Random Thoughts Inspired by Westminster

As I watched the Sporting Group segment of the Westminster Dog Show last week, I was struck by how many of the breed descriptions included lineage details that went something like this, “And here is the X Breed. The X Breed was developed by breeding the Y Breed and the Z Breed along with other breeds to achieve the X Breed’s (insert a particular physical or behavioral characteristic) giving us the breed we know and love today.”

In my mind and musings, this begs the question: What is the difference between these AKC breeds and our purpose bred doodles? Time?

The first archaeological evidence of selective breeding occurred around 7,000 BC in early Mesopotamia. The Mesopotamia’s recognized the Arabian Desert wolf as an impressive hunter, since it was lighter and swifter than its relatives. So over time, and with selective breeding, the Mesopotamians developed from this animal the first example of a purebred dog. That dog still exists today and is known as the Saluki or Persian Greyhound.

Now let’s fast forward to the present day, because all you need to do is stroll down any street to see all of the different breeds created to fill a special need for humans.

The Labradoodle, the first dog to be labeled a ‘Designer Dog,’ was developed in the late 1980’s to fill a void in human/dog world, an allergy friendly guide dog.

Their development was not some chic attempt to create a ‘designer dog.’ They were developed as a specialized service dog, because that type of dog didn’t currently exist. The development of the Labradoodle, and later the Goldendoodle (a golden retriever /poodle hybrid), allowed people needing a service dog, but who suffered from dog allergies, to finally get the help they needed to make life more manageable.

Like the breeds showcased at Westminster, only a few of our doodles do the work for which they were originally developed. Most are loving, allergy friendly companion dogs, not active service dogs. But wait! Wasn’t the development of an allergy friendly companion dog also one of the original goals?

In our modern, sometimes disconnected, society more and more people are turning to their dogs to fill an emotional gap in their life. Some of those dogs, in particular the doodles, have been specifically bred to fill yet another human need, that of companionship.

And isn’t molding dogs to fulfill a human need what man has been doing for thousands of years?

Here is my crew – Best in Show, each one of them!! (Okay, so it is only my show, but I still think they are the best!)

Discovering Labradoodles