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Where Did Your Breed's Name Originate?


RiverStar-Aura
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From what I've read Australian Shepherds were named because the breed was developed in the U.S. using sheep dogs sent on ships with sheep from Australia to the U.S. The breed has been in existence for a while, prior to the 1980s rise in popularity of all things Aussie in the U.S.

Nothing Australian in the dogs but they were used to work Australian sheep, we exported many merinos to US in late 19th, early 20th centuries...............dogs are from Europe, Basque shepherds went to US amongst other nationalities.....knowledgeable Aussie person says they can see Koolie traits in Aussies working, makes sense, Koolies came from Europe too...idea of breeds as such is pretty recent, dogs just came in "types" depending on their jobs in life, and their names usually derived from their locality or their job

I've heard the basque sheep dogs may have been dogs of a similar type to pyrenean shepherds. If you look at the smooth faced you can see similarities. Both NBT and merle there too.

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From what I've read Australian Shepherds were named because the breed was developed in the U.S. using sheep dogs sent on ships with sheep from Australia to the U.S. The breed has been in existence for a while, prior to the 1980s rise in popularity of all things Aussie in the U.S.

Nothing Australian in the dogs but they were used to work Australian sheep, we exported many merinos to US in late 19th, early 20th centuries...............dogs are from Europe, Basque shepherds went to US amongst other nationalities.....knowledgeable Aussie person says they can see Koolie traits in Aussies working, makes sense, Koolies came from Europe too...idea of breeds as such is pretty recent, dogs just came in "types" depending on their jobs in life, and their names usually derived from their locality or their job

I've heard the basque sheep dogs may have been dogs of a similar type to pyrenean shepherds. If you look at the smooth faced you can see similarities. Both NBT and merle there too.

And a bit of temperament too, going by the few Pyrs I've met - perfectly friendly with those they see as trustworthy or no threat, but willing to stand up if they need to.

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The Airedale Terrier is named for the region in Yorkshire in which it was developed. The Aire River. Before becoming known as the Airedale Terrier is was also known as the Waterside Terrier and the Bingley Terrier - Bingley being the town in which the development was focused.

One of the best experiences I have had during my 40+ year involvement with the breed is when the National Airedale Terrier Association in UK celebrated the new millenninium by having a weekend of celebrations held at the birthplace of the breed. A local hotel was booked out and thousands of people from around the world joined in. It was really an experience of going back to the breed's roots to walk along the banks of the River Aire and imagine the early Airedales working the river.

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The Airedale Terrier is named for the region in Yorkshire in which it was developed. The Aire River. Before becoming known as the Airedale Terrier is was also known as the Waterside Terrier and the Bingley Terrier - Bingley being the town in which the development was focused.

One of the best experiences I have had during my 40+ year involvement with the breed is when the National Airedale Terrier Association in UK celebrated the new millenninium by having a weekend of celebrations held at the birthplace of the breed. A local hotel was booked out and thousands of people from around the world joined in. It was really an experience of going back to the breed's roots to walk along the banks of the River Aire and imagine the early Airedales working the river.

How did they 'work the river'? What was their job?

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The Airedale Terrier is named for the region in Yorkshire in which it was developed. The Aire River. Before becoming known as the Airedale Terrier is was also known as the Waterside Terrier and the Bingley Terrier - Bingley being the town in which the development was focused.

One of the best experiences I have had during my 40+ year involvement with the breed is when the National Airedale Terrier Association in UK celebrated the new millenninium by having a weekend of celebrations held at the birthplace of the breed. A local hotel was booked out and thousands of people from around the world joined in. It was really an experience of going back to the breed's roots to walk along the banks of the River Aire and imagine the early Airedales working the river.

How did they 'work the river'? What was their job?

The Airedale was developed by the workers of the area. while the gentry had specific dogs for specific tasks - ie gundogs for sport, working dogs for working, hounds for hunting etc, the workers could not afford the luxury of multiple types of dogs so set about to develop a breed that would do all of these tasks and then be a family pet and guard as well. Many used the dogs as traditional terriers although the breed was not intended to go to ground, they did hunt vermin including water rats and otters. This was often in a recreational form. They were used to hunt and to retrieve and to work stock The breed, although often said to be untrainable has been used extensively as service dogs and during WW1 were used by several countries in various capacities, probably the most common as messenger carriers . They have been used as police dogs, as guide dogs, for guard work and as hearing assistance dogs among other things.Airedales are independent thinkers and training may well be a challenge but given the commitment there is not much they cannot be taught to do. They need to be given something that keeps their mind occupied because left to their own devices they will find something which may not be acceptable to the owner.

I just wish I had the commitment and ability required to get the most from my dogs

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Soft coated wheaten terrier

In Ireland, the Irish soft coated wheaten terrier. The story goes that the wheaten breeders simply wanted 'Irish wheaten terrier' but at the time the main colour of the Irish terrier was red wheaten so they objected, saying people would get confused. Another story, probably apocryphal, is that when establishing the foundation wheatens the IKC lined up 15 dog and went along the line saying, 'That one's a wheaten, that one's an Irish, that one's a wheaten, that one's an Irish.' The IKC picked soft coated wheaten terrier simply because of the coat, despite there being only one type of coat in the breed. Ironically, the red wheaten in Irish terriers went out of fashion and a rusty red is now the main colour.

