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The Hounddog Brazilian mastiff

February 11, 2009 By
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by Hedi Salson

Tracking and sniffing is the Brazilian mastiff’s job, the gentle giants are a cross between a mastiff and a bloodhound. Giving them their full title of Fila Brasilerio they originate from Brazil and were introduced to the United States of America by the Conquistadors. In the early years of the breed its main purpose was to guard plantations.

The bigger the better and this one is big, the Brazilian mastiff can weigh over 100 pounds and stand 2 feet tall. Colouring goes from tan to black, with yellow and brindled dogs been very sought after, facially the dogs have the looks of the other cross the bloodhound.

mastiffs can be gentle or aggressive when the situation requires it, very very loyal and make a valued member to anyone’s family, very good with children also.

hunting comes natural to the Brazilian mastiff because of their bloodhound instincts, the purpose of the mastiff in the hunt is to mainly track the hunted animal , and after capture to hold the animail with causing no damage. Their real name starting with fila means to hold in Portuguese.

protective and loyal are only part of the traits of this breed of mastiff, they are in general a much healthier dog benefiting from been more active and not been prone to been over weight.

One of the downside traits of the mastiff is their dislike for strangers, they have been known to attack for no reason, so be warned if you have a tradesman coming to the house make sure your protective giant is out of the way.

The way to get to know you Brazilian mastiff is to spend time with the dog, the have personality of their own and will repay you with loyalty and affection, as well as eating you out of house and home. The protective side has even been showed with some mastiffs taking a dislike to show judges.

if you are thinking of getting a Brazilian mastiff puppy be sure to do your research, make sure the breeder has a license and will give references if asked, and if you are not sure ask questions.

About the Author:
Do you love Mastiff Dogs , If so go over to hedi salsons new website packed with detailed info including the Houndog of the Brazilian Mastiff ,free mini course for instant download , have a look NOW
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Shih Tzu: Man’s Best Friend

February 9, 2009 By
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by Rebecca Simpson

The popular Shih Tzu breed has rich origins in royal Chinese history. Today’s Shih Tzu descends from dogs bred by Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi of Tibet, who rose to power in 1861 and died in 1908.

The Empress bred her dogs for traits like loyalty, good disposition, and perfect facial features. She gave Shih Tzu puppies as gifts to Chinese nobility and foreign diplomats. Tragically, when the Empress died, her successor resented the dogs and the era they represented, and many dogs were killed.

The breed first appeared in the United Kingdom during the late 1920s or early 1930s. North American soldiers who got to know the breed in Europe during World War II became fond of the little dogs and brought them back to the United States and Canada.

The Shih Tzu is a small, lightweight dog, weighing from nine to sixteen pounds. Its size makes it well suited as a lap dog and a pet for city dwellers. The dogs have been bred for centuries to provide human amusement and companionship. They are eager to please and thrive when they are the center of attention.

The dogs were bred to have a lion-like appearance, with their flattened facial muscles, bowed legs, bulging eyes, and intimidating facial expressions earning them the nickname of “lion dogs.” Their wrinkled faces were also said to resemble chrysanthemum flowers, giving rise to the breed’s second nickname of “chrysanthemum dog.”

The Shih Tzu’s coat is long and slightly wavy and requires careful daily grooming to prevent mats and tangles. The results are worth the effort, as the dog’s silky coat enhances its elegant appearance.

The dog makes an excellent family pet but is equally content to be a companion for a single owner or a couple without children. The Shih Tzu is happiest when it is the center of attention, so families with infants or very young children are advised to wait until the children are a bit older before purchasing a Shih Tzu, to avoid potential problems with jealousy.

The British Kennel Club recognized the breed in 1935, and the breed continues to be popular in the U.K. and Europe. In 2006, the Shih Tzu ranked ninth in the American Kennel Club’s rankings of breed popularity. This is a particularly remarkable accomplishment, considering that the AKC first recognized the breed in 1969. The little Shih Tzu has come a long way in the United States in just under forty years, and it is likely to continue to grow in popularity as more and more people discover what a delightful pet this breed is.

About the Author:
Rebecca Simpson is a passionate lover of the Shih Tzu and has a popular website that can show you how to have a happy, healthy and well behaved Shih Tzu. Among other topics there, you can also learn all about Shih Tzu Tibetan Lion Dogs plus a whole lot more.
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Dog Training: Do You Know Cross Contextualization?

