Dog breed
A
dog breed is a group of
dogs that have very similar or nearly identical characteristics of appearance or behavior or, usually, both, primarily because they come from a select set of ancestors who had the same characteristics. Dogs have been
selectively bred for specific characteristics for thousands of years. Initially the selections would have centered on
domestication and useful behavior such as
hunting ability. Later, dogs were also selected for attractive and distinctive forms, resulting in a vast variety of types.
Many traditional dog breeds recognised by the main
breed registries are said to be "
purebred". Only individuals whose parentage consists only of other purebred examples of the breed are regarded as part of that breed. This concept has caused controversy both because of the difficulty of regulation and because of the possible genetic consequences of a limited population (
inbreeding). Recent work has been done to genetically classify the various breeds, with some surprising results regarding the estimated age and interrelations of the breeds.
The point at which a new variety becomes a
breed can be difficult to decide. National
kennel clubs often differ in their recognition of breeds and rare breeds might not be recognised outside their home country. Usually, only dogs recognized by a kennel club are eligible to compete in that specific club's
conformation shows and
dog sports, although many dog sports allow any healthy dog to compete regardless of the breed.
Generally, before a type of dog is recognized as a breed, it must be shown that mating a pair of that type always produces dogs that have the same characteristics as the parents, usually both in appearance and in behavior. This is known as
breeding true. There are many issues concerning what is considered breeding true. For example,
Flat-Coated Retrievers must always be black; however, yellow coats occur occasionally in some litters. Kennel clubs do not recognize the yellow dogs as legitimate members of the breed; some breeders will kill the puppies rather than risk having the dog grow up, breed, and produce more of the undesired yellow color, perpetuating the undesireable gene; more often, today, such dogs are
neutered and placed in homes as
pets. As another example, a breeding pair of
Belgian Shepherds of the
Groenendael variety can produce puppies of the
Tervueren (brown) variety; the
AKC considers the varieties to be different breeds and, therefore, the brown puppies are invalid and undesirable dogs, whereas the
CKC considers them simply to be different color varieties of the same breed.
See
selective breeding for a detailed discussion on open versus
closed stud books and some of the issues concerning purebreds.
*
List of dog breeds*
Album of dog photo thumbnails*
Landrace*
Race*
Livestock Guard Dogs: What is a Breed and Why Does It Matter?*
AKC Dog Registration Statistics for 2003 and 2004
