So I was reading up on the history of the Boston Terrier of Wikipedia and it said one of their ancestors was the now-extinct White English Terrier.
I followed the link to the White English Terrier, expecting an old breed that was lost due to unforeseen circumstances. But no, it turns out the White English Terrier was "created" specifically for dog shows when they were the "in" thing--possibly by breeding together a fox terrier and an Italian Greyhound! :yikes: Apparentally creating your own breed was all the rage . . .
I've got to admit I'm a bit shocked to find the "labradoodle" habit goes back so far.
The White English Terrier became extinct, by the way, because they were unsuccessful as rat hunters (being all white, many were deaf) and the public was unenthralled with their health problems.
I followed the link to the White English Terrier, expecting an old breed that was lost due to unforeseen circumstances. But no, it turns out the White English Terrier was "created" specifically for dog shows when they were the "in" thing--possibly by breeding together a fox terrier and an Italian Greyhound! :yikes: Apparentally creating your own breed was all the rage . . .
In the rush to create and claim new breeds, competing groups of dog breeders sometimes came up with different names for the same dog, and it was very common for entirely fictional breed histories to be cobbled up as part of a campaign to declare a new breed and create a bit of personal distinction for a dog's originator (to say nothing of sales).
The White English Terrier became extinct, by the way, because they were unsuccessful as rat hunters (being all white, many were deaf) and the public was unenthralled with their health problems.