1) Origin
There are few theories about the history of the Markiesje dog breed. The most popular one claims, that this breeds date back to 1600s. There are paintings of dogs similar to Markiesje from 17th or 18th century, but there are no records about breeding of Markiesje dog and no one really knows its ancestors and exact origin, but it is very likely that the breed has its ancestry in the Dutch breed known as Dutch Spionen.

2) Recent history
What we know for sure is, that in 1970s, the Markiesje breed was reintroduced by several breeders. During this time, the Markiesje population was not absolutely homogenous and it would be impossible to create perfect breed standard. That is why the Dutch Kennel Club set up an intensive breeding program, where the Markiesje named Pom, owned by Mrs. van Ederen become the foundation dog. This breeding program resulted in homogenous population of Markiesje breed as we know it today.

3) Companion
The Markiesje is not used as a hunter, not sa guard dog, or as a herding dog. Its main purpose in life is to be the best companion dog as possible. And they are perfect companions, they are lively, playful, friendly with almost everyone and they thrive for attention. It is pretty gentle dog breed that can make good partners for kids, but of course, you should never leave any dog breed with a very young child unsupervised. They can typically be socialized to live with other dogs or other pets in the family. Majority of Markiesje dogs are very alert, which can make them okay watchdog, but they are too friendly and too small for a real guarding job.

4) Exercise
The Markiesje is a great companion pet, but it should not be confused with a lap dog. They love long walks, they love to run, retrieve, playing different games and they will enjoy fun training sessions. This is definitely not a coach potatoe and these dogs will be almost always ready for any kind of outdoor adventure. Without enough exercise, these dogs might develop some unwanted behaviour such as excessive barking or destruction

5) Name
The breed has a very unique name – Markiesje. It is believed that it is named after one of the most famous mistresses of the French king Louis XV, Markiezin de Pompadour. But some people say, that the name has its origin in french word „Maquer“ which means „standing dog“. Or possibly from a dog breeder Van he Veluws Markizaat. But you can always call this dog by its cute nickname – the Dutch Tulip Hound.

6) Size
The Markiesje is rather smaller dog breed with average height around 36 cm, which is 14 inch and weight between 11-13 lbs, which is 5-6 kg. There are no extreme size differences between males and females.

7) Coat
The coat of the Dutch Tulip Hound is a single layered coat in medium length that can either be straight or have slightly wave to it. It is very common to see feathering on Markiesje coat, especially on the ears, tails and hind legs.

8) Color
This dog breed is always in shiny solid black color or black color with white markings. Ticking within the white is allowed.

9) Maintenance
Speaking of the coat, lets mention the grooming and maintenance as well. Luckily, this is easy to take care for dog breed. Regular brushing is beneficial to remove loose hair from the coat and to prevent tangling and matting. No other grooming is required. Just like with all dog breeds, you should regularly check their eyes, ears, nails and teeth and clip them or clean them if needed.

​10) Health
The Markiesje is usually healthy dog breed with average lifespan around 14 years. There are no studies about the breeds health, but they should not suffer much from any serious genetic health issues. Of course, just like all dogs, they might suffer from the typical doggy issues, such as various allergies, infections, joint problems or eye problems, but none of these problems should not be very common in Markiesje dog breed.

1) Origin
The history and ancestry of the Sabueso Español is surrounded by mystery. It is very old dog breed and the first mentions about this breed are from late Middle Ages, when King Alphonse XI described these dogs in his hunting book during the 14th century. One of the theory about the origin of these dogs claim, that the ancestors of Sabueso Espanol got into Iberian Peninsula with Celtic Tribes and that they might be related to Celtic scenthounds. But it is only a theory, that cant be 100% verified.

2) Hunting
Most of the Sabueso Espanol dogs are still used for what they are best at, which is, of course, the hunting. It is very adaptable hunting dog breed. They can hunt wild boars in the mountains of Northern Spain, but they can also hunt hare in Southern Spain. In the past, they were even used to hunt brown bears. This is very brave and determined hunter, with one of the best noses in the dog world. They have a so called cold nose, which means that they can piece together a "cold" trail, left behind the game that has been gone for a few hours. It is also extremely independent and smart hunter, which is loyal to the owner and absolutely passionate about the hunt. They just love it.

3) Howling
One of the most distinctive feature of this dog breed is its loud and booming howl. It is a great way how the dog communicate with the hunter and they change the howling style based on the hunt phase. The howl changes from long and loud baying to choppy short barks, which is indicating that they found the quarry.

