It seems that the Shih Tzu breed is becoming quite a trend with dog owners lately. Just go to pet-friendly shopping centers like Eastwood City and Tiendesitas—you’ll see them everywhere. A few years ago, it was the Labrador Retriever popular in homes. That makes me wonder… Will there ever come a time when our very own native dog gain popularity among dog owners?
The native dog, commonly called the “askal” (a colloquial shortcut for “asong kalye,” which translates to “dog from the streets”), are usually looked down upon. Worse, they usually get intentionally run down by merciless drivers or taken to slaughter houses to be put to death and later eaten. Some people think they’re expendable since they don’t have pedigrees worth thousands of pesos. Heck, even some breeders who claim to be “dog lovers” look down upon the native dogs.
They may not have pedigrees to boast about, but native dogs are as smart and as loyal as any other dog breed.
Spike, our dog pack‘s alpha male, is a native dog. He’s been with us for more than 10 years already, and I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said he’d die for us if he had to. Spike is closest to my younger sister, Joyce. Joyce is schizophrenic. She’s ok now, but there was a time when she was still throwing violent tantrums.
Spike kept watch at my sister and made sure that she was ok. He even slept near her—near enough to see what she’s doing, but far enough from her reach just in case she had another tantrum. I can clearly remember a time when he saved my sister from hurting herself. We were all asleep, and had no idea that Joyce was already having a violent tantrum. Spike woke us all up, and took us where Joyce was. If it weren’t for him, we don’t know what could have happened.
A few years ago, I’ve seen a feature on TV about a native dog who can perform incredible tricks. And saw a different one on a magazine. Now, you can’t say that these dogs aren’t smart—because obviously, they are.
Loyalty? Of course, the native dog can be very loyal. They love their masters to the hilt—and would remain loyal to them till death. Honestly, I rather think that sometimes a native dog is more loyal than some of the more stubborn purebreds.
Let’s give the Philippine native dog the recognition it deserves, shall we? Be proud of being a native dog owner! 
* * *
Luckily, there are animal groups that support the Philippine native dog. The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) currently launched a campaign for these dogs entitled, “See the Beauty Beyond the Breed.” Actors Heart Evangelista and Jericho Rosales are the spokespersons for this campaign, which is dedicated to all native dogs and cats as well as their rescuers.
The Animal Kingdom Foundation, another dog rescue group like PAWS, also has native dogs up for sponsorship or adoption.
yes…very well said!
Askals, or aspins (asong pinoy), are probably the sturdiest of the breeds too. Michael Tan of Inquirer noted that he’s seen a lot of native dogs that have survived distemper, a disease that’s fatal to the pedigreed ones…
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view_article.php?article_id=62750
Go, Aspins!!! Hehehe.
I just learned of the Pinoy Pets Network. Is my blog qualified to join it? Thanks!
Regards to your doggy babies!
i totally agree! it’s not about dog’s pedigree. it’s about the owner’s pedigree. most of these askals are dirty, stinky and sick because there are no good people taking care of them. or they are unfortunately taken for granted by their owners, fed with spoiled food, not given a bath in their lifetime, not provided with shelter. most of them are not even given names.
we also have a native dog who has been with us for 12 years. he’s just as smart, as loyal and as cuddly as our lab retriever.
I couldn’t have said it better myself. In addition the Philippine dogs or “Aspins” have a very resilient immune system if not the most superior among all breeds of dogs. Aspins can survive illnesses most purebreed and expensive breeds can’t. They are also very obidient, loyal “to the death”, loving, caring and oh so sweet. That’s why I can say loud and clear that i’m a proud Aspin lover.
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I am proud of my Aspin named Kooch, he’s been with us since 2001. When my husband and I moved to London we never hesitated to take him with us despite the hurdles and money involved.
