This morning I drove by a local dog park. Behind its fence was an astounding array of dog breeds. Thorughout the world the multitude of dog breeds are divided into breed categories. In 2010, the American Kennel Club fully recognized 168 different dog breeds divided into the following groups: sporting, hound, working, terrier, toy, non-sporting, herding and other dogs that don’t fit into another category. The 174 breeds recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club are divided into similar categories.
The New Zealand Kennel Club recognizes 206 different dog breeds, while The Kennel Club in the United Kingdom, one of the oldest in the world, recognizes 210 breeds of dogs. No matter which club list you look at, there’s little doubt there are a lot of dog breeds.
Some breeds have been around for a long time, perhaps even thousands of years. These ancient breeds include the Siberian Husky, Akita, Basenji, Chow Chow and the bizarre looking Shar-pei. Other more recent or “modern” breeds, such as collies, sheepdogs, and the hounds, were developed for specific purposes, such as herding and hunting. While we know the history of some breeds, the origin of many are still a mystery.
For a new breed to develop, a group of founder dogs with similar genetic and physical characteristics are isolated from other kinds of dogs and bred together. This kind of breeding in a small group of closely related dogs is called inbreeding and it’s used to bring out the particular traits that are desired by humans for that breed. While it often does that, it has a dark side too, because inbreeding can also increase the risk of physical and mental health problems.
There are also hybrids of the various breeds of domesticated dogs. The American Canine Hybrid Club lists hundreds of hybrids, many with the most exotic sounding names. For example, when a Bassett hound is crossed with a bulldog, the pups are known as Bully Bassetts, while a cross between a Bichon-Frise and a Toy Fox terrier mix produces Fo-Chons.
I’m constantly amazed at how diverse domesticated dogs are. It’s hard to believe they all came from a common ancestor.
