The Popularity of Dog Breeds because of Entertainment

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Everytime a movie gets released showing a dog breed starring prominently, breeders of this breed prepare themselves for the storm ahead. Most puppy buyers don't bother to do research into the breed they desire, they just assume that the dog breed they buy will behave identically to the dogs in the movie. They don't take into consideration that these dogs have been trained for years to do this, and that often, it's not even the same dog throughout the entire movie, but that it had to be swapped out for a fresher, more willing stand-in. Nevertheless, consumers go out, find the a puppy the quickest they can (normally from a pet store or person down the road who just happens to have a litter of 'insert breed name' here puppies) and then a year later, once the dog has destroyed their backyard, broken their precious china pig collection, bitten the next door neighbour's kid and left them with a headful of grey hairs they take the dog to a trainer and begin paying attention to him like you're supposed to with a living thing. Oh wait.. no they don't. They dump them in a shelter, on a country road, in breed rescue or wherever they can, and wait for the next big canine star to come along and steal their hearts. Unfortunately, not only does this mean that breeders of this breed are going to get a bare minimum of 6 phone calls a day inquiring about when they'll have puppies available (but not whether they might even be a suitable home for one of the breeder's 'babies'), it means that in 6 months to a year, shelters and rescues are going to have a huge intake of one or two very popular breeds that all just didn't work out. Some examples of a surge in a breed's popularity after the breed starred in a movie: - White Siberian Huskies became increasingly popular and Siberian breeder's around the world were inundated with phone calls looking for white puppies after the release of Iron Will (1994) - Frank the pug created a popularity boom in Pugs after Men in Black (1997) - 101 Dalmatians (both the animated and live versions) made Dals a perennial favorite amongst the under 12 set. Dalmatian rescue experiences a huge infux of Dalmatians that 'didn't work out' when most families realized they're not all born trained like the dogs in the movie. - Verdell, the Brussells Griffon, in 'As Good as It Gets' prompts people to look into getting a BG of their very own. Pet stores begin selling Brussells puppies as a regular part of their stock. (1997) - Again, Siberian Huskies become popular after the release of 'Snow Dogs' and 'Eight Below'. Responsible breeders position themselves outside movie theatres with dogs in hand and information on the breed to try to disuade future puppy buyers from jumping into the purchase of their own 'Snow Dog'. And we won't even get into what happened after the Chihuahua became so popular after one began starring in Taco Bell commercials, or why everyone wanted Jack Russell Terrier's when Frasier became a popular television show. I implore you, do your research before you bring home your next dog. Most people have access to the internet and can find out what they need to know about a breed, and then should take a good honest look at their situation and decide whether that breed fits into their current and future plans. That doesn't mean you should buy a 'sport model' like a Siberian Husky if you 'plan' to get into jogging -- be honest and decide what you're capable of handling, how much time and energy you have to put into raising and keeping a dog, whether your living situation allows for that breed and whether you can handle the cons of the breed (and EVERY breed/dog has cons!). Just some food for thought.