One of the things I noticed in rescue is that when not tampered with by breeders, a lot of breeds tend to revert to an earlier version. Pomeranians get substantially bigger -- up to about 12 pounds. Chows get smaller, and longer-nosed. Labs get smaller and much less blocky than the coffee-table version that appears to be in vogue now. In all of these cases, you get a better and healthier dog. Pomeranians are more confident (maybe because they are bigger?), Chows are friendlier (they have better peripheral vision and sense of smell, which makes them less likely to be startled) and Labs have fewer joint problems and are less prone to obesity.
Old-fashioned "wolf face" Chow Chow
Modern "smush face" Chow Chow
I'm trying to think of a time when selective breeding actually improved a breed's health and personality. If you exclude all the attempts to undo the damage that breeders have done (e.g., German Shepherd's abysmal joint health), I don't think there are very many.
No comments:
Post a Comment