Pug meeting: Curly-tailed athletes face off in Berlin

August 20, 2017

Scores of stout, short-muzzled dogs and their enthusiastic owners from around the world gathered on Saturday in Berlin for the 8th annual International Pug Meeting.

Over 260 four-legged contestants participated in this year’s race, which saw each contestant tracked with an electronic timing device as well as a photo finish.

This year’s winner was local Berliner pooch Emma, who completed the 50 meter-long (160 foot-long) course in less than six seconds. Her owner, Angela Kaiser, also had to be quick as she ran ahead of her dog on the course.

Read more: Pirates, knights and pugs – unusual events to discover in Germany

The slowest dog was a pug named Sihla who took just over a minute to trot down the track. She was also given an award. The winners walked home with colorful pug paintings and a trophy.

Unlike other sporting events, contestants were allowed to cheat a little bit by using treats and chew toys to motivate their pugs across the finish line.

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany

Great Dane

No, not Danish. These gentle giants are actually German. They’re the result of German royals breeding ever-larger hunting companions in the 17th century. Great Danes are the world’s largest dog breed – pictured above is the world’s largest dog from 2010. Germans today call them “Deutsche Dogge,” a linguistic reference to the canine’s British ancestors from the 16th century.

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany

American Eskimo Dog

This dog suddenly became “American” after the First World War, when the US dropped all references to its German origin. A territorial yapper, it became famous as a comic sidekick in US circus acts. Though the American Kennel Club calls this dog a unique breed, the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) in Belgium disagrees. They say it remains what it has always been: a “German Spitz.”

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany

Boxer

In the 1800s, three men in Munich bred a bulldog with a breed of unknown origin, and continued that experiment for a few more generations. The result is a dog with one of the most instantly recognizable faces in the canine world, one still defined by German guidelines written in 1902. The origin of the name “boxer” remains a mystery, though.

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany

Dachshund

“Dachs” means badger, while dachshund dogs were bred to hunt. Even today, these canines, often called “wiener dogs” in English, still enjoy burrowing – but also biting. A 2008 study showed 20 percent of domesticated dachshunds have bitten strangers. German Emperor Wilhelm II owned one, and when he visited Austria’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand, it attacked and killed the archduke’s golden pheasant.

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany

Small and Large Munsterlander

Small Munsterlanders (pictured) owe their revival in 1902 to a German named Edmund Loens, who saw in the neglected breed a fine-tuned hunting ability and a beautiful coat. They’re the smallest of the German pointer/setter dogs, but, confusingly, are not at all related to Large Munsterlanders. Small Munsterlanders are hard to come by, as high breeding standards keep them relatively scarce.

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany

Weimaraner

With their silver coats, piercing eyes and biological need for human affection, what’s not to love about Weimaraners? They were first bred in Weimar, the city of thinkers and poets, as a gun dog that was also family-friendly – a rarity. So beloved was the breed that, prior to shipping them abroad, they were sterilized in the hope that they’d remain exclusive to the German empire. But they didn’t.

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany

Doberman Pinscher

A half-day’s walk from Weimar, in the town of Apolda, a court clerk named Friedrich Louis Dobermann had a problem. It was the late 1800s, and as a tax collector and officer, he needed bodily protection during his night duties. Fortunately, he also ran the local pound. Through the cross-breeding of Weimaraners, Pinschers and pointer dogs, he created the guard dog we now call the Doberman Pinscher.

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany

Rottweiler

They protected cattle and wagons carrying meat, scared away thieves and wild animals – Rottweilers were a medieval trader’s fiercely loyal companion. And they were fierce. They were bred in Rottweil, Germany, a former trade center, to protect goods at all cost. Their jaws are the strongest of any dog’s, with 328 pounds of bite pressure (149 kg).

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany

German Shepherd

A dog named “Horand von Gafrath” is the pretentious first entry in the “Breed Registry of the Club of German Shepherds” in 1899. After WWI, the English rechristened them “Alsatians,” the US dropped the word “German” altogether, and for decades Australia banned them on fears they’d breed with dingos. Their use by the Nazis further darkened their reputation: Over his lifetime, Hitler owned six.

