Edie MacKenzie

Edie MacKenzie is a published author, traveler, dog lover, and tortoise enthusiast. Passionate about what she does, her books provide peopel a firm grounding in the dog breed and their unique characteristics with a nice touch of humor.

Useful Facts About Breeds of Dogs

January 6, 2012 by admin Leave a Comment

When it comes to diversity, no species on earth rivals the dog. Our canine friends come in a vast array of sizes, shapes and colors. Not only that, but they also display vastly different character traits from one breed to another.

Much of this is down to human meddling. For centuries we have bred dogs to meet our needs, so that over time we’ve developed over 600 distinct dog breeds.

However, recent studies suggest that many of the physical changes in dogs may have occurred spontaneously. So as amazing as it is, it seems dogs have actually evolved along the lines they believe we expect of them. Now that’s what I call devotion!

Fascinating stuff, but there’s also a practical purpose to all this.

Let’s say you are interested in buying or adopting a purebred dog. I’m sure you’d want one that is a good fit for your life style. It would be foolish for example to adopt a Husky, if your idea of fun is flopping down in front of the TV with with a bowl of popcorn. Before you know it you’ll have an extremely frustrated dog, most likely with behavioral problems.

By the same token, an active person who gets a Bulldog and expects him to join in the Sunday morning jog is bound to be disappointed.

And it doesn’t stop at activity level either, name any trait you find particularly desirable in a canine companion, and you’ll find a dog breed that meets your requirements. Some breeds are more affectionate, others more independent, some are protective, others timid, some are known to be yappers, others hardly bark at all.

Then there are physical characteristics. You may prefer a larger or a smaller dog. Well, it’s hard to imagine a greater discrepancy than between a Great Dane and a Chihuahua. It’s almost difficult to believe that they belong to the same species!

Another factor you need to take into account is the amount of hair the dog sheds. Some dogs shed enough hair to make another dog, while others hardly shed at all. And if shedding is really an issue there are hairless dogs, like the Xoloitzcuintle.

And what about training? You are going to train your dog aren’t you? Well then you should know that not all dogs are equally easy to train. With some it’s a piece of cake, with others more like talking to a brick wall.

So if trainability is an important factor you’ll want a dog that is a quick learner with an eagerness to please. Dogs that fall into this group include the Poodle, Papillon and Golden Retriever.

The breeds you’ll want to avoid are most of the Hound Group, including Bassets, Beagles, and Bloodhounds. Some breeds, like the Dachshund, are known for being particularly obstinate, while certain toy dogs will ignore you as a matter of principal.

And then there are the so-called designer dogs, as well as mixed breed dogs, which we haven’t even spoken about here.

Fact is, there really is a dog breed to suit just about everybody’s lifestyle. Which is yours?

Visit www.dogsanddogtraining.com to learnmore about types of dogs, dog care, dog training and other interesting dog info.

Filed Under: Dog Information Tagged With: Breeds Of Dogs, Bulldog, Canine Companion, Canine Friends, Character Traits, Chihuahua, Devotion, Discrepancy, Dog Breed, Dog Breeds, Dogs, Great Dane, Jog, Life Style, Physical Changes, Physical Characteristics, Popcorn, Rivals, Shapes And Colors, Sunday Morning, Token, Types Of Dogs

How to groom your Golden Retriever

October 22, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Are give adequate care for your dog is good for health? Make a simple top grooming tips in preparation for the golden retriever dog care

Taking care is the best of the agenda for every dog ??owner. Being a responsible dog owner, you should always consider several factors to achieve this goal. Proper health may be filed by such factors as proper diet and be physically able to be a good training exercise, and appropriate obedience training. Meanwhile, on the emotional aspects, proper care is also essential to the well-being too. People also want to take part in their appearance through proper grooming, and that the animals may also have aspects of similarity. We do not know, the language of the dog, but it is important that the appearance of animals through proper grooming is sometimes a form of their respective owners actions.

As know, different guidelines for care of the different breeds of dogs may provide different results. Understanding the basics of your dog is key to care. After identification of the breed is a golden retriever, will be related to the type of coat style and purification methods for each of them. For starters, your golden retriever is one of the nice thick layer. Although this is an average barrier of soft touch, and is made of water repellent and dense undercoat. Golden Retriever This is a double coat that meets the layer of protection during any season. In addition, these primers to help them protect them from cold during the winter season.

