Dogs have been selectively bred for thousands of years. And this has resulted in a huge variety of different physical characteristics and also some differences in temperament between different breeds. Humans have selectively breed dogs to fulfill a range of roles in society. From guarding, herding, companionship to pest control. And this selective breeding has resulted in a variety of dogs, some of which have some incredible characteristics. For example, the Norwegian Lundehund or puffin hound has six fully functional toes to help it grip to cliff faces and is also incredibly flexible, allowing it to squeeze into puffin burrows. This is ideal for its traditional puffin hunting role. More familiar breeds such as the iconic dalmatian or beautiful poodle are, nowadays, not often considered to be working dogs. But, of course, they were bred for a particular jobs. The dalmatian was bred to be both a beautiful ornament but also to have great stamina required for it's role as a carriage dog. Trotting along side horse drawn carriages for miles at a time. And anyone with modern day dalmatian will still be familiar with the ferocious exercise requirements of this breed. The beautiful standard poodle is actually a working dog. Breed to work as a cold water retriever with it's curly coat cut into the iconic style to protect it's joints from cold water as it retrieved fallen game. Nowadays, the poodle is more often considered an ornamental breed, but poodle owners will be familiar with the true lively nature and intelligence of this working breed. When choosing a breed of dog, it is important to consider the role of a particular breed in order to decide if it may truly suit your lifestyle. Unfortunately, we increasingly see expensive pedigree breed such as huskies, or even labradors, and even cross breeds such as labradoodles Relinquish to shelters, when these popular and beautiful dogs are bought on impulse by owners who are then unable to meet their extensive physical and psychological needs. For example, poodle crosses have become incredibly popular over recent years. And if we consider the fluffy coats and gentle temperaments of poodles, we can see why cross breads from poodles are so popular. But we also know that because poodles are traditionally a cold water retrieving breed, and therefore a working dog. They also have very significant physical and mental stimulation requirements. And these needs can be challenging to meet in the modern home. Many misconceptions about breeds also occur. For example, bull breeds such as pit bulls, are often portrayed in the media as highly aggressive. But the reality is these breeds, which originated from crossing bulldogs with terriers, were originally bred for bull and bear baiting. Sports which require stamina, strength, and tenacity. Their position in many countries as banned breeds doesn't actually relate to their capacity for aggression, but actually simply to the fact their bite power is higher than many other breeds. A necessary feature of a breed traditionally used to pin down bears and boars. In fact, research has shown that bull breed types of dogs are actually often under represented in bite statistics. And that breeds such as the dachshund or chihuahua may actually be more likely to display inappropriately aggressive behavior. Overwhelmingly, research indicates that it is not the breed of the dog which influences the likelihood of it biting a person. But often other factors such as temperament, appropriate socialization, active supervision of children when they interact with dogs, and appropriate dog human interactions such as training. A dogs breed may also influence it's behavior in other ways. For example, when border collie's see things ahead of them that are of interest, they will often tense their muscles and stalk towards those things. This may appear to other dogs to be potentially a sign of an aggression. But this stalking behavior is just actually a very normal behavior from the collie that we have selectively bred for. Similarly, breeds like Labradors and Retrievers can often be very boisterous when they play. And other breeds of dog may find this type of behavior a little bit overwhelming and sometimes even threatening. Terriers or herding breeds such as Corgis may sometimes be a little bit nippy. And this relates to their breeding for jobs such as rat catchers and also herding cattle, where they may nip at the ankles of cattle in order to hurry them along. Different breeds of dogs may also respond differently in different situations. For example, when training a dog to recall, breeds such as retrievers, who have an innate capacity to want to come back to the person that is calling them, because they have been bred for many generations to retrieve and return, may be more easily trained at the recall. Then other breeds such as sight hounds, for example, which are chasing breeds and for many generations to run away from people and towards a prey item. Moving away from pedigrees, we also need to think about mongrels and cross breed dogs. Characteristics for these types of dogs cannot be easily predicted. For example, again if we look at the popular labradoodle, they're often considered to be a hypoallergenic breed. But this is actually often not the case. If the labradoodle inherits the poodle's coat, which doesn't shed, then they may be suitable for people who are allergic to dog hair. But if they inherit the labrador's shedding coat, this won't be the case. Additionally, many people are actually allergic to the dander or shed skin cells from dogs. So allergies may still be a problem regardless of whether the Labradoodle inherits the poodle coat or the Labrador coat. We also often assume that crossbred dogs may be healthier and display hybrid vigor. Again, while this may be the case for some, some crossbreeds, typically those bred from two pedigree breeds may also be susceptible to the health problems that are common in their pedigree parents. It's really important to remember that when choosing your dog, it's breed may influence some aspects of its behavior and also its health. So it's important that dogs are sourced either from a reputable rescue center, or from a registered breeder who has done the necessary health checks. Regardless of this, and whichever breed you decide to go with, socialization and training is an essential component of responsible pet ownership, and has been shown to improve all aspects of pet dog behavior.
