Showing posts with label petcare guide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label petcare guide. Show all posts

Monday, October 26, 2009

Common Breed Doggie of the Day: Bullmastiff



Bullmastiff

Country of Origin: Great Britian

History: The bullmastiff was developed in 1860 from the mastiff and the bulldog. It was bred to catch and hold poachers without hurting them. Breeers believed the cross created a dog that was fast but not aggressive. According to fanciers, the breed is more mastiff than bulldog.

Physical Description: The bullmastiff is a large and powerful dog with a large, broad head and a short, blunt muzzle. When alert, the forehead wrinkles. The eyes are dark and the nose is black. The medium-size, triangular drop ears are set wide apart. This dog has a broad, deep chest and muscular loins, with a long tail that may be curved or straight. The short, smooth coat is brindle, fawn or red, with a dark muzzle and ears. There may be a small, white spot on the chest.

Height: 24 to 27 inches

Weight: 100 to 130 pounds

Temperament: This is a quiet, docile dog that is patient and gentle with friends and family, especially children. It can, however, be protective and territorial.

Activity Level: Low

Best Owner: The bullmastiff does well with a family and can adjust to most living situations but may be too large for apartment life.

Special Needs: Socialization, training

Possible Health Concerns: Bloat, eye problems, cardiac disease, hip dysplasia, hypothyroidism, kidney problems, panosteitis, tumors

Fun Dog Quotes

"When a man's best friend is his dog, that dog has a problem."
-- Edward Abbey
 
"The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue."
--Anonymous
 
"Dogs feel very strongly that they should always go with you in the car, in case the need should arise for them to bark violently at nothing right in your ear."
-- Dave Barry
 
"Dogs need to sniff the ground; it's how they keep abreast of current events. The ground is a giant dog newspaper, containing all kinds of late-breaking dog news items, which, if they are especially urgent, are often continued in the next yard."
--Dave Barry
 
"A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down."
-- Robert Benchley
 
"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself."
-- Josh Billings
 
"In order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him."
-- Dereke Bruce, Taipei, Taiwan
 
"Of all the things I miss from veterinary practice, puppy breath is one of the most fond memories!"
-- Dr. Tom Cat
 
"You enter into a certain amount of madness when you marry a person with pets."
-- Nora Ephron
 
"We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made"
--M. Facklam
 
"Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate."
--Sigmund Freud
 
"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."
-- Robert A. Heinlein
 
"Whoever said you can't buy happiness forgot about puppies."
-- Gene Hill
 
"To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs."
-- Aldous Huxley
 
"Man is a dog's idea of what God should be."
-- Holbrook Jackson
 
"Anybody who doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog."
--Franklin P. Jones
 
"Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful."
-- Ann Landers
 
"No animal should ever jump up on the dining room furniture unless absolutely certain that he can hold his own in the conversation."
-- Fran Lebowitz
 
"Outside of a dog, a book is probably man's best friend; inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
-- Groucho Marx
 
"No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does."
-- Christopher Morley
 
"I wonder what goes through his mind when he sees us peeing in his water bowl."
--Penny Ward Moser
 
"Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in? I think that's how dogs spend their lives."
-- Sue Murphy
 
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went."
--Will Rogers
 
"The average dog is a nicer person than the average person."
--Andrew A. Rooney
 
"I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult."
-- Rita Rudner
 
"I loathe people who keep dogs. They are cowards who haven't got the guts to bite people themselves."
-- August Strindberg
 
"If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons."
-- James Thurber
 
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man."
-- Mark Twain
 
"Ever consider what they must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul - chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth!"
-- Anne Tyler
 
"My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to $3.00 a can. That's almost $21.00 in dog money."
--Joe Weinstein
 
"There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face."
-- Ben Williams
 
"Cat's motto No matter what you've done wrong, always try to make it look like the dog did it."
-- Unknown
 
"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."
-- Unknown
 
"If your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise."
--Unknown
 
"In dog years, I'm dead."
-- Unknown
 
"Money will buy you a pretty good dog, but it won't buy the wag of his tail."
-- Unknown
 
"Some days you're the dog; some days you're the hydrant."
-- Unknown
 
"Things that upset a terrier may pass virtually unnoticed by a Great Dane."
-- Unknown

Friday, July 31, 2009

Critter Sitter's "Dog of the Day" - Rat Terriers




Rat Terrier

Country of Origin: United States

History: The rat terrier was descended from terriers brought over by working class English immigrants, including the smooth fox terrier, Manchester terrier, and now-extinct English white terrier. The rat terrier was bred to control rats, as well as to provide entertainment in the blood sport of ratting. It was later crossed with whippets, Italian greyhounds, and beagles. The breed was popularized by Teddy Roosevelt, who often hunted with rat terriers.

Physical Description: The rat terrier is a small to medium-size, muscular dog that is slightly longer than it is tall. It has a wedge-shaped head and the skull and muzzle are of equal length. The nose is black or self-colored and the eyes are prominent. The ears are button, tipped, or erect and V-shaped. The tail may be docked, naturally long and curved upward, or a natural bob. Coat colors range from solid white to bicolor or tricolor, with white and black, tan, chocolate, blue, blue fawn, apricot, or lemon.

Height (Miniature): under 13 inches

Height (Standard): 13 to 18 inches

Weight (Standard): 10 to 25 pounds, both

Note: The rat terrier description is somewhat convoluted, as different registries have different standards: The UKC recognizes miniatures and standards, as well as hairless rat terriers. The Rat Terrier Club of America recognizes miniatures and standards but not hairless, which they included under another breed, the American hairless terrier. The National Rat Terrier Association recognizes toy, miniature and standards, as well as two body types: Type A - square dog; Type B - longer than it is tall, as well as a larger variety called Decker giants. Also see the Teddy Roosevelt terrier.

Temperament: The rat terrier is an energetic, curious, and intelligent dog. It is game and tenacious when hunting but affable and affectionate at home. It gets along with children, other dogs, and cats.

Activity Level: Moderate

Best Owner: It adapts to most living situations: city or rural, active or sedentary.

Special Needs: Exercise, human companionship, socialization, sun protection, training

Possible Health Concerns: Allergies, bite problems, hip and elbow dysplasia, lusxating patellas, mange