Photography by Isabelle Français and Carol Ann Johnson, with additional photographs by:
Norvia Behling, T. J. Calhoun, David Dalton, Doskocil, Lynette Hodge, Bill Jonas, Mikki Pet Products and Alice van Kempen.
Illustrations by Patricia Peters.
The publisher would like to thank all of the owners of the dogs featured in this book, including Mrs. Pat & Miss “Shell” Broadhead, Louise V. Emanuel and Charles M. Zimmerman.
A section from “Las Meninas” (The Maids of Honor), a famous painting by Diego Velazquez de Silva. The figures in the painting are caught in snapshot fashion in typical Velazquez style. The dog at the children’s feet, though not identified by breed, certainly resembles the Anatolian Shepherd. Painted in 1656, the original is in the Philip IV collection at the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain.
ANCIENT HISTORY OF DOGS
There are well beyond 300 separate and distinct breeds of dog that are officially recognized today by the respective pure-bred dog registries of the world. What comes as a surprise to many is that all breeds, regardless of size, shape or color, trace back to a single common ancestor. And, what may be even more important in the overall scheme of things, our search reveals that the development of the dog bears a striking parallel to the development of humankind itself.
In order to fully understand why any given breed looks and acts as it does, you must go back to the dawn of civilization—a time when humankind’s major pursuit in life was simply that of survival. Providing food for himself and his family and protecting the members of the tribe from danger were about as much as early man could handle.
During this time, early man undoubtedly saw his own survival efforts reflected in the habits of one of the beasts of the forest—a beast that made ever-increasing overtures at coexistence. That beast was none other than Canis lupus—the wolf. Thus, a relationship based purely upon the need to survive had begun. The ages themselves, however, would show that this was a kinship that would prove far more beneficial to humankind than anyone could ever have imagined.
GENUS CANIS
Dogs and wolves are members of the genus Canis. Wolves are known scientifically as Canis lupus while dogs are known as Canis domesticus. Dogs and wolves are known to interbreed. The term “canine” derives from the Latin-derived word Canis. The term “dog” has no scientific basis but has been used for thousands of years. The origin of the word “dog” has never been authoritatively ascertained.
Wolf families had already developed a cooperative and efficient system of hunting the food they needed for survival. Man was not only able to emulate some of these techniques but, as time passed, he found he was also able to employ the help of the wolves themselves in capturing the animals that would constitute a good part of the human diet. In turn, wolves saw a source of easily secured food in man’s discards and, moving in closer and closer, the more cooperative wolves found that they had increasingly less to fear of man. The association grew from there.
“MAN’S BEST FRIEND” ARRIVES
The road from wolf-in-the-wild to “man’s best friend”—Canis familiaris—is as long and fascinating as it is fraught with widely varying explanations. There seems to be universal agreement, however, that the wolves able to assist man in satisfying the unending human need for food were the most highly prized.
In The Natural History of Dogs, a study of the development of dog breeds, authors Richard and Alice Feinnes classify most dogs as having descended from one of four major groups. Each of these groups traces back to separate and distinct branches of the wolf family. The groups are known as the Dingo Group, the Greyhound Group, the Northern Group and the Mastiff Group.
The Dingo Group traces its origin to the Asian Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes). Two well-known examples of the Dingo Group are the Basenji and, through the admixture of several European breeds, the Rhodesian Ridgeback.
The Greyhound Group descends from a coursing-type relative of the Asian Wolf. The group includes all those dogs that hunt by sight and are capable of great speed. The Greyhound itself, the Afghan Hound, the Borzoi and Irish Wolfhound are all examples of this group and are known as the coursing breeds or sight-hounds. They are not true hounds in that they do not hunt by scent.
The Northern Group (also Arctic or Nordic Group) of dogs descends directly from the rugged Northern Wolf (Canis lupus). Included in the many breeds of this group are the Alaskan Malamute, Chow Chow, German Shepherd and the much smaller Welsh Corgis, and the Spitz-type dogs.
The fourth classification, and the one we take particular interest in here, is the Mastiff Group, which owes its primary heritage to the rugged Woolly Tibetan Wolf (Canis lupus chanco or laniger). The great diversity of the dogs included in this group indicates that they are not entirely of pure blood in that the specific breeds included have characteristics that reveal that they have been influenced by descendants of the other three groups. This widely divergent group is known to include many breeds we now classify as Sporting Dogs, such as the (scent) hounds, as well as the guard/protection and flock-guardian dogs.
It is the ingenuity of man that deserves full credit for the selective process that produced dogs who excelled in some but not all of the traits that had been passed down from their lupine ancestors. The undesirable characteristics that could have been inherited were practically nullified. A perfect example of this will be seen in how the wolf’s territorial instinct, communal spirit and bravery are reflected in the character and working ability of the Great Pyrenees (known in England as the Pyrenean Mountain Dog)—thought to be one of the oldest pure-bred breeds in the world.
As humankind moved out of the caves and developed a more sophisticated and complex lifestyle, man found he could produce animals that could suit his specific needs from these descendants of the wolf. More often than not, this selective process was shaped by how and where man lived.
The wolves that had been accustomed to herding, separating and killing their prey in the forest were selectively bred to retain their rugged constitution and their ability to round up their prey, but the prey instinct itself was, for all intents and purposes, eliminated. From still other descendants of the original wolf stock, man eliminated both the prey and herding instincts in favor of developing their communal and protective qualities. They did so in order to ensure the safety of their domesticated livestock.
The Great Pyrenees, or Pyrenean Mountain Dog, known for strong character and working ability, is considered to be one of the oldest breeds of dog.
It is at about this point in history that we can stop calling wolves “wolves” and start referring to them as Canis familiaris or, for the non-Latin-speaking among us, “dogs.” Particular characteristics were prized and inbreeding practices were used both to intensify the desired characteristics and eliminate those that opposed the efficiency of the dogs.
THE ANATOLIAN PLATEAU
When the Mongoloid peoples migrated westward into Europe, their dogs, Mastiff-type descendants of the rugged Woolly Tibetan Wolf, went with them. The migrants dispersed themselves throughout the main mountain ranges of Europe, where environment and the specific needs of the people developed their dogs into separate and distinct types.
ANCESTORS OF OUR ANATOLIANS
Throughout history,