February 7, 2009 By
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by Ras Reed

There are innumerable terms that you will have to grasp in the course of training your dog. This will assist you, not only to understand your dog but it will also help you attain some measure of success. One of such terms you must acquaint yourself with is cross contextualization. Remember, your dog is a social animal and is likely to be in a lot of places where you expect it to respond to your commands easily and quickly.

What is cross contextualization? It simply refers to the process of retraining your dog using the same commands in another setting or context. Initially, you started training your dog at home in the backyard or in the park. This made your dog to respond to your commands in that particular area or spot. But when you become confident of the dog’s ability to respond swiftly to your commands, you thought that it would repeat the same anywhere you take it.

To Illustrate, you may be surprised when you take your dog to a public park and command it to sit but it could not respond. The crisis is that it has become conversant in the training at home and could not come to grasp with the new environment. In other words, your dog has not acclimatized to the new setting and therefore need you to do some retraining for it to respond to your commands.

Thence, as a dog owner you grasp that your dog can’t be curtailed to a particular place. So, to evade confusing your dog, it is highly very important for you to retrain it in any new area or location you take it to. It is desirable to list the places you will be visiting along with the dog and build your training sessions around those places or locations.

Be counseled that retraining your dog is not as testy as when you were training it the first time. In cross contextualization, all you have to do is get the dog aware of the new place. In other words, let it get used to the new place in order to respond to your commands. Furthermore, the length of time of training in the new place is steadily shorter than initial training. Now that you are aware of what cross contextualization means, it is no longer acceptable yelling at your dog when you take it to a new environment that is totally different from where you trained it to obey you. All you have to do is patiently train it in the setting you have brought it.

About the Author:
Regardless of how much you think you are aware about Dog Training information such as resources about Dog Training Collars , as well as How To Train Dogs , see Ras Reed’s website and be entertained with truly insightful information.
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Bark Control – Curb the Dog’s Desire to Bark

February 4, 2009 By
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by Ted Mondango

There are just dogs that are too loud for our liking. Whether they may be ours or that of the neighbors, it is very hard not to get irritated or annoyed by their incessant barking. This is why it is a very good thing that devices on bark control are now available in the market. With these amazing devices, you will be able to curb the loud barking that wakes you up at night or disturb your train of thought while you are working at home.

Using a bark control device is known to be one of best ways to curb uncontrollable loud barking. However, the best way would still have to be dealing with the real reason behind the incessant barking. This is because dogs really bark for a reason. If your dogs barking just means that he is asking for your attention and wants to go on a run with you, then a mechanical device will never work on him. You can also expect these bark control devices not to work well with aggressive mongrels that bark just to show their mean nature.

Now, there are three main types of bark control devices and these are the indoor bark control, the outdoor bark control, and the bark control collar. While the device that you can use indoors as well as the collar is great to control your own dog, you might need the outdoor bark control to secretly stop your neighbors dog from incessantly barking if he has been keeping you up at night.

Kinds of Bark Control Devices

The Indoor Bark Control. This device works at stopping the barking of dogs through the use of ultrasonic sounds. As such, even if there are no receivers or collars involved, it is still very effective in stopping some loud barking. Available in table top and hand held models, the indoor bark controls activation is automatic once a dog barks with its range of 25 feet. Once it is activated ultrasonic sounds are emitted, which will prompt your dog to stop barking.

The Outdoor Bark Control. Effective in curbing a dogs barking within a range of 50 feet, this device gives out a beep once a barking dog enters its range. It will then give off an ultrasonic sound that will curb the barking. Dogs are often startled by the high-pitched sound that is given out by these bark control devices, which is why they are prompted to stop barking almost immediately. As they will associate their bark with this disagreeable sound to their ears, they will take care not to bark within the range of your bark control anymore.

Bark Control Collar. This device is perfect to train your dog not to bark unnecessarily. Using static stimulation in controlling the barking problem of your dog, this bark control collar also has a technology wherein you are ensured that only your dogs bark will cause the correction to be emitted. As such, you wont have to worry that it will go off every time a dog barks around your home aside from your own pet.

If you are planning to buy your own bark control device, you must look into Pet Depot Online now. You will be able to find a number of models here that will suit your needs and preference as well as your budget.

About the Author:
Bark Control is necessary if you own a loud dog. Go to http://www.petdepotonline.com for superior bark control products.
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Yorkie 101: The History Of The Yorkshire Terrier

February 3, 2009 By
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by Susan Bailey

Today’s Yorkshire Terrier is a far different dog than when the breed appeared in 1865. In over just one hundred years, the size has been greatly reduced from an average weight of thirty pounds to a mere seven pounds today. And the trend is to have the Yorkie (as the breed is affectionately called) get even smaller, with adults tipping the scales at a mere three pounds. But who knows? Perhaps in the future, there will be a demand for the Yorkshire Terrier to grow back into a thirty pound dog.

