed its name. The howl can be spurred when the dog is disturbed or excited. One tone blends with the next, sending goose bumps up a listener's back. Opera singers have expressed a particular interest in this vocally skillful canine. This is a hardy and well-balanced dog. The Singing Dog is similar to the Dingo, although smaller than its near relative. It possesses the erect ears and is a swift hunter with social instincts. Unlike the Dingo, the New Guinea female cycles twice a year in captivity. This is not a dog for most people. The New Guinea Singing Dog has never been studied in the wild and virtually nothing is known concerning its behavior, social organization or general natural history under free-ranging conditions. In general, New Guinea Singing Dogs show all the behaviors described for other Canis species with the exception of the "play bow," typical to most canids but not seen in the New Guinea Singing Dog. The captive populations which have been studied were not observed to have form packs. Wild sightings are of single dogs or pairs. They have a distinctive howl, and emit a "trill," described as similar to a sound made by the Asiatic Wild Dog. As of 2004, there were less than 50 specimens (all highly inbred) in the documented NGSD captive breeding population. |
Care Requirements
| Health | There are no known breed-specific health concerns. |
| Grooming | The weather resistant coat of the New Guinea Singing Dog will take care of itself. |
| Feeding | Reports from local sources in Papua New Guinea from the 1970s and the mid-1990s indicate that singer-like wild dogs found in New Guinea, whether they were pure singers or hybrids, fed on small to middle-sized marsupials, rodents, birds and fruits. Robert Bino stated that they their prey consisted of cuscuses, wallabies, dwarf cassowaries and other birds. Singers in captivity do not require a specialized diet but they seem to thrive on lean raw meat diets based on poultry, beef, elk, deer, or bison. |
| Exercise | This breed needs a lot of physical exercise, which includes a daily walk or jog. |
| Other Considerations | The NGSD is not recommended for most families. It is closely related to wild dogs and is almost extinct. However, there are some fanciers who properly socialize this breed and they say, if done right, the New Guinea Singing Dog can be a very affectionate dog. The Taronga Park Zoo in Sydney, Australia (along with a few other zoos) has a few of these dogs and is trying to prevent them from becoming totally extinct. It can thrive in cold climates and is versatile and adaptable. Vocalizations: New Guinea singing dogs are named for their distinctive and melodious howl, which is characterized by a sharp increase in pitch at the start and very high frequencies at the end. According to observations made by Ortolani, the howling of these dogs can be clearly differentiated from that of Australian dingoes, and differs significantly from that of grey wolves and coyotes. An individual howl lasts an average of 3 seconds, but can last as long as 5 seconds. At the start, the frequency rises and stabilizes for the rest of the howling, but normally shows abrupt changes in frequency. Modulations can change quickly every 300–500 milliseconds or every second. Five to eight overtones can generally be distinguished in a spectrographic analysis of the howling. New Guinea singing dogs sometimes howl together, which is commonly referred to as chorus howling. During chorus howling, one dog starts and others join in shortly afterward. In most cases, chorus howling is well synchronized, and the howls of the group end nearly simultaneously. Spontaneous howling is most common during the morning and evening hours. A trill, with a distinctly "bird-like" character, is emitted during high arousal. It is a high-frequency pulsed signal whose spectral appearance suggests a continuous source that is periodically interrupted, and might last as long as 800 milliseconds. Such a sound is not known for any other canid; however, a similar sound (with lower frequency) has been described for a dhole at the Moscow Zoo. When they are kept with dogs that bark, singers may mimic the other dogs. |
