European dogs derive from some Asian breeds

New research has shown that the origins of dog breeds in the western world are different from what was previously first thought.

It was discovered through the research that dogs which came from ancient south-east Asia had a substantial influence on dog breeds in Europe, as well as in the United States.

Initiated by a team of researchers at the University of California (UC), Davis, a study looked into the theory that most of the canine breeds in the western world originally derived from dogs which hailed from the Middle East and also from early western civilisations.

It was found that this idea is unlikely to be correct, due to it appearing that pet dogs in Europe and in the US actually originate from breeds that were originally imported over from Asia after the silk trade.

Ben Stacks, who is the Director of the Canid Diversity and Conservation Group in the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, stated that previous theories regarding the origins of dogs “must be reconsidered”.

Additional research into dog breeds and popularity was carried out by the American Kennel Club, as they looked in to what was the most popular breed of dog in 2010. The results were that the Labrador Retriever was in first place, closely followed by the German Shepherd and then the Yorkshire Terrier.

It was also found that the Golden Retriever and the Beagle were the next most popular dog breeds in the study carried out by the club.

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