Page 92 - THE SLOUGHI REVIEW Issue 15

T H E S L O U G H I R E V I E W 9 2

Fourthly. Line breeding. A critique.

The standards of the various dog associations were developed from a 19th century idea, the
breeding of a "pure breed". In this "pure breed", landraces were described, some of which had
existed for a long time. The different types of breeds were favoured to select the one "real
breed". And the other breeds were neglected and disappeared as types. They were no longer
bred. This also includes the Rottweiler.

As Prof Dr. Quaritsch also explains, this choice may well be based on a special type that
hardly existed or at least existed in a significantly smaller proportion in the original area. As
an example, he mentions the Afghan hound with long hair, such as "Zardin". This was
described as the typical representative when breeding according to a standard.

New breeds, which were made up of different landraces, were also bred to create a new
phenotype. These included the Leonberger dog and the German shepherd.

In order to keep these characteristics stable, line breeding or even inbreeding was carried

out. In other words, the situation of a genetically isolated breed "as if on an island" (Zimen)
was artificially created in order to pass on the characteristics of this artificial breed in a
stable manner. In the German shepherd dog, for example, puppies with a white coat colour
were discarded because they did not fit into the imagined image of the German shepherd
dog. Some of these puppies were killed, others were used to create the "Swiss shepherd dog"
in the USA.

The Sloughi was thus transformed from a landrace into a standardised breed. The breeders
saw themselves in a positive, stable position. Saluki breeders felt the same way, although
there is a wider range of phenotypic characteristics, some of which are passed on within the
Salukis in a mixed manner.

Rottweiler 1940, one of several types or breeds before
the first standard in 1955