Many breeds emerged naturally, from the miscegenation of various animals. But man also contributes to this process, carrying out planned crossings and selecting generations and generations of puppies until he arrives at new dogs. “To create a breed, the person interested researches the main characteristics of certain dogs, chooses the ones that can best pass these characteristics on to the puppies and tries the crossing. This is not easy and requires many years of study, research and experiments”, says trainer Sheila Niski, who works at a large kennel in São Paulo. To develop the boxer in the 19th century, for example, a strong dog with a protruding jaw was used, which was very easy to bite the muzzle of other animals.
Around 1830, breeders crossed this breed with an English bulldog and the best puppies, that is, those most similar to the current boxer, were used to continue the development of the new breed. Human interference with canine bloodlines has not emerged in recent centuries. “Thousands of years ago, men realized that dogs could be useful in everyday life, helping with hunting and herding. Over time, they began to select the best animals for these respective functions”, says Sheila.
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back to basics Curious stories mark the appearance of the Doberman, the Fila and the German Shepherd
brazilian breeding
The Brazilian Fila was the country’s first internationally recognized dog breed. It is impossible to specify its origin, but it is estimated that this type of dog began to appear about 400 years ago. European settlers brought to Brazil breeds such as the old English bulldog, the English mastiff and the bloodhound, which began to cross each other. The fila appeared from this miscegenation, which occurred mainly in rural areas, where the large dog was welcome to guard farms and manage cattle.
made for war
The German shepherd emerged in the 19th century, created by German Army officer Max von Stephanitz. He would have made a selection of the best offspring of several German shepherd dogs – it is even possible that some animals were the result of crosses between dogs and wolves. German shepherds became famous in World War I (1914-1918), when they were used as messengers or to sniff out enemies.
great mix
The doberman got its name from its creator, the German Friedrich Louis Dobermann, a tax collector who worked in his spare time collecting stray dogs. The breed emerged at the end of the 19th century from successive crossings mixing several dogs: German Shepherd (from whom it inherited its temperament and intelligence), German Pinscher (agility), Rottweiler (strength, courage and guard), Weimar Pointer (hunting ability ), English greyhound (speed) and Manchester terrier (short coat).