There’s a good reason we call dogs our best friends: they’re unerringly loyal, loving and they’ve been at our side for a long, long time (more than 10,000 years, but who’s counting?). They’ve come a long way since, splitting into numerous different breeds which look nothing alike, each with its own unique name. But have you ever wondered what the deal behind those names is?
1. Huskies
Interestingly enough, huskies aren’t called that way because of their vocalization or size. Rather, husky is a contraction of “Huskimo”, an English mispronunciation of Eskimo, a term for the aboriginal people of the Arctic who bred these dogs.
2. Bulldogs
The small and pudgy bulldogs have a rather sordid history. In late Renaissance England, a common form of entertainment was called bull-baiting, wherein an irate bull that had been pinned to a pole was set upon by dogs. This disgusting blood sport was outlawed in 1835, causing the fierce and powerful bulldogs to gradually lose most of their defining characteristics, the working bulldog becoming effectively extinct.
3. Sighthounds
Sighthounds (or gazehounds) are easily recognizable due to their lithe, deer-like build and narrow faces. Unlike other hunting dogs, sighthounds were bred for superior eyesight and have learned to rely on their eyes and speed rather than on their sense of smell when chasing their quarry.
4. Samoyeds
In Russian, Samoyed means “self-eater”, but this does not refer to any attribute of this large and fluffy dog breed. Rather, this is an old offensive name for the Nenets, a shamanic people of arctic West Siberia whom ignorant Russians believed were cannibals. The Nenets bred these dogs for herding reindeer.
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