The History of Dog Breeding

Publicado por Karen Hill en 28 de octubre, 2025

The history of dog breeding is a fascinating journey that stretches back thousands of years—one that mirrors humanity’s own evolution. From the earliest days when wolves tentatively accepted scraps beside prehistoric campfires, humans began shaping canines into loyal companions, guardians, and working partners. Over centuries, what started as a pragmatic alliance for survival gradually transformed into a complex practice driven by purpose, preference, and pride.

EARLY FUNCTIONAL BREEDING

Between 3,000 and 4,000 years ago, greyhound-types of dogs were depicted on pottery and paintings in Egypt and Western Asia, while mastiff-type dogs were kept for guarding and hunting.^[1] During this era, dogs were bred for specific functions—herding, hunting, guarding—but not for standardized physical appearance.

When looking at different breeds of herding dogs, researchers found that one group originated in the United Kingdom, another from Northern Europe, and yet another from Southern Europe, each using different strategies to herd their flocks.^[2]

PRE-VICTORIAN ERA

The western concept of breeds was recorded in Caius's Treatise of English Dogges from 1570.^[3] However, before the Victorian adoption of breed standards, hounds of a variety of shapes and sizes were used to hunt wolves—the important thing being their ability to do the job.^[4]

Many different terms were used to describe dogs, such as breed, strain, type, kind, and variety.^[5] Dogs were defined by their function, not their form.

THE VICTORIAN REVOLUTION

This era completely transformed dog breeding from function-based to form-based selection.

The Birth of Dog Shows

The first modern conformation dog show took place in Newcastle in 1859 for Pointers and Setters, quickly followed by the Birmingham Show which became the oldest continually existing dog show in the world.^[6]

The first official dog show took place in 1859, and the English Kennel Club was founded in 1873, followed by the American Kennel Club in 1884.^[7] The Kennel Club was founded on April 4, 1873 by Mr. Sewallis Evelyn Shirley MP along with twelve other gentlemen, with the purpose of having a consistent set of rules for governing dog showing and field trials.^[8]

The Breed Standard Revolution

John Henry Walsh created a system of giving scores for different parts of the dog's body in 1865, paving the way for the pedigree dog breeds of today.^[9] Walsh's classification system changed breeds forever—in the show ring they were expected to have a defined shape as set out in the breed standard, and form slowly but surely trumped function.^[10]

The Victorians defined their physical standards in terms of anatomical points, driven by conformation dog shows from the 1860s in competitions to determine the best in each breed.^[11] National standards were needed, with the goal that breeds across the country would conform to the breed standard, leading to more uniform breed populations.^[12]

Cultural Impact

The Victorians were influenced by Darwin's ideas of natural selection and became passionate about breeding for the ideal of a certain breed, with many conformational traits we think of as classic originating in this era.^[13]

The Victorian era witnessed dog breeding transform from a practical pursuit to a symbol of status and prosperity, with the first formal dog shows focusing on aesthetics over utility significantly influencing the direction of dog breeding.^[14]

Breed Explosion

In the 1840s just two types of terrier were recognized; by the end of the Victorian period there were 10, and proliferation continued—today there are 27.^[15]

Most modern dog breeds are the products of controlled breeding practices of the Victorian era (1830-1900), and the accurate documenting of pedigrees with the establishment of the English Kennel Club in 1873.^[16]

The Irish Wolfhound Example

George Augustus Graham set out to recover the lost Irish Wolfhound breed in the 1860s and 70s by drawing his design, then starting a breeding program to realize his ideal, beginning with alleged true-blood Irish dogs before cross-breeding with Scottish deerhounds.^[17]

Health Consequences

To reach the best conformation standards, breeders sought to breed from the same prize-winning dogs, which meant inbreeding was common, and many dogs showed physical and mental weaknesses.^[18]

The purebred principle and strict breeding rules were introduced in the late 19th century, with breed registries only open for a short period during the Founding Event before closing, creating artificial bottleneck conditions.^[19]

20TH CENTURY DEVELOPMENTS

After World War I and II, with economies rebuilding, smaller breeds gained popularity due to urbanization and changes in living situations.^[20]

The class lines eventually blurred as purebred dogs became widely popular in the U.S. during the economic boom following World War II, marketed to Americans who had more disposable income.^[21]

More than 500 genetic defects exist in today's purebred dogs, with inherited diseases such as hip dysplasia, brachycephalic airway syndrome, cardiomyopathies, and blood disorders affecting quality of life.^[22]

THE DESIGNER DOG MOVEMENT

Early Experiments

The Cockapoo was developed in the United States between the 1950s and 1960s and is thought to be the first designer dog.^[23] The Cockapoo appeared in the 1950s as a Cocker Spaniel-Poodle cross, though it never achieved much popularity initially.^[24]

Monica Dickens, the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens, bred Goldendoodles in the 1960s to provide guide dogs for people with allergies.^[25] The first recorded use of the term Labradoodle was by 1950s speed record breaker Donald Campbell in relation to his Lab-Poodle cross Maxie.^[26]

The Labradoodle Revolution

The Royal Guide Dog Association of Australia assigned the task of creating a hypoallergenic guide dog to Wally Conran in the 1980s.^[27] Royal Guide Dogs tried to use 33 Poodles as guide dogs and all 33 failed out of the service program, leading Conran to cross a Labrador with a Poodle.^[28]

When nobody would take the puppies since everyone wanted a purebred dog, Conron went to the PR team and said 'Go to the press and tell them we've invented a new dog, the Labradoodle,' and it went worldwide.^[29]

The Marketing Phenomenon

During the weeks that followed, the switchboard was inundated with calls from potential dog fostering homes, other guide-dog centers, vision-impaired people and people allergic to dog hair who wanted to know more about this 'wonder dog'.^[30]

The Designer Dog Explosion

In the 1990s, the rise of designer dogs—intentional crossbreeds of two purebred dogs—became a significant trend in the dog breeding world, with popular mixed breeds like the Labradoodle and Goldendoodle exploding in popularity.^[31]

From the mid-1990s onward, some breeders started to pursue the idea of developing Labradoodles into a new breed in their own right, and a plethora of other crossbreed puppies with portmanteau names began to appear, collectively known as designer dog breeds.^[32]

The first documented litter of Pomskies appeared in 2012, and this lovable breed skyrocketed in popularity, becoming the most popular designer dog breed in 2017.^[33]

Modern Popularity

A 2014 study estimated that designer crossbred dogs made up less than 6 percent of the UK dog population, but by 2020 this had jumped to one in four puppies (26 percent) being designer crossbreeds.^[34]

By 2009, designer dogs were so numerous that the American Kennel Club changed their rules, allowing mixed breed dogs from pedigree parents to receive an AKC identification number—a huge shift for a major breed registry that would never have happened had it not been for the Labradoodle.^[35]

The Controversy

Conran later described Labradoodles as 'his life's regret,' upset that their success had made them popular with puppy farmers, with non-health tested parents producing puppies with genetic diseases and behavior problems.^[36]

Conran's regret was NOT that the Labradoodle was a bad mix—it was very successful—but that too many unscrupulous breeders jumped on the bandwagon.^[37]

This complete history shows how dog breeding evolved from ancient functional partnerships through Victorian aesthetic obsession to the modern designer dog phenomenon.

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