Lap dog

Infobox Dogbreed
name = Lap Dog Type


image_caption = Reclining Woman and Her Lapdog, Isfahan, Iran (British Museum) Circa 1640| A lap dog (lapdog) is a dog that is small enough to be held in the arms or lie comfortably on a person's lap. "Lapdogs" are not a specific breed, but is a generic term for a type of dog of small size and friendly disposition.

"Lapdogs" historically were kept in many societies around the world by individuals with leisure time, as docile companion animals with no working function. Today, most lapdog breeds fall into the "Toy" breed group.

Appearance

Some lapdogs have been bred for extremes of small size, such as the Russian and Mexican varieties shown below. Anatomically, lapdogs show distinct differences from their full-sized counterparts. The skull of the immature "Russian lapdog" (Bolonka) specimen is approximately the size of a table-tennis ball and shows the relatively short muzzle and high forehead. Many lapdogs are bred to retain puppy-like traits (neoteny) such as folded ears. Body proportions may also have changed, resulting in relatively short legs and large heads. They may also have traits that resemble human babies: size and weight, high forehead, short muzzle and relatively large eyes. Although selective breeding for such traits can have detrimental effects on tear ducts, dentition, and breathing, such traits also serve to cause pet owners to derive more satisfaction from their pet relationship, as the pet owners may view dogs with this appearance as surrogate babies. ["Why do people love their pets?" by J . Archer, Evolution and Human Behavior, Volume 18 , Issue 4 , Pages 237 - 259]

History and breeds

Lapdogs have been used for pets, fashion accessories, status symbols, and to provide warmth for the wealthy and fashionable. Lapdogs were also used in earlier times to attract fleas away from their owners. [cite book
author= Bruce Felton and Mark Fowler
title= The Best, Worst, and Most Unusual
origyear= 1994
publisher= Galahad Books
location= New York
isbn= 0-88365-861-5
pages= p.538
chapter= Fashion and Grooming
quote= ] Some lapdogs were developed as pets while others, among the terrier group, for example, were first bred for active work. Most kennel clubs list lapdog terriers in the Toy Group.

Recent genetic study confirms that the Pekingese lapdog, bred in ancient China to fit inside the sleeves of a man's robe, is one of the oldest breeds of dog. [cite web
url= http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/2007/5/genetics-and-the-shape-of-dogs
title= Genetics and the Shape of Dogs; Studying the new sequence of the canine genome shows how tiny genetic changes can create enormous variation within a single species, by Elaine A. Ostrander
accessmonthday= 08/09
accessyear= 2008
authorlink=http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AuthorDetail/authorid/1842
coauthors=
date= September-October 2007
work= American Scientist (online)
publisher= americanscientist.org
pages= page 2, chart page 4] For centuries, they could be owned only by members of the Chinese Imperial Palace.

According to the 1948 publication "Dogs In Britain, A Description of All Native Breeds and Most Foreign Breeds in Britain" by Clifford LB Hubbard, the Sleeve Pekingese was (in Hubbard's time) a true miniature of the standard-sized Pekingeses and was also known as the Miniature Pekingese. The name "Sleeve Pekingese" came from the custom of carrying these small dogs in the capacious sleeves of the robes worn by members of the Chinese Imperial Household. Hubbard indicated that this tradition appeared to be early Italian rather than Chinese, but its adoption by the Chinese Imperial Household led to dogs being bred as small as possible and to practices aimed at stunting their growth: giving puppies rice wine, holding new-borns tightly for hours at a time or putting the puppies into tight-fitting wire mesh waistcoats. These practices were apparently forbidden by the late Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi.

In Hubbard's time, the term "Sleeve" was applied in Britain to a miniature Pekingese no more than 6-7 pounds in weight, often appearing to be only about 3-4 pounds. Mrs Flander’s "Mai Mai" weighed only a little over 4 pounds and many other breeders had bred true miniatures of of a similar size. Hubbard noted that miniatures sometimes appeared in litters bred from full-sized Pekingese and were exhibited in classes for dogs less than 7 pounds at the major dog shows in Britain. At that time, the Sleeve Pekingese had a strong following with the most popular colours being cream and white.

In the book "De Canibus Britannicus" published in English in 1576, the author describes lapdogs as a "type" of dog, "Spaniel Gentle or Comforter". Ancestors of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel were a type of "Spaniel Gentle" kept by English nobility in the 1600s.

Modern "breeds" of lapdog include the Japanese Terrier, Maltese, Shih Tzu, Australian Silky Terrier and many others.

Extinct Lapdog Breeds

The "Russian Lapdog" and the "Mexican Lapdog"' were not breeds in the modern sense, but were types of small dogs from Russia and Mexico respectively. The individuals shown here are juveniles and are shown with a Griffon Bruxellois to indicate scale. The immature "Mexican Lapdog" specimen is approximately the size of a golden hamster. Adult specimens are not on display. During the 19th Century it was fashionable to mount immature specimens to look like adults, giving a false impression of adult size.

From: "The Illustrated Natural History (Mammalia)" by the Rev John George Wood, 1853:The very tiniest of the Dog family is the Mexican Lapdog, a creature so very minute in its dimensions as to appear almost fabulous to those who have not seen this animal itself. One of these little canine pets is to be seen in the British Museum, and always attracts much attention from the visitors. Indeed, if it were not in so dignified a locality, it would be generally classed with the mermaid, the flying serpent, and the Tartar lamb, as an admirable example of clever workmanship. It is precisely like those white woollen toy Dogs which sit upon a pair of bellows, and when pressed give forth a nondescript sound, intended to do duty for the legitimate canine bark. To say that it is no larger than these toys would be hardly true, for I have seen in the shop windows many a toy Dog which exceeded in size the veritable Mexican Lapdog.

Lapdogs in popular culture

Lapdogs are referred to in a simile in The Frames' song Fitzcarraldo.They are also referred to in the song, Skip Divide by Thom Yorke, on his solo album/side project, The Eraser.

Idiomatic use

"Lapdog" is also used jokingly to refer to a dog of any size who likes to climb onto people's laps for affection.

The term "lapdog" is also used to describe a submissive person, such as a "yes" man, or an institution that very easily controlled (as in the "lapdog" "press" in contrast to the tougher, more confronting "watchdog press").

References

* "The Illustrated Natural History (Mammalia)" by The Rev J G Wood. 1853.
* "Dogs In Britain, A Description of All Native Breeds and Most Foreign Breeds in Britain" by Clifford LB Hubbard. 1948.

ee also

*Origin of the domestic dog
*Dog type
*Neoteny
*Toy Dog
*Bichon
*Spaniel