| By the way, I just wanted to state that I have no idea why breeds go through changes in conformation that seem "trendy" - I suggested influential breeders as a possibility with no intent to offend anyone on this list. I am new to the breed have no idea who are the influential breeders! Thank you for the suggestion that it could also be influential judges as that had not occurred to me! Another interesting thought about the gene pool is that because dogs *are* still a species, they all still carry all the genes for making every type of breed that we see. If this topic interests you, check out the NOVA film "Dogs and More Dogs." It is a very understandable, fun look into how dogs have developed into so many breeds (not species, so it's not evolution, although they use the term "evolved") extremely rapidly since domestication about 10,000 years ago. There is some great video of an experiment trying to tame foxes in Siberia (being raised for fur) and how the foxes began to develop traits we associate with domesticated dogs. Could be a good holiday present for someone! Laurie & Bacchus |