Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Canine Eugenics

My guilty pleasure for the last couple of days has been watching the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on TV (three weeks ago it was the Barrett-Jackson Car Auction--I know, I'm weird). Now I'm not really a dog person, but I'm fascinated by the variety of physical traits on display and the overwhelming number of different breeds. It's hard to believe that the majority of these dogs descended from something that looked a lot like a wolf!

I really think selective breeding has gone a little overboard for some varieties. Apparently English Bulldogs can't even whelp naturally anymore--the puppies' heads are too big so for safety they usually deliver by C-section! And what about the bizarre grooming on some breeds--who can take a Poodle seriously with that haircut?

While I do enjoy the sporting dogs, my favorites are the toy breeds--there's something to be said for cute and useless (lucky me). Although I suppose you could use a Pekingese as a footstool...maybe not so useless after all!

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