4) Companions
Even though most of the Sabueso Espanol dogs are used for hunting, it does not mean that they are not great companion dogs. This breed is known for being very calm, relaxed, affectionate and loyal dog breed. They can easily live with other dogs in the family, as this breed is typically used to hunt in packs, but of course, other household pets might be a problem, due to the high prey drive of Sabueso Espanol. This breed is known to be quite gentle with kids as well, but of course, you should never leave any dog breed with a young child unsupervised. These dogs are not agressive, quite the opposite. They are high spirited, always ready for any kind of adventure and it is absolutely loving and devoted dog breed.

5) Exercise
As you can expect from a hunting dog breed, this is not a coach potatoe. On the other hand, it is not completely hyperactive dog breed neither, but they will be happiest to live with active owners in rural area. They are extremely endurant on the hunt and they can walk for hours without tiring, but when they are at home, their activity level is average. They love to sleep, cuddle and snooze. But of course, these dogs do need daily proper physical and mental activity to stay in good shape. It can be done by daily long walks, jogs, hikes, vigorous playtime or fun training session. Without enough exercise, they might develop some unwanted behaviour, such as excessive barking.

6) Shelters
Sadly, there are many many Sabueso Espanol dogs in Spanish shelters and most of them have minimal chance to get adopted. It is because people do not trust hunting dogs and even though the Sabueso Espanol has the sweetest temperament and it can adapt to companionship lifestyle extremely fast, most of them stay in the shelters for long long time. So if you would be interested in this dog, consider adoption from some of the Spanish shelters first, rather than buying a new puppy.

7) Size
This is a medium sized dog breed with elongated body, well developed chest, long floppy ears, and strong legs. The average height is between 48-57 cm, which is 18-22 lbs.

8) Coat and color
The Sabueso Espanol has a short, dense and smooth coat. The coat, ideally, has a white base in combination with irregular patches of orange color. The orange color can wary from almost russet brown to lemon color. They should not have any ticking.

9) Grooming
Speaking of coat, lets mention the maintenance and grooming as well. And luckily, this is low maintenance dog breed, that can keep its coat in great condition by itself. You can brush the coat from time to time to remove any dirt, loose hair and to redistribute oils all over the coat. No other grooming is required. You should take proper care about the ears and keep them clean and dry, as they are prone to develop ear infections. Just like with all dogs, you should also take care of the dogs eyes, nails and teeth if needed.

10) Health
The Sabueso Espanol should be rather healthy and hardy dog breed with average lifespan around 13 years. They can suffer from the typical doggy health problems, such as some joint problems like hip dysplasia, bloating, already mentioned ear infections or some allergies, but none of these problems should occur commonly in this breed.

​1) Origin
Hunting with scenthounds have a long tradition in France. There are many different hunting breeds that were developed in this European country. One of them is the Grand Bleu de Gascogne, which is the main ancestor of the Petit. The Petit Bleu de Gascogne was developed several hundreads years ago, possibly around 1500s, by voluntary reduction in size of the Grand Bleu de Gascogne. Hunters wanted slightly smaller scenthound than the Grand, which would be able to efficiently hunt smaller game, such as hare, so they decided to select the smallest individuals of the breed in the attempt to develop a new breed, the Petit Bleu de Gascogne. And after few generations, they were succesfull.

​2) Not a small dog
Even though they are named Petit and they were developed by reducing size of another breed, the Petit Bleu de Gascogne is definitely not a small dog. And even the word „petit“ in their name is not only reffering to the fact, that they are smaller version of the Grand Bleu de Gascogne, as it may also reffer to the French expression for hounds used for smaller game. And what is the average size of these dogs? Well, the height is typically between 20-23 inch, which is 50-58 cm, and weight between 40-50 lbs, which is 18-23 kg.

3) Name
Overall, the breeds name is very descriptive. You already know, why they are named Petit, but what about the rest of their name. Bleu is reffering to the blue like coat color and de Gascogne is reffering to the geographical region of the breeds origin, which is Gascogny in France. So the breeds name can be literally translated as Blue colored small game hunter from Gascogny region. BTW, there are three other hunting breeds from this region, the Grand Bleu de Gascogne, Griffon Bleu de Gascogne and Basset Blue de Gascogne.

4) Hunting
The one main utilization of the Petit Bleu de Gascogne is hunting. And they are excellent hunters. It is a skilled gun dog, but they can also be used for coursing. They truly love the hunt, they are absolutely passionate about it and they are happiest if they can do it. Their main weapons on the hunt are their excellent sense of smell, high chasing instinct, great endurance, speed and agility, loud voice and intelligence. They are mainly used to hunt hare in packs, but they can adapt to hunt other, even larger game, as well.

