Dogs

The Doggie Diaries: At the Dog Park, Part 2 -- The Lonely Loner

by Ben Westhoff (Subscribe to Ben Westhoff's posts): Mar 18th 2010 @ 11:00AM Filed Under: Dogs

Anna Westhoff

This week's guest columnist is my wife Anna.

There's as wide an array of doggie personalities as human personalities. The dog park taught me that.

It turns out our 9-month-old puppy Pippi's a wimp. At home, she exhibits alpha-dog tendencies such as teasing the cat, attempting to jump up on people and pulling on her leash. But at the dog park I see a different side of her.

In our park visits so far, Pippi's remained silent while many of the other dogs bark, snarl and make a racket. She does not enjoy roughhousing in the midst of a whirling canine cluster. (This is understandable because, as we've seen, it can turn quickly into a fight.)

Instead, Pippi prefers to make friends with a single pooch to engage in nice, one-on-one play at the edge of the field. She prefers dogs her own size or smaller. It was a real hoot to watch leggy Pippi befriend a short and stocky English bulldog who followed her around and whose owner told us had never run for that long or that fast in her life. They were two mismatched peas in a pod.

Pippi keeps a close eye on us as she plays, and we sometimes have to run alongside her to get her in motion. Otherwise, she just hovers around our legs. Unlike at home, she is generous with her toys in the dog park, even when another dog appropriates her red Frisbee. Maybe she just trusts that we'll retrieve it before we all head back home.

All in all, the dog park has helped me see what a peach of a pup we have. She suits us, and to some degree matches our personalities.

Have you learned anything surprising about your dog after observing him or her in a group setting?

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Borzoi 101

by Rose Martelli (Subscribe to Rose Martelli's posts): Mar 18th 2010 @ 10:00AM Filed Under: Dogs

myriorama, Flickr

Name: Borzoi

Personality: A most un-doglike dog, the borzoi (aka the Russian wolfhound) is often described instead as "catlike," even though it is one of the larger, stronger and speedier breeds of dog. The American Kennel Club emphasizes the borzoi's "independent and undemanding nature," and the National Borzoi Rescue Foundation echoes the sentiments of many who describe the rarely-barking breed "quiet," "well-behaved" and "an outstanding companion."

Grooming: Another way borzoi exhibit more feline than canine tendencies: They're very good at keeping themselves "quite clean," according to the Dog Breed Info Center. The National Borzoi Rescue Foundation recommends "occasional shampooing and a weekly brushing." As the breed is legendary for its silken, showstopping fur, any proud borzoi owner should take whatever steps are needed to insure an appealing appearance.

Common Health Issues: According to DoggedHealth, the common potential health problems for a borzoi are cataracts, hip dysplasia, bloat, hypothyroidism, progressive retinal atrophy, Von Willebrand's Disease and Wobbler Syndrome. All but the last two are common to most breeds as they reach old age. Von Willebrand's, which also presents in humans, is a bleeding disorder. Wobbler Syndrome tends to occur in larger dog breeds due to spinal cord compression.

Dogs on St. Patrick's Day

by Michelle Toglia (Subscribe to Michelle Toglia's posts): Mar 17th 2010 @ 1:30PM Filed Under: Dogs, Photo Galleries

Bouvier des Flandres 101

by Rose Martelli (Subscribe to Rose Martelli's posts): Mar 17th 2010 @ 10:00AM Filed Under: Dogs

Emo hair. raddewey, Flickr

Name: Bouvier des Flandres

Personality: As the American Bouvier des Flandres Club puts it, this Belgian breed is "agile, alert and intelligent, with character of great spirit and fearlessness; yet, he is serene in disposition, and has an even temperament." The Dog Breed Info Center adds that a Bouvier "may look intimidating, but is actually pleasant-natured and gentle," and, perhaps most impressively, "this dog's loyalty is world-famous."

Grooming: Though it's a long-haired breed, "the unique qualities of the Bouvier coat keep shedding problems to a minimum," says the American Bouvier des Flandres Club. "The longer, harsh guard hairs of the outercoat tend to keep the shedding undercoat from falling to the floor or being deposited on furniture or clothes. Instead, the dead hairs become matted in the coat if a weekly procedure of grooming is not observed." Translation: Brush your Bouvier once a week and you'll be fine, although Dog Breed Info Center recommends additional wet or dry shampooing as needed, a professional trim at least three times a year, and "between trims, remove and excess hair inside the ears and trim hair between the pads of the feet."

Common Health Issues: According to a 2004 survey sponsored by the Bouvier Health Foundation, the health problem most commonly reported by Bouvier owners was cancer, followed by a number of irritating but not life-threatening conditions: sebaceous cysts, hot spots, arthritis, hip dysplasia and hypothyroidism.

The Stories Behind Those Crazy-Cute Puppy Cams

by Jeanne Sager (Subscribe to Jeanne Sager's posts): Mar 16th 2010 @ 5:00PM Filed Under: Dogs

Pelto Bulldogges Puppy Cam

You're not the only ones who fell head over paws for those delectable Shiba Inus bouncing around in front of a Web cam 24 hours a day, seven days a week back in 2008.

The award-winning cam has been joined by hundreds of other pups vying for your hearts at live broadcast site UStream. Largely in the homes of breeders, some of the cams are being used to market puppies to potential owners, some to allow would-be owners to track their new friends from birth until the day they can come home, and still more to open up the breeding process to ensure transparency in all that happens during a puppy's life.

As Ed Pelto -- owner of Olde English Bulldogges in Woodbury, Minn. and the person behind the Pelto Bulldogges Puppy Cam -- explains to Paw Nation, avoiding a puppy mill is a lot easier when you can watch every moment of a dog's life live on your computer.

"There's no hiding anything here," Pelto says. "With all the controversy, all the news and with these cams, how people still end up buying from puppy mills, I just don't understand."

But there's a lot more to puppy cams than just folks looking to weed out the bad breeders. As Pelto says with a laugh, "Everybody loves puppies, don't they?"

They love them enough to have pushed the Shiba Inus to the People's Voice Award winner in the Viral category for the 13th Annual Webby Awards. And they love them enough that animal owners have been putting their pups on camera far before those balls of fur made for a frenzy.

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