If you get a chance to see Nova's Dogs and More Dogs, do it. It's a wonderful program, lots of explanation of how different breeds developed, how dogs adapt to their environment, etc.
From the program's description:
Why do we know people are the key? Think of your favorite species of wild animal—elephant, eagle, barracuda, whatever. Does its kind come in as wide a range of shapes, sizes, and colors as the dog? Not even remotely. "You never get that kind of variation in wild populations," says animal behaviorist James Serpell of the University of Pennsylvania. "For the most part, selection in the wild is towards one particular type that does best in whatever environment the species has to deal with. In fact, divergent individuals tend to be selected against."
Dogs are diverse largely because of artificial rather than natural selection, because of us rather than nature. But just how much of their variety can be laid at our feet versus Mother Nature's remains unclear.
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