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The Revolution of Breeds
Prehistoric cave art found in India. Pet or tool? Breeds evolve in two ways; by what Darwin termed "natural selection" and by the hand of man. Man has been involved with the evolution, or development, of dog breeds since the domestication of the wolf. The development of breeds was brought about based entirely on what man required of the dog; what functions man needed the dog to perform; thus began the revolution of breeds. "The crossing of the bulldog with the Terrier breeds had the result that a lot of dogs and bitches were produced that no longer belonged to the foundation breeds. As a result they became quite attractive in appearance, their work was substantially more successful, and gradually a new breed of dog arose." Dr. Dieter Fleig This was the development of the Pit Bulldog, or bull and terrier breeds. Throughout the history of canine breed development we can see the evidence of how man has changed a breed for one purpose or another; whether it be function or appearance. In some ways, breeds were improved upon by breeding for health, temperament, and function; and in other ways, some breeds have paid a heavy, devastating cost for man's decision to breed for an alternative function or appearance. This is what brings about the creation and rise of completely new breeds and the fall of others.
Above: The rise of the modern English Bulldog from left to right. As the EB rose, so the old Bulldog Proper did fall. What many do not realize is that a breed can really never be reconstructed or redeveloped into what it once was by out-crossing to other breeds. By using this out-crossing method into the original pure stock, however, one can develop new breeds that are similar in form and function to the original, yet never being able to recover the original genotype or phenotype. This is how all breeds develop over time; there is nothing wrong with developing new breeds or breed types; however, these redeveloped / reconstructed breeds cannot and should not be considered, classified, or known as the original, rather a descendant of such. These redeveloped / reconstructed breeds must never be confused with being something they simply descend from, having come into existence through cross breeding. Quite simply, call a spade a spade. Cross breeding defies the laws of genetics if maintaining and preserving purity is your goal, as this only serves to dilute the gene pool of the blood you are attempting to purify. Keeping the genetic makeup of the breed consistent requires consistent genes. i.e. not cross-breeding. "In the crossing of the breeds of dogs, such as we have here discussed, larger numbers might have hastened the results, however, working with purebred stock of a single breed, when desirable qualities have been obtained and fixed in their purity, a single pair of animals only is required for the maintenance of that genetic purity. The extensive breeder can continue the old haphazard breeding, selecting the good stock when it occurs, ignoring the wasters that arrive." Phillip Onstott An example I often use is this: If you are cooking a pot of tomato soup, why on earth would you add mixed vegetables?! You will never get tomato soup in this manner. You will waist a lot of time removing or filtering out these other vegetables to leave only the tomato you first put in, but there will remain traces of these mixed vegetables that you are unable to remove; as well, you will have lost some of the tomato in the process. You will not end up with tomato soup, you will have a soup with a heavy tomato base with traces and flavors of other ingredients; a soup that resembles tomato soup, but is your own recipe, your own type. New recipes create new dishes; following the same old recipes creates the same old dish. Only the span of time that they reproduce true to the defined type is a breed really a pure breed. Either before then or after then, it is in transition, the creation of a new type, having been crossbred, no longer being the old or original pure breed, but not yet a new pure breed. It's obvious that at one time all breeds were not pure. All breeds have developed from other breeds that were or were not pure themselves. A "soup", if you will, of other breeds and types that play a role in the creation of a new type. Before a breed can be considered a pure breed, it is first nothing more than a type. As the development and refinement of type progresses, the new type can be determined and defined within a certain range. It is the time frame that they begin reproducing true to that defined type that they become a pure breed, and how long they continue to do so that they remain a breed. By reproducing true to type we mean that the offspring are identical in type to both the sire and dam, and that this process has been successfully repeated over multiple generations. Only the span of time that they reproduce true to the defined type is a breed really a pure breed. Either before then or after then, it is in transition, the creation of a new type, having been crossbred, no longer being the old or original pure breed, but not yet a new pure breed. For example, the AB, as a whole, is YET to reproduce true to type; it is in that transition period into a breed, but not yet there; with those types branching out and developing, eventually becoming separate, (which is where the AB is now with it's many types, such as JDJ, Scott, hybrid, etc.), and those separate types eventually becoming new breeds, separate and apart from the others. JDJ has already taken that initial step in separating his line from the mainstream "AB" generalization and classifying them as a separate breed. These many AB types have gone through this branching out already and are in transition into new breeds. There is nothing wrong with this process at all. Its the development of a new breed, the revolution of breeds, not by natural selection, but through man's manipulation. It is how breeds are developed according to man. "Much credit is due to the practical breeders of those earlier years who did, indeed, choose their breeding stock carefully and mate the best to the best and who utilized to the extent of their ability such empiric knowledge of the breeding as was available. All of the older breeds of domestic livestock were so developed." The New Art of Breeding Better Dogs Kyle Onstott Another classic example of this process is the Pit Bull Terrier. The Terrier has existed for centuries in varying pure breeds. The Pit Bull Terriers arose near the end of the bull-baiting days in England by the crossing of Terrier breeds and bull breeds. Among them, the Black and Tan or Manchester Terrier and the White English Terrier. These two Terrier breeds in their true type were small breeds, 10-20 lbs., very unlike the modern APBT. The Terriers and bull breeds went into the development of the Pit Bull Terrier of which would eventually lead to the development of the APBT, Boston Terrier, Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and American Staffordshire Terrier, to name a few. Today the APBT as a breed has entered into the development of new types within the APBT breed itself. Some of these include Razor's Edge, Gotti, Mayfield, Jeep, York, etc. Popular bloodlines become their own defined type and eventually become their own breed, separate and distinct from the original breed. The WEB is nearing the end of it's life cycle as a pure breed, thus our efforts to preserve and maintain it as pure before they are gone. WEBs have been pure in their current type for at least 200-300 years, while the AB is still evolving according to man's manipulation. With our, (man's), help, we hope to save the WEB from it's end by keeping other types / breeds out of the gene pool, as that is how breeds eventually reach their end; they are bred out of existence. ©All Right Reserved
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