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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.
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1) Origin
The Blue Bay Shepherd development began in 1990s in Southern Breeze Ranche kennel in Florida by Vicky Spencer, who wanted to create a new breed with the natural beauty of a wolf, but with the loving personality, willingness to please and loyal nature of a dog. She knew, that these characteristics could be found in German Shepherds, and indeed, the first Blue Bay Shepherds were developed by crossing blue variations of German Shepherds with wolfdog hybrids with blue coats. 2) Name The Blue Bay Shepherd was first bred in Palm Bay, Florida, hence the word „bay“ in their name. The rest of their name is descriptive, as it is describing their beautiful blue coat and shepherd ancestry. 3) Not a wolfdog The Blue Bay Shepherd is sometimes called as a wolfdog, but it is better to say, that it is a dog with wolf heritage. The wolf in Blue Bay Shepherd is overpowered by all the other breeds used in the breeding process, which means you dont need to be worry about any agressive, uncontrolled and wild wolf-like behaviour from this dog, quite the opposite! 4) Companion The Blue Bay Shepherd is not bred as a working dog breed. The one main purpose of breeding was to create the best possible companion pet. These dogs should have stable, sweet and affectionate temperament, they should never show any sign of agression, they should not be timid around people, even around strangers and they should be very intelligent and eager to please, which makes them easily trainable. But i would still not recommend these dogs to novice dog owners, as some of them might show a little bit more independent and stubborn temperament which will be harder to train. And it is still a very strong dog breed and with the wrong owner, they might turn problematic. The Blue Bay Shepherd can live with other dogs in the family, especially if socialized together from the puppyhood and it can make good gentle partner for kids, but of course, you should never leave any dog breed, with a very young child, unsupervised. 5) Energy level As you would probably expect, this is not a coach potatoe. The Blue Bay Shepherd is an active breed, that will need daily longer walks, jogs, hikes, vigorous playtime, fun training sessions.. Just anything that will keep their body and mind occupied. If they are provided with enough exercise, than they will be very calm and relaxed indoors, but without enough exercise, they might develop some unwanted behaviour, such as destruction. 6) Size This is a lean, muscular and strong dog breed with average height around 30 inch, which is 76 cm and weight between 70-105 lbs, which is 30-50 kg. Females are naturally slightly smaller than males. 7) Coat and color The breed is famous for its beautiful bluish gray colored coat. Sometimes, the Blue Bay Shepherd can also have different coat color, such as white, grey or red, but the blue color is by far most common. The breed posses a very dense doublecoat, which si protecting the breed from all kinds of weather. Next to the coat color, the eye color is also very distinctive, as these dogs usually have very pale eyes, ranging from green to hazel. 8) Maintenance Speaking of coat, lets mention the grooming needs as well. These dogs do shed quite a lot. It is important to regularly brush their coats to remove all the dead and loose hair and minimize the shedding. Regular brushing will also help to redistribute natural oils all over the coat. No other grooming is required. Just like with all the dogs, you should also regularly check their eyes, ears, nails and teeth and clip them or clean them if needed. 9) Rarity The Blue Bay Shepherd is still extremely rare breed. There is only one kennel that is breeding these dogs, and that is the Southern Breeze Ranch. Only the founder – Vicky Spencer – is breeding real pure Blue Bay Shepherds and it is still considered as a breed in development, rather than a purebred dog breed. 10) Health This should usually be rather healthy and hardy breed, but there are no real scientific studies published about the breeds health yet. Just like the German Shepherd, even the Blue Bay Shepherd could potentionally have problems with hip dysplasia, but this problem should not be that prevalent as with the GSD. All large sized and deep chested breeds can also have problems with bloating. Other than that, every dog can suffer from the typical doggy issues, such as allergies and infections. 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. 1) Origin
