Basic Information and Brief History
The native Vietnamese breeds are ancient primitive dogs that have existed for millennia. They remained largely unchanged in both appearance and temperament, and can still serve most of their historical purposes (hunting, watchdogs) well.
While being different breeds, the Hmong Bobtail and the Bac Ha Dog have a shared ancient history: they descended from dogs brought over by the Hmong people when they migrated to northern Vietnam. Both are also used by them for the same purposes,which are hunting and guarding.
Like the Hmong Bobtail and Bac Ha Dogs, the Phu Quoc Ridgeback was also used to guard the home and hunt. However, it is unique in that it has a ridge, a trait also found in other ridgeback breeds such as the Rhodesian Ridgeback, Thai Ridgeback, and Cambodian Razorback Dogs.
The Lai Dog is a "true" Vietnamese Dog, with depictions of its dog type being found on the Dong Son drum. However, their most critical point in history is during the Lam Son Uprising, where they served as war dogs to support Vietnamese soldiers. They helped them hunt for food, track enemy bases, served as road companions, and as distractions towards enemy bases in the night. More detailed information from Tuan Lai, a breed founder, below:
"History and breed formation: originated during the Le Dynasty, the king gave these dogs to his son, Le Xi, and they were nurtured and trained by the people of Nghe An. When Xi became a general, he still uses the pack of dogs to accompany him in his battles from Lam Son to Nghe An, all the way to Laos, then northwest Vietnam to Hanoi. After 10 years of resistance, one dog from the canine army saved the king. Even when the country was peaceful, the dogs were still used in locations bordering the north. And to this day, the breed is only found in isolated places near the border."
