WHEN DID MAN FIRST BEGIN TO BREED DOGS?
Dog breeds have been around since time immemorial. Since the earliest recorded history, people have been breeding dogs. Initially, using wolves to create domestic canines. From the onset, humans deliberately bred dogs to perform specific tasks. They chose tasks that would be beneficial to them in various ways.
Much later on, companionship began to play an important role in the relationship between man and dog. Today, dogs are known as man’s best friend. Dog Breeds 101 gives a brief history of dog breeding. It also explains the term “Breed Standard”.
WHY DID MAN BEGIN TO BREED DOGS?
Although now called “Man’s Best Friend”, dogs were first thought of as animals whose sole purpose was to share our workload. They were also bred to defend us, our homes, herds, and even our families.
For many centuries, dogs were bred toward the physical and mental traits best suited for the work expected of them. One example of an ancient breed used as either a guard dog or a warrior is the Mollosus. This breed is the one upon which the Mastiff and several other breeds were later developed.
The St. Bernard is also one of the breeds developed from the Mollosus. Further, it was the first breed entered in the Swiss Stud Book in 1884. Its breed standard was approved in 1888 and since then it has been the Swiss National Breed.
Famous for rescuing hikers lost in the Alps and for working in Swiss Hospice settings, they make wonderful family pets are great with children. The smooth coat St. Bernard in the photo associated with the title, “Dog Breeding 101” is Ch. Forest Retreat’s Sugar Baby.
Today, there are at least 14 types of Mastiffs. Although there are similarities, you can easily tell them apart from one another.
Emma Grace and Drago, an English Mastiff “Rescued” at about 9-10 weeks of age
AS TIME WENT ON….
People began to breed their dogs for even more specific needs and traits they needed to better serve them. Some needed sleek, fast dogs to help chase in the hunt. Others needed dogs to work in or around water and some had even more unusual circumstances, like digging holes and chasing rats or gophers under ground.
In current times, more people have dogs as companions or members of their family than who have them as working animals. However, many dogs serve as both a friend and a working companion or service dog.
Well defined breeds have been mixed to develop more refined breeds to fit either service needs or aesthetic desires. One example of aesthetic preferences is coat or hair length. Do you prefer (A) the smooth or (B) the wire coated Dachshund?
So, then, what is the difference between being a breed and not simply a kind or type of dog? The easiest way to define a breed is to say it always “breeds true.” That is, breeding a purebred St. Bernard to another purebred will always produce dogs instantly recognizable as a St. Bernard.The St. Bernard breed comes in two coats, rough or smooth. The one featured in this post is a smooth coated one.
WHAT IS A BREED STANDARD?
According to the American Kennel Club, each breed’s ideal physical traits, movement, and temperament are clearly defined in a written document known as the “breed standard.” For example, the breed standard sets forth the specific traits that make a Cocker Spaniel different from a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Both are Spaniels but there are enough differences between them to set them apart from one another.
The AKC standard for each breed originates with what is called a “parent club.” AKC-recognized national clubs are specifically devoted to a single, particular breed.
Once approved by the American Kennel Club, a standard becomes both the breeder’s required guideline by which dog show judges must evaluate a dog of that breed for breeding or for showing. There are over 340 dog breeds known throughout the world. The American Kennel Club only recognizes 192 of those established breeds.
Mixing Two Breeds to Make A New Breed
Some breeders have deliberately bred dogs from two very different breeds to develop a new, popular combination of desirable traits. If enough time and repeated breedings take place, a new breed may be developed and accepted with its own standards into the American Kennel Club.
Shockingly, one of the most famous dog shows in the world, Westminster Kennel Club’s 138th Dog Show in 2017, included a mixed breed event. Some of the combinations are catching on and may someday become an actual breed and registered by an official kennel club.
A Schnoodle
Golden Doodle
Purebred or what is often called a Heinz 57 Mutt, a dog really can be a man or woman’s best friend. It isn’t what is in the pedigree or on the papers that counts. It is in the heart of the dog and the relationship between him and his human.
Not all breeders are happy about the mating of two very different breeds of dogs.
There can be health problems when certain breeds are mixed or bred to an extreme. For example, the flat-faced dogs are now having severe breathing problems. Also, some of them have problems giving birth and cutting the cord safely.
Here is story on that specific issue that you might enjoy reading. Be sure to share your opinion on the topic.https://happymutt.org/why-was-the-labradoodle-created/?fbclid=IwAR3tqIIVGv_hcZ-mEo3vLnH2gM7_-2ZD6JspjrQ-g8C-af-vXX95xmCM1DM
Photos courtesy of Pixabay and my personal photo album