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany

Schnauzer

Schnauzers are so closely related to Pinschers that the two are considered a single group by the international dog authority, the FCI. In southern Germany, Schnauzers served primarily as stall dogs, catching rats and mice. Since rodents have sharp teeth, the dogs’ ears and tails were trimmed to protect them from bites. Today, “cropping” and “docking” are illegal in much of the EU and in Australia.

Author: Conor Dillon

Pugs and owners alike traveled from near and far to take part in this year’s pug festival. Besides Germany, participants from Belgium, Switzerland, Scotland and the island of Sardinia were present, reported local broadcaster RBB.

Read more: World’s Ugliest Dog – Martha the Mastiff takes the crown

The event in the Lichtenrade district in southern Berlin was not without its controversy, though. Animal welfare activists have voiced concerns that the race places the dogs in life-threatening danger as their short snouts hamper their ability to breathe, reported local newspaper Berliner Zeitung.

Keeping the dog’s safety in mind, the event’s organizers had participants checked over be veterinarians prior to the race.

They have also urged for breeders to breed pugs with longer noses and slimmer bodies to minimize the potentially crippling health problems that plague the breed, Berliner Zeitung reported.

Pumping, snorkeling, talking – the amazing talents of animal noses

The nose of a chief

“Hey, I’m the boss here!” screams the colorful nose of the male Mandrill Ape – dominant males crow with brighter colors than those of inferiors. When a Mandrill gets mad or aroused, the blue parts on its nose glow even stronger. The red color stems from the Mandrill’s high blood circulation, the blue results from the light breaking on its skin.

Pumping, snorkeling, talking – the amazing talents of animal noses

The all-rounder nose

Elephants trumpet, smell, grab, fight and even snorkel with their nose. Strictly speaking the elephant’s trunk is a fusion of nose and upper lip. It also serves for communication, for example, when flehmening. That’s a way to pick up scent or pheromones, which is especially important during mating season for males. Not only can the elephant smell its adored female’s odor, but it can also taste it.

Pumping, snorkeling, talking – the amazing talents of animal noses

The bulge nose for mating

The sea elephant got its name from its bulging nose, which may remind you of an elephant’s trunk. It dangles down over the animal’s muzzle. During mating season the male pumps up his mouth with blood and air and gives off a loud noise to chase away its rivals. But both males and females absorb moisture through their noses – especially when fasting during mating season.

Pumping, snorkeling, talking – the amazing talents of animal noses

Nose vs. sting

One of the triggerfish’s favorite dishes is sea urchins. So to ensure it doesn’t get stung, the triggerfish developed a long “nose.” To get to the soft and tasty interior of a sea urchin, the fish (the one in the photo is called Picasso) blows a strong jet of water on its prey, or clutches one sting with its mouth, and uses it to lift up the urchin and attack.

Pumping, snorkeling, talking – the amazing talents of animal noses

The tube snout

What looks like a terribly long nose is actually the snout of the Giant Anteater. Its actual nose is at the very tip of it, and snoops in nooks and crannies for food – mostly ants and termites. When it finds a tasty morsel, the anteater stretches out a 90 centimeter-long (35 inches) gluing tongue and sticks its prey to it – 160 times per minute!

Pumping, snorkeling, talking – the amazing talents of animal noses

The plug socket nose

The plug socket-like nose of a pig may look ugly to some, but it is very sensitive. It senses, feels, and smells scents up to 50 cm deep in the soil. Pigs have even more olfactory cells than the fine-nosed dog. That’s why they are great truffle tracers. Sows are especially good at it – the smell of the precious mushrooms is very close to that of male pigs’ pheromones.

Pumping, snorkeling, talking – the amazing talents of animal noses

The sniffy and spoiled

Pug-nosed dogs are a human creation. They’re nearly square in shape, and said to have been first reared in China centuries ago as an exclusive privilege of the emperor. Later it accompanied noble ladies in paintings. People have bred pug dogs for entertainment, but the dog suffers – its respiratory organs are highly contracted, giving it its characteristic panting and leading to illness.

Author: Lea Albrecht