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.

Mutts Are Special Too!

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In setting official standards for mutts, everyone has used the guiding principle that dogs belong to the same species, called the Canis familiaris. All dogs come equipped with the remarkable blend of high intelligence, fierce loyalty, human-like emotions, boundless love, and the ability to smell leftover meat two blocks away.

It is us humans that have established differences among dogs. Some dogs were selected over centuries for astonishing traits of size and temperament. These dogs were bred for high purposes, such as the Mastiff for defending the Roman Empire, the Newfoundland for rescuing sailors, the Chesapeake Bay Retriever for retrieving ducks, and the Saint Bernard for saving lost mountaineers. These are purebred dogs.

To create a purebred, all matters are arranged by a responsible breeder. On the other hand, other dogs, such as strays, neighborhood dogs or most dogs who have ever lived have met and mated as they saw fit, without the help of humans. This is evident by simply looking at them. These are called, simply, “dogs.”

All dogs are capable of the greatest genetic elasticity among mammals, providing a dazzling array of coat types, head types, tail configurations, and placements. Dogs astonish us with their rich diversity, the 250-pound Mastiff and the five-pound Miniature Poodle are members of the same species, a heart the size of a peanut and a heart as big as a fist both beating with love for us, their best friends. Breeders can’t perform this trick with other types of species.

In the last century or so, dog breeders, carefully molding remarkable lumps of canine clay, have turned out an amazing array of more than 450 distinct breed types, although only 146 breeds and varieties are formally recognized by the American Kennel Club. Dogs meeting dogs for entirely unsupervised dates have done it a little differently. For example, Yorkies serenading a song of seduction to strong, silent Shepherd types, and Terriers falling for Chihuahuas. The results of this dizzying merry-go-round of random matches is nothing less than the richest, maddest, crazy-quilt variety of mammals of a single species on Earth: mixed-breed dogs. Surely there are thousands of types of mixed-breed dogs, roughly familiar, and yet each one unique, like snowflakes.

Housetraining: The 3 Most Common Reasons Why Your Dog Is Having Trouble

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Housetraining your dog quickly and easily can only be done by understanding what is causing him to use the bathroom inside the house in the first place. Many times the issues are not what they seem, and in fact the problems are typically connected to behavioral reasons.

Dogs can eliminate inappropriately for a number of behavior-based reasons. However, clinical signs vary for these types of issues and are not always distinguishable between medical problems or housetraining relapses.

For example, urine found on upright objects or in a place out of sight of the owner suggests an intentional marking of a surface. Urine found only in a bed at night could suggest unintentional incontinence, although there are plenty of dogs that make a point of urinating on their beds. And diarrhea could be from a physiological problem but could also be from internal stress in the animal.

A recent poll taken from experts in canine behavior problems around the country, identified the following tips as the most common causes of behavioral elimination:

1) Submissive & Excitement Urination

Submissive and excitement urination may not be under the dog’s control as it is a reaction to a social stimulus. There are lots of submissive and excitement urination in dogs younger than 1 year of age. With this behavior, dogs tend to dribble or wet when their owners come home, when they’re scolded or petted, or in the presence of other dogs.

2) Territorial Marking

Territory marking in the house occurs most often in intact (unneutered) male dogs older than six months of age, although spayed females and neutered males sometimes exhibit this behavior.

Usually, areas are marked with small squirts of urine (seldom feces) in response to a need to claim or reaffirm a territory in the presence of other dogs (including neighborhood dogs and cats seen through a window) or involving household changes (like a new baby or a new spouse).

3) Anxiety

Arousal or increased activity of the dog caused by anxiety can bring about defecation and urination. Dogs with separation anxiety may eliminate with regularity whenever the person to whom the dog is attached is physically separated from the dog.

Fear of noises, novel objects outside or an attack by another animal outside can cause a dog to refuse to go outdoors to eliminate. Some dogs refuse to leave the porch if it is raining or snowing, thus not eliminating when given the opportunity. Some dogs refuse to go in the presence of the owner.

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