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Regularly, The Dog Blog team will publish regular interesting information about our Canine friends around the world.

This time around we are featuring the 2012 February edition of National Geographic Magazine - Scientists have found the secret recipe behind the spectacular variety of dog shapes and sizes, and it could help unravel the complexity of human genetic disease.

All of the dogs below are from the 2011 Westminster Dog Show. The American Kennel Club 2010 popularity ranking is listed after the name of the breed. Have a look at the following pictures to see various breeds of shapes and sizes.

©National Geographic

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/02/build-a-dog/clark-photography

Great Pyrenees

©Robert Clark/National Geographic

Rhodesian Ridgeback

©Robert Clark/National Geographic

Belgian Malinois

©Robert Clark/National Geographic

Papillon

©Robert Clark/National Geographic

English setter

©Robert Clark/National Geographic

Manny, an Afghan hound, is among the more elegant examples of canine diversity. The centuries of breeding that produced such diversity in dogs also created isolated genetic populations that are helping scientists understand human diseases. "We're the people doing the genetics," says one researcher. "But breeders have done all the fieldwork."

©Robert Clark/National Geographic

The eye-shielding curls of Charlotte, a black-haired puli, are produced by the interaction of three genes.

©Robert Clark/National Geographic

This article is a very interesting read, hope you enjoy checking it out! The Dog Blog Team