Protect The Harvest | National Purebred Dog Day: Celebrating the Purpose-Bred Dog

Australian Shepherds were bred to herd. While not all Australian Shepherds today work on the farm, they will still exhibit an impulse to herd.

The adjectives that describe the dogs in our lives frequently also apply to ourselves — whether that’s reserved or energetic, loyal, or stoic. Consciously or not, we are often drawn to breeds that reflect our perception of ourselves and our values, both inside and out. And though those qualities can certainly appear in all dogs, in a purebred dog they are far more consistent and predictable. As we celebrate National Purebred Dog Day on May 1 lets look at some of the temperaments, history, and aesthetics that draw us to specific breeds.

Purpose-bred and Lovingly Owned

The purebred dogs in our lives are living, breathing, wagging symbols of the people and places that brought them into being. When you brush your hand across the wiry, weather-resistant coat of a Scottish Deerhound, you evoke the blustery moors that those hardy sighthounds traversed with their springy gait, all the better to navigate the endless expanses of heather. And when your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel perches atop your knees, you are channeling the British royalty and landed gentry who developed these excellent lap-warmers for their limpid-eyed beauty and affectionate temperament.

When your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel lays on you, you are channeling the British royalty who developed these excellent lap-