Pomeranians

So since my friend asked me write about either Pugs or Pomeranians, and I''ve already written about Pugs, I thought I would write about Pomeranians. I've known only one Pomeranian in my life, and she hasn't left the best impression of them on me.  Her name is Patty, and she is my aunt and uncle's dog.  Patty is a yipper.  She doesn't bark; she yips.  And it can completely drive me crazy when I go to visit my aunt and uncle.  She's also a little standoffish until you've been there awhile and she really knows you, so playing with her is hard.  And that's what I want from a dog!  One that will let me pet it and hold onto it.  Perhaps she's the reason I don't hold a special place in my heart for Pomeranians.  But, let's look more into them.

Patty on Christmas 2009

General Information:

• Survived the Titantic
• Small, yappy, and energetic (definitely Patty)
• Independent and Inquisitive
• Short, triangular ears
• Athletic dog
• Can bark excessively
• Great lap dog
• Stubborn
• Average Height: 7-11 inches
• Average Weight: 4-6 pounds

Health:

• Even though it's small, it still needs exercise!
• Prone to early tooth loss (Feed dry food)
• Slipping knee caps
• Heart problems
• Average Life Expectancy: 12-15 years

Grooming:

•  Double coated fur
• Heavy, constant shedders, so must brush daily
• Must trim nails, check ears, and go to groomer every 4-6 weeks

Environment:

• Can live about anywhere with exercise

Type of Owner:

• Great for most, but not for families with young kids because of how small they are
• Train early and consistently

Well it seems that I judged Patty prematurely.  She was never taught not to bark, so she does it constantly.  And perhaps she only seems stand-offish because she is so hyper and ready to play.  I may be a little more willing to play with Pomeranians now, but if they haven't been trained not to bark so much, I hold the right to stay away!

(Not Patty)

(Thanks to Dogs101 and DogBreedInfo!)

Pugs

Be warned; I'm about to talk about another dog that I don't particularly love.  I just can't love its face as much as I do the bulldogs.  But I'm going to talk about it because, well one of my friends asked me to, and, I hate to admit it, I did fall for one of these. What dog am I talking about? The pug. Friday night I was at a friend's house, and this friend has a little dog named Skittles. Now Skittles is one crazy dog, kinda like Nub the Mountain Feist, but she sure did love being rubbed. I don't particularly love Pugs because they've never seemed that cute to me, but this little dog won me over. I didn't think about using it as one of my posts until a friend asked me to write about Pugs or Pomeranians. Well guess what? Skittles is a mix of those two breeds. I guess it was fate. So, I decided to write about Pugs.

(Not Skittles)

General Information:

• "Smushed in face"
• Have short noses 
• Face wrinkles
• Aims to please
• Curly tail
• Typically a lazy dog, but will become active if owner is
• Playful and charming
• Weight: 14 to 18 pounds
• Height: 10-14 inches

Health:

• May have trouble breathing, especially in warm weather
• Eyes may pop out, especially if collar/ leash is too tight
• Be careful not overfeed
• Exercise every day, but don't let them overheat!
• Life expectancy: 12-15 years

Grooming:

• Minimal, but do shed some
• Must clean wrinkles on face

Environment:

• Good for apartments because of its small size

Type of Owner:

• Great for families
• Get along with other pets and with visitors

Now after reading a little bit more about Pugs, watching a video, and meeting Skittles, I think I have to rethink my opinion about this dog.  They may not look the cutest in pictures, but their personalities more than make up for it.  But it scares me a little that its eyes may pop out!  That's something I'll have to consider...

(Thanks to Dogs101, AKC, and DogBreedInfo!)

Newfoundland

So I know any guys reading my blog are probably going to stop reading this as soon as I say it, but how many of you have seen Must Love Dogs? I simply love this movie. It has a great story, even if it is about a woman after a divorce. But one of the best parts of this movie is the dog. Sarah, the main character, has a brother. This brother, Michael, has a Newfoundland named Mother Teresa. Now this is about the most adorable dog you've ever seen. She's afraid of a little yapping dog, and of the water, yet she's huge! I just had to look more into this gentle giant.

General Information:

•  A LARGE dog
• Calm, patient, courageous
• Trained to pull in things to shore, rescue people, and rescue anything that needs saving!
•  Waterproof double coat (keeps them warm)
• Large lung capacity
• Droopy lips to help him breathe from the side
• Know that they drool!
• Average Weight: 110-160 pounds
• Height: 26-28 inches

Health:

• Orthopedic Issues
• Not so good in heat
• Heart Disease (sub-aortic stenosis)
• Hip Dysplasia
• Life expectancy: 9-15 years

Grooming:

• Groom twice a week
• Constant brushing!

Environment:

• Okay for apartments because they don't mind being a bit lazy
• But be careful they're not too lazy; just like any other dog, Newfies need exercise

Type of Owner:

• Great for families with kids, even small children
• Take to training well

Knowing that this dog is so gentle with kids just makes me love it even more.  It may be a large dog, but it seems to adapt well to small spaces and lazy atmospheres.  Maybe this will be a dog in the running for me one day...if I have a big enough house!

(Thanks Dogs101, AKC, and DogBreed Info for their help!)