He is a family member, very loyal one. He stayed awake at night to guard when my husband is out of the country (which happens a lot as part of his job). I talked to him and he responds (a language that just the 3 of us can understand). He is a very lucky dog coz we love him like our own child and we get the love, entertainment and loyalty in return. I agree that it is not the breed but rather it’s the way we nurture our best friend!!!
I am an owner of a very sweet and loving Aspin/Askal. I named him SNOW owing to the fact that he is all white, with prickly ears and gold-flecked eyes (by day) which turn into pools of black at night.
He is one year and a month old. I don’t hesitate to indulge in buying him things like dog soap, talc, collar & leash, the complete works. He deserves all the care and attention because he has been very loyal to me. He acts as my escort in going back to my sleeping quarters after a day’s work and plants himself outside, by my door to stand as guard during the night. I usually rein him in by the day so he can rest. He has his own mat at a corner in my room, a blanket during cold nights and at times i allow him to lay beside me to sleep.
My friends often tease me for having an aspin as a pet. True, i could have chosen to have an expensive and pedigreed pet, but I love my Snow, thank u very much!
Mine’s a cross of an English pointer and a AsPin…
so he’s a um… uh… AsTer… or PoinKal.. or PoPin.. PBA import… or something.
I just came upon the article on dingoes and it struck me that our askals are in fact one and the same subspecies as the dingo. They are in fact dingoes. As dingoes originated from East Asia and were brought by seafarers to other parts of the Pacific, they also populated our islands. Ever wonder why there is no breed as the Philippine native dog? Because askals are dingos. Now I want to own a dingo.
Well I had an askal as a pet once, when I was a kid. She was Cheetah and she was the most intelligent and loyal dog we ever had, living up to 14 years and after that succumbed to several diseases. Now I have Barack who is a miniature pinscher.
we once had an askal named Sparky it was given by grandpa for my sister when she was 8 yrs. old he’s coat looks like the coat of a german shepherd and his features looks like a golden retriever. He is a very playful dog and lovely dog while we are walking the dog a child shouted “tingnan mo oso ” because he was a big dog. he fell sick and died in Jauary 2005, since then we haven’t had any dog. its only now that we taught of having one.
We’ve had several askal pets and they lived more than 6 years with us. This local or should I say mixed breed of dogs is sturdy and seldom gets sick. Minsan mahirap pa nga pag maraming halong breed, mas sakitin. Our 7-yr old dog was a mix of dachshund, aspin and another aspin na tisoy. But he died last September due to kidney failure and throughout his 7 years with us he suffered skin allergies. He had maintenance meds for that kaso di na kinaya ng katawan niya.
He was a very loyal dog. Matapang and very intelligent. We managed to teach him how to sit and carry some bags of groceries from my mom. Kaya when he died, umiyak talaga kami coz nakakapanghinayang sya. But we had to take him to vet and put him to sleep, di na namin kinaya ang suffering nya.
We have another askal, who is almost 2 yrs old and he’s already learned how to sit and be a good boy.
It’s just too bad for other askals they end up with irresponsible owners. Sayang sila coz matalino ang aso by nature, we just have to teach them how to behave and love them like a family member. Marunong silang tumanaw ng utang na loob sa totoo lang. Minsan nga iisipin mo mas mabuti pa aso, marunong makisama.
Thanks for posting your article. It gave me another push to love askals or aspins more.
God bless!
we’ve kept several native dogs since im in grade schools..almost 10 askals were been with us from the past 20 years..
presently we have a pure askal our prime stud..2 mixed with vizla (both female) and a female 3-month old mixed-lab..hehehehehe
Native dogs are more friendly than other hi breed dogs!. That’s true!
yeah why not let’s make a petition to make them a dog breed for their more gorgeous than any other dog breeds thair smart and very loving dogs!?
I just would like to ask if you have any information about pure bree native dogs of the Philippines, I have always thought that Aspins/Askals are of mix breed, but according to some sources there is actually a native breed of Dog here in the Philippines and they are related to the Dingos of Austrailia as well as the native Dogs of Inodnesia and Papua New Guinea, however details are quite sketchy as of the moment, I would like to aks if there is any gene pool or consevation center preserving this native breed of Dogs..
