100 Years of Breed 'Improvement'

kylith

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

The old St. Bernard is practically unrecognisable as the same breed!

Pretzill

kylith wrote: »

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

The old St. Bernard is practically unrecognisable as the same breed!

This saddens me I think all the breeds pictured look so different from their anscestors but it's the health complications that are dire. I was most surprised by the GSD who is so much more a sheepdog originally you can just see how those hip problems will come from the top heavy frame - And the Bulldog - why ffs - it annoys me but these breeds are here now, so what can be done?

sillysmiles

I wonder how to go back - is there a way to reverse the mess that had been made?

Bullseye1

While some dogs have obviously been breed poorly over the past 100 years I wouldn't say all changes have been for the worse. At the end of the day all these breeds are man made. They don't exist like this in the wild.

I quite like the old Bull Terrier head it actually looks like a terrier head.

mymo

The English bull terrier has changed a lot even in the last 20-30 years, I had a neighbour growing up that bred them, they looked more like the black and white photo in build, but with a slight slope to the head/nose. Nothing like the modern pic.

kylith

sillysmiles wrote: »

I wonder how to go back - is there a way to reverse the mess that had been made?

It could be done be either outcrossing with another breed or even just selecting individuals with less exaggerated traits; smaller head, longer nose, or whatever. I heard a while back that someone in the UK is trying to recreate Cavaliers from Papillions, Cockers, and Chins.

Pumpkinseeds

If only they'd left the Bull Terrier alone. Personally, it's the shape of the head that freaks me out about the breed. I doubt I'm the only one with that opinion.

fredweena

Thanks OP. Very interesting post.

Mr. Nice

In fairness, the "modern" picture of the English Bulldog is an extreme example. And the black and white image looks relatively recent.

ZiabR

Good post OP, some of the breeding techniques have been awful over the years...

kylith

Mr. Nice wrote: »

In fairness, the "modern" picture of the English Bulldog is an extreme example. And the black and white image looks relatively recent.

I'd disagree, based on the one that lives near me that looks just like that. It breaks my heart to see him waddling along, struggling to breathe, and know he's got to be only four or five years old, meanwhile my Rani is still running around like a loon at 14. Animal cruelty for the sake of fashion, imo, and fashion is all it is.

sillysmiles

Bullseye1 wrote: »

While some dogs have obviously been breed poorly over the past 100 years I wouldn't say all changes have been for the worse. At the end of the day all these breeds are man made. They don't exist like this in the wild.

True, they don't exist liek this in the wild, and all breeds are essentially "man-made" I suppose, but if you take an animal like the german shepard for example, it was surely originally bred and cross bred for function - to be a working dog, an agile strong dog?

I think the change has come with dogs being bred for showing and for looks regardless of function.

There was a time when the GSD could clear a 2.5 meter (8.5 ft) wall, that time is long gone.

To me, the one that really stands out, both from reading that link and from what I have read on this forum, is the bulldog,

The bulldog’s monstrous proportions makes them virtually incapable of mating or birthing without medical intervention.

An animal that cannot mate or give birth should, by nature, not breed.