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Filed Under: Dog Information Tagged With: Breed Dog, Breeds Of Dogs, Cat Channel, Colored Fur, Different Breed, Dog Behavior Problems, Dog Breeding, Dog Training, Dogs, Gold, Golden Retriever, Golden Retrievers, Google, Guard Dogs, Household Pets, Myth, Variation

Coping with Skin Allergies in Dogs and Possible Treatment Options

July 15, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Have you begun to see your dog itching and scratching excessively? Is the scratching causing wide open sores and loss of hair on your best friend? If so, this is a good sign that your dog may well be suffering from dog allergies. Dogs do not have the typical blotchy eyes and a runny nose like we do when we are dealing with an allergy. Additional signs may include excessive itching of a specific area, or biting their paws to the point of bleeding.

What Are The Causes of Allergies in Dogs?

An allergy occurs when a dog’s immune system excessively reacts to certain substances. The body creates antibodies as a means of protection when the cause of the dog’s allergy comes into the body. These antibodies will then bind to immune cells in skin and different tissues. Therefore, when the allergens steadily penetrate tissue surfaces, the antibodies incite the immune cells to emit powerful substances (referred to as histamines) into the neighboring tissue. This then leads to inflammation and dog itching.

There are a number of factors to take into account when attempting to discover the root of allergies in dogs. An allergy that affects a dog’s skin is normally brought on by one (or some) of the following: fleas, food, and airborne particles.

Flea Dermatitis or Flea Allergy is typically caused by flea saliva. That’s why it’s especially vital to liberate your dog of fleas regularly. Some breeds of dogs tend to be more sucseptible to this variety of allergy than others. Skin allergies in pitbulls are usually caused by flea dermatitis.

An atopic allergy is triggered by the breathing in of airborne particles in the environment, consisting of mold spores, dust, tobacco smoke and pollen, instigate atopic allergies. If a dog is allergic to pollen, the pet will display symptoms, even if kept in the house as the particles will move into the home. Sneezing, coughing and wheezing generally go along with this variety of allergy.

Food allergies are the next most common variety of allergy in dogs. The most probable reasons for food allergies in dogs include: soy, corn, milk, chicken, eggs, beef and wheat. Diarrhea and Queasiness frequently are warning signs of this variety of allergy in dogs.

Contact allergies are the least diagnosed variety of allergy in dogs and is brought about by contacting with something. Triggers could include plastic, grass and wool. Some dogs can have allergic reactions to specific chemicals in the household, however, this isn’t very common.

Identifying Dog Allergies

A vet might be able to identify the problem, however,although it may call for a system of elimination to identify the source of the dog’s allergy and may perhaps refer your pet to a veterinarian dermatologist. If fleas are ruled out, your dog might be put on an elimination diet for a couple of months. Your dog is given food it has not eaten in the past, such as poultry, lamb, and potatoes, with the previous food being reintroduced in stages until the allergy resurfaces.

The allergen is thought to be one or more ingredients if the animals scratching is decreased by about 50% of what it was earlier. To test for contact and atopic skin allergies, veterinarians utilize an intradermal allergy test that functions by mildly tranquilizing the animal with slight amounts of possible allergens which are injected into the skin on the shaved section. If the animal is allergic to a certain substance, the skin near the area of the injection will become inflamed.

Treating Skin Allergies in Dogs

Keeping the dog away from allergens and curing the symptoms of dog allergies are the best methods of treatment. Drugs like antihistamines and steroids could be suggested to ease effects of scratching and inflammation in pets, although like all drugs they can be accompanied by harmful side effects and the long-term effects are still undetermined.

Prolonged usage steroids is not advocated as these medicines work by suppressing the immune system. Continued steroid use may eventually leave your dog at risk in regards to infections, diabetes and other ailments.

Herbal Treatments

Luckily for dog owners, there are numerous non-toxic and all natural homeopathic and herbal cures for dogs experiencing skin disorders.

Melaleuca alternifolia commonly put on externally to stimulate healthy skin and keeping your pet’s skin clean while Althaea officinalis root is a great and commonly accepted remedy for restoring the skin. Homeopathic remedies like Apis and Ledum have excellent healing characteristics and are especially useful in healing reddened and chafed skin, or minor irritations and abrasions.

Filed Under: Dog Information Tagged With: Airborne Particles, Allergens, allergies in dogs, Antibodies, Atopic Allergy, Breeds Of Dogs, Causes Of Allergies, dog allergies, Flea Allergy, Fleas, Food Allergies, Histamines, Immune Cells, Loss Of Hair, Mold Spores, Pollen Allergies, Runny Nose, Skin Allergies, skin allergies in dogs, Tissue Surfaces, Tobacco Smoke

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