Dog Breeding as a Social Construct

Dexter under his favorite blanket

Over the last forty years, we had parrots as our constant companions. After Connie, our Sun Conure suddenly died, we decided to adopt a dog. Partly it was because we did not want to leave a very intelligent, and self-aware being behind. And chances are very good that a parrot would outlive us. Neither my husband nor I have shared our home with a four-legged, self-aware, sentient being in decades. And we knew they were not just things because research into animal intelligence is literally putting to rest the idea that animals are just furniture.

So after we decided to get a dog we also knew that this had to be a smaller “breed.” Why? Our space is not that large, and it made little sense to get a larger animal. Do you ask why I use the quotation marks around the term breed? This comes from all the research I have been doing into this and finding out where this comes. This research also took me back to the show rings in or around Mexico City when I was growing up. My older brother bred Great Danes and took me to show rings from time to time. I was younger and loved the many dogs that were shown. However, there was something that bothered me about these dog shows. I could not put my finger on it until I went down that rabbit hole, which is pregnant with ideology and politics.

I also remember my brother making fun of our beloved miniature poodle. See, Blackie had…