Contrary to popular belief, it was Victorian Era dog breeders who developed most of the “Designer Dogs” we have today. Almost every dog breed we know today was a “Crossbred”, but Breed Associations attitudes were different in those days.

A recent article from Emeritus Professor Michael Worboys traces the origins of most modern breeds.
Modern Irish Wolfhounds are actually Scottish Deerhounds crossed with Great Danes, given that the real Irish Wolfhounds were extinct. The result was then crossed with Tibetan Mastiffs and Boxers to give the “mongrel” that is now recognised as the “purebred” dog we know today.Golden Retrievers are actually an inbreeding of the original mix of yellow coloured Retriever with a Tweed Water Spaniel.

Why is this so possible? Research suggests that creating such massive changes in dog body shape in
such a short time may be a result of the fact that dogs have a relatively small number of genes

compared to some other species – around 19,000 protein coding genes compared with around
47,000 in humans (and cats have around 20,000). That, plus a small generation interval, means that dogs can undergo selective breeding rapidly to produce new body shapes and temperaments.

With the number of dog breeds rising from 27 in 1877, to 80 breeds in 1900, and 339 breeds today, perhaps it’s only a matter of time before Cavoodles become a breed? If so, the Pet Industry had better be ready to provide what their doggy clients need! (more…)

Quality dog breeders and pet shops in the pet industry (more…)

The NSW government is offering community grants for local projects. (more…)

The NSW Government is launching an improved NSW Pet Registry (more…)

Jetpets have introduced a new travel crate with private, en (more…)