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Selective breeding of both plants and animals has been practiced since prehistory; key species such as wheat, rice, and dogs have been significantly different from their wild ancestors for millennia, and maize, which required especially large changes from teosinte, its wild form, was selectively bred in Mesoamerica.
A study of dog remains indicates that these were selectively bred to be either as sled dogs or as hunting dogs, which implies that a sled dog standard and a hunting dog standard existed at that time. The optimal maximum size for a sled dog is 20–25 kg based on thermo-regulation, and the ancient sled dogs were between 16 and 25 kg.
Dog breeding is the practice of mating selected dogs with the intention of maintaining or producing specific qualities and characteristics. When dogs reproduce without such human intervention, their offspring's characteristics are determined by natural selection , while "dog breeding" refers specifically to the artificial selection of dogs, in ...
Compared to the dog's wolf-like ancestors, selective breeding since domestication has seen the dog's skeleton increase in size for larger types such as mastiffs and miniaturised for smaller types such as terriers; dwarfism has been selectively bred for some types where short legs are preferred, such as dachshunds and corgis. [33]
In addition, the experiment provided a mechanism for the start of the animal domestication process that did not depend on deliberate human forethought and action. [45] In the 1980s, a researcher used a set of behavioral, cognitive, and visible phenotypic markers, such as coat color, to produce domesticated fallow deer within a few generations.
The animal rights group Four Paws says selective breeding is focused more on appearance than behavior, and that it disregards the effects breeding can have on a dog's behavior. The group says that ...
A dog breed will consistently produce the physical traits, movement and temperament that were developed over decades of selective breeding. For each breed they recognize, kennel clubs and breed registries usually maintain and publish a breed standard which is a written description of the ideal specimen of the breed.
Inbreeding is a technique used in selective breeding. For example, in livestock breeding , breeders may use inbreeding when trying to establish a new and desirable trait in the stock and for producing distinct families within a breed, but will need to watch for undesirable characteristics in offspring, which can then be eliminated through ...