Cute Dog Craze Yields Dumber, Weaker Breeds

Majestic breed becomes status symbol

(NEWSER) - A dog bred to guard farms and herds on the Tibetan plateau has become the latest status symbol for China's wealthy elite. Purebred Tibetan mastiffs, one of the biggest breeds of dogs, can sell for over $500,000 in China. Celebrity mastiffs, weighing in at close to 180 pounds, can command tens of thousands of dollars for stud fees and are met at airports by fans. More»

(NEWSER) - It won't surprise most dog owners, but now scientists know it: The average dog is as smart as a 2-year-old child, reports the Telegraph. Dogs understand up to 250 words and gestures, can count to 5, and do basic calculations, researchers have found. "Obviously, you can't have a conversation with a dog"—at least not a two-way conversation—but dogs are among the most intelligent animals, and rival apes and parrots in language comprehension, says researcher Stanley Coren. More»

(NEWSER) - A male chimp in Sweden has stirred excitement by storing a cache of stones to hurl at visitors, the BBC reports. Santino, a chimpanzee in a zoo north of Stockholm, proves that animals can prepare for future events, said scientist Mathias Osvath. "These observations convincingly show that our fellow apes do consider the future in a very complex way," he told the AP. More»

American breeders outraged over European preference

(NEWSER) - The US government purchases hundreds of untrained bomb- and drug-sniffing dogs from Europe every year for as much as $4,535 each, quadruple the price of American dogs, a new federal report says. Domestic breeders and spending watchdogs are angered by the government's penchant for expensive foreign purebreds. "What kind of dogs are these—gold-plated?" asked a member of Citizens Against Government Waste. More»

Genetic screening enables breeders to design dogs to suit their needs

(NEWSER) - With the first map of a dog genome recently completed, scientists are hot on the trail of genes for individual canine traits from coat color to cocking their heads in a cutesy way—and dog breeders are right behind them. Without any of the inhibitions attached to eugenics in humans, they're snapping up genetic tests to improve their breeds. More»