100 years of dog breed "improvements"

[Tradd]

This article was very interesting.

http://dogbehaviorscience.wordpress.com/2012/09/29/100-years-of-breed-improvement/

[bae]

You can still readily find Bassets and Dachshunds from real hunting lines that haven't been perverted by inbreeding. I've used Bassets for hunting for 20+ years, for their niche they are almost unbeatable.

I'm now using Tall Bassets, that is to say, Black and Tan Coon Hounds :-) Another breed that you can still get in unruined form if you look around.

[iris lilies]

It's difficult to find breeders who truly breed for soundness in my breed, bulldogs, but they are out there. Still, I have to say that their overall health issues are exaggerated. We've had ten dogs of our own, all adopted as adults, two with serious debilitating problems. Those two were mill dogs, we got them through rescue when their owners gave them up due to costs of healthcare.

But as I sit here saying that, I know that I am fooling myself somewhat because for one thing: we jut don't take out dogs anywhere in the summer time. It's too hot and they will overheat. So for us that is "normal" but of course for long-snouted dogs, that is not normal.

[pinkytoe]

Interesting article. DH tells me that the Dachsund he had growing up was much larger with longer legs than our present one - at least 10 pounds heavier. Our current one is 13 and has had no health problems except for very bad teeth. Most have been removed. If I ever got another dog (not going to happen in this life), it will be a mutt.

[iris lilies]

Interesting article. DH tells me that the Dachsund he had growing up was much larger with longer legs than our present one - at least 10 pounds heavier. Our current one is 13 and has had no health problems except for very bad teeth. Most have been removed. If I ever got another dog (not going to happen in this life), it will be a mutt.

Do you have a miniature? There are miniature and standard sizes of the doxies.

My friend breeds min doxies them and runs them in field trials, agility, and hunting exercises. They like to find rats in burrows! Anyways, her little doxies are so well muscled, they always kill me. They are small but heavy like lead. Unlike my other friend's Yorkie, that thing feels like a bird when you pick her up, she has no substance.

I like dogs with substance even if they are skinny weiner dogs.

[IshbelRobertson]

For three generations of my family our dogs have all been either cairn terriers or Aberdeen terriers ( now called Scotties). My sister has changed the trend slightly by having Westies... I think thry are a bit yappy and snappy.

[puglogic]

I've been fortunate in my rescues to end up with dogs with terrible conformation for their breed.

I have a shepherd who is too small and short-backed to have spine or hip problems.
A pug who's leggy and has an "outie" nose rather than the suffocating pushed-in noses, has no problem in the heat.
A french bulldog with a somewhat lighter frame all around (and a real nose) who is extremely athletic and agile as a result.

I am glad, because I don't have the veterinary budget to handle all the problems that come with the desirable examples of these breeds :)

I too love dogs with substance. I'd better.

[pinkytoe]

Our dachshund is somewhere in between mini and regular and built like a tank. When we walk her and she wants to stop and sniff, she will literally put on the brakes and yank your arm off. There is no more stubborn breed that I know of. Her primary redeeming factor is that her disproportionate build makes people laugh - especially small children. I once heard a Spanish speaking person tell her giggling daughter it was a "platano" dog, ie banana. And the weiner jokes never end.

[JaneV2.0]

Cats haven't suffered so much from this, but breeders have inflicted problems on some breeds, nonetheless. Siamese cats used to be a handsome, sturdy breed before they were bred to look like lizards. And don't get me started on Persians and exotic shorthairs.

[pinkytoe]

The Siamese traits are very dominant even in mixed breeds. I have two gorgeous Siamese looking cats with beautiful turquoise eyes and seal points. However, they have round heads, heavier bodies and close set ears like American shorthair cats. One of mine is an incessant chewer of odd materials and I just found out that is a Siamese or Oriental trait.

[RosieTR]

One of the things I was impressed by our breeder was that she also breeds for personality and athletic ability. I have never in my life seen a more mellow puppy than ours, and it's a miniature Australian shepherd: not known for being mellow at all. He very clearly has the Aussie herding instinct, but very little agility aptitude. Our other Aussie is a little more neurotic (but not badly so, just less relaxed and more exercise-needy) but with less herding and more agility ability. Both are more relaxed than my mom's Papillon, which is way out of breed standard for size. I would have loved to get a rescue or mixed breed, especially an adult dog, but a small dog with hiking ability is difficult to find here, to the point that we got tired of looking and ponied the $ for a puppy which we then had to train. It has worked out well though, so I'm not sorry.
I do really hate the smushed-face look and resulting issues (tooth problems, breathing probs, etc). We had a Shih-Tsu which came to the end of her nearly 15 years this past May, and that was as smushed as I could take. Even so, she had many teeth removed and snored :-(

[Tradd]

Rosie, the friend I took a trip to visit a month ago has a year old mini Aussie. He is NOT mellow. Jax could never sit still - unless I was allowing him to cuddle up with me on the couch, which he *loved* :) He was a gorgeous chocolate brown and white, with what I was told was a "working coat." Super sweet boy.

[Karma]

How repulsive.

[Gardenarian]

I've been fortunate in my rescues to end up with dogs with terrible conformation for their breed...
I am glad, because I don't have the veterinary budget to handle all the problems that come with the desirable examples of these breeds :)
I too love dogs with substance. I'd better.

Same here - my Italian Greyhounds are too large and stocky to show, but they are much sturdier than the itsy overbred ones that break their legs going down stairs.

[Teacher Terry]

The bigger issue is that puppymills are breeding so many dogs that in our country a million great dogs get euthanized every year & the number is much higher for cats. There are some responsible breeders but until this country as a whole shuts the mills down we will never solve this problem. Also some people prefer purebreds or have allergies like me and need one. People do not think that you can find purebreds in the local shelter but you can. Many end up there when their parents die & no one else in the family wants them. I was reading that originally no dog was ever smaller then about 15lbs and then they started to breed them down which has caused so many health problems. Really breeders have ruined most breeds by breeding in unwanted characteristics in an effort to get the ones they want. It is really sad. Also there are many great local rescue groups that specialize in certain breeds so you can usually find the breed you want. I actually prefer older dogs-a lot less work.

[pony mom]

I read that the healthiest dogs are the ones that most closely resemble wolves. And, if you let dogs breed on their own, after many generations, they would all look the same----erect ears, long nose, and a goldish coat (think Dingos).

As a child I loved Lassie, but the collie's head is so exaggerated now; not as attractive anymore. Not to mention the poor deformed GSDs.

I saw a breeder promoting miniature Rotties (and a few other large miniaturized breeds). Gee, they sound healthy!

Give me a mutt any day.