Ryukyu dog

The Ryukyu dog (琉球犬; Ryūkyū-inu or Ryūkyū-ken) is an endangered, medium-sized, Japanese breed of dog indigenous to Okinawa and Ishigaki Island. There were as few as 400 Ryukyu as of 2015. Unlike dogs such as the Kai Ken, the Ryukyu dog is not protected by the Nihon Ken Hozonkai, but instead is protected by the Ryukyu Inu Hozonkai.

The Ryukyu dog originated in Okinawa. The breed was originally used to track and bay Ryukyu wild boar in packs, and also rarely hunt birds. Much of the Ryukyu dog's history has been destroyed and misplaced, hence it is very sparse. The purebred Ryukyu dog was thought to be extinct after World War II due to food shortages and crossbreeding with Western dogs. In the early 1980s, Yoshio Aragaki, the founder of the Ryukyu dog Hozonkai, felt a strong urge to save the breed when he managed to find purebred Ryukyu dogs up in Yanbaru.^{[citation needed]}

It is believed that years of living in the rainforest is why the Ryukyu dogs have a dewclaw on the back of the foot, allowing them to climb trees. It has been speculated that this would have been evolutionarily favourable to them because of the high incidence of tsunami in Okinawa; they could climb trees quickly to evade the floods. However, this is unlikely to be true as only a small percentage of Ryukyu dog actually have working rear dewclaws. The preservation society sees the dewclaws as a throwback from hundreds of years ago when the dogs were genetically closer to wolves, and that the claws are used more often to brake when running.

The Ryukyu dog was designated as a natural monument of Okinawa prefecture in 1995.

Several preservation activities take place for the Ryukyu dog in Japan. In Miyakojima, the NPO "Lavida" begun protecting the breed in 2010, and produced 15 puppies in 2017. Preservation activities also took place at Chubu Norin High School, where second year students were helping to preserve the purebred Ryukyu dog.

In 2013, Okinawa Children's Country opened an exhibit themed around the native animals of Ryukyu Arc, Ryukyu dogs were among the animals exhibited.

The Ryukyu dog is a medium-sized Okinawan dog breed. They are very similar to Kai Ken in appearance, but are genetically closer to the Hokkaido.

The Ryukyu dog is not currently recognised by any kennel club, including the Japanese Kennel Club; however the Ryukyu Ken Hozonkai has issued this breed standard for the Ryukyu dog.