wolves/coyotes in the British Isles anyway!
Wolves definitely. Coyotes, don't know.
Interesting to know what breeds were originally bred for. Weiner dog - ratter, mud dogs/lab - hunting. Spaniels-bird dogs. terriers IIRC were fox dogs.
Now they are mostly 'pet'.
How far back though? If Wikipedia is to be trusted, and I'm skeptical, mid 16-1700's was the end. When the Old English Sheepdog came about appears to be later. So, likely a herding dog.
The breeding out of working traits in so many breeds bothers me. It's like watching all the work previous generations put into clearing land and building a farm being let go to return to brush. Poodles were retrievers and bird dogs. The 2 we have now have zero interest in even playing fetch. Irish Setters were once great bird dogs as were Cockers. Now, last I saw anyway, the actual hunting Irish Setter is called a "Red Setter" and the Cockers that hunt are called "Field Cocker Spaniels" or something like that. I haven't had a subscription to Gun Dog in many years. Collies, ala "Lassie", were great, smart, all around farm dogs at one point. Now, if you even see one, they tend to be pure pet. Heck, there are lots of Beagles that don't hunt and Border Collies that don't herd. Used to be dogs that didn't work were either put down or later on "fixed" so they wouldn't breed I suppose. Not to sound harsh, but there is something to be said for a working animal that has functions beyond pet/companion. Same with horses that have to work bred out of them in exchange for height and leg at the loss of muscle and bone structure. We're screwing up a lot of good breeding these days.