West Highland White Terrier

Most people know this dog as a Westie, and I know it as the Cesar dog. The other night, the Cesar dog food commercial came one the T.V. and my roommate and suitemate both just went crazy. My suitemate is a dog lover, and my roommate, though she's generally is a cat lover, just loves these little dogs.  She plans to have one one day and name it Oswald.  She probably loves it because it is so small, but let me tell you some more of its characteristics.

General Information:

• Happy, curious, affectionate, and stubborn dog
• Dislikes smaller dogs or other animals
• Undocked tail
• Double coat
• Love to dig and bark
• Height: 10-12 inches
• Weight: 15-21 pounds

 Health:

•  Globoid cell Leukodystrophy, Legg- Perthes
• Copper toxicosis,  cataracts, patellar luxation
• Sometimes deafness
• Skin problems
• Life expectancy: 12-14 years

Grooming:

• Coat combed two or three times a week
• Shape the coat every three months
• Bathe when necessary
• Sheds little hair 

Environment:

• Okay for apartment life or for life with a large area to roam
• However, if living in apartment, needs daily walk and area to play outside

Type of Owner:

• Someone that can keep up with this dogs energy and put in the time to discipline 

Westies are the epitome of cuteness and are definitely in the running for my future pet. I just wish I had a choice of color other than white! I think this dog would definitely find a way to get dirty.

(Thanks to Dogs 101 and DogBreedInfo for their information!)

Sleepy Dog

If you go to my friends' page, you will see my friend Jarrett.  Jarrett writes a blog about crazy happenings all over the world and has found a video that I thought would be perfect for this blog.  I've already written about the English Bulldog, but clearly they like their naps!

Here's Jarrett's video, and what he has to say about it:




Since I had to do a guest post I decided to do something that goes with the topic of the blog. I found this video of a boy and his dog falling asleep together. This video made me die laughing, because I have done this myself, but not with my dog. The dog adds a special touch to the video, because I always thought dogs just pass out when they feel sleepy, but it's whatever; it's still hilarious and you will get a laugh every time you watch it.

-JMurph

Chow Chow

This past week, my boyfriend and I were making our weekly round in Petsmart when we saw a lady with this cute fluffy dog.  I'm not sure if it was purebred or not, but this dog definitely had some Chow Chow in him.  He was so cute!  I knew I couldn't leave him out of my blog.  So let's find out about this adorable dog.

(Thanks AcoBox for the pic)

General Information:

• Only dog born with 44 teeth
• Known to be aggressive/dangerous
• But after training this dog, it's a great addition
• Has a blue-black tongue
• Straight hind legs
• Double coated, rough or smooth
• Loyal
• Height: 17-20 inches
• Weight: 45-70 pounds

Health:

• Hip and elbow dysplasia
• Entropion
• Often snore
• Life expectancy: About 15 years

Grooming:

• Seasonal, heavy shedders
• Need to constantly brush

Environment:

• Okay for apartment life with daily exercise
• Cranky without exercise
• Need to be kept in cool places

Type of Owner:

• Good for adults after training, but not a great family pet
• Needs to socialize with other people and pets so as not to be too protective

So it seems that while this dog is incredibly cute, they aren't necessarily the best choice for me.  I do plan to have a family someday, and I can't have an aggressive dog in the house that may harm my kids.  However, I will definitely pet any dog that was as happy as the little Chow I met at PetSmart.  I'll just have to appreciate these doggies whenever I happen to come across them.

(Thanks to Dogs101, DogBreedInfo, and American Kennel Club for their info!)

Mountain Feist

My boyfriend's cousin has a Mountain Feist.  For those of you who have no idea what kind of dog this is, I didn't either before I met Nub.  Nub is one insane dog.  He gets so excited when people come to visit, and because he's such a small dog, he's bouncing off of everything.  When the dog jumps, he's seriously jumping to about the height of my upper arm.  When I sit down, he jumps on the couch, and runs back and forth from person to person.  And then he runs back and forth over all of the people sitting on the couch.  When I was there to see the puppy of a different dog they got, he was running across my lap to get to the puppy.  At one point, as I was leaning back, he ran across my chest.  I'm just glad it wasn't my face.  Now, I'm going to find out if all Mountain Feists have this much energy.  If they do, you certainly need to have a patient, loving, and energetic family for this little dog!

General Information

• Great squirrel hunter
• Also good for hunting raccoon and opossum
• Strong hind legs
• Docked tail
• Very energetic
• Love to play
• Protective
• Curious
• Short coat
• Height: 10-22 inches
• Weight: 10-30 pounds

Health

• No major health problems to be noted
• Needs lots of exercise, either a long walk or jog everyday
• Recommended that the dog be given a large area to play 

Grooming

• Only requires an occasional brushing to get rid of stray hairs

Environment

• Okay indoors
• But best to give this dog some room to play 

Type of Owner

• Firm but gentle, and these dogs are easy to train, even with all of their energy
• Good for energetic families
• When it's time to sleep, is a total lap dog

Now, just to prove how much of a handful these dogs can be, here's a picture of Nub chewing on a new toy...

So if you're looking for a small, energetic dog, Nub is for you. But I think he's just a little too excitable for my taste. Not to mention he peed on my pants one time I came over...

(Thanks to DogBreedInfo, GreatDogSite, and Wikipedia for their info!)