Within the Swedish Vallhunds, the bobtail gene is well-documented. In fact, they are one of the more popular breeds used in genetic research for mapping out loci due to the cooperative nature of the breeders with thirst for wanting to understand more about their own dogs. Without the Vallhunds, we would not understand the interaction of the bobtail allele.
Now, it is true the Pembroke Corgis pioneered the research of the C189G mutation initially with Dr. Cattanach’s Boxer-Corgi project and amongst Norwegian breeders. However it is with the Swedish Cattle Dogs we understood it is an incomplete dominant, or better comprehensible by the public: semi-lethal due to observable decrease in litter sizes. Supposedly, homozygous are rejected from being implanted, so the pups we see today only carries one copy.
However with cross-breed spectrum results, we also understand the bobtail attribute of the Swedish Vallhund and Pembroke Corgi are not unique. It shouldn’t be surprising seeing the old guards understood the natural bobtail is a dominant trait. However, such frivolous traits are used to establish theoretical relationships between breeds. Over 23 breeds have been identified with having the short-tailed phenotype; and 17 to date are known to carry to the C189G mutation.
("Ancestral T-Box mutation is present in many, but not all, short-tailed dog breeds", 2009, 236-240)
There is a conspiracy theory going around circulated by Native American Indian Dog breeders, the Tahltan Bear Dogs of northern British Columbia and Yukon territories had been mongrelized and tainted by Karelian Bear Dog by Russian fur traders. It is easy to see why such a wild speculation was made. Courtesy of the Hunting Museum of Finland, click to enlarge:
Compare those Karelians to this Tahltan, “Chips” from 1935:
However one shouldn’t give any credence to the breeders of Amerindian dogs suggesting the fur traders of Siberia contaminated their dogs with a Nordic strain. After all, some of them believe there was a second domestication event of dogs where the North American aboriginals tamed the coyote which has largely been debunked long ago; nevermind all the economical and logistical fallacies behind bringing a dog from Karelia to Alaska.
However the longer one studies the genetics of dogs and their phenotypical expressions, the more one realizes how common all of the alleles are throughout the entire world; and exactly how nebulous each individual breeds are. It is the frequency of those alleles which shape a breed or a strain.
Sources
Ancestral T-Box mutation is present in many, but not all, short-tailed dog breeds 2009. Journal of Heredity, 100(2): 236-240
Images
Karjalankarhukoira Töpö on talvella ulkona lasten kanssa. Museovirasto. http://suomenmuseotonline.fi/fi/kohde/Suomen+Mets%C3%A4stysmuseo/SMM+1552%3a72 (accessed May 5, 2011). [Suomen Metsästysmuseo]
Karjalankarhukoira. Museovirasto. http://suomenmuseotonline.fi/fi/kohde/Suomen+Mets%C3%A4stysmuseo/SMM+1552%3a132 (accessed May 5, 2011). [Image: Suomen Metsästysmuseo]
Karjalankarhukoira. Museovirasto. http://suomenmuseotonline.fi/fi/kohde/Suomen+Mets%C3%A4stysmuseo/SMM+1591%3a19 (accessed May 5, 2011). [Image: Suomen Metsästysmuseo]
Karjalankarhukoira. Museovirasto. http://suomenmuseotonline.fi/fi/kohde/Suomen+Mets%C3%A4stysmuseo/SMM+1591%3a89 (accessed May 5, 2011). [Image: Suomen Metsästysmuseo]
Dr. Karen Wonders. 2009. Tahltan First Nations. http://www.firstnations.eu/mining/tahltan.htm (accessed July 17, 2011). [Image: B.C. Archives, 1935]
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