The Animal Cabin: common

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Links on Popular Dog Breeds

There are hundreds of dog breeds and new ones are accepted by the registries almost every year. In some areas small breeds are popular as house pets or as “accessories”, while other area it is the larger dogs that are preferred, sometimes as status symbols, for work purposes (hunting, herding), or just because some people consider small dogs to be silly.

Each dog breed is unique in appearance, and temperament. When selecting a dog most people focus on looks, but it is the temperament, maintenance, along with common health problems, that should be considered first.

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The Labrador Retriever

These dogs are very popular, and come in three colors, black, yellow, and chocolate. They are a fairly large dog originally breed to retrieve ducks or fishing nets. As such they are patient and gentle but do need regular exercise. Labrador retrievers have short coats but do shed a lot, particularly when on a poor quality diet or not exercised enough (stress).

The Golden Retriever

Golden retrievers are one of the most popular pet dogs in many parts of the world, they are gentle, patient, and have beautiful semi-long coats. Golden retrievers love to retrieve things so much they often will carry toys around in their mouth. Although they still need proper exercise, and regular grooming, they tend to be slightly less active than the Labrador retriever.

Poodles

Poodles have been very popular for years, and have some similarities in temperament as the retrievers, however they are often somewhat more intelligent, demanding more mental stimulation. Poodles come in three sizes, toy, miniature, and standard. They require regular grooming or suffer from painful tangles that require a shave to remove.

Pit Bull Terriers

There is actually no such breed as a pit bull terrier, this is a term used loosely to describe any dog of a certain appearance. There are many breeds that are considered to be pit bull terriers according to the country they reside, two of the most common are the Staffordshire Bull Terrier and the American Pit Bull Terrier. These breeds originated as hunting dogs, often used in pits for sport, to kill bulls, bears, or each other. As such they are very strong, but with correct handling and training they can make good pets.

Read about PitBull Terriers

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Other Breeds

Of course there are many other dog breeds as well as many mixed breeds. Click the name to read more on any of these breeds.

Chinese Crested

Keeshond

Border Collie

Differences Between Huskies and Malamutes

Cross bred dogs

Pomchi

GoldenDoodle

Links on Domestic Cat Breeds

While the majority of the focus on the Animal Cabin is related to exotic pets, it is also important to share information on the more common types of pets, cats, dogs, fish, and so forth. As such this page is designed to offer some information on some of the most common cat breeds, with links so people can get further information if they so desire.

For certain the most common pet cats are not a breed at all, but are simply domestic cats of mixed breeds, however this article will mention two of the most common cat breeds, the Siamese and Persian, as well as the unique Manx cat.

Siamese Cats

Siamese cats are often easily recognized by their color, known as color point, however not all cats of this color are purebred Siamese, and without registration papers they cannot be referred to as such. In the Siamese cat the kittens are born white or cream color, in a few weeks the cooler areas, their limbs, tail, ears, and face, get color, while their warmer body stays light.

There are two breeding lines of Siamese cats, the traditionalists prefer a normal cat shaped face, while some extreme breeders prefer a more exotic, distorted face, that many people assume is the way these cats originally looked (although not true).

Read more on Siamese Cats
Read Common Health Problems in Siamese Cats
Read about Color Point Patterns

Persian Cats

Many people wrongly assume all long haired cats are Persian cats. A Persian cat is a breed that is noted for very long hair, lazy personality, and often associated with having a pushed in face. This facial deformity is the result of recent selective breeding and is not an original trait of the breed.

Persians require regular grooming and may suffer from painful hair tangles if ignored. They are often kept indoors only as their fur gets more messy when they are outside.

Read more on Persian Cats
Read Common Health Problems in Persian Cats

Manx Cats

Not all tailless cats are Manx, and not all Manx cats are tailless. Good Manx cat breeders will not breed a tailless Manx to a tailless Manx as their are concerns about a fatal double gene when this occurs.

Because of the genetic spinal deformity that causes Manx cats to have no tail, or to have a short tail, they tend to be prone to some health concerns and are not always reliable when it comes to using their litter box because of this.

Read Why Manx Cats are Tailless
Read Common Health Problems in Manx Cats

Note that there are millions of cats up for adoption in shelters all over the world, in the USA it is reported by the Humane Society that more than 3 million do not find homes. If you are considering getting a pet cat be sure to check your local shelter or go online to petfinder.com. Note that shelter websites are not always up-to-date, and that shelters do sometimes get specific cat breeds for adoption.

The Animal Cabin