There's designer clothes, but they have nothing on designer dogs!

They come in a huge range of shapes and colours and sizes, from the tiny Chihuahua to the Great Dane.

In the animal world this much variation usually means different species, but not for dogs — so where did they all come from?

And what role did Victorian-era rats play in the development of 'breed standards'?

Featuring:

Joyce Sullivan, papillon breeder
Wayne Douglas OAM, Afghan Hound breeder
Esther Joseph, all breeds judge
Michael Worboys emeritus professor the University of Manchester
Professor Greger Larson, evolutionary genomics at the University of Oxford
Dr Angela Perri, zooarchaeologist, Chronicle Heritage
Dr. Elaine Ostrander, geneticist at National Institutes of Health (US)
Dr Heidi Parker, geneticist at National Institutes of Health (US)

Further reading:

Production:

Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
Nat Tencic, Producer
Rebecca McLaren, Producer
Petria Ladgrove, Executive Producer

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in May and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

Designer dogs: What is a breed anyway?

What The Duck?!

Designer dogs: What is a breed anyway?