How To Choose Your Dog – Introduction to Dog Breeds
This article introduces you to what you will really share your home with. Which is a wolf, just in different clothes!
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From wolf
Dogs evolved from wolves. Wolves started to attach themselves to us about 100,000 years ago. They scavenged our leftovers. We possibly ate their meat and wore their fur. We might even have taken pity on orphaned wolf cubs and raised them as pets.
But the one thing we realised is that wolves and man hunted better together than we did alone. The man-wolf dream team was born. It was in both our interests, because it meant more food to go around. The wolves chased down the game and we followed with our spears to catch the game and carry it home.
However wolves are pack animals, with a strong hierarchy. It’s a common feature of most wild animals that live in groups. One ‘leader’ usually emerges to look after and control the community. It is often a male – called the alpha male – but can also be a female.
So what happened was man, with his higher intelligence, took the lead. Wolves followed. Dogs continue to see us as their leaders today.
To dog
As man developed, and moved to different areas of the world, our ‘wolves’ went with us. Over time these evolved into different shapes, for different purposes and different climates. About 500 years ago we started to really see specialisation into distinctive forms and types of modern dogs – the ones we know today.
Many of these breeds started life as working dogs with a purpose, looking after livestock, killing vermin and so on. However as some people became wealthier, they could afford a companion which didn’t have to bring home food or guard the flocks. So then ‘pet’ dogs were created. These were often small toy and companion dogs for ladies – for when the men were doing manly outdoor things like hunting and fishing, and the ladies retired to the drawing room with their embroidery! (I’m sure it wasn’t all like that really). These dogs were just ‘made’ for us, to adore us and keep us company.
Our need for dogs to do many different things led to specialisation into different breed types. We then started to classify them into breed groups based on what they did.
Some of our breeds have been around a long time. Dogs like the Pharoah Hound are found engraved on Egyptian tombs from thousands of years ago. Others are fairly recent. But they’re all wolves in disguise. From the tiniest Yorkshire terrier to the greatest Great Dane, there’s wolf genes in all of them.
What breed group a dog belongs to can tell you a lot about whether it is suitable for certain lifestyles. Strongly ‘working’ breed groups might not be suitable for homes with limited time for exercise, for example.
In the UK the Kennel Club has set their breed groups as:
- Working – mostly guard and rescue dogs, moderate to very high exercise
- Hound – originally for hunting by scent or sight, from low to very high or even extreme exercise, look carefully
- Terrier – used for hunting vermin (rats, rabbit, badger, otter), moderate to very high exercise needs
- Pastoral – herding dogs, high to extreme exercise needs
- Toy – smaller companion dogs, usually very low to moderate exercise needs
- Utility – a mix of breeds which don’t fit into the other groups, exercise needs vary enormously so check carefully
- Gundog – used to find and retrieve shot or live game, usually high to very high exercise
Other national Kennel Clubs follow similar principles. Some of their groupings are slightly different and some are the same. So have a look on your national Kennel Club site at the breed groupings and what they mean. Think about what effect that could have on your possible choice.
In the next lesson we look at aspects of shortlisting your breeds.
P.S. There is a lot more to know about what breed groups mean to you and choosing your dog. You might already have noticed other gaps in your knowledge that you’re keen to fill. To get that unique formula for success, click here and find out how little it would take to really be guaranteed the right dog. Get a 60 day risk free trial.