Dogs in Midea

One of the few arts lost when humans came from Earth was the art of dog breeding.The Shan did not have dogs and the Earth stock was too heterogeneous to make any of the sort of highly bred animals we have today .However where there are humans there will be dogs. We've shared space for thousands of years and will probably continue too do so.

Now dogs are kept as pets and as livestock (and occasionally for food ) but the little overbred lap dogs just don't exist there (save Pugs) . People keep mips and other small animals to fill that niche.


Instead most dogs are working dogs, bred for health and for a particular role. The colloquial term is "hounds"
although not all dogs actually fit that description. At least eight kinds exists alongside plain old common farm dogs.

Midrean Dogs tend to be a bit wolfish and a bit wilder than Earth dogs but they are smart and hardy.

The most common types are

Chase Hounds for running down prey (slaves or game animals)

Nose Hounds for tracking (as above)

Tooth Hounds for attack dogs and hunting

War Hounds big combat dogs for dangerous game or warfare

Rat Hounds for killing rats and badger hunting --

Bird Hounds for water fowling

and Watch Hounds used alongside geese for security

Some Mages have also started to breed dogs as guardian animals -- given a protective collar to ward off hostile spells they make effective and loyal companions. Those are usually called Mage Hounds of course.