01-15-2011, 03:39 AM
I agree with Kiri! :3 The brachycephalic types of dogs (pushed in, upturned nose) tend not to do well in the 'Soulsverse in general:
Neopolitans would probably be especially susceptible to these problems and issues due to their facial construction -- all sorts of droopy skin and such. But that's from the dogs page -- if you haven't yet checked that out, you should!
Maybe you could go with a Mastiff-mixed breed dog, too -- it's more likely that you'd have some sort of mutt rather than a purebred at this point, anyway -- dogs probably weren't breed-picky when it came to selecting mates. :3 It's entirely possible that certain breeds kept themselves pure intentionally or accidentally through sheer isolation, but if that's the case, I do agree with Kiri that Neopolitans probably wouldn't be among those types of dogs, sadly. :/
Other considerations for breeds, maybe an Anatolian Shepherd? It's another very large breed of dog that has a surprisingly long lifespan, as quoted by Wikipedia: "The median life span for the 23 deceased dogs (a small sample size) in the survey was 10.75 years. However the average life span is actually between 12–15 years." That's considerably longer than most breeds, and I don't see nearly as many health problems with them listed, although they do list hip displaysia (a common thing for all big dogs, I'd think). I'm not sure how popular these dogs are or where they're popular, so you'd have to look into that. :3 I still don't really see huge dogs surviving as purebreds; maybe they did acquire some outside blood and got a little mixed, something like that.
Quote:Molossoid Dogs: These breeds tend to be very large, ranging from the huge, lean Great Dane to the generally massive Neapolitan Mastiff. Most of these dogs tend to be on the extremely large size, and most Molossoid-type breeds feature a pushed-in, upturned nose. This can vary between breeds—the Rottweiler has virtually no Molossoid nasal features, whereas the Boxer is an extreme Molossoil in nasal formation. Extreme Mollosoid features often makes for respiratory issues in the dogs—they have more difficulty breathing and they are more prone to respiratory infections and illnesses. This feature of the Molossoid-type dogs would certainly disappear within a few generations. Examples of this type of dog include Rottweiler, Boxer, and the English Mastiff.
Neopolitans would probably be especially susceptible to these problems and issues due to their facial construction -- all sorts of droopy skin and such. But that's from the dogs page -- if you haven't yet checked that out, you should!
Maybe you could go with a Mastiff-mixed breed dog, too -- it's more likely that you'd have some sort of mutt rather than a purebred at this point, anyway -- dogs probably weren't breed-picky when it came to selecting mates. :3 It's entirely possible that certain breeds kept themselves pure intentionally or accidentally through sheer isolation, but if that's the case, I do agree with Kiri that Neopolitans probably wouldn't be among those types of dogs, sadly. :/
Other considerations for breeds, maybe an Anatolian Shepherd? It's another very large breed of dog that has a surprisingly long lifespan, as quoted by Wikipedia: "The median life span for the 23 deceased dogs (a small sample size) in the survey was 10.75 years. However the average life span is actually between 12–15 years." That's considerably longer than most breeds, and I don't see nearly as many health problems with them listed, although they do list hip displaysia (a common thing for all big dogs, I'd think). I'm not sure how popular these dogs are or where they're popular, so you'd have to look into that. :3 I still don't really see huge dogs surviving as purebreds; maybe they did acquire some outside blood and got a little mixed, something like that.