Kerry Blue Terrier

Blue because of the colour but the location origins are disputed. Most say County Kerry but Tipperary is also a contender apparently (though this child of Kerry sneers at County 'it's a long way to').

Irish Terrier

A terrier from Ireland. Obviously.

Glen of Imaal terrier

From the Glen of Imaal (immawl) in the Wicklow mountains in Ireland.

Kerry Beagle

A breed from County Kerry. The mystery around this breed (which is only recognised by the IKC) is why it's called a beagle. It is a hound.

Edited by Sheridan
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Mutt

short for muttonhead: dull-witted person

or dog of unknown parentage or parents of different breeds.

ie anything of mixed breed was considered stupid or lower class.

I know my mutt is one of the smartest dogs I know - even if you start doing doggy IQ tests on her - she figures out stuff very fast.

One or more of her ancestors was definitely herding dog or Australian Cattle Dog aka Blue heeler (she's black and white spotty and likes rounding things up).

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Pyrenean Mountain Dog. Fairly self explanatory. In French 'Le Chien du Montagne des Pyrenees' - the dog of the mountains of the Pyrenees. The Pyrenees mountains where the breed is from cover the border between France and Spain.

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Great Danes are not a Danish breed at all. They originated in Germany and were known as German Boarhounds because they were used to hunt boar. In Germany they are still known as the Deutsch Dogge (German mastiff).

As far as I know, the name change from German Boarhound to Great Dane happened as a result of increasing tension with Germany which made people want to disassociate the breed from its German heritage.

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Great Danes are not a Danish breed at all. They originated in Germany and were known as German Boarhounds because they were used to hunt boar. In Germany they are still known as the Deutsch Dogge (German mastiff).

As far as I know, the name change from German Boarhound to Great Dane happened as a result of increasing tension with Germany which made people want to disassociate the breed from its German heritage.

A bit like when GSD's became Alsations in the UK? I read on Wiki that it was 5 decades after WWI before the British kennel club changed the name back to GSD. Amazing all the history behind some breeds.

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Great Danes are not a Danish breed at all. They originated in Germany and were known as German Boarhounds because they were used to hunt boar. In Germany they are still known as the Deutsch Dogge (German mastiff).

As far as I know, the name change from German Boarhound to Great Dane happened as a result of increasing tension with Germany which made people want to disassociate the breed from its German heritage.

A bit like when GSD's became Alsations in the UK? I read on Wiki that it was 5 decades after WWI before the British kennel club changed the name back to GSD. Amazing all the history behind some breeds.

Yes exactly like that I think :)

Makes you realise how political everything is really!

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'Borzoi' is the masculine singular form of an old Russian adjective that means fast or fleet, and a word that is used in Russia for many sighthound type breeds.

The full name in Russian, and under the FCI system, of what we call 'Borzoi' is Russkaya (Russian) Psovaya (long haired/silky haired) Borzaya (fast dog/sighthound). Nicely descriptive!

There are other types of "borzoi" in Russia - Hortaya (Short haired) Borzaya, Stepnaya (from the steppe) Borzaya etc and when they talk about English Greyhounds or Irish Wolfhounds I have seen the Borzoi term used also, paired with the relevant country of origin. The Americans called Borzoi Russian Wolfhounds for a while, up until the 1930s I think, but changed to the more commonly used term. I quite like Borzoi as name, it emphasises the functionality of the breed and its original purpose.

Edited by Diva
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Well TSD already explained where the cocker spaniel name comes from sooooo

Spoodle - Cocker Spaniel crossed with a Poodle :scared:

Gutsy :laugh:

Yeh - I'd half considered popping in and giving some elaborate story about how the cocker-poo name came to be but thought better of it ;) Leah is a braver soul than I. :rofl:

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Nova Scotia Duck Tolling retriever because someone wanted to use all the words they possibly could to make sure when someone asks me what sort of dog I have I need to take a big breath to say it all at once. Possibly the same someone really enjoyed hearing people say 'norva Scot...what?! Seriously?! that's not a thing! Someone ripped you off lady!'

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'Borzoi' is the masculine singular form of an old Russian adjective that means fast or fleet, and a word that is used in Russia for many sighthound type breeds.

The full name in Russian, and under the FCI system, of what we call 'Borzoi' is Russkaya (Russian) Psovaya (long haired/silky haired) Borzaya (fast dog/sighthound). Nicely descriptive!

There are other types of "borzoi" in Russia - Hortaya (Short haired) Borzaya, Stepnaya (from the steppe) Borzaya etc and when they talk about English Greyhounds or Irish Wolfhounds I have seen the Borzoi term used also, paired with the relevant country of origin. The Americans called Borzoi Russian Wolfhounds for a while, up until the 1930s I think, but changed to the more commonly used term. I quite like Borzoi as name, it emphasises the functionality of the breed and its original purpose.

That's really fascinating and I want the ANKC to change the name from just Borzoi to the entire Russkaya Psovaya Borzaya as I think it sounds lovely!

There are so many interesting backgrounds between all these and makes me kinda sad that I'm stuck with the non-descript Aussie Terrier! :laugh:

Edited by RiverStar-Aura
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