Re: Dogs - the real poop

[Corun MacAnndra <corun@access.digex.net>]

Poster: Corun MacAnndra <corun@access.digex.net>

Linneah wrote:
>
>It seems to me that, of all the breeds dicussed, no one has mentioned the one 
>type of dog that would have been seen all though the Middle Ages - the mutt.  
>Having grown up in a show family and lived most of my life with German 
>Shepards (who, incidently, shed gobs all year!), I can tell you that for
health, 
>longevity and intellegence, a carefully selected mutt can't be beat.  The
health 
>problems that occur in pure bred dogs is due to the inbreeding it takes to
create 
>and maintain the breed.  Big dogs are prone to dysplasia, other breeds to 
>deafness and other health problems.  Though I love the romantic-ness of the 
>pure breeds, they all started out as mutts.

Milady,

First let me say that I am not disagreeing with the sentiment that a mutt
can be a very nice dog to have over a purebred, especially given the various
health problems that seem to abound in them. Second, let me state
categorically that I am no expert when it comes to dogs. However, I believe
your statement that "they all started out as mutts" is self contradictory.

While it is true that one can take a breed within a species and breed the
gene pool for specific traits, the very fact that a mutt is a mixture of
breeds, or, as my mother used to say, a Duke's mixture, disproves that all
dogs came from a common breed called mutt. A mutt, by its very nature
contains the traits of several breeds and is not a breed unto itself. I once
had a mutt that was half Labrador Retriever and half Weimereiner (and
actually the Lab was only partly that, don't know what the rest was). He was
a great dog, with the black coat of the Lab and the body (especially the
Tail of Doom) of the Weimereiner.

Anyway, please take no offence. It is in my nature to point out a
generalization when I see it, especially given that most such begin from a
mistaken understanding of facts, and we should, above all, make sure we get
the facts straight.

In service,
Corun

     Corun MacAnndra   |   Dark Horde by birth   |   Moritu by choice
Though we are not now that strength, which in old days moved earth and heaven,
that which we are, we are. One equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time
and fates, but strong in will. To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield.

=======================================================================
List Archives, FAQ, FTP:  http://sca.wayfarer.org/merryrose/
            Submissions:  atlantia@atlantia.sca.org
        Admin. requests:  majordomo@atlantia.sca.org