Pleasing 4 Pets

Time has only told me the more someone wants to own a dog, the more I can really suggest that you think of all considerations before and particularly about which type of dog is best for you if you are certain. It’s simple to buy a dog, a puppy is easy to fall in love with and from that moment you hooked and stuck with it. After all, ‘a Dog is not just for Christmas’. But, if he’s playing tug of war with, sis’ favourite teddy, he has to be right on your pillow before he stops whining at night, he insists on eating everything in sight and refuses to eat his food until you’re out, and then decides that the Persian carpet would look better a soggy shade of brown, as well as getting car sickness and later just pure sickness all over dad’s slippers, he’s looking less and less cute as the moments go by. One small puppy equals a whole load of stress at least to start with. I’m not saying it won’t be worth, while. Just that it will be a while in the start. Say goodbye to any peace in the first week, it will be; we have to feed the dog before we go out, walk the dog before we do the housework, bath the dog before the family goes out and figure out what best to do with the dog before hitting the beaches. And not just that, the weather stops for no-one but a dog needs its exercise, so come rain or shine you have to be prepared to slog the fields, in award winning sludge and gales. Sometimes, it’s to our dismay that we realise a dog is a living thing and has needs much like we do. But he needs you and within time he becomes an embedded part of our lives, we learn to love to hate the little hassles in return for the heaps of love and affection they bring. But, not thinking can lead to an unhappy owners and unhappy doggies.

Looking for a guaranteed rewarding and loving relationship with your cat? Your feline friend may appear independent and well trained but he will rely on you for so much more; food and water, care and companionship. But, there are certain essentials for you to follow.

Whatever happens you don’t want to find yourself without you feline friend, and to ensure your pal is returned home safely, make sure they’re suited and booted with a collar and name tag that includes your name address and telephone number. In case they take the great escape and slip out of the window. And on top of that be sure to follow your local cat registration laws. An ill kitty is not a happy kitty, so take your cat to the local veterinarian for regular check-ups. Also, having your cat spayed or neutered will help to keep them healthy. Make sure that your cat has a good balanced diet; it’s not just you that has to mind the waistline.

Finally have you cat trained. No scratching the furniture, or dad’s lucky slippers, sky diving off the wardrobe or sliding across the kitchen surfaces. Don’t be taken to believing cats are impossible to train; they’re not, you just need time and patience.

Retrievers a gun dogs, used for collecting game. These types of dogs are particularly well controlled, easily trained and willing to learn and to obey and these qualities have made the dog very popular as a pet and for assistance.

Retrievers are bred particularly with one characteristic in mind, being, soft mouthed, it is important for a retriever to bring back game in a reasonable form, as a hard mouthed dog may leave the game inedible, retrievers can carry the game without biting into it.

The most popular retriever is the Labrador which has a short, dense black or yellow coat. The dogs make good tempered pets and do good services in the community as police retrieval dogs and as guide dogs for the blind. Golden Retriever and the Flat- coated Retriever are black or liver. One has flat dense hair and the other is tightly curled like a poodle. The Chesapeake Bay Retriever also has a thick curly coat, that is slightly oily. The oil helps to make the dog waterproof and keeps it warm in the near-freezing water of the Bay when bringing home shot duck. Like the ducks it has webbed toes which help it swim.

As well as bringing enormous pleasure to people as companions and pets, dogs perform innumerable services for us. Certain breeds are so intelligent and trustworthy that they can be trained to guide blind people around obstacles and through city streets. They even disobey orders that might lead their owners into danger. As well, they can be trained to help the disabled with household chores.

Because dogs have a keener sense of smell and hearing than us, they can do certain tasks better than we can – tracking down lost people, stolen goods or the thieves that stole them. They can sniff out explosives or harmful drugs hidden in innocent looking containers, saving lives and hours of police work.

Many individuals have been saved from drowning by dogs who even if they cannot swim to the rescue will run to alert those who can. And where people have been buried in avalanches or earthquakes dogs will not only locate them, but help to dig them out also.

Scientists have also taken advantage of the dog. Thousands are used in research each year, the most famous of all being the dog who became the world’s first traveller in space yet sadly never came back.

Despite difference in their appearance, all dogs share the same body plan. Each animal has the same number of bones, and 42 sharp teeth for tearing meat. A dog walks on toes tipped with blunt claws. It’s outer coat keeps it dry and it’s undercoat keeps it warm – an overheated dog cools itself by panting because unlike us, it cannot sweat.

The important features that characterize a breed are the dog’s shape, its size and colour, type of ears and tail, and type of coat. Colours include blue (bluish grey), brindle (mixed dark and light hairs), merle (blue-grey streaked with black), roan (mixed white and coloured hairs), tan (warm pale brown), tricolour (patches of black, tan and white hairs) and wheaten (pale fawn).

From Chihuahua to Labrador, the parts of the dog are the same. Slim, long legged dogs are described as racy; compact, short bodied dogs as cobby. Heights are measured from the shoulder. There are six different types of ear; button, pricked, bat, semi-pricked, rose and pendant, the cutting off or cropping of ear flaps has been made illegal in Britain. Tail docking was recently common in certain breeds of dogs, there are five other types of tail, set high, carried upright, set low, feathered and curled.

Kennel Clubs in Europe classify dogs into particular groups. In Britain these are hound, Gundog, Terrier, Utility, Working and Toy.

