Overview
The Telomian is a village dog of the Malaysian rainforest, kept by the Orang Asli people to control rats and other pests around stilted houses. Living on raised platforms taught the breed to climb ladders and steps with surprising skill. It is a small, short-coated, pricked-eared dog with a wrinkled brow and a tail that curls over the back.
Only a few hundred exist worldwide and almost none in Britain. Any you meet will be a rarity and probably its owner's pride. Expect a primitive temperament: cautious with strangers, strongly bonded to one household, independent, and quick to react to small animals.
Exercise and walking needs
About an hour a day of walking and play keeps an adult content. The Telomian is lively but not tireless, and much of its energy is mental. Scent games and problem-solving suit it better than endless fetch.
Free running belongs in a secure, high-fenced area. The breed climbs as well as it jumps, so a fence that would hold a Beagle may not hold this dog.
On the walk
- Climbing: The dog will scale banks, walls and fallen trees for fun. It is charming until it is on the wrong side of a fence, so keep it on a lead near boundaries.
- Strangers: Wariness is the norm. Let the dog approach people in its own time and do not allow anyone to loom over it.
- Prey drive: Bred to catch rats and small game, it will lunge at anything that moves in the undergrowth. Hold firm and keep the lead short in scrubby areas.
- Recall: Unreliable in the open. Treat the dog as a lead walk and use enclosed spaces for play.
Tips for professional walkers
- Arrange a couple of meetings with the owner present; a primitive breed needs time to accept a new handler.
- Fit a secure harness with two points of attachment, since a frightened dog of this type will try to back out of a collar.
- Pack a coat in cold, wet weather; the short tropical coat offers little protection.
- Avoid crowded parks and noisy roads until you know how the dog copes.
What to ask the owner
- How does the dog react to strangers and to being handled by people it does not know?
- Has it ever escaped by climbing, and what height of fence has held it?
- Does it feel the cold, and what is its normal behaviour on wet, grey British days?