The Landseer is a
dog
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...
that originated in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. It is a black and white variety of the
Newfoundland that is recognised as an independent
breed in
continental Europe.
History
The Newfoundland (and Landseer) are descended from dogs used by fishermen in the
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...
region of Canada. It is believed these dogs are descended from
water dog
A water dog is a type of gundog bred to flush and retrieve game from water. Water dogs are considered the progenitors of most modern retriever dog breeds.
Description
Water dogs are usually medium-sized, active dogs; their most distinctive ...
s and
livestock guardian dog
A livestock guardian dog (LGD) is a dog type bred for the purpose of protecting livestock from predators.
Livestock guardian dogs stay with the group of animals they protect as a full-time member of the flock or herd. Their ability to guard ...
s imported by Portuguese and Basque fishing vessels. In the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
black and white Newfoundland dogs were more popular than the solid black coloration, and they were the subject of a number of 19th century artists including
Sydenham Edwards
Sydenham Teast Edwards (5 August 1768 – 8 February 1819) was a natural history illustrator. He illustrated plants, birds and importantly published an illustrated book on the breeds of dogs in Britain, ''Cynographia Britannica''.
Edwards was bo ...
,
Philip Reinagle, Samuel Jones, and most famously
Edwin Landseer
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (7 March 1802 – 1 October 1873) was an English painter and sculptor, well known for his paintings of animals – particularly horses, dogs, and stags. However, his best-known works are the lion sculptures at the bas ...
, whose name was used to describe black and white Newfoundlands as early as 1896.
In the 20th century the solid black coloration became more popular and supplanted the bi-colored animals, so much so that in the 1930s a concerted effort was made to recreate the dogs seen in the paintings of Landseer. The efforts of these breeders resulted in the Landseer breed. In Great Britain and North America Landseer colored dogs are considered a variety of the Newfoundland breed, but in 1960 a separate breed club for Landseer colored dogs was created in Germany. Similar clubs soon followed in Belgium and Holland, and they are now considered a separate breed in continental Europe with separate
Fédération Cynologique Internationale
The Fédération cynologique internationale (FCI) (English: International Canine Federation) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs. It is based in Thuin, Belgium.
History
The FCI was founded in 1911 under the auspices ...
recognition.
Genetics
The Landseer's black and white coloration arises from the recessive
piebald
A piebald or pied animal is one that has a pattern of unpigmented spots (white) on a pigmented background of hair, feathers or scales. Thus a piebald black and white dog is a black dog with white spots. The animal's skin under the white backgro ...
color
allele
An allele (, ; ; modern formation from Greek ἄλλος ''állos'', "other") is a variation of the same sequence of nucleotides at the same place on a long DNA molecule, as described in leading textbooks on genetics and evolution.
::"The chro ...
found in Newfoundlands, the piebald coloration is a recessive trait so a single litter can have both Landseer and solid-colored puppies, depending on the
genotype of the parents. With this split in recognition gradual differences in appearance began to appear between the two forms, the European form is taller with longer legs and less bulk, and a longer more tapered head, its coat is said to be curlier whilst the Newfoundland's is said to be wavier.
A study in 2015 found a special gene in Landseers with muscle dystrophy called COL6A1 that could provide researchers with important information that can lead to a vaccine for the disease overall.
See also
*
Dogs portal
*
List of dog breeds
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landseer (Dog)
Dog breeds originating in Canada
FCI breeds