Traits & Lines

Yes, lines.

It is said that the purest breads of the Formosan, deep in the mountains, have a faint line on their backs.

...Just like Flavor & Drake.

There were a few other traits, hairless belly, lanky legs, higher rear hips, black on the tongue, ears that stand up at about 4 months, and not being obsessive barkers. Here are a few pictures of Flavor and Drake—and their puppies—all showing these traits...

Line down the back

I'm still looking for a source to explain this, but the word on the street from the most enthusiastic Formosan Dog lovers is the line down the back. It is not a universal trait, just like black on the tongue. This line is faint and difficult to make out, but it is there on some of the pure Formosans.

Remember, the line is faint. Flavor's line would show up from the time I brought her home.

The most likely explanation is that the line is hair that raises up when the dog is slightly alerted, but not too much.

Drake's appeared later in America. Again, remember that the line is faint and usually not visible. And, that's the mark of pure royalty, a true Formosan Dog from the mountains...

The line even showed up in Flavor & Drake's puppies...

This line is supposedly a different color. Technically, the Formosan is a two-tone color dog of black on black. Because both tones are the identical color, we can't see it. But, when they mix with another breed, the black line shows up—perhaps as white on white-brown dogs, or another color—and that line is exactly where the hair stands up on slight alert. See this line showed on Lucky when a friendly schnauzer in the park got too friendly...

This Lucky's black line when it isn't standing...

Based on the hundreds of Formosan mutts (Taiwan Dogs) I encountered in Taiwan, I'd anticipate that if a beagle bread with a Formosan, the puppies would have less droopy ears, a little more triangular face, and a beagle-colored line down the back of their necks.

Ears stand at four months

Formosan puppy ears look floppy, like the won't stand up ever. But, then they stand up at about 4 months.

This is Drake the first day I took him home at three months old...

Drake's ears didn't stand up for seven months, except that one day one did. It was the second day ever that I carried him outside. He was four months old and terrified because of the cars, probably responsible for the small inch missing at the end of his tail...

After that, it went back down for about three months.

I'll never forget the first morning Drake woke me up with both ears standing...

They never drooped after that. This didn't happen for Drake until he was about five months old, which suggests to me that it's not so much about genetics as it is about the will.

The ears need to grow strong first, but they don't stand up until the dog wants them to. Drake had a traumatic infancy and protected childhood, so his ears just never had a reason until later. Because he waited, his ears may have more curve than Flavor's.

Of course, when she was just four-and-a-half months old, she still had one ear flopping down. This was the day I brought Flavor home...

Hairless belly

With the droopy puppy ears, it was hard to identify the Formosan pups at the animal shelter. But, the hairless belly gave it away, on top of the fact that Flavor & Drake were the only two dogs who didn't bark. (Formosans only bark if there is a reason. They'll bark at a stranger until they know the stranger's name.) But, I digress. The Formosan's belly is mostly hairless.

This was Flavor when I first brought her home, just under five months old...

This is Drake fully grown at 14 months, and a proud new daddy. Again, both dogs have hairless bellies.

Even their babies have the same bald spot on their soft spot underneath. Here is a brother and sister from Flavor & Drake's first litter...