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| Before you buy a puppy,
several
factors
must be taken into
consideration. The size of your living quarters and the freedom that
your dog will enjoy should be taken into account in selecting a breed.
If you are a home owner and have a large back yard where your dog can
have unlimited exercise, then the matter of breed presents no special
problem. If you are confined to a small, city apartment, then it would
be advisable to limit yourself to a breed of dog no larger than a
Cocker Spaniel or a Fox Terrier. It is always wiser to select a
purebred dog than a mongrel, because with a purebred you can have a
specific idea of how your pet will look upon maturity, while, with a
mongrel, you can never be sure. None the less, there
are some people
who have a special preference for mongrels and a disdain for the kind
of snobbishness that often is associated with owning a purebred dog. |
German Shepard
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If
you are one of these persons, then it can only be suggested that you
make it your business to find out all you can about the parenthood of
the puppy because the little bundle of fluff you acquire might grow
almost to the size of a small pony—much to your dismay. In the event
that you can find out nothing of the puppy's heredity, look at the
size of the paws. A puppy who will grow to be a large dog will
invariably have very large paws, while those destined to be of small or
moderate size will have proportionately smaller ones. If for any reason
you are not sure, make it a point to show the animal to a veterinarian
and allow him to solve your problem.
The next point to consider is whether to
get a long-haired or a
short-haired dog. The prospective owner of a long-haired dog must be
prepared to spend the time and money needed for properly grooming and
maintaining the appearance of such an animal. The expense of clipping
and bathing will could get quite expensive;
further, the owner must not mind the discipline, and sometimes the
sweat, of giving the dog a thorough daily combing and brushing. For
people of limited means and leisure, the short-haired breeds are
recommended because these require very little time and trouble, and the
expense of maintaining their appearance can be kept to a minimum. Of
course people still have their preferences. But with dogs, as with
anything else, the discriminating use of common sense in what you buy
will tend to lessen future hardships and annoyances.
| The selection of a
particular sex
usually presents no special problem.
If a person is determined to raise a family of dogs, the choice must
obviously fall on a female. But so far as personality is concerned,
there are no consistent differences between male and female. It is
commonly said that males are somewhat more rambunctious than females
and that females tend to be more docile and obedient. But the plain
fact of the matter is that the behavior of the individual animal will
be determined more by the training that it receives than by any
differences in natural disposition due to sex. It is true, however,
that the female will come into heat a couple of times a year for
periods of three weeks each, and that these heat periods may prove
rather messy and troublesome to some owners. |
Irish Setter
|
If the owner is the least
bit squeamish in this regard, then the problem can be permanently
eliminated by having the animal spayed. But even the female in heat
will not be particularly annoying if the animal is obedience trained,
and properly restrained by a leash while outside the confines of home.
The male, on the other hand, will be on the prowl for females if
permitted to run loose. So obedience training and leash restraint are
just as necessary for the male as for the female. The selection of a
dog according to sex, therefore, would not appear to be an especially
crucial problem.
While there are no essential personality
differences between the
sexes, there is no doubt that some personality variations exist among
the various breeds. Though rather minor, they are significant enough so
that they should be inquired into in order that the particular breed
can meet individual needs. This fact may be of special importance where
there are children in the household. The disposition of an animal
certainly must be compatible with the personality of the child. Some
breeds have a tendency to be peppy, alert, excitable, or noisy, while
others are generally quiet, lazy, or phlegmatic. Some are more likely
to become one-man dogs, while others seem to want to encompass the
whole world in their sphere. True, training of the individual animal
has a lot to do with its final disposition, but tendencies certainly do
exist innately. There are, however, enough breeds to satisfy almost any
requirement. Any veterinarian or kennel club agency will be very happy
to help you make your choice.
Once the breed has been definitely decided upon, it is advisable to
get in touch with a recognized kennel club agency. If there is none
available in the area where you live, you can always apply to the
American Kennel Club, 221 Fourth Avenue, New York City. The kennel club
will usually be very helpful and will go to great pains to put the
prospective owner in touch with reliable breeders who sell animals
within a suitable price range. It is especially important that the
breeder be highly recommended, for occasionally breeders have been
guilty of dishonest practices, though these are the exception rather
than the rule. In the final analysis, however, there are reliable and
unreliable dealers in all fields, and the discretion of the purchaser
must ultimately decide the issue.