Hi Ann,
I’m actually also looking for info about that, because that’s what I heard too. I saw a feature on Animal Planet before about ancient dogs, and our native dogs have a striking resemblance to them (this time, dingos of North Carolina). I’m not sure about this, but I’ve heard some studies were made on the Philippine native dog at UP Los Banos. Haven’t had the opportunity to go there yet and verify if there is such a research.
Do update me if you have any info. Would love to post them!
Regards,
Gail.
Kudos to your post! I hate it when people are compelled to reply (when asked what breed their dog is): “askal lang” because of the way the snotty purebred “(so-called) dog lovers” look down on the Aspin. Go PAWS!
I don’t know if I’m in the right place to leave this message
but having known this org from the net and other media I consider to try my luck here, I would like to give away my 6 years old mixed breed working type dog to anyone who have a knowledge and passion in handling this type of dog.I do love animals and I don’t care whatever breed or class they belongs to. Me and my wife used to rescue stray dogs and cats( currently we already have 7 dogs all mixed breed and 3 native cats) raising this number of pets was really an enjoyable experience and of course it also requires a lot of attention that we are not able to provide specially for Zackie my dog that needed it most. Zackie is a 6 years old mixed breed dog was taken by my wife from her relative who lacks the passion and time needed in handling this kind of dog that translate to this dog being neglected being left outside the house without protection from the weather. To make the story short we take the dog with an intention to take good care of him but due to his age and background we find it difficult to tame him even after 2 months of introduction he still have an unstable temperament like being too dominant and aggressive even to me as his handler he bit me when I try to restrain him after he was able to escape from his leash. I do not blame him because it was a dog natural response specially he is not yet considering me as his new companion. Me and my wife love him a lot but due to his behavior We are not able to give him a bath ever since we take him from his former handler. And at this moment we are not yet financially ready to send him to an expert for obedience training.but at the same time we don’t want to break the dog spirit by putting him in the cage forever but I’m also worried for the safety of the people around him specially my family. So we decided to look for interested person who believes that he/she is capable of handling him and loving him. But due to Zackie’s age and background I’m open to the possibility that there’s no other person who will volunteer to take him. but if there’s someone who can offer some help in correcting Zackie’s behavior Me and my wife will be forever grateful. We just wan’t Zackie to experience having a family that will love and take good care of him.
Jason
Jason: I had to edit out your comment to remove your contact info to protect your privacy. I am not aware of any organizations that are able to take in animals who used to have homes. PAWS and CARA only take in strays, and they have quite a lot in their hands already. If you can’t find any friend or relative to take your dog, you might want to consider posting in philippinepetfinder.com, there might be somebody in the forums willing to take your dog in.
no purebered dogs here in the phillipines..no conformation, no color uniformity,askals sometimes have long hairs, sometimes short.others are tall and some are small..i have nothing against askals, i just would like to make a point that for those people who would like to make askal as a phillipine breed of dog, better make all the mutt in the world to be called askal. i don,t use the word aspin bec. for me aspin is a word to be used if you already created a purebreed of a dog from the phillipines. with conformity with uniformity, in color and size ofcourse with a great temperament..let’s create our own breed of dog bec. unfortunately we don’t have one..salamat po!!!
“June 10th, 2010 at 4:53 am mayer says:
no purebered dogs here in the phillipines..no conformation, no color uniformity,askals sometimes have long hairs, sometimes short.others are tall and some are small..i have nothing against askals, i just would like to make a point that for those people who would like to make askal as a phillipine breed of dog, better make all the mutt in the world to be called askal. i don,t use the word aspin bec. for me aspin is a word to be used if you already created a purebreed of a dog from the phillipines. with conformity with uniformity, in color and size ofcourse with a great temperament..let’s create our own breed of dog bec. unfortunately we don’t have one..salamat po!!!”
