Doggone! Gene Research Leads to Surprises for Dog Lovers

The Norwegian elkhound, which had been thought to date to the Vikings, also turned out to be more modern, meaning it originated during the past few hundred years.

"There are lots of breeds that claim to trace their origins to ancient times," said Elaine A. Ostrander, who led the team. "One of the surprises is sometimes it's true and sometimes it's not. The Afghan hound was in the ancient group, but the Ibizan hound was clearly a re-creation from modern times. For dog aficionados, that's going to be the most surprising thing to come out of this analysis."

Many breeds probably died out because of famines, depressions, wars or other events. Breeders then probably reproduced long-gone varieties by mating animals that had traits similar to those depicted in ancient art. Once they succeeded, they simply continued to breed them together to maintain those traits, the researchers said.

"Somebody was interested in that breed and saw pictures and read the stories and couldn't find any present-day example that could track their line back, and so started breeding dogs that looked similar to what he was going for and produced that dog," Kruglyak said.

Heidi Clevenstine, president of the Ibizan Hound Club of the United States, said she was not troubled by the findings. While she was initially attracted to the breed by its history, she has since fallen in love with the dogs' personality and appearance.

"I think they are beautiful. Where they may or may not come from does not change the fact that I find them beautiful," she said.

But Lisa Puskas, who has written several books on Ibizans, questioned the conclusions, citing archaeological and other evidence supporting the dog's link to ancient Egypt. A more likely explanation for the findings is that the dogs picked up genes over the centuries from interbreeding with more modern breeds, she said.

"I believe the ancient Egyptian animals are very distant relatives, but there was a lot of influence over the years," Puskas said. "Logically to me it makes more sense."

Kruglyak acknowledged that that possibility could not be ruled out.

Another surprise was that German shepherds, which might have been expected to be in the ancient group because of their resemblance to wolves, actually were a much closer match to the cluster of mastiff-type dogs, such as the bull mastiff, the bulldog and the Rottweiler. A third group included herding dogs, such as the collie and the sheepdog, but also some unexpected members, such as the greyhound. The last group included terriers and scent-tracking hounds, such as spaniels, terriers and setters.

One of the most surprising findings was that the breeds in the most ancient cluster are found around the world, said Robert Wayne, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California at Los Angeles who studies dogs.

"They are not just from Asia or the Middle East -- the putative beginnings of domestic dogs," Wayne said. "It's clear that after domestication, they moved rapidly around the world."

Although the findings about breeds may attract the most attention, the researchers said their main motivation was to try to find genes that cause diseases. Because purebred dogs have been bred so carefully, they provide an ideal resource for finding genes associated with illnesses, which could help both the animals and their human companions.

"We know there are a lot of complex diseases out there, and there are a lot of genes that contribute to this in both human and dogs," Ostrander said. "In humans it's hard to study. So we've been studying this in dogs."

Officials at the American Kennel Club and the AKC Canine Health Foundation praised the work, saying it will help breeders, veterinarians and scientists eliminate dog diseases.

"This really is revolutionary in terms of increasing the number of tools available to breeders," the AKC's Patti Strand said. "It really will have a tremendous effect on improving the health of dogs."