Look at all the dogs! Are some of them mutts? Which ones are purebreds? Is it the same breed but different dogs? Even the most seasoned of dog fanciers will do a double-take at these photos! The lesson here is to never judge by appearance alone. That's some advice we can use in every facet of our lives.
Can you find your favorites? Let's start with the top row. One of those photos is my favorite breed. Can you guess what each one is? Yes, those are 3 different purebred dogs. My favorite Dobie is on the top left, the Rottie is on the right and their common ancestor is the Beauceron in the middle! The Beauceron is actually a french herding dog. In the third row, the 1st and 2nd pictures are also direct relations of the Beauceron! It's a small doggy world!
I'm sure that one reader will be pleased to see a picture of her breed-cousin on here! Seven of the 12 dogs featured above, are herding dogs; 2 are in the 'working dog' category classified by the AKC, and 3 are companion dogs.
The second row is made up of the Boxer, the American Pitbull Terrier(also called the american staffordshire terrier), and the American Bulldog, respectively. The American Bulldog in the 2nd row, right side, is one of the 3 ancestor breeds that went into making the APBT. The American Bulldog is an offshoot of the British Bulldog and the Olde English Bulldog. The 3 breeds in the 2nd row are all indirectly related to the Mastiff, essentially making them canine cousins!
The 3rd row (waves at Allie) begins with a Briard, next is the Bouvier Des Flandres and then the Portuguese Water Dog. Not only do they all look similar, but all 3 dogs are herding dogs! The first two dogs herd on land, while the 3rd one herds fish in the water. Is it any surprise that the Beauceron, Doberman, Rottwieler, Briard and Bouvier are all interrelated?
The 4th row is the tough one to decipher, isn't it? There's only one German Shepherd Dog of the 3! The very first picture is the popular GSD! The 2nd and 3rd pictures are the Belgian Tervuren and (kissing cousins!)the Belgian Malinois. *MOOF!*The GSD is indeed German--which is like the Rottwieler--which is related to the french herding dog, the Beauceron, which founded and/or is related to the Briard, the Bouvier, the Doberman, and the Rottwieler. Excluding the Portuguese Water Dog, 11 OF THE 12 DOGS ARE RELATED TO EACH OTHER THROUGH SIMILAR DNA! *MOOF!* To make us even more dizzy, the Tervuren is also called the Chien de Berger Belge. For those who haven't read my last blog about the Briard--Briards are also called the Berger de Brie!
The important thing to remember among all these crazy relations, is that the dog one person says they don't like, might be the kissing cousin or founding father of the breed they love the most! Every breed has great qualities that make them stand out and really shine!
What's your favorite breed?!
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*disclaimer* There are always exceptions to the rules. Any discrepancies noted should be mentioned to the author. 'MOOF!' is placed in the same way dogs bark 'moof.' It's a way of saying, Hey! What's That?! Look!___________________________________________
**References**
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/belgiantervueren.htm
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/belgianmalinois.htm
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/beauceron.htm
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/briard.htm
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/bouvierdesflandres.htm
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/boxer.htm
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/americanbulldog.htm
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/americanstaffordshire.htm
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/doberman.htm
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/germanshepherd.htm
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/rottweiler.htm
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/portuguesewaterdog.htm
