
The Double-Nosed Andean tiger hound, Xingu is said to be intelligent and fond of salty biscuits.
“Other dogs snarl at Xingu, because they can sense he’s different. He’s the smallest dog there but he sees the other dogs off,” Colonel Blashford-Snell said.
“He’s very intelligent and with a wonderful sense of smell, as you might think.
They say he “[isn’t] a terribly handsome dog,” but I beg to differ, I think he’s a cutie! I bet he makes sniffy-sounds galore, at twice the power of your average dog! :D
I don’t know that I agree with ongoing breeding to perpetuate the double-nose, especially since the article mentions a majority of double-nosed puppies in one litter dying.
Breeding strikes me as an odd thing to inflict upon animals, especially having experienced it firsthand with my purebred cat. It’s unnatural, as in, this is not how it would transpire in nature, if they were left to their own devices.
While they have the desired traits specific to a breed, they also have increased odds for afflictions, sickness and mental disorders, also specific to that breed - all from the limited gene pool they’re drawing from.
It’s an odd form of genetic racism, inflicted upon animals by humans. I can see why it’s done, as characteristics and personalities vary wildly across breeds, but it’s still weird.
(Source)