ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the history of the breeding of domesticated animals and how this practice produced varieties of animals with 'breeding', and that since the late-eighteenth century have been termed 'breeds'. It considers the evolution of ideas on selective breeding through the nineteenth century and end with an assessment of the impact of the ideas of Gregor Mendel and the science of genetics in the twentieth century. The chapter shows the term breed was first used for purebred livestock and commercial poultry, then sporting and fancy animals and finally with companion animals. The breeding of domesticated animal varieties over the past 20,000 years has been both unintentional and deliberate. The unintentional creation of varieties occurred due to the geographical isolation of different human populations and the adaptation of their animals to different environments and uses. The breeding of dogs, both sporting and non-sporting, attracted the largest number of breeders and the biggest audience at exhibitions.
