Different Dogs, Different Breeds

Pets play a huge part of our lives. At different times of our lives my husband and I have experienced the joys of having a cat. Recently we have fallen in-love with our daughter and son-in-law’s Siberian Husky. Now, I guess you could say “move over cats, dogs are special too!” Here I have listed the different dog breeds and their characteristics.

The Toy dog is defined as being under 20 pounds. Besides being lap dogs, many are smart, stubborn, and rule the roost. They make excellent pets for apartment dwellers and seniors as they can get plenty of exercise indoors. Sporting dogs are the larger dogs that need lots of exercise but make great companions. These dogs are the ones you take hunting with you. Breeds include Labrador Retrievers, Irish Setters, Brittanys, American Water Spaniels, Cocker Spaniels, English Springer Spaniels, and German Shorthaired Pointers.

These dogs hunt by smell, not sight. The scent hounds, such as the Beagle and the Fox hounds, run with their nose to the ground to follow an animal’s scent. Their size ranges from medium to large. Breeds include Bloodhounds, Beagles, Coonhounds, Dachshunds, Foxhounds, Harriers, Petit Basset Griffons Vendeens, and the Otterhounds.


Sight hounds are dogs who hunt on instinct when they see prey moving; then, by using their speed they overtake their prey. They have a wide size range; from toy to giant. Sight hounds are very fast runners. As for grooming goes the Greyhound is a wash-in-wear dog.

Grooming in the dog

The regular grooming of the dog not only serves the body care alone, but also helps the owner in the early detection of diseases. In addition, the combing is perceived by the dog as a care, which positively influences the trust and the bond to humans.
 
Not every dog ​​needs to be brushed, depending on coat length and texture. The coat care in dogs should also be adapted to the seasons, because especially in spring and autumn, thorough brushing is particularly important to remove dead hair by changing the coat. Otherwise, they can hinder the free air circulation of the underlying skin.

Neglecting fur care in the dog can quickly matt the hair, which not only leads to an unkempt appearance, but also a risk factor for ectoparasites and other skin problems , such as bacterial dermatitis.

The brushing is particularly important in the context of grooming the dog. Longhaired dogs should first be combed out with a comb or harrow loose hair from the top coat and especially the undercoat. Then the entire coat is brushed with a hard brush in long strokes - it should always be worked with the stroke. The powerful brushing not only removes loose hair, it also stimulates blood circulation in the skin. On the one hand, this promotes better hair follicle supply and, on the other hand, secretion of sebum, so that the skin is better protected against adverse conditions. Which brush is best suited for this depends on the condition of the dog fur. Offered are both plastic materials,

The thorough grooming of the dog must be carried out at least once a week, depending on the type of coat. For long-haired dogs such as the Tibetan Terrier or Longhair Collie , however, it should be done on a daily basis. The equipment for grooming the dog is quite manageable in races with smooth fur and little undercoat. Here, a brush is usually sufficient to remove the loose hair. For the care of rough and wire-haired breeds such as Airedale Terrierand Schnauzer, however, a trimmer is needed, which removes the strong undercoat and the dead cover hair. Long-haired representatives require the most intensive care and should be treated daily with a comb and a brush. Some breeds also need a regular shearing. However, this should be left to a specialist, since the risk of skin injuries is relatively high here.

His dog wakes him up in the middle of the night, when he understands why he is calling for help

A few days ago, Jacques Salaun - a baker in Roche-Maurice - was woken in the middle of the night by his dog Loustic, a German Shepherd usually very wise. It is then 2:30 in the morning. The dog jumps on his master's bed to wake him up. Immediately, Jacques Salaun understands that something is wrong because this behavior is not usual for his dog.

A rescue of accuracy
It is there that he notices smoke in his room and feels a slight burning smell . In fact, a fire had started in the bakery under the bedroom. It was therefore necessary not to lose a second. Jacques Salaun immediately contacts the firemen and catches a fire extinguisher in an attempt to extinguish the fire, in vain because it is already too important.

Once outside, the firefighters quickly took over the fire and got through it. Unfortunately, the trade was still well damaged and work will be needed. Jacques Salaun and his dog are totally unscathed , thanks to the quick intervention of Loustic without whom all this could have ended much worse.


And the firefighters confirm that if they had been warned 15 minutes later, everything would have burned. So we can say that Loustic is the hero of the day!

Corals eat plastic because they like the taste

For years, scientists thought corals accidentally ate the plastic debris that washed into their waters because they mistakenly took them for prey. But a new study from Duke University shows this is not the case: the plastic just tastes good.

Just like humans, corals are drawn to food that is bad for them, it would seem. The researchers tested corals they had collected off the North Carolina coast, by giving them a variety of options to eat, including bits of sand and plastic.

The plastic can’t be mistaken for prey because coral don’t have eyes, so they have no way of seeing what they are about to eat. The researchers think some of the chemicals found on the plastic might be making it taste nice to the coral.

While corals might like the taste of plastic, it does not mean it is good for them to consume it. Plastic is almost completely indigestible, so it causes blockages, create a false sense of being full, or reduce the energy reserves in animals that eat it. “About 8% of the plastic that coral polyps in our study ingested was still stuck in their guts after 24 hours,” says Allen.


“Ultimately, the hope is that if we can manufacture plastic so it unintentionally tastes good to these animals, we might also be able to manufacture it so it intentionally tastes bad,” Seymour says. “That could significantly help reduce the threat these microplastics pose.”

Don't Pet the Puppies in Chernobyl

In 1986, the residents of Chernobyl were forced to flee their homes when the town’s nuclear power plant turned into a disaster zone. The area of Ukraine has been without a permanent human population ever since, but that doesn’t mean it’s empty. The landscape is teeming with insects, plant life, and even radioactive puppies descended from the house pets that were abandoned there 31 years ago.

A new mini documentary from Cloth Map explores the lives of some of Chernobyl’s cutest occupants. In the “Puppies of Chernobyl,” the tiny animals can be seen playing, wagging their tails, and running around just like domesticated dogs. Though the stray dogs tend to gather around places with the most tourist activity, like Chernobyl’s canteen, contact between humans and puppies is discouraged. As host Drew Scanlon explains in the video below, “Visitors are advised not to touch animals in the exclusion zone because they could carry radioactive particles in their fur.”

According to Newsweek, the radioactivity goes even deeper than that. When the American nonprofit Clean Futures Fund surveyed dogs in the exclusion zone, they found pockets of radioisotopes in their bones. The organization has set up a spay and neuter clinic nearby to keep the line of Chernobyl dogs from proliferating.

Adopt a Pet from ARL

At the Animal Rescue League of Boston (ARL), our goal is for animals to be safe and healthy where they belong, in homes and out of shelters.

No matter how they came to the shelter – through a law enforcement case such as a hoarding situation, as a stray brought in by a kind citizen or an animal control officer, or when an owner passes away – cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, and even pot-bellied pigs are treated with kindness and compassion.

Every animal that comes through our doors is immediately provided with extraordinary medical care by our Shelter Veterinary Medicine team.

While most shelters put an emphasis on physical care, we at the ARL know that an animal’s mental and emotional well-being is equally as important. Each animal participates in our unique Shelter Behavior and Enrichment program to not only make them happy and comfortable while they’re in our shelter, but also prepare them for life in their future home.

When you adopt a pet from one of our shelters in Boston, Brewster, or Dedham, you not only give a homeless animal a safe and loving place to live, but also save two lives: the animal you adopt and the animal who can take its place.