eee).

There were small groups of people who interested in breeding the TRD but they only do it for fun. There is no profit in doing so. Back in the day, if you accidentally tell someone that you actually "paying" for your dog you would be considered an idiot instantly. If you ever need a dog you just look around, ask the head of the monastery (oldest monk at the temple) or just pick a puppy or puppies that running around at the market or temple and bring them home. Of course A LOT of those dogs were TRDs especially in the East.

He started to breed his dog from one of his "Mah Dang" or the red TRD. His first bitch name was "MaaLek" or small horse because she had a huge ridge that came all the way to the side of her body that was very desirable back then. She has long hair and fluffy tail. He found her a blue male and they got several black and red puppies but only 2 of them had ridge and both were quite small actually one was an arrow ridge!

In the old time TRD had many more colors. The red was the most common and most original. The brindle and red were very desirable. The red need to have black mask on their face though. Thai people apply a lot of their superstition toward their dogs. The brindle and red with black mask are suppose to be a "better" watch dog. The black tongue or black spot on the tongue said to be dog with resistant to poisonous snake. The white dip on the tail or "Dok Kao" (rice flowers) is suppose to bring good luck to the owner and such. Those were popular in those days.

The hair was definitely long about half inch was the average but some can be longer than other. He didn't know when did the first "velvet" hair type was bred but in the late eighties and nineties those were highly desirable...but they were all blue white or fawn. Then in the early nineties the super short was also popular.

They use to be white TRD believe it or not but now there is none. There use to be a puppy born with blue hair but when all the puppy hair fell out the adult hair was black! Most dogs back in those days had dew claw in the back feet. They called them 20 fingers or 20 toes and believe to be more intelligence than most.

Most dogs came in almost the same sizes but smaller compare to the new standard. The ears are more round and set slightly further apart but a lot of breeders preferred the closer set more forward and shape more like the new standard so the less desirable one were eliminated in the process.

Temperamental was the most different from the new standard. Uncle said if he were to show his dog to the judge in the show ring, the judge would have to be wearing iron gloves or else his arm would have been bitten off several time during the physical exam. The dog would have to enter the ring one at a time or the ring would have turn in to a fighting ring. So back then the most desirable dog would have to know how to protect their properties and the master. If the dog bite then that's the good dog. (Remember they were living in the ranch or plantation) Uncle said no one ever came in his ranch and steal his Durian, which is the most expensive fruit in the market (and still do). They afraid of his dogs who bite before bark.

Answer to Jessica question about what he think of Sunee as a therapy dog. He laugh and said only twenty years ago Thai people still don't touch dogs that weren't theirs especially the TRD because they know that the dog would bite them. Some of his employees at the ranch can't even touch his dogs' head. The guy who fed his dog everyday got bit because he came too close to the bowl that the dog still eating. So the idea that Sunee can be touched by a group of people and won't bite any one was remarkable. He said Sunee wouldn't have been bred at all because she would have been "too kind" and won't be useful as a guard dog. Same way that most or all of his dogs would have been put to sleep because they are "too aggressive".