Sulimov dog

The Sulimov dog (Russian: Собака Сулимова Sobaka Sulimova), also known as the Shalaika (Russian: Шалайка),[1] is a jackal-dog hybrid originating in Russia from an initial hybrid between two Lapponian Herders and two Turkmenian golden jackals. The breed was developed by Klim Sulimov[lower-alpha 1] for Aeroflot airline.[2] The breed has primarily been used for airport security as sniffer dogs.

Sulimov dog
Other namesShalaika
OriginRussia
Dog (domestic dog)

Breed development

Their breeding program dates back to 1975, but was not applied to bomb detection until 2002. At the start of the breeding process, male jackal pups had to be fostered on a Lapponian Herder bitch to imprint the jackals on dogs. Female jackals accepted male dogs more easily. The half-breed jackal-dogs were hard to train and were bred back to Huskies to produce quarter-bred hybrids (quadroons). To improve trainability, other dogs were bred into the line: a Nenet Herding Laika, a fox terrier, and a Spitz. These hybrids were small, agile, and trainable and had excellent noses. The jackal-dog hybrids were bred together for seven generations to establish the breed. The result was an easily trainable dog with a superior sense of smell, called Sulimov dogs after their creator.

As described by Sulimov:

My dogs combine the qualities of Arctic reindeer herding dogs, which can work in temperatures as low as −70°C, and jackals which enjoy the heat up to +40°C. They're perfect for our country."[3]

Twenty-five Sulimov dogs are used by Aeroflot at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow, for functions which include bomb-sniffing. They may one day be registered as a breed of working dog, but at present only about 40 Sulimov dogs exist, and all are the property of Aeroflot. They are trained from puppyhood to recognize 12 components of explosives. Unlike more common sniffing dogs, they take the initiative in searching.[4][5]

Footnotes
  1. Klim Sulimov is described as a Senior Research Assistant at the D.S. Likhachev Scientific Research Institute for Cultural Heritage and Environmental Protection.[2]

References
  1. "Заводчики собак Сулимова не продают питомцев за границу". ТВЦ. 17 September 2014.
  2. Viegas, Jennifer. "Jackal-dog created for airport security". Animal Planet. Archived from the original on 22 November 2010.
  3. "Russian airline's top dogs fight terror". BBC News. 13 December 2002.
  4. The Science of Dogs (DVD promotional video clip). National Geographic. shows Sulimov dogs at work
  5. The Science of Dogs (documentary DVD). National Geographic. 2011.
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