Short-Legged Dogs: The Story Behind These Cute Mutants

Franklin: <a href="http://therealowner.com/dogs/the-dog-story/#comment-14682" title="View the entire comment by Franklin">i love dogs and I
Nischal Gurung: <a href="http://therealowner.com/pets/replacing-pets/#comment-14680" title="View the entire comment by Nischal Gurung">Its true pets become an
itouchesrock: <a href="http://therealowner.com/birds/how-to-care-for-a-sick-parakeet/#comment-14678" title="View the entire comment by itouchesrock">This is really a big
PR Mace: <a href="http://therealowner.com/cats/the-journey-to-the-vet/#comment-14676" title="View the entire comment by PR Mace">Good for you, Daisy. Your
ken bultman: <a href="http://therealowner.com/cats/the-journey-to-the-vet/#comment-14674" title="View the entire comment by ken bultman">Been there, done that.

Image via Wikipedia

You’ve heard the saying, ‘Good things come in small packages’. And for many dog owners, they couldn’t agree more. There are many breeds of dogs that are short and compact, and can be a perfect pet.

In all, there are 19 short-legged breeds. The most familiar of these include Dauchshunds, Basset Hounds, Corgis, the Shi-tzu, Pekingese and Scottish Terriers.

Image via Wikipedia

So how did all these short-legged dogs come about?

Researchers at the Humane Genome Project have recently discovered these stumpy dogs all come from one origin…one dog with a unique set of genes. Scientists have determined all the current short-legged dogs in the world today started from a single genetic mutation in one dog. Specifically, researchers found these short-legged dogs had an extra copy of a gene that caused this mutation.

Researchers believe that this mutation could have happened as long as 30,000 years ago… way before humans started meddling with dogs to create specific breeds. This discovery could help scientists learn more about human genetic mutation, and possibly lead to some answers behind the instances of dwarfism among people.