Many a marketing expert has contacted us with offers of their services. Inevitably, every single one of them says, “Why do you have all those dog breed labels? Why don’t you have one label with a dog’s nose on it?
While I'm tempted to scream, "You're a GENIUS...I NEVER thought of that!" I smile and thank them for their input.
One reason we have so many dog breed labels is to celebrate the tenacity and adaptability of human beings.
Ever since that first friendly wolf puppy crawled to the campfire for a snack, humankind has wanted a dog that was bigger, smaller, fluffier, taller, longer, every imaginable color combination, friendlier, more fierce, better tracker, better swimmer, the list is truly endless.
For eons dogs were expected to hunt or guard. That is all humans in earlier times cared about. Adaptations for the climate and geographical area also shaped the decisions on dog breeding. Tibetan Mastiffs are huge guarding dogs with a very thick coat, to withstand the harsh Tibetan weather. The Saluki is lean, wiry and fast, with a much closer coat, as they were bred to chase prey in the hot, sandy desert.
Canine genetics is relatively easy to work with when compared to many other species. In dogs, ONE genetic variation controls coat type and earset, size and shape. In people every characteristic such as hair or eye color is controlled by complex genetic coding.
CanMap,a mind-boggling research project actually determined that all, as in EVERY, factor that changes how dogs look (ears, coat, color) are controlled by one of only 50 different genetic combinations.
This allows people to breed a dog for every job, every climate, every lifestyle, every canine imaginable variation! Plus, we have the dazzling array of fabulous mixes!
In answer to the question...WHY SO MANY DOG BREED LABELS?
To celebrate the mind-boggling diversity amongst dogs and the people who love them!
Tili, our 175# Leonberger/Great Pyrenees girl and Larkan and Cinnabar, smooth Brussels Griffons (12-15# each) are pictured.