The many breeds of terrier get their name from terra, the Latin word for earth. This is because most terriers were bred to dig rats, rabbits, foxes or badgers from their holes. Modern terriers come from two main groups: short legged terriers that could easily crawl inside big burrows and long legged terriers that could run fast and dig, but were too big to squeeze into a burrow.

One of the long legged breeds the wiry coated, black and tan Airedale is the largest. It is a capable hunter and is often used by the police and army, as is the smaller Irish Terrier. The Wire-haired Fox Terrier has a wiry, white coat with black or tan markings while the Smooth-haired Fox Terrier has a mainly white, flat coat. Kerry Blues have a soft, wavy coat.

Most Terriers are small, hardy British breeds with hard or even wiry hair. But they come in a variety of shapes. The Bedlington looks like a woolly lamb. The Cairn, West Highland White, Scottish Terrier and Norwich Terrier differ in colour but all have short legs, chunky bodies and erect ears and tails. The Border Terrier is a small tough breed with a broad head like an otter’s. And the Yorkshire Terrier is a tiny ‘toy’ breed.

Scent hounds tend to be strong and sturdy with broad noses. They can track prey by its scent for hours. When they reach their quarry, some attack it. Others simply trap it until the huntsman arrives.
Oldest of all scent hound breeds, the Bloodhound gets its name from its pure ‘blood’. The dogs are strongly built, with dropping ears and loose, wrinkled skin on the head. They are usually red, black and tan or liver and tan. Alone amongst the hounds they were bred specifically to hunt man but, although they can seek and find, they are too ‘soft’ to hold their victim and are rarely used by police.

The black and tan Coonhound looks like a Bloodhound but without the wrinkles. This strong hardy animal tracks opossums and racoons in its native North American and bays at them when they have taken refuge in a tree.

Webbed feet and woolly, waterproof undercoat help the shaggy coated Otterhound to hunt in water is big strong hound makes a fine retriever.

Rhodesian Ridgebacks are powerful hounds with a short yellowish or reddish coat. They get their name from the ridge of hair that runs down the middle of the back. Ridgebacks were first bred in Africa to guard against and hunt for lions.

Hounds have been bred to hunt with man since ancient times. They excel in speed, stamina and keenness of smell. The hounds are divided into two groups those that track their prey by its scent and those that sight and then run after their victim. These are today most commonly used for competitive sports.

The most elegant of the sight hounds are the tall, graceful Borzoi and the Afghan. The Russians kept Borzois for hunting wolves, rabbits and hares. The dogs were said to run as fast as the wind. Afghans once hunted deer and guarded sheep in the rugged hills of their native land. Today both breeds are highly favoured by the fashionable, and are as well groomed as their owners.

More rugged are the Deerhound and the Irish Wolfhound, among the tallest dogs of all. The Deerhound, or Scottish Deerhound as it is also known, was once used to hunt red deer, and the Wolfhound to hunt wolves. Both have a thick, rough coat and are usually grey. The Deerhound is the lighter sleeker of the two but they are equally strong and equally gentle as pets. However these breeds of hound are rarely seen as household pets anymore.

Because dogs are carnivores they retain an instinct for hunting and killing. This aggression is put to good use when it is harnessed as it is with a guard dog. But it can also be a formidable weapon in man’s armoury. Dogs can be trained to fight for their masters as well as for themselves.

In ancient times soldiers took fierce dogs into battle to grapple with the enemy. More than two thousand years ago the Greek Molossi tribe bred a war-dog to unleash on the Persians. Called a Molossus, it was like a mastiff.

In the middle ages war-dogs were given armour. They changed into battle clad in suits of leather with sharp spikes jutting over their heads and pots of flaming sulphur and resin strapped to their backs. Mounted knights were unseated as their horses reared in terror.

Fighting dogs did not disappear when they became obsolete as weapons of war. So called sportsmen bred animals for the pleasure of watching them do battle with creatures twice their size but less agile. So, three British breeds came into being. The ancestors of the Bulldog, Bull Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, baited tethered bulls, attacking them until they hung their heads in exhaustion. Then the dogs gripped the bulls by the nose and brought them to the ground. Fortunately only the dogs’ characteristic tenacity has been passed on to modern breeds.

Guarding people and property requires much the same attributes as those needed for guarding sheep and cattle, strength, courage, loyalty and obedience. Police dogs are trained to intimidate attack and hold fast to assailants. Padding protects the confederate victims from the dog’s fangs. Louis Doberman, tax collector from the 19th century, used local animals to breed a dog that would guard the cash that he carried. And a very fine dog he bred; proud, elegant, fast and fearless. No breed makes a better watchdog or police dog. Doberman Pinschers have a short black, brown or blue coat with rusty markings.

The Rottweiler and the Boxer, both German dogs, make powerful guards. Rottweilers were originally used to protect herds of cattle but nowadays they are trained in the police and mountain rescue work. Boxers are mastiffs, once used to hunt bears and then guard cattle. They make fearsome watch dogs. Boxers, Rottweilers and Dobermans all have their tails docked short.

As the need for dogs to guard cattle has largely died out the characteristics that brought the cattle dogs work have largely become redundant. Dogs, such as the Bouveir des Flanders from Belgium and the Giant Schnauzer from Bavaria, look fierce and are powerful. But whereas both formerly had farm work to do, today they are largely kept as pets.