Back in the 1870′s, word was getting around about the great pups from a sire named Huddersfield Ben, who was born in 1865. Huddersfield Ben was considered an ideal dog – a champion ratter as well as being friendly and handsome. Any dog that resembled Huddersfield Ben had to have been from Yorkshire, where Ben lived. Yorkshire dog breeders kept their breeding methods secret so they could be assured of buyers. His puppies eventually became known as Yorkshire Terriers.

Back in 1865 – the year of Huddersfield Ben’s birth – dogs were bred to exhibit useful qualities, not for their looks. There also was not much interest in keeping breeds pure. There are very few accurate records of dog breeding at this time. It is also thought that dog breeding was considered such a secret business that no records were kept for fear of the knowledge getting out to competitors. Yorkshire Terriers got their name because the breed was perfected in Yorkshire.

Yorkshire Terriers were bred to be specialists in killing rats. They were (and still are) thought to be more reliable at killing mice and rats than cats. They were also bred to bark when they found their prey and to let their masters know where they are. The mining industry thrived in Yorkshire at this time – and the mines were full of rats. They were until the Yorkshire Terriers got to work.

Back then, dogs went everywhere with their masters. A Yorkshire Terrier would go to work in the mines and come home with his master to the family. The family found the Yorkies to be great companions and excellent watchdogs. The coats became even softer and silkier. Eventually, the men went to work without the dogs and the dogs became pampered family members. The breed needed very little exercise, looked spectacular and was very trainable.

It is thought that the sire Huddersfield Ben weighed about thirty pounds. As the need for working dogs decreased, the demand for small dogs increased. The Yorkshire Terrier became increasingly smaller and smaller.

The hot trend is top breed Yorkies that tip the scales at three pounds, which has lead to concerns about the health of breeding such small dogs. The Yorkshire Terrier, as of 2006, is the second most popular purebred dog in America.

About the Author:
Susan Bailey is an avid lover of the Yorkshire Terrier and has a popular website where you’ll discover how to have a happy, healthy and well behaved Yorkshire Terrier. Among other topics there, you can also learn all about Yorkshire Terrier History plus a whole lot more.
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Dog Food FAQ’s

February 2, 2009 By
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by G D WILLIAMS

Pet food never used to be a problem, as most people simply gave their pet table scraps. But now we know that giving our dog table scraps is bad, this is because it can cause to health problems, because the food eaten by humans is not always right for dogs.

Selecting the satisfactory dog food can be difficult and there is no one dog food that is suitable for every dog. Depending on the size, breed, and age of your dog the right dog food varies. Convenience might also enter into what you think is the right kind of dog food for your pet.

Preservatives

Chemicals and preservatives are just as bad for dogs as they are for humans. The recent case of contaminated dog food that has led to pet deaths has scared many pet owners. In many cases to the point of completely eliminating any commercial dog food in their home. While making your own dog food at home is certainly one way to control the food your dog eats, it is not always convenient or possible.

One way to eliminate preservatives from your pet’s diet is to select a holistic pet food that is chemical and additive free. There are a number of brands that provide good nutrition without chemicals or additives. Wellness dog food is one example of pet food that has all the goodness of nature without the nasty chemicals that can cause your dog to feel ill.

Dry Food Or Canned

Do you give your pet dry dog food or canned pet food is another decision you might want to make. For some pet owners this is a matter of economics. Dry food is easier to store and frequently a lot cheaper. This will mean you will have to make fewer trips to the pet store and less money will be spent by you at the end of the day. While this may be more economical, you should still take care about the kind of dry food that you feed your dog.

A better choice may be canned food as it has fewer preservatives in it. But this choice can pose a storage problem and you can find it a lot more expensive than dry dog food. Another factor in choosing might be your dogs preference! Some dogs will only eat certain types of pet food while others will eat just about anything. Experiment a little and be sure to change your dogs diet slowly into eating the new dog food of your choice. You can always try different flavors to see which your dog prefers.

About the Author:
This article was written by G D Williams, an up and coming authority on dogs. Did you find these tips on Wellness Dog Food useful? To find out a lot more Free advice about Dog Food visit Dog Diet Tips.
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