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People come in all shapes, sizes and colors. The same is true for dogs.
Ever wonder why there are so many different dog breeds and so much variation between them? The short answer: People!
Humans have bred dogs over the centuries for certain working, hunting and aesthetic purposes. Some of the stories are truly fascinating. Here are three dog breed origins you may not know:
- Dachshund. We call them “wiener dogs” and they look downright funny. But did you know the dachshund was bred to be a hunting dog? The low-slung, hot-dog shaped pooch is thought to have been developed centuries ago by German breeders to flush out badgers, rabbits and other burrowing animals. Dachshunds’ long body and keen nose (they can pick up a scent more than a week old) are perfect for the task. Even their floppy ears have a purpose. They act like flaps to keep dirt and other foreign matter from getting inside the ear while digging.
- Canaan Dog. This handsome, cream to red-colored dog may be one of the oldest breeds in existence. The ancient Israelites employed the Canaan dog to guard and herd their livestock thousands of years ago. Over time, the dog became a pariah, existing in a half-wild state across the Middle East. Then in the 1930s, a dog scientist named Dr. Rudolphina Menzel successfully trained wild Canaan dogs to become guard animals for Jewish settlements in what was then known as Palestine. Menzel was able to domesticate them and produced the breed we know today. Years later, the Canaan dog was one of the first breeds used to detect land mines during World War II.
- Old English Sheepdog. Everybody has seen one in person or in popular culture, such as in the classic 1959 comedy film “The Shaggy Dog” or the comic strip “Dennis the Menace.” But the real question is, how does a sheepdog see us with all that hair in front of his eyes? Today’s sheepdog may look like a powder-puff, but it was originally bred to work. Just as the name implies, they developed in the 18th and 19th century in England. They were “drovers dogs” used to herd sheep and cattle in a group and drive them to market. Old English Sheepdogs are large, with males topping 24 inches and weighing at least 80 pounds. (With their crazy hair-dos, they look even bigger. Not a bad thing when your job is to protect a flock of sheep from wolves, which was a problem in England 200 years ago.) Traditionally owners docked their tails, so the dogs were often called “Bobtails. The docked tail signified the dog was tax exempt.
There are many other fascinating origin stories behind the dog breeds that exist today. We at Pugpalooza are partial to how pugs once sat alongside the ancient Chinese emperors in their imperial courts.
But that’s a story for another day!
Until next time,
Hugs and Pug Kisses,
Candy
Sources and Links:
The Complete Book of Dogs by Rosie Pilbeam (Lorenz Books, 2017) Amazon – The Complete Book of Dogs: Breeds, Training, Health Care: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia Of Dogs With A Fully Illustrated Guide To 230 Breeds And Over 1500 Photographs: Pilbeam, Rosie: 9780754829942: Books
Old English Sheepdog Dog Breed – Facts and Traits | Hill’s Pet (hillspet.com)
Photo of Sheepdog: By AKS.9955 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75293197
Photo of Caanan Dog: By Canaan Dog, Hodowla Samorodok Hanaanahttp://www.ruscanaan.ru – Alexandra Baranova, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15667777
Photos of Dachshund: By Carl Friedrich Deiker – UB Düsseldorf, http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:061:2-437, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10311546 Main Photo by Erda Estremera on Unsplash
