Alaunt

Alaunt

Medieval Alaunt guarding sheep
Breed status	Extinct
Domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris)

The Alaunt is an extinct breed of dog, with the original breed having existed in central Asia and Europe from ancient times through the 17th century. The Alaunt breed had three distinct phenotypes: Alaunt Veantre, Alaunt Boucherie and the Alaunt Gentile. They all were large, short coated dogs of varying head-types. The former two resembled the molosser type dogs much like the present-day Dogo Argentino or like the Caucasian Shepherd Dog except with short hair and a mesocephalic head which made them excellent large-game hunters. The Alaunt was originally bred by the Alani tribes, the nomads of Indo-European Sarmatian ancestry who spoke an Iranian language. The Alans were known as superb warriors, herdsmen, and breeders of horses and dogs. The Alans bred their dogs for work and developed different strains within the breed for specific duties. The breed was further developed in Spain, France, Germany, England, and in Italy.

The Molossus descended into Epirus in about 1200 BC, also from the north. However, their artifacts did not resemble the Mastiff prototype, as they had a long nose of a narrow type, and a long mane. Varro, however, described a herding dog of Epirus which was white, large headed, and slightly undershot, used to defend sheep and goats. One group of Alans arrived in what is now Albania in the fifth or sixth centuries BC. Molossis of Epirus is located in Southern Albania. It is most plausible the Alaunt gave rise to the fighting dogs of the Molossi, which were introduced to Britain by Roman Invasion in 55BC. The Alans provided cavalry for Rome and in 50AD, 5,500 Alans were sent to Britain to guard Hadrian's Wall. Thus, the Alaunt genetic template most plausibly gave rise to the British Pugnances as fighting dogs which English Mastiffs and Bulldogs descend from.

In the 370s AD, Hun invasions divided the Alani into the Eastern and Western Alans. The Eastern Alani tribes merged with the Ossetians and other nations, introducing their dogs into the bloodlines of many Balkan breeds, such as the Shar Mountain Dog, Metchkar, Qen Ghedje, Hellenikos Poimenikos and other Molossers of the region. Some believe that the white-coloured Alaunts were the direct ancestors of Balkan breeds, which in turn influenced all other white dogs in the Balkans.