5) Companions
Of course, the Petit Bleu de Gascogne is not only a hunter, but also loving and loyal family companion. It is a lively breed that will be happiest with an active owner. They are very affectionate, always ready for any adventure, friendly with strangers or other dogs. It is a pack animal so they typically have no problem with other dogs in the family, but of course, other household pets like hamsters or rabbits might be a problem due to the high prey drive of this breed. The Petit Bleu de Gascogne can also live with kids in the family, but of course, you should never leave any dog breed with a very young child unsupervised. This is highly intelligent, but also strong willed dog breed, which means they are not total pushovers to train, but they are capable of easily learn all the basic obedience commands.

6) Exercise
As you can probably expect, the Petit Bleu de Gascogne is pretty energetic dog breed, especially if they are not used for hunting. They will need daily longer walks, jogs, hikes, vigorous playtime or fun training sessions to stay healthy and happy. If they are provided with enough exercise, than they are typically quite relaxed and calm indoors. On the other hand, without proper exercise, they might develop some unwanted behaviour, such as excessive barking.

7) Coat and color
The Petit Bleu de Gascogne has a short, semi-thick and dense and profuse coat in blue color. Well, it is not actually blue, the colour is white mottled with black, giving a slate blue overall appearance. There are typically black patches on the head and they can have black patches on the body as well. It is also very typical for this breed to have tan markings above the eyes, which is creating the eyebrows look.

8) Maintenance
Speaking of the coat, lets mention the grooming and maintenance as well. And luckily, this is low maintenance breed. They do shed, slightly more during the shedding seasons and you should brush these dogs regularly in order to remove the dead and loose hair and to redistribute natural oils all over the coat. No other grooming is required. Just like with all dog breeds, you should regularly check their eyes, ears, nails and teeth and clip them or clean them if needed.

9) Rarity
If you are not living in France, there is a big possibility, that you never heard about this breed before. It is because they are pretty rare. Just like with all French dogs, the numbers of the breed rapidly declined during the two world wars and these dogs were never exported to other countries in large numbers. They are recognized by the FCI and UKC since the 1990s, but they are not recognized by the AKC to this day. And as you could expect, most of these dogs live in their home country, in France and its neighboring countries, like Spain. Overall, this is very very rare dog breed.

10) Health
There are no unusual health problems related to the Petit Bleu de Gascogne. The life expectancy is somewhere around 13 years. Of course, just like all medium or large sized dog breeds, they might have some problems with joints, like hip dysplasia, they can have some eye problems like entropion and they can suffer from various infections and allergies, but none of these health problems should not be very common in this breed and the Petit Bleu de Gascogne is generally healthy and hardy breed.

1) Designer dog breed
The Dorgi is not purebred breed and it is not recognized by any major kennel clubs. It is a so called designer dog breed, which is just another term for a crossbreed, in this case the Welsh Corgi and Dachshund.

​2) Royal history
Most crossbreeds have unknown history and no one really knows who started the intentional breeding. That is not the case with the Dorgi. The breed started on the British royal court, when one of the Queen Elizabeths Corgi mated with a one of the Dachshunds of Princess Margaret. Over the time, there were many more Dorgis developed by the royal family and over the years, Queen Elizabeth has had at least 10 different Dorgis. Of course, no one knows on 100% if it was really Queen Elizabeth who was first to bred Corgis and Dachshunds intentionally, but it is the first documented breeding.

3) Companion
Even though an ancestor of a hunting and herding dog breeds, the Dorgi is typically not used for any real work and they almost exlusively live as a typical companion pets. On average they are lively and playful companions who like kids, but of course, you should never leave any dog breed with a very young child unsupervised. Dorgis can also live with other dogs without problems, especially if socialized together from the puppyhood. These dogs love to be in centre of attention, they are loyal, affectionate, curious and alert. They love chasing things on the yard, but also good nap in your lap. Overall, the Dorgi is amazing companion pet.

4) Exercise
Do not be fooled by the Dorgis appearance, this is not a coach potatoe. It is true, that they are not hyperactive dogs neither, but they definitely need daily longer walks, some playtime or fun training session to stay healthy and happy. For their small size, they do require relatively high amount of exercise, so do not be surprised with that, when considering Dorgi as your future pet!

5) Training
The Dorgi is capable of learning almost all the commands you can imagine, but it is not a total pushover to train. It is because they are, on one hand, very bright and intelligent, but on the other, quite stubborn and independent. This means that they will understand the command quickly, but they will not always obey them. It is important to be very consistent and patient during the training, do not be harsh on the dog, but be firm and kind. Use positive reinforecement during the training and give the dog big praises and favourite treats for doing good job.

6) Size
The Dorgi is, just like its parents, small sized dog breed, with average height between 10-12 inch, which is 25-31 cm and weight between 18-26 lbs, which is 8-12 kg. Females tend to be slightly smaller than males.