When the animal is
purchased, a ten-day
trial should be insisted upon,
in order to have time to get veterinary certification of good health,
and to ascertain whether the animal is of suitable disposition—that is,
to find out whether the animal gets along with your family.
The
reliable breeder will agree unhesitatingly to such a reasonable
request. Less reliable breeders will agree to a trial of only 24 to 48
hours.
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Dachshund
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Since latent diseases
often do not arise for several days, and
since it usually takes more than a couple of days to decide whether an
animal's disposition is suitable, the prospective owner is advised to
proceed with extreme caution when he has only a day or two to make his
final decision.
A reference list of the recognized breeds of dogs follows. The various
breeds were developed to adapt these animals to different activities;
to learn to distinguish one breed from another, the best method is to
attend dog shows. The official publications of the American Kennel Club
give detailed information on the history and standards of the various
breeds.
The American Kennel Club recognizes six
major classes of dog breeds, as
follows:
GROUP
ONE:
SPORTING DOGS
Griffon: Wirehaired-Pointing. Pointer: German Shorthaired. Retrievers:
Chesapeake Bay, Curly-Coated, Flat-Coated, Golden, Labrador. Setters:
English, Gordon, Irish. Spaniels: Brittany, Clumber, Cocker, English
Springer, Field, Irish Water, Sussex, Welsh Springer.
GROUP TWO:
SPORTING DOGS, HOUNDS
Afghan, Basset, Beagle, Bloodhound,
Borzoi, Dachshund, Deer-hound (Scottish), Foxhound (American), Foxhound
(English), Greyhound, Harrier, Norwegian Elkhound, Otterhound,
Rhodesian Ridgeback, Saluki, Whippet, Wolfhound (Irish), Wolfhound
(Russian).
GROUP THREE:
WORKING DOG
These include some of the largest breeds in the dog world. They are
best suited to being used as guard dogs for police or army purposes,
watchdogs, herding dogs, sled dogs, etc.
Alaskan Malamute, Belgian Sheepdog, Bernese Mountain Dog, Bouvier des
Flandres, Boxer, Briard, Bull-Mastiff, Collie (Rough), Collie (Smooth),
Doberman Pinscher, Eskimo, German Shepherd, Great Dane, Great Pyrenees,
Komondor, Kuvasz, Mastiff, Newfoundland, Old English Sheepdog, Puli,
Rottweiler, Samoyede, Schnauzer (Giant), Shetland Sheepdog, Siberian
Huskie, St. Ber¬nard, Welsh Corgi (Cardigan), Welsh Corgi (Pembroke).
GROUP
FOUR:
TERRIERS
These breeds have a sporting background. They are adapted to hunting
small game, especially where a considerable amount of digging is
required.
Airedale, Bedlington, Border, Bull, Cairn, Dandie Dinmont, Fox
(Smooth), Fox (Wirehaired), Irish, Kerry Blue, Lakeland, Lhasa,
Manchester, Norwich, Schnauzer (Miniature), Schnauzer (Standard),
Scottish, Sealyham, Skye, Staffordshire, Welsh, West Highland White.
GROUP FIVE:
TOYS
These have been bred as novelty dogs and have no work or sporting
function.
Affenpinscher, Chihuahua, English Toy Spaniel, Griffon (Brussels),
Italian Greyhound, Japanese Spaniel, Maltese, Mexican Hairless,
Papillon, Pekingese, Pinscher (Miniature), Pomeranian, Pug, Toy
Manchester Terrier, Toy Poodle, Yorkshire Terrier.
GROUP
SIX:
NONSPORTING
While some of these breeds have a sporting, guard-dog or hunting
background, they are now bred mainly as pets. They include some of the
most distinctive and handsome animals in the world of dogs.
Boston Terrier, Bulldog, Chow Chow, Dalmatian, French Bulldog,
Keeshonden, Poodle, Schipperke.
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