Yes, all dogs are cute. However, white dog breeds are special. They appear to have stepped off a cloud or Frozen with their brilliant coats.
Which may explain why all-white dogs are America's most popular breeds.
But white dogs are more than just pretty. Many had pure-white coats for work.
"If you were looking for a dog to guard a flock of white sheep, you'd want a white dog," explains Dog Genome Project senior staff scientist Dayna Dreger, PhD, of the National Human Genome Research Institute.
The idea is that they would blend in with the flock so they could keep a sneaky eye out for predators.
Some breeds developed all-white coats for camouflage in snowy climes, while others were bred white so hunters could distinguish their dogs from their prey.
Sometimes people enjoyed how white dogs appeared. "Not everything is functional," says Dog Genome Project founder Elaine Ostrander, PhD. "Sometimes it’s just about looking pretty.