7) Coat
The coat of Dorgi can wary quite a bit and it depends a lot what is the coat type of the parent Dachshund, since they can have either short, rough or long silky coat. The Dorgi can also have all kinds of coats, but the most typical is medium long, dense and slightly wiry coat. But keep in mind, that this is a crossbreed and there is no guarantee when it comes to their appearance and coat type.

8) Color
Just like the coat type, even the color can wary a lot and the Dorgi comes in huge variations of colors. The most common colors include brown, black, chocolate, red, and white and combinations of those.

9) Maintenance
Speaking of the coat, it is important to mention the grooming as well and luckily the Dorgi is typically not a heavy shedder. They do require some brushing from time to time, but that is all you need to know, other than brushing, there is no other grooming needs associated with the Dorgi. Just like with any other dog breed, you should regularly check their eyes, ears, nails and teeth and clean them or clip them if needed.

10) Health
The Dorgi is predisposed to the same health issues as its parent breeds, the Corgi and Dachshund and those health problems are mainly related with their long spine and short legs. These health problems include spine problems, patellar luxation, hip dysplasia or Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease. The average lifespan of the Dorgi is between 12-15 years.

The Schweizer Laufhund, also known as Swiss Hound or Chien Courant Suisse is an enthusiastic hunter and lively, gentle and loving companion dog breed, which exists in four different varieties.

The four varieties are Bernese Hound, Jura Hound, Lucerne Hound and Schwyz Hound. All the four types have the same size, body type, face type or apperance and the only thing that separates them apart is their coat and skin color.

All four types have short, smooth and dense coat, which is fine on head and leathers. The Bernese Hound is white with black spots or black saddle, rarely with light speckles.

The Lucerne Hound has a blue color, which is a result of a combination of black and white hairs, heavily speckled together, with black patches or black saddle.

The Jura Hound is in tan and black coloration, sometimes with small white patch on the chest and rarely with grey or black ticking.

And last, but not least, the Schwyz Hound is, just like the Bernese, white dog, but they have orange patches or orange saddle, instead of black one. Slight speckles are also permissible.
now.

The Swiss Hound has athletic body, which is indicating strength and endurance, lean head, pretty long muzzle and very long majestic ears.

It is important to say, that there is also a dog breed known as Small Swiss Hound, also known as Schweizerischer Niederlaufhund. This breed evolved from the Swiss Hound and it comes in the same four varieties, but the difference is, that it is smaller, „basset“ like version of the Swiss Hound, but other than that, they are extremely similar.

And what about the temperament of the Swiss Hound? Well, it is a hunter, they have extremely good sense of smell and strong passion for hunting and chasing. They are very endurant and they are able to hunt the game for hours without tiring. The breed is described as steady on the trail and hunting with melodious cry. Overall, this is excellent hunter for all kinds of game, such as hare.

But when they are not on the hunt, this is pretty sensitive dog that is attached to its owner and family, and that wants to spend all time with them. It is pretty docile dog, that can easily learn all the basic obedience commands. They can live with other dogs in the family, especially if socialized together from the puppyhood and they can make good playful, lively and gentle partners for kids as well, but of course, you should never leave any dog breed with a very young child unsupervised. Other household pets might be problematic due to the Swiss Hound higher prey drive.

As you can expect from an active and endurant hunting breed, the Swiss Hound requires quite a lot of daily exercise to stay in good shape, both physically and mentally. Daily long walks, jogs, hikes, vigorous playtime or fun training sessions are essential for this dog breed. This is definitely not a coach potatoe, quite the opposite. Without daily exercise, these dogs will become bored and possibly develop some unwanted behaviour, such as excessive barking.

Now lets mention the history of this breed. And it is actually pretty old dog breed with long history. As the official breed standard mentions, the Swiss Hound presence in times of the Roman Helvetia is certified on a mosaics, discovered at Avenches, by the representation of packhounds corresponding to the varieties of Swiss hounds.

The breed was highly valued by Italians as early as the 15th century and French hunters started using this breed in 17th century. It is believed, that it was French mercenaries, who brought this breed to Switzerland and the original line of this breed was most likely influenced by other french scenthounds, like Petit Bleu de Gascogne, Porcelaine and Ariégeois. The official breed standard for Swiss Hound was finally written in 1933.

The last point will be the maintenance and grooming needs of the Swiss Hound. All four varieties sheds some deal of fur all year long, but they are very low maintenance. Brushing the coat once or twice a week is enough, to keep it in great condition, to remove all the loose and dead hair and to residistribute natural oils all over the coat. No other grooming is required.

This dog is known as very clean. They take care of themselves. You should definitely pay attention to the ears and clean them and dry them, so they do not develop any infections. This is very typical for all the long eared dogs. You should also regularly check their eyes, ears and nails and clean them or clip them if needed.