There are far more pure-bred breeds of dog existing throughout the world today than most people will have the opportunity to see in a lifetime. As strikingly dissimilar and diversified as these breeds are, they all trace back to one common ancestor—Canis lupus—the wolf. Everything dogs are and everything they do was passed down through thousands upon thousands of generations to what is universally considered “man’s best friend.”
Archeological discoveries lead us to believe that the relationship between man and dog or, as it was in the beginning, man and wolf, was based upon man’s struggle to survive in the most inhospitable of times. The wolf’s prowess as a hunter was something that early man could not help but observe and there seems to be evidence that man himself may have put some of those techniques to use as well. Then too, the wolf had many social habits similar to man’s own and this undoubtedly assisted in creating that first step toward compatibility.
InThe Natural History of Dogs, authors Richard and Alice Feinnes classify most dogs as having descended from one of four major groups: the Dingo Group, the Greyhound Group, the Nordic Group and the Mastiff Group. All four trace back to separate and distinct branches of the wolf family.
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 and the Saluki are all examples. They are not true hounds in that they do not hunt by scent.
The Brittany is a celebrated sporting dog, gregarious and obedient.
A relative of the Brittany is the larger Breton Spaniel. This is Int. Ch. Fanchio de Cornonaille of Breton.
Eng. Ch. Aotrou de Cornonaille in a photo circa 1930. This dog resembles an English Springer Spaniel of setter type.
A dog resembling the Brittany of the early 1900s, who was a noted worker and prizewinner of his time.
The Arctic or Nordic Group of dogs is a direct descendant of the rugged Northern wolf (Canis lupus). Included in the many breeds of this group are the Alaskan Malamute, Chow Chow and German Shepherd Dog.
The fourth classification, the Mastiff Group, owes its primary heritage to the Tibetan wolf (Canis lupus chanco orlaniger). This group encompasses the greatest diversity of breeds and the extreme diversity indicates the descendants are not entirely of pure blood. The specific breeds included have undoubtedly been influenced by descendants of the other three groups. This influence is of consequence in that some Mastiff Group breeds have acquired characteristics that others do not share at all.
Of importance here is the fact that the Mastiff Group is known to include many of the scenting breeds—breeds which find game by the use of their olfactory senses (their noses) rather than by sight. These breeds include those we now classify as gundogs or sporting dogs well as the true hounds.
As man became more sophisticated and his lifestyle more complex, he found he could produce dogs which could suit his specific needs from the descendants of the wolf. Often these needs were based upon the manner in which man himself went after game and the terrain in which he was forced to do so.
By this time man had taken control of the individual dogs that mated. Particular characteristics were prized and inbreeding practices employed to perpetuate these characteristics.
It is an established fact that dogs and horses traveled all over the world with their owners during the first Crusades. Even if the animals that left their native lands were of a pure strain, there can be little doubt t