—-I CAN’T HELP NOT TO REACT, SORRY. ANG YABANG KASI EH. SAMANTALANG MALI AT UNFOUNDED NAMAN.—-
1) “…i have nothing against askals, i just would like to make a point…”
—> yes you do have a problem with askals. you are a product of colonial-engineered mentality, though you may not outrightly say it, you detest recognition and proper reference to the askal. in manner of your choice of words and biases on the subject, your disclaimer that “have nothing against askals” is a misnomer. your point is well translated.
2)”…that for those people who would like to make askal as a phillipine breed of dog, better make all the mutt in the world to be called askal.”
—> what is your point again? calling MUTTS, “askals” and ASKALS, “mutts” is technically correct. essentially, they are the same. Iha o iha, just because its in english, there’s an indifferent ring to it. You seem to have realized that though, your logic is just questionable.
since you’re after the ‘purity’ of a dog’s pedigree (conformation,uniformity and the likes) let me also raise that these most precious pure breed dogs, are in fact mongrels or mixed breed themselves. modern PUG, for example, is a result of long time in-breeding among the firsts pekingnese in europe and king charle’s spaniel, ergo, a pug considered as a purebreed, is essentially not. there are plenty more examples scattered around the net, try reading them before you assume and give misleading conclusions.
3)”…i don,t use the word aspin bec. for me aspin is a word to be used if you already created a purebreed of a dog from the phillipines.”
—> this statement is just but a confirmation of how shallow and judgmental you are towards “purebreds” and “mongrels”, and you claim to have nothing against askals. funny.
first, “aspin” is a term coined by Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), this is to counter political incorrectness, accdg to PAWS newsletter, furthermore, the goal was to eradicate the stigma attached to askals in its long history of abuse. in fact, this was to educate people who devalues an animal simply because of how it looks like or what lineage it belonged. say.. people like you. using the term aspin, doesn’t connotes recognition of askals or aspins as an established breed. (wherever did you get that idea, anyways? is it because it sounds “sosyal” again, like the word, “mutt”? brilliant.)
4)”…with conformity with uniformity, in color and size ofcourse with a great temperament..let’s create our own breed of dog bec. unfortunately we don’t have one.”
—> conformity, uniformity in size and color and great temperament doesn’t always come free with a certain breed. social and health factors play a big role in the upbringing of one dog. let’s go back, askals or aspins may not have these kinds of traits but overall, the variety of gene pool of these dogs, keep them alive for more generations to love. unfortunately for you though, your mind isn’t big enough to accommodate such acknowledgement.
moving on, “creating” a breed. this makes me think, for what? so we can boast about in the international communities that we have our “own” breed? that’s plain stupid, quite frankly, mayer. doing so, will further shame the country for playing mini gods and throwing in one of the “designer breeds” that seem to have no use or point at all. they were created out of breeder’s fancy and whims. why not better the welfare of our native aspins, then we can see that they are no different with purebred dogs at all?
Their resilience and capacity to adapt and learn quickly, is already a start. Having an un-spiteful moniker is twice a step further in taking good care of their existence and bettering the world’s perception of the Pinoy’s mutt.
Now, the only unfortunate thing we have in existence are people like you – narrow-minded, malign and colonial enthusiasts who belittles their own because they seat in their supposedly, high chairs.
K. THANKS. BYE.
What a bunch of racists!
So sa mga aso, okay lang palang maging bigot.
Syempre!!! Pwede sila schmex sa kalsada, so definitely pwede rin sila maging racist!! Hehehehe
mayer youre a piece of crap….i have a siberian husky and a aspin..they go along together….i may acknowledge that the husky have a better look but my aspin compensate for it by being loyal….true yung sinabi ni Joy to the world, the toy dogs that people are crazy about are not really purebreeds, their genes are also mixed with other breeds…..wala po sa breed ng aso or other animals ang kaligayahan sa pag-alaga ng pets….