You are visiting the "Timeline" section. The links in the box to
the right will take you to sub-pages within this section. The links with asterisks in front
will return you to either the parent or "Home" pages.
To understand how items are presented in the
"Timeline" section, it would be helpful to first read this page before beginning your
journey.
It is best to remember that images are often relied upon for a more accurate
transmission of information when compared to verbal accounts (especially
when handed down from generation to generation). But can images, like paintings,
photographs, etc., be relied upon to draw conclusions about the origins
of any breed? The answer is "no." Often painters chose to
romanticize their subjects. But
what about numerous paintings from different artists? If the shaggy
sheepdogs appear similar in numerous paintings, then one might conclude
that a certain type of shaggy sheepdog existed.
What about photographs? Photography came into use
by the general public in the latter part of the 1800s. If a viewer goes through the entire
"History"
section on this website, they will realize the 19th Century era was when shaggy canines
were now being identified by numerous breed names. Col. David Hancock,
a noted dog historian, has stated that breed names are a modern concept when discussing the
history of canines.
Hopefully, a really good historian would not draw
conclusions based upon speculation, especially when the research is to be
published. Non-fiction can be defined as an
account or representation of a subject which is presented as fact. But
the problem is this: the presentation may, or may not be, accurate.
Col. Hancock wrote, in his opening paragraph to a section entitled "Pure-bred Dogs:
The Validity of the Breeds" from Chapter One, The Heritage of the Dog
(1990):
When I read the official history of quite a
number of pedigree breeds of dog, I recall all too easily Henry
Ford's famous opinion that 'all history is bunk.' For some of these
breed histories were compiled in Victorian days when the knowledge
of some still much-quoted dog writers was really quite limited and
the inherent chauvinism of those times led to a belief sometimes
that anything worthy must have originated in Britain. There was then
a quite astonishing lack of awareness of the many varieties of
mountain dog, shepherd dog, setter and pointer, mastiff and
scent-hound which were really quite well known at that time on the
Continent."
Start your journey by clicking on the "Pre-1700s" button.
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