Wolves
were originally domesticated so that man could have a working companion. Different breeds were formed
by the use of selective breeding. Over time man wanted a dog for different
types of work and so there were different groups or classifications of dogs
formed. Generally the dogs in each of these groups are similar in that they
were bred for the same task and therefore have similar behaviours.
Originally, dogs were mainly used for hunting or for companionship, hunting
being more popular, so there was two groups of dogs formed, sporting and
non-sporting. Eventually new groups branched off from the original two as
there were more breeds created and it became necessary to define them on
their own. The breeds in each group were all bred to perform a common task
such as herding livestock, retrieving game for hunters, guarding, etc.
