| The breeds which are further ahead on the neoteric line are (like the Nordic dogs) have a mental development much like the full grown wolf. This characteristic is shown in their self confidence, which incapacitates them from being guard dogs, since they are not afraid of people and are very independent.After awhile, the wolves which continued having contact with human settlements started adapting to their owners habits and needs, by training them somewhat, where certain physical and character traits were rewarded, that were needed for the tasks at hand. This is how the first morphological variations came about, which developed to what we see today. Our ancestors always chose the most docile, young and less aggressive before the imprinting (meaning; before they turned fifty days old) until they found the ideal companion able to perform specific tasks. By this manipulation process, we now have many breeds able to perform a great variety of functions, from company dogs to water retrievers, to snow and debris rescue dogs, along with herders, guardians and hunt dogs.The diffusion of breeds in the XX century has developed an unusual development with the instauration of dog breeding, better said; the raising and training of dogs. From that moment on, the use for the dog stopped being the only criteria for which the breed was valued and its esthetic characteristics started being considered. In the last decades there has been an increase or decrease of certain breeds due to specific campaigns for or against them. An example of this is the increase of certain breeds considered dangerous (Rottweiler, Argentinean Dogo, Pit Bull) in society at large and the control measures which have been placed, including the proposal of extermination, which have been carried out in some countries. The market trend is so strong that some breeds tend to disappear all together because of fashion, negative news or panic generated by tabloid reports. In some European countries there have been controversies on the subject of trying to sterilize all dogs of a certain breed, particularly the Pit Bull due to the dangerous incidents some of them have caused. On the other hand, there are some breeds that due to fashion trends have been bred in countries that don't have the same climate conditions of their original environment which have caused changes in their metabolism even causing significant physical variations. Like it's clearly seen with the Siberian husky, the Alaskan Malamute, the Samoyed, the Saint Bernard or the Pyrenean Mastiff. |
