If you’re looking to buy a dog, you’re not just making a purchase, you’re making an addition to your family. It’s always helpful to assess your needs and the needs of your family and lifestyle before taking the plunge. Think about whether you want an active, outdoor dog or an indoor companion. Do you have time for grooming or very little at all? Are you an experienced dog owner or do you need a dog that is easily trainable? Also look at your living situation. Do you have room for a dog to roam in the backyard or do you have tight living quarters?
Next, you’re ready to start looking at breeds of dogs. Find out what their temperament is and what type of care they need. Talk to breeders and take a look at the dogs that you’re interested in. Attending dog shows, obedience trials, and canine competitive sports is one way of doing this.
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Q & A: Puppies Losing Their Teeth?
Q: My father’s miniature Schnauzer is 6 months old. I’ve found three of her teeth in the past week. Is it normal for puppies to lose sp many teeth so quickly? If so, how long will this continue?
A: Yes, just like human children, puppies lose their first or milk teeth to be replaced by their permanent teeth and the addition of molars for chewing. While this loss of puppy teeth and arrival of adult teeth usually starts around four months and finishes around six months, the timing varies by breed and individual dog. So what is happening to your dog is normal and necessary. See the Puppies tip category for more information.
Licking the Problem
Most dogs lick for any number of reasons. Puppies will usually lick their siblings in a gesture of grooming. Mothers lick pups to help keep them clean…. and adult dogs may lick as a sign of submissiveness or deference to a more dominant member of the “pack”. Some dogs may just lick out of habit or because it gets them attention.
If your canine has a habit of licking you and you want to curb it, consider why she may be licking. If she’s getting attention from you when she’s licking, you’re inadvertently rewarding her for licking. You’ll have to concentrate on ignoring her when she’s licking and lavishing her with attention when she’s not.
To get her to stop licking the furniture, try bitter apple. It makes licking furniture and other household items less appetizing.
The Fastest Dog
The Greyhound is generally known as the fastest breed of dog, able to reach speeds of 45 miles per hour on a sprinting track. Built to move, her sleek body is narrow with a broad chest and her legs are muscular.
However, if you’re talking about pole weaving, the Guinness World Records has pegged a Border collie by the name of Jazz as the fastest. Jazz made it back and forth between 60 poles in 12. 98 seconds. Now try that one!
DogFacts — Questions & Answers from WorkingDogWeb.com
Q: What’s the world’s smallest breed?
A: The Chihuahua is considered the smallest breed. They should not weigh more than 6 pounds, and they range from 6 to 9 inches tall. You can learn about the smooth-coated and long-coated varieties in the AKC profile. Check here if you are told about special “teacup” or tiny toy Chihuahuas.
The individual smallest dog in the Guinness Book of Records in 2004 is a long-haired Chihuahua named Danka.
Q: What dog breed has the biggest ears?
A: In 2004, a Basset hound named Jack, from Fulda, Germany, holds the record for the longest ears, measuring 33.2 cm or just over a remarkable 13 inches.
Q: What’s the world’s fastest dog breed?
A: It is generally agreed that the greyhound is the fastest dog breed, able to reach speeds of 45 miles per hour on a sprint race track. Read a greyhound profile or check out the AKC breed profile.
Q: What’s the world’s slowest dog breed?
A: The chances are slim that anyone has tested the slower breeds to see which takes the most time to cover a set distance. Logic suggests that shorter-legged, heavier dogs would be among the slowest dogs. These might very well include the Basset Hound or Dachshund.
Questions about dog hair
Q: What is the world’s hairiest, shaggiest dog?
A: No one has determined this definitively, but here are some choices to consider. Click for details and sketches of the Bearded Collie, the Komondor, the Old English Sheepdog or the Puli.
Q: What breeds are recommended for people allergic to dogs?
Dogs with single-layer coats or hairless breeds are usually recommended. Check this article or read this advice from a person who handled this problem or use this list of dog breeds.
What about intelligence?
Q: What dog breeds are most intelligent?
A: This is a controversial question because people have different ideas of what makes a dog intelligent. Is it learning to obey a command quickly? Or is it an independent ability to solve problems? Many argue that these are both types of intelligence, so using just one as the measure of K9 smarts is wrong. Click here for more on this view.
Nonetheless, one man’s opinion lists the top 5 breeds for canine intelligence as the Border Collie, Poodle, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever and Doberman Pinscher. Again, you may not agree. Learn more about this assessment here.
Q: What dog breeds are least intelligent?
A: The same expert says the least intelligent on his list of 79 breeds are Borzoi, Chow Chow, Bulldog, Basenji and Afgan Hound, the Afgan being at the bottom of the list. You may not agree.
What about popularity?
Q: What dogs were voted the Top 10 of the 20th century?
A: They are Fala, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Scottish terrier; Togo, musher Leonard Seppala’s Siberian Husky lead dog in the famous Nome Serum Run; cartoon dog Snoopy; Rin Tin Tin; Lassie; cartoon dog Scooby Doo; Balto, another Siberian Husky lead dog in the Serum Run; Eddie on Frasier TV show; Old Yeller; and Gidget, the Chihuahua of Taco Bell fame.
The results were based on 7,500+ votes cast.
Q: What breeds are most popular lately?
A: That varies country by country of course. In the most recent count of American Kennel Club dog registrations for the full year 2002, the top 5 most popular are the Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd, Beagle and Dachshund. That’s the same as two years earlier except the Beagle and Dachshund changed places. The breeds rounding out the top 10 in 2002 are the Yorkshire Terrier, Boxer, Poodle, Chihuahua and the Shih Tzu.
For full details, check out the Registration Statistics page of the American Kennel Club site with the most recent AKC registration data for individual breeds. Here is the AKC news release [PDF format] with the 2002 figures and the news release with the 2004 figures.
In the United Kingdom in 2002, the 10 most popular breeds according to data from The Kennel Club were Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd, Cocker Spaniel, English Springer Spaniel, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Golden Retriever, West Highland White Terrier, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Boxer and Rottweiler. Here’s their Top 20.
In Canada in 2002, the 10 most popular breeds — based on numbers of dogs registered with the Canadian Kennel Club — were the Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd Dog, Poodle and the Shetland Sheepdog, the same as in 1999. Rounding out the top 10 were the Yorkshire Terrier, Miniature Schnauzer, Shih Tzu, Bichon Frise and Boxer.
Note that the Labrador Retriever is No. 1 in the USA, Canada and UK.
