I went to Seminar last week on dog genetics.  How to look at our dogs differently.  How to size them up. 
Well, interestingly enough, the reason dogs are built certain ways is to do the jobs that they were developed to do. Dogs are divided into catagories or groups ... ie:  working, herding, sporting, toy etc.  These groups give us a hint as to why certain breeds were developed
Our facilitator explained some of this for us and then gave us examples of different breeds and their jobs..
Now, she says...  how many of you know what German Shepherds were bred to do?
We were all seasoned breeders..  We know dogs.  Well let's see...  hmm...shep-herd..
Everyone said herd sheep.  WRONG!  Unlike most herding dogs German Shepherds were never bred to drive the sheep from place to place or round them up in a tight circle.  No No.  German Shepherds were designed to patrol the flock.  It  seems that their bone structure is even different which allows them to take long strides that other dogs their size can't. This enables them to patrol the perimeters and keep preditors at bay.without tiring out.
Well no wonder they make such good guard dogs and search and rescue candidates.
This was quite surprising to the audience at the seminar. So I thought I would share it with you folks.

Did you know that almost all breeds of dogs were bred with specific jobs in mind?
Yep,  We humans have been trading our wares (excess food) for canine services (fetching..diving..sniffing)  since we crawled out of the caves.
If you are curious as to the reason your Best Buddy behaves in certain ways, you might follow this blog down the trail to your buddy's ancestors.
Just let me say.... right now....at the start of the trail... that POMERANIANS were bred to be our companions.  
Yes Sir-ee...  Legend has it that the peoples of the far Northern regions kept the tiny puppies from their sled dogs and started to breed them down to a travel companion size. (Kind of like the ladies you see with the tiny dog in their purse?.) Well, except for the fact that they had to get under a bunch of furs with the little human babies and keep them warm as they traveled through terribly cold regions. If you have ever snuggled with a POM you know the amount of heat they can put out.  Of course the smaller they bred them the handier they were and the more they rode around with the babies the friendlier they got. POMS just seem to know what is wanted from them.  I think that they read our emotions even better than other dogs due to that close connection with us.