Читать книгу Jack Russell Terrier: An Owner’s Guide - Robert Killick - Страница 11

There is no mystery as to how breeds of dogs were distributed around Europe. Armies, moving on foot for thousands of miles, were usually accompanied by their own dogs and captured indigenous dogs as they travelled. They needed war dogs, watch dogs and herding dogs to control the herds of animals they took with them. During campaigns, invasions and occupations, they left behind and sold some of these dogs. Another mode of distribution was by coastal sea traders, notably the Phoenicians who sailed the Mediterranean and reached the coast of the British Isles. Dogs were probably sold and even survived shipwrecks, later mixing and breeding with the local canine population. Sheep traders from Europe also brought dogs to Britain, which they would have left behind or perhaps traded with the locals.