I am working on a project (just for myself) collecting information from vintage dog books. I figured while I’m doing that, I could also look up any info and/or images for readers. If anyone has any requests for a particular breed or topic, leave a comment and I’ll keep an eye out. Any reader requested info will appear in an upcoming blog post.
(I love this image and want to kiss both those doggos.)
That is a wonderful image of spaniels. I have an interest in how the look of some breeds has changed over time, and mostly not for the better. Vintage books often show that. I believe the breeders have much to answer for. Like dogs who can’t be bred or born naturally, have trouble breathing, get overheated, and have horrible conditions like syringomyelia. A lot of that is due to the closed registry breeding, which means no new blood gets into the stud book, even if it could do some good. Good info here: http://www.instituteofcaninebiology.org/whats-in-the-gene-pool.html. An example is the hate for off-standard colours and looks. At a dog show I once saw a pair of golden retrievers that the owner/breeder said were what they looked like originally. They were lean, with coats more wavey and reddish than the usual appearance of goldens. They were beautiful.
The AKC, breed clubs, breeders, judges (who are also breeders) – lots of blame to go around for unsound dogs. And while it’s important not to romanticize the past with regard to dogs (plenty of standard practices we would find objectionable today), there didn’t seem to be any tolerance for unsoundness. I will definitely include some bits that show the differences between then and now.
Norwegian Elkhound is the breed I am interested in, especially health issues.
I’ll keep my eyes open.