Saturday's 8th International Pug Meeting in Berlin saw some 264 pups compete for the title of fastest pug in the event's annual race. Competitors had to run, or trot, as quickly as possible down a 50 meter (164 foot) track. Individual times were professionally tracked with an electronic timing device, including a photo finish picture.

Every athlete sometimes needs an extra rush of motivation to cross the finish line. "Doping" in the form of treats or chew toys was allowed to take place during the races. In this picture, an owner entices her dog down the track with a jar full of treats.

This year's winner was a Berliner pug named Emma who flew down the track in less than six seconds. In the picture above, Emma and her owner Angela Kaiser celebrate the victory with plenty of cuddles. The slowest runner this year was a dog named Sihla, who needed a little more than a minute to cross the finish line. Don't worry - she got a prize, too.

After an afternoon of playtime, this pug takes it easy in a kiddie pool. Animal rights activists voiced concerns that the races are dangerous for the short-muzzled breed, as they cannot get enough air. To ensure the safety of the four-legged participants, the event's organizers had the pugs inspected by veterinarians on site, reported the local paper Berliner Zeitung.

The event in the Lichtenrade district in southern Berlin drew young and old pug enthusiasts from several countries. Local broadcaster RBB reported that the curly-tailed contestants hailed from Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Scotland and the island of Sardinia.

This pug puppy isn't quite ready yet to run with the bigger dogs, but may compete when it is older. The breed is known for its even-temper and playful personality. "Pugs are not exactly natural athletes, but they do have strong legs and endless curiosity," the American Kennel Club states on its website.

Although the breed is well-loved as a companion pet, they are not without controversy. The British Veterinary Association last year called for prospective dog owners to avoid flat-faced breeds as they suffer crippling health problems, breathing issues. The Berlin event's organizers have also called for breeders to breed pugs with longer noses and slimmer bodies to protect the dogs.

No, not Danish. These gentle giants are actually German. They're the result of German royals breeding ever-larger hunting companions in the 17th century. Great Danes are the world's largest dog breed — pictured above is the world's tallest dog from 2013. Germans today call them "Deutsche Dogge," a linguistic reference to the canine's British ancestors from the 16th century.

This dog suddenly became "American" after World War I, when the US dropped all references to its German origin. A territorial yapper, it became famous as a comic sidekick in US circus acts. Though the American Kennel Club calls this dog a unique breed, the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) in Belgium disagrees. They say it remains what it has always been: a German Spitz.

In the 1800s, three men in Munich bred a bulldog with a breed of unknown origin, and continued that experiment for a few more generations. The result is a dog with one of the most instantly recognizable faces in the canine world, one still defined by German guidelines written in 1902. The origin of the name "boxer" remains a mystery, though.

"Dachs" means badger, while dachshund dogs were bred to hunt. Even today, these canines, often called wiener dogs in English, still enjoy burrowing — but also biting. A 2008 study showed 20 percent of domesticated dachshunds have bitten strangers. German Emperor Wilhelm II owned one, and when he visited Austria's Archduke Franz Ferdinand, it attacked and killed the archduke's golden pheasant.

Small Munsterlanders (pictured) owe their revival in 1902 to a German named Edmund Löns, who saw in the neglected breed a fine-tuned hunting ability and a beautiful coat. They're the smallest of the German pointer/setter dogs, but, confusingly, are not at all related to large Munsterlanders. Small Munsterlanders are hard to come by, as high breeding standards keep them relatively scarce.

With their silver coats, piercing eyes and biological need for human affection, what's not to love about Weimaraners? They were first bred in Weimar, the city of thinkers and poets, as a gun dog that was also family-friendly — a rarity. So beloved was the breed that, prior to shipping them abroad, they were sterilized in the hope that they'd remain exclusive to the German empire. But they didn't.

A half-day's walk from Weimar, in the town of Apolda, a court clerk named Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann had a problem. It was the late 1800s, and as a tax collector and officer, he needed protection during his night duties. Fortunately, he also ran the local pound. Through the crossbreeding of Weimaraners, pinschers and pointer dogs, he created the guard dog we now call the Doberman pinscher.

Schnauzers are so closely related to pinschers that the two are considered a single group by the international dog authority, the FCI. In southern Germany, schnauzers served primarily as stall dogs, catching rats and mice. Since rodents have sharp teeth, the dogs' ears and tails were trimmed to protect them from bites. Today, "cropping" and "docking" are illegal in much of the EU and in Australia.

They protected cattle and wagons carrying meat, scared away thieves and wild animals — rottweilers were a medieval trader's fiercely loyal companion. And they were fierce. They were bred in Rottweil, Germany, a former trade center, to protect goods at all cost. Their jaws are the strongest of any dog, with 328 pounds of bite pressure (149 kilograms).

A dog named "Horand von Grafrath" is the pretentious first entry in the Breed Registry of the Club of German Shepherds in 1899. After World War I, the English rechristened them Alsatians, the US dropped the word German altogether, and for decades Australia banned them on fears they'd breed with dingoes. Their use by the Nazis further darkened their reputation: Over his lifetime, Hitler owned six.

"Hey, I'm the boss here!" screams the colorful nose of the male Mandrill Ape - dominant males crow with brighter colors than those of inferiors. When a Mandrill gets mad or aroused, the blue parts on its nose glow even stronger. The red color stems from the Mandrill's high blood circulation, the blue results from the light breaking on its skin.

Elephants trumpet, smell, grab, fight and even snorkel with their nose. Strictly speaking the elephant's trunk is a fusion of nose and upper lip. It also serves for communication, for example, when flehmening. That's a way to pick up scent or pheromones, which is especially important during mating season for males. Not only can the elephant smell its adored female's odor, but it can also taste it.

The sea elephant got its name from its bulging nose, which may remind you of an elephant's trunk. It dangles down over the animal's muzzle. During mating season the male pumps up his mouth with blood and air and gives off a loud noise to chase away its rivals. But both males and females absorb moisture through their noses - especially when fasting during mating season.

One of the triggerfish's favorite dishes is sea urchins. So to ensure it doesn't get stung, the triggerfish developed a long "nose." To get to the soft and tasty interior of a sea urchin, the fish (the one in the photo is called Picasso) blows a strong jet of water on its prey, or clutches one sting with its mouth, and uses it to lift up the urchin and attack.

What looks like a terribly long nose is actually the snout of the Giant Anteater. Its actual nose is at the very tip of it, and snoops in nooks and crannies for food - mostly ants and termites. When it finds a tasty morsel, the anteater stretches out a 90 centimeter-long (35 inches) gluing tongue and sticks its prey to it - 160 times per minute!

The plug socket-like nose of a pig may look ugly to some, but it is very sensitive. It senses, feels, and smells scents up to 50 cm deep in the soil. Pigs have even more olfactory cells than the fine-nosed dog. That's why they are great truffle tracers. Sows are especially good at it - the smell of the precious mushrooms is very close to that of male pigs' pheromones.

Pug-nosed dogs are a human creation. They're nearly square in shape, and said to have been first reared in China centuries ago as an exclusive privilege of the emperor. Later it accompanied noble ladies in paintings. People have bred pug dogs for entertainment, but the dog suffers - its respiratory organs are highly contracted, giving it its characteristic panting and leading to illness.