Underlying the highly adaptable nature of the natural dog are generations of rigorous natural selection. Subjected to this process, where the fittest survive, they are extremely intelligent, alert, and agile animals, with superbly developed senses. If we were to combine the best qualities of the various breeds of dog, or let a diversity of different breeds interbreed on some island for a few generations, we would probably finish up with a natural dog look-alike. Geneticists refer to the phenomenon of hybrid vigor where the genetically mixed offspring of two relatively inbred breeds of dogs are healthier than either of their parent lineages. This certainly holds true for the natural dog in developing countries whose health is widely recognized as being superior to imported Western purebred dogs, who lack natural immunity to various local diseases, especially parasitic infections.
Natural dogs are incredibly adaptable creatures.
They are able to live and multiply in the wild and in villages and towns as solitary or pack hunters and scavengers. They also take readily to living with livestock and poultry if they are raised as puppies in such an environment. And out in the bush or jungle they can be hunting and trekking companions for adolescent boys and grown men tending livestock or foraging for food. Some indigenous peoples recognize the healing power of dog's saliva, allowing their dogs to lick skin sores and wounds. They are community dogs and are cared for by the people.