The Puppy Listener. Jan Fennell

the planet. If dogs had been left to survive in the natural world, they would have evolved very little. Instead, over the centuries man has crossbred dogs with different traits and talents, creating what are in effect hybrids. And these dogs have reflected the different physical demands, as well as the aesthetic tastes and fashions, of humans through the ages and around the world.

      THE MAIN GROUPS OF DOG

      Dogs have been bred to specialise in a variety of roles, from running down prey to retrieving shot birds, from guarding houses to acting as guides for blind people.

      Their DNA, and even their basic skeletal structure, remains identical to that of the wolf. But the several hundred different breeds of dog that now exist come in every conceivable shape, size and design. And while some dogs, such as the Siberian Husky or Alaskan Malamute, closely resemble the prototype of the species, other breeds bear little resemblance to their forefather. You certainly wouldn’t automatically assume that the Miniature Poodle and the Old English Sheepdog have common ancestors.

      Broadly speaking, there are seven main groups of dogs. Descriptions of each follow, along with a list of the main breeds within each group.

      GUNDOGS OR SPORTING DOGS

      A large number of dog breeds evolved according to the jobs humans needed them to do. When the invention of the gun provided a new way of hunting, new varieties of dogs were bred to perform very specific tasks. Dogs with sensitive noses were bred to locate or ‘point’ to the hunters’ targets. Other breeds were developed to flush out or ‘spring’ the prey, usually birds. Yet more dogs were bred to retrieve the prey once it had been shot. Specific traits were bred into each of these dogs. Retrieving dogs, for instance, were bred to have ‘soft mouths’, which ensured there was no damage to the birds they recovered.

      Common breeds within this category include the Golden Retriever; German Shorthaired Pointer; the Irish, Gordon and English Setters; the Cocker, American Cocker, English Springer and Field Spaniels; and the Labrador and Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. The group also includes the Weimaraner and the Hungarian Vizsla.

      WORKING DOGS

      Over the centuries, humans have bred dogs to do a huge range of different jobs. Breeds have been produced specifically to rescue people from drowning, guide them across snow-covered mountains, alert them to intruders, sniff out explosives and guide the blind. This diverse collection of working dogs includes the Alaskan Malamute and the Bernese Mountain Dog, the St Bernard and the Dobermann, the Boxer and the Bullmastiff. Each of these was bred to excel at specific activities.

      HOUNDS

      Some of the earliest breeds developed by man were used as ‘sight’ or ‘gaze’ hounds. Such dogs are described in ancient Persian manuscripts and appear in Egyptian tomb paintings. Their special skill was to hunt down prey that humans and their horses, bows and arrows couldn’t reach in open country. Often helped by trained falcons, these dogs had the ability to creep up swiftly and silently, running down the prey so that the hunters could close in for the kill. The Saluki and the Afghan are amongst the oldest examples of this group of dog. More modern versions include the Irish Wolfhound and the Greyhound. Centuries later, Europeans developed ‘scent’ hound breeds that were able to trail quarry over long distances, eventually exhausting it. Some killed the prey, others kept it cornered while baying to attract the hunters to them. The Elkhound was a typical example of this type of dog. More modern versions include the Bloodhound and the Basset Hound.

      It is a measure of the diversity of the demands humans have placed on their dogs that this group contains some of the greatest contrasts within the canine world: from the tallest of breeds, the Irish Wolfhound, to one of the shortest, the Dachshund; from the fastest, the Greyhound, to the most silent, the only non-barking breed, the Basenji.

      TERRIERS

      The name Terrier comes from the Latin terra, meaning earth. As the name suggests, the original terriers were bred to hunt creatures considered by humans as vermin that lived both above and below the ground, such as foxes, badgers, rats and otters. Terriers date back many centuries and are believed to have originated largely in Britain. Popular breeds include the Airedale and the Bull, the Cairn and the Fox, the Irish and the West Highland.

      TOY DOGS

      Dogs haven’t only been bred for working purposes, however. Throughout history, man has produced dogs that have provided him with nothing more than warmth and companionship, affection and aesthetic pleasure. Lapdogs, for instance, were – as their name suggests – bred specifically to sit on the laps of Tibetan monks. Elsewhere, aristocrats produced breeds that appealed only for the admiring looks they won in and around the royal court. Toy breeds include the Maltese and the Pomeranian, the Pekingese and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, the Yorkshire Terrier and the Bichon Frise.

      UTILITY OR NON-SPORTING DOGS

      Such is the range of breeds man has created, there are many that don’t fit conveniently into any of the main categories in terms of sport or work. Unsurprisingly, the dogs within this group have hugely contrasting appearances. They include such diverse dogs as the Japanese Akita and the Miniature Poodle, the Dalmatian and the Chow Chow, the Mexican Hairless and the Lhasa Apso.

      PASTORAL OR HERDING DOGS

      Among the most useful and intelligent dogs ever bred are those traditionally used for herding. They have been bred to work in different climates and with different animals, from cattle and sheep to reindeer. Because they work in the face of the elements, they have evolved tough, weatherproofed double coats to protect them from even the most severe weather conditions. The most popular breeds of this type are the German Shepherd and the Border Collie, the Old English Sheepdog and the Samoyed. In different parts of the world, breeds range from the Australian Shepherd and Cattle Dogs to the Belgian Shepherd Dog, from the Finnish Lapphund to the Norwegian Buhund, from the Polish Lowland Sheepdog to the Pyrenean Mountain Dog.

      THE WOLF IN YOUR PUPPY

      Given their physical differences and the very different environments into which they will be introduced, modern dogs live lives more diverse than those of any other species on earth. Some will work, whether as sheepdogs or guide dogs, sniffer dogs or police dogs, some will breed and raise families, while others will simply provide companionship and pleasure. Whatever breed they are – and whatever life they lead – two things are certain. They all share the same DNA and the same basic programming as their ancient ancestor, the wolf. And because of this each of their lives will conform to a distinct pattern.

      It may not seem as though your adorable ball of fluff is a wild animal as it curls itself up in front of your fireplace but, deep within its DNA, that’s precisely what it is. You can take the dog out of the wolf pack, but you can’t take the wolf pack out of the dog. To understand what your puppy is going through during its first six months, you first need to understand what happens in the natural world.

      A wolf pup spends the first part of its life, around six months, in close proximity to the den where it is raised. During these months it passes through the first distinct phases of its life.

      For the first three weeks or so, the wolf pup is utterly dependent on its mother. It remains close to her at all times, suckling from her bosom in the den. During this time, the family unit remains undisturbed by the rest of the pack. Despite being the leader of the pack, even their father, the alpha male, stays away during this time.

      After three weeks or so, the puppies will be able to walk and make their first, furtive movements away from their mother. At the same time their father, the alpha, and the rest of the pack begin interacting with them. A wolf pack is a well-oiled machine, a tightly knit team in which each member knows its place and its job. And from the very beginning each wolf is groomed to take its position in that chain of command.

      During the pups’ first weeks every adult wolf has become ‘broody’, producing a hormone called prolactin. They know the newcomers represent the pack’s future survival. They know too that more than half of the new litter will not survive into adulthood. Disease, starvation and predators claim 60 per cent of young wolves before they reach the age of two. So as the pups emerge into the den, the pack begins the job of educating their new members about