The turnspit dog is an extinct short-legged, long-bodied dog bred to run on a wheel, called a turnspit or dog wheel, to turn meat. It is mentioned in Of English Dogs in 1576 under the name "Turnespete". William Bingley's Memoirs of British Quadrupeds (1809) also talks of a dog employed to help chefs and cooks. It is also known as the Kitchen Dog, the Cooking Dog, the Wheeling Dog, or the Underdog. In Linnaeus's 18th-century classification of dogs it is listed as Canis vertigus. The breed was lost, since it was considered to be such a lowly and common dog that no record was effectively kept of it. Some sources consider the turnspit dog a kind of Glen of Imaal Terrier, while others make it a relative of the Welsh Corgi.
Developed in the kitchens of Great Britain, often within manor houses or large kitchens.
The Turnspit Dog was a small, sturdy breed specifically used in kitchens across Britain to turn meat on a spit, hence its name. It was considered a working dog of the lower classes, typically not afforded much status or care. This breed became obsolete with the advent of mechanized kitchen tools and is believed to have disappeared by the late 19th century. They were sometimes associated with being a type of Glen of Imaal Terrier or related to Welsh Corgis.
A dog at work inside a wheel near the ceiling; from Remarks on a Tour to North and South Wales (1800).
Trainability
Responsiveness to training: —/5