Breeds and Breed Development

True or false: There are very few mitochondrial DNA differences between all canids.

TRUE, however, dogs are still the most morphologically varied of all species (i.e. very few differences in DNA despite the variety of breeds and differing physical apperances)

Broadly speaking, what are the four main groups of dog breeds?

• hunting dogs

• ancient types

• mastiff types

• herding dogs

What characteristics make dogs good guarding animals?

• guarding instinct from territorial wolves; they exhibit patrolling behaviors

• great hearing and sense of smell

• selection of barking to alert people and be intimidating

• size

What characteristics make for good sled dogs?

• behavior characteristics

  • lead dogs run fast and take cues from musher

  • dogs get along socially, not a lot of struggles

  • dogs don’t run as a pack, but are playing

• endurance - can run up to 5 marathons in a day

• fastest long-distance animals

• behavior reflects morphological and physiological structure

• sled dogs are dog derivatives, not wolf derivatives

What are the two distinct types of sheepdog?

• livestock herding dogs (ex. Australian sheepdogs, Border collies, Australian Kelpies, Welsh corgis)

• livestock guardian dogs (ex. Kuvasz, Komodor, Great Pyrennes)

What characteristics make for good herding dogs?

• all show stereotypical predatory behavior

  • give eye/stalk, chase

  • some “give eye” more and some are “heelers” (nip at heels)

• good at understanding visual and auditory cues from humans

Livestock guardian dogs

• live with and guard livestock

• maintain juvenile characteristics into adulthood

• don’t stalk the sheep

• patrol the pasture, chase away predators, make their presence known

What selection pressures do we use with livestock dogs?

• guard dogs - select against predatory motor patterns

• herding dogs - select for predatory motor pattern

How does distribution change if we select for genetically controlled traits?

• when breeding for a particular behavior, the whole curve shifts and the new mean is further along the X-axis

  • if breeding for aggression, there will be a bigger tail that is too aggressive

  • if breeding for more reserved dogs, the tail or fearful dogs will be larger