General Description

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(Poi Dog) (Illio) Not much is known about this breed’s appearance because they are extinct.  They seem to have had a broad head which sat on a wide neck.  Their round bodies were attached to short chubby legs.  Short fur covered their round fat bodies and came in almost every color.

The Hawaiian Poi Dog is an extinct breed. They were short coated, and their coat came in a variety of colors. The body was low and barrel shaped with a distended belly and short legs. The head was large and flat due to the lack of chewing from their vegetarian diets.

Character

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The Hawaiian Poi Dog acted like a pig and liked to play with the pigs in their tribe.  This breed was playful but too fat and lazy to be able to play many games.  Protecting children is what this breed did and was bred for.  Barking was not common for this breed, and they were not intelligent. 

The Hawaiian Poi Dog was clumsy, but friendly and playful. They were said to be fat and lazy and rarely barked. They were fattened up to be eaten by the tribe in which they lived. They were fed a paste made from ground, baked and fermented taro root, they were sluggish and were not very smart. Hawaiian Poi Dogs liked to play with the children, but were too slow to catch fruits the children would playfully throw at them. Lots of times they ran with the hogs, which the tribes also ate, and acted more like hogs then dogs.

General Health

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This breed was not healthy when alive because it had a poor diet which consisted solely of poi which is ground up taro root.  This vegetarian diet weakened their teeth and jaw and changed the shape of their skull.  This diet also led to extreme obesity and laziness.  Most of these dogs did not reach their full life expectancy because they would be eaten or killed if the child they were protecting died.

History

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The Hawaiian Poi Dog probably came to Hawaii with its first Polynesian settlers more than ten centuries ago.  The breed was a type of Pariah hound. Unfortunately, a combination of poor diet, crossbreeding with other dogs, and other problems, the Hawaiian Poi Dog has been extinct for a number of years.  An attempt to breed the dog in captivity at the Honolulu Zoo failed after 12 years.

Maintenance

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Not much is known about this breed but probably little grooming was needed or given to them. Because of their obesity, they could not exercise even though it was needed.  This breed had to eat the taro root because their teeth were so weak they could not eat other food.

The dogs were only fed poi, which is a granular past based on the taro root. This was done to fatten the dogs up, for they were not only used as a companion, but they were also eaten by the tribe. It was not uncommon for a dog to have slept with the children one night and eaten as the main course the next. The vegetarian poi diet made the dogs become inactive and obese and they often were found amongst the hogs. Over the years this vegetarian diet changed the shape of the dog's skulls. The heads became large and flat due to the disuse of the bones from lack of chewing. These dogs eventually became very lazy waddling around with distended bellies.

Ideal Environment

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This breed usually lived with families who had children because they would protect them.  Lazy and fat, this breed rarely did much besides sleeping and playing with the pigs, but they were playful.  A special diet was needed for this breed because of their bad teeth.

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