Not all dogs come from a named breed- in fact, the majority (80%) of nearly 1 billion dogs liing around the world do not! These dogs of no breed come by mnay other names- the "potcake" dogs of the Caribbean islands or the desi kutta (literally, "native dog" of India- and live, roam, and breed freely around people, though not necessarily taking a spot within people's homes.

When we consider what sets domestic dogs apart from their evolutionary cousins, wild wolves, we cannot limit our definition strictly to breeds, especially if this is how the majority of dogs live worldwide. What did the earliest dogs look and act like that set them apart? We might look no further than to these so-called "village dogs": free-ranging global populations of dogs have the greatest amount of genetic diversity, and point to what core traits make dogs, dogs.

By studying village dog behavior through a treat-dropping test, scientists have found that interpreting people's facial expression is one such core trait shared by all dogs, which may have been important for getting along with people during early domestication and continued life alongside humans. If you have a dog, you may have already noticed them in tune with your moods and expressions.

The little turnspit dog is one of many lineages of dogs that has vanished to history. Many native or indigenous populations of dogs around the world- intertwined with the lives and histories of the peoples they lived alongside- have also disappeared, often intentionally eradicated or unintentionally displaced by non-native dog breeds. Now, advances in ancient DNA sequencing of specimens recovered from these dogs are helping to piece together stories surrounding the individual dogs and their canine and human communities.

A unique lineage of dogs with wooly, sheep-like coats- named the sqí aʔ in the Lushootseed language- were once bred and raised by the Coast Salish Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest. These dogs provided important material for functional and ceremonial objects implemented by their communities. Unlike the turnspit dog, the wooly dog was displaced not by technological innovation but by forced cultural assimilation programs that culminated in the breed disappearing over the 19th century- but tangible evidence and oral tradition of these dogs persisted. Recent ancient DNA analysis of a preserved pelt from a a wooly dog named "Mutton" uncovered genetic signatures of pre-colonization indigenous dogs, genes that may have contributed to their unique wooly coat, and furthermore, signals of selective breeding dating 2000 to 5000 years before present time.

Dogs and peoples across the Americas faced erasure by colonists. Recovery of ancient DNA from dog specimen in the English colony of Jamestown settled in the Tsenacomoco region is beginning to uncover how the English held tight control over the ownership and breeding of European dogs, and the impacts colonists had on indigenous communities and their dogs in the early 1600s.

Another foreboding piece of evidence that delineated the demise of indigenous dogs across the Americas comes from the most un-dog like dog: the canine transmissible venereal tumor, or the "CTVT." Like the "transmissible tumor" that threatens the survival of endangered Tasmanian devils, CTVT is a cancer that can infect and jump from dog to dog, but has its own DNA that descended from the dog living 4000 to 8500 years ago that developed a tumor. DNA analysis of that original dog and subsequent tumors that were transmitted to dogs all around the world suggests that it originated in Central Asia, and came to Central America during early colonization. Along with other diseases and displacement brought on from European dogs, its arrival spelled the end for the indigenous dogs of the Americas.