Munsterlander

A beautiful Leonberger

Yesterday I was at the beach, without my dogs (weird I know) and saw a woman with a huge Malamute and Munsterlander.  At least I was pretty sure that it was a Munsterlander.  It is strange, even though I have never actually seen one in person as soon as I saw it "Munsterlander" came out of my mouth.  I study dogs, I have been studying dogs, dog breeds, structure, nutrition and everything else about dogs for years and years.  I truly am interested in anything dog.  But after I said Munsterlander I wondered if I was right.  I had wanted to go and talk to the woman but she passed us by quickly and so I was left to look it up once I got home.  But when I got home and looked it up I was happy that I had gotten it right.

Over the years there are new breeds having been recognized by the AKC but there are many that may never be recognized.  Some have been around for a very, very long time and the people love and own them are perfectly happy with their status as "rare".  I have been to a couple of rare breed dog shows for photo shoots and it is truly a mixed bag.  It's interesting because many of the dogs who have been around for such a long time look like a mixed breed simply because our brains do not register the look with a specific name.  I did a blog on one of my rare breed shoots about a year and a half ago.

I loved seeing all the different "looks" of dogs at the rare breed show.  What was really cool is that I'd see a little scruffy black dog like you might see on the street but then there were a whole bunch that looked just the same.  Of course there are rare breeds that you might see a few around of and then there are the ones that you might never ever see.  Some you may have seen but not known it.

As you all know I have Standard Poodles; but even I am asked regularly what type of dogs I have.  Because I do not normally clip them to look like "poodles," I have been asked if they are Weimaraners, Airedales, Doberman and even Greyhounds?  I laugh when someone asks me what they are and I tell them Poodles.  They then say "they look different"  and ask if am I sure that they are full poodles and not some sort of mix?  This always makes me laugh and I really want to tell them "wait, now I'm not sure, I think that they are poodles."

Dogs surely come in all sizes, shapes and colors.  Exterior is what tends to draw an admirer in, but it is what is inside that is the most important.  So many dogs have become the "in" dog because of their exterior.  Dogs are as different inside as they are on the outside.  Before you say you want one of those cool dogs because of their appearance; research the inside to see if they might be a match for you and your family.  All dogs are amazing, that fact is true.  But there is a vast difference between each, both inside and out.