The Next 100 Years? – What Ever Happened to The Mopsie?

BY AMY FERNANDEZ

In these days of sick entries and nonexistent majors there’s lots of offhand speculation about the demise of various breeds. Although we joke about it, we never actually entertain such catastrophic possibilities within the rarified universe of the sport. Of course, the fact that AKC stopped publishing actual stats definitely helps to reinforce that sense of security (wink).

Well, maybe we need to rethink that misplaced notion and ditch the erroneous belief that what goes on the AKC books stays on the AKC books. We won’t explore the finer points of that subject right now. However, AKC documentation is simply one more milestone in the thousand year business of selective dog breeding. And from the outset of that little historical data point, breeds have been dropping like flies.
In 1969 the intrepid AKC historian John Marvin provided a run-down of breeds that had fallen off the map since formal kennel clubs came into existence. His questioning title: What Ever Happened to the Mopsie? doesn’t trigger the faintest flicker of recollection these days, thus making his case before he even dives into the subject. FYI, the Mopsie was a widely popular Pug variety, recognized in both Germany and Britain. “Historically, the Mopsie falls in a category of dogs that embraces literally hundreds of breeds and breed varieties that have been lost to man in the constantly changing world of popular demand.”

Many of them never achieved more than regional popularity like the Kibble Hound and the Tumbler. For those interested in canine trivia, the Kibble Hound was a small scenthound developed from a combination of Beagles and Old English Hound (also long gone). Likewise, the Tumbler was “a most proficient rabbit dog” and its adorable name, Marvin goes on to explain, “was gained by the rather careless and inattentive manner in which it hunted, tumbling itself about till it came within reach of its prey.” Unfortunately, its rather erratic, although effective hunting style wasn’t enough to save it from oblivion.

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Posted by Alex on Oct 28 2018. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.