Cool Video Shows What Different Dog Breeds Looked Like 100 Years Ago Versus Now

Do you ever wonder what a certain dog breed looked like 100 years ago? Many have changed over the years, and it's quite interesting to see. Inside History shared a video on Thursday, May 23rd showing several pictures of different dog breeds taken 100 years ago and now. From Terriers to Dachshunds to Rottweilers, things have changed!

The video starts off with a Bull Terrier and ends with a Rottweiler. Some dogs look very similar, like the Pug. But some of them have changed dramatically, like the Doberman. Which dog breed do you think has changed the most?

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This was so cool to see! I think Inside History did a great job showing how much dog breeds have changed. They explain in the caption, "Dogs have been around humans for over 30,000 years and have earned themselves the title of humans’ best friends. Since being domesticated, the species has undergone dramatic changes due to selective breeding." They also said that selective breeding has caused "severe" health problems in many breeds, though in the 20th century these methods become more "sophisticated".

Related: American Kennel Club Lists Most Popular Dog Breed for 2023

Changes in Dog Breeds Due to Selective Breeding

What is selective breeding? It means that breeders choose dogs with desirable traits to increase those selected traits in a breed. We do this because it's something that we, humans, think makes the breed better, but it's not always in the animal's best interest.

Selective breeding began as a way to make dogs smaller in size and also to make them more docile. One article explains, "Domestic dogs first emerged as early as 30,000 years ago in Southeast Asia thanks to the selective breeding of wolves. This resulted in over 450 globally recognized dog breeds today."

All of the photos in the video come from the book, Dogs of All Nations. If you check out the Bull Terrier in the video, you'll notice a drastic difference between the two photos. They point out that that its face is now shorter, and that the jaws and the bridge of the nose have become more prominent. The body shape also became more muscular with shorter legs. "This build was created explicitly so the breed could function as a fighting dog during the Victorian era."

The Old English Sheepdog really hasn't changed a whole lot over the past 100 years, other than its fur isn't as shaggy as it once was. The book calls it, "one of the most consistent dog breeds from 100 years ago".

I really enjoy seeing all of these differences! If you're interested in seeing more, make sure to check out the Dogs of All Nations book. It offers a brief history of dogs and their domestication and shares the detailed descriptions of over 200 different breeds. Very interesting if you're a fan of dogs!

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