The Origins of Some Dog Breeds Quiz

Answer: Weimaraner

The German shepherd and dachshund are never grey and have dark eyes. The Deutschund is a made-up name. Only the Weimaraner, a long-legged dog bred for hunting which is nick-named 'the grey ghost', is a German breed that fits the description.

Answer: At the end of World War 1 there was anti-German sentiment

Alsace is a region of France, near Germany. In the early 20th century when the breed was becoming popular, World War I made anything German very unpopular in most of Europe. Alsace, near Germany, was used in the name instead, although their origin has no connection with Alsace.

Answer: Africanis

The African wild dog is not related to domestic dogs and has never been tamed. Only Rhodesian ridgeback and Africanis are registered breed names. The Rhodesian ridgeback is a large, tan dog with a distinctive ridge of hair along its back. It is not found in local communities in rural Africa. African bush dog is a made-up name may describe the Africanis but is not a registered breed name.

Answer: Bouvier des Flandres

The Borzoi, Saluki and Afghan hound are all tall, sight hounds that were bred for speed while hunting game such as gazelle. The Borzoi is from the Russian Steppe, the Saluki from the plains of Egypt and the Afghan from Asia. The Bouvier des Flandres is a more sturdy, herding dog from Belgium and does not resemble the other three.

Answer: Labrador retriever

Despite its name the Australian shepherd was developed in the western United States and contains genes from native American dogs. Its name possibly comes from the fact that Australian sheep were imported into California during the gold rush. The breed was developed for herding these Australian sheep in high mountain country.

The Labrador retriever, as its name suggests, was developed in Labrador, Canada, during the early 19th century.

Answer: Herding dogs

The corgi was originally used to walk herds of cattle to market. Its small size made it difficult for cattle to kick it, while the dog found it easy to nip at the cows' heels to direct them. It is therefore a herding dog.

Answer: Jackal

The Canidae (from the Latin 'canis' meaning dog) are the family of carnivores that contains the dogs and also the foxes, jackals, coyotes and wolves. The hyena and the aardwolf are in a different family called the Hyaenidae, so are distantly related to each other but not to the dog family. The prairie dog, despite its name, is actually a rodent and is not even a carnivore.

Answer: 15,000 years

The origin of dogs is an area of active research. Studies of dog, wolf and jackal genes published in 2014 show that the dog species we know today appeared up to 16,000 years ago, long before humans settled and developed agriculture. The oldest remains that are quite clearly of dogs are all less than 16,000 years old. Dogs share a common ancestor with modern wolves, but are not descended from them. Fossil remains of dog-like animals are known from nearly 50,000 years ago, but they are more wolf-like than modern dogs.

Answer: Yorkshire terrier

The Yorkie is the most popular toy dog in U.S.A. An average adult weighs 4 to 6 pounds, less half that of the West Highland White, the next largest in this list.

Answer: Malamute

The Malamute is typical Arctic dog and was developed in Alaska for working with power and endurance in the harsh conditions. Pekingese are named for Peking (now Beijing), the capital of China, where they were the favourites of the Imperial family. The chow chow is an ancient Chinese breed that was used as temple guards. The pug was imported to the West from China in the 16th century.