The History of Dog Breeds is long and extensive. Dos have played a role in the history of humanity since Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They have been wild pack hunters or domesticated best friends.
Dogs have been used in some form in every war that has been fought. They have shown tremendous bravery despite terrible conditions and have earned a place in history.
Each breed has its own genealogy and each breed will eventually trace back to the Wolf.
Dogs Effect On History
Ironically dogs have played an important role throughout the entire world. Their loyalty and bravery have been put to the test throughout many wars. Here is a quick timeline of dogs used within different wars throughout the centuries and all over the world:
Dogs have been used in warfare by many civilizations. As warfare has progressed, their purposes have changed greatly.
- Mid-7th century BC: In the war waged by the Ephesians against Magnesia on the Maeander, the Magnesian horsemen were each accompanied by a war dog and a spear-bearing attendant. The dogs were released first and broke the enemy ranks, followed by an assault of spears, then a cavalry charge. An epitaph records the burial of a Magnesian horseman named Hippaemon with his dog Lethargos, his horse, and his spearman.
- 525 BC: At the Battle of Pelusium, Cambyses II uses a psychological tactic against the Egyptians, arraying dogs and other animals in the front line to effectively take advantage of the Egyptian religious reverence for animals.
- 490 BC: At the Battle of Marathon, a dog follows his hoplite master into battle against the Persians and is memorialized in a mural.
- 480 BC: Xerxes I of Persia is accompanied by vast packs of Indian hounds when he invades Greece. They may have served in the military as well as being used for sport or hunting, but their purpose is unrecorded.
- 281 BC: Lysimachus is slain during the Battle of Corupedium and his body was discovered preserved on the battlefield and guarded vigilantly by his faithful dog.
- 231 BC: the Roman consul Marcus Pomponius Matho, leading the Roman legions through the inland of Sardinia, where the inhabitants led guerrilla warfare against the invaders, used "dogs from Italy" to hunt out the natives who tried to hide in the caves.
- 120 BC: Bituito, king of the Arvernii, attacked a small force of Romans led by the consul Fabius, using just the dogs he had in his army.
- 1500s: Mastiffs and other large breeds were used extensively by Spanish conquistadors against Native Americans.
- 1914–1918: Dogs were used by international forces to deliver vital messages. About a million dogs were killed in action. Sergeant Stubby, a Boston Terrier, was the most decorated war dog of World War I and the only dog to be nominated for rank and then promoted to sergeant through combat. Among other exploits, he is said to have captured a German spy. He was also a mascot at Georgetown University. Rags was another notable World War I dog.
- 1941–1945: The Soviet Union deployed dogs strapped with explosives against invading German tanks, with limited success.
- 1943–1945: The United States Marine Corps used dogs, donated by their American owners, in the Pacific theater to help take islands back from Japanese occupying forces. During this period the Doberman Pinscher became the official dog of the USMC; however, all breeds of dogs were eligible to train to be "war dogs of the Pacific". Of the 549 dogs that returned from the war, only 4 could not be returned to civilian life. Many of the dogs went home with their handlers from the war. Chips was the most decorated war dog during World War II.
- 1966–1973: Approximately 5,000 US war dogs served in the Vietnam War (the US Army did not retain records prior to 1968); about 10,000 US servicemen served as dog-handlers during the war, and the K9 units are estimated to have saved over 10,000 human lives. 232 military working dogs and 295 US servicemen working as dog handlers were killed in action during the war. It is estimated that about 200 Vietnam War dogs survived the war to be assigned at other US bases outside the US. The remaining canines were euthanized or left behind.
- 2011: United States Navy SEALs used a Belgian Malinois military working dog named Cairo in Operation Neptune Spear, in which Osama bin Laden was killed
AKC Dog Breed Classifications
Every country has its own classifications for breeds and although they have different names they are pretty much the same thing. I am most familiar with the American Kennel Club classifications. Click on the group to learn more:
- Herding Group
- Hound Group
- Non-Sporting Group
- Sporting Group
- Terrier Group
- Toy Group
- Working Group