The Chuandong Hound is a very old, ancient dog breed, that hails from Chinese Sichuan province, to be more specific, from the eastern part of Sichuan province, around the city of Chongqing. In the 1980s archeologists found statues of unknown dogs in tombs near the city of Chongqing. The tombs were more than 2000 years old and they also located dogs in the surrounding area that were very similar to the statues. These dogs are the ancestors of todays Chuandong Hound. The breed had developed by adapting to its local environment and being fit for a purpose as a scent hunting hound for more than 2000 years. It can be said, that this breed evolved next to a man, rather than by a man. 2) Almost extinct The Chuandong Hound is extremely rare breed. There are few reasons for it. One of them is that after the establishment of communist regime in China, dogs were associated with capitalism and population of most dog breeds in China rapidly declined. Some rural families kept their dogs for hunting and guarding, but they had to pay big taxes for keeping them. Luckily, few families in Sichuan province really kept their Chuandong Hounds and they preserve the breed. In 1980s, the pet ownership was allowed. Out break of SARS epidemy in 2002 was another tragedy for the breed. The Chinese government killed many dogs in order to prevent spreading of the disease. But luckily, the Chuandong Hound once again survived in small numbers and today, there are few kennels outside China as well. 3) Chongqing dog For a long time, the Chuandong Hound did not have an official breed standard, or an official name. The breed was known as the East Sichuan Terrier by the owners who still value their dogs hunting ability. That changed in 2018, when the first breed standard was published by Chinese kennel union. The C.K.U recognise the Chongqing dog and the Chuandong Hound which have both developed from the East Sichuan Terrier. The Chongqing dog is a companion and guard dog. The Chuandong Hound continues to be used as a scent hunting hound and some owners still refer to them as the East Sichuan Terrier. Both breeds are similar in appearance, but the Chuandong Hound has a longer muzzle with much less wrinkle, a scissor bite and is longer on the leg. The Chongqing dog has a shorter muzzle with wrinkles, an undershot bite and is reffered to by some owners as a Chinese Bulldog. 4) Coat and color On the first sight, the Chuandong Hound might look like a hairless breed, but that is not true. The Chuandong Hound has a short single coat all over its body and the only permitted color is red in all kinds of shades. 5) Maintenance Speaking of coat, the maintenance and grooming is incredibly easy with this breed. The Chuandong Hound does not shed and they do not require almost any grooming at all to keep the coat in good condition. They are almost cat like when it comes to cleanliness, they keep themselves super clean in all parts of their body. Just like with any other breed, you should also regularly check their eyes, ears, nails and teeth and clip them or clean them if needed.Chuandong Hounds only have fine wrinkles on top of their head so they do not have any problems with wrinkle soreness. 6) Lifespan Another amazing fact about this breed is their longevity. Just like majority of breeds that evolved through natural selection, they are very healthy and hardy dogs that does not suffer much from any serious health issues. And what about the lifespan? It is between 16-20 years and it is not uncommon for these dogs to be active and healthy even at their later teens. 7) Size This is medium sized dog breed, with average height between 40-50 cm, which is 15-20 inch and weight between 20-25 kg, which is 45-55 lbs. Females are naturally slightly smaller than males. 8) Companions The Chuandong Hounds make excellent companion pets. They are very playful and affectionate, very loyal to its owners, protective over their loved ones and quite intelligent. They can definitely learn all the basic obedience commands fast and easy. On the other hand, they can be stubborn, which is why patient and consistent training is essential. These dogs are perfect companions for kids as well, as they are typically very playful and gentle with kids, but of course, you should never leave any dog breed with a very young child unsupervised. The Chuandong Hound can also live with other dogs in the family, especially if socialized together from the puppyhood. 9) Exercise This is not a completely hyperactive dog breed, but it is not a total coach potatoe neither. The Chuandong Hound will need daily exercise to stay in good shape, healthy and happy. It can be longer daily walks, hikes, vigorous playtime or fun training sessions, just anything that will occupy them physically, but also mentally. Without the exercise, they might potentionally develop some unwanted behaviour, such as destruction. 10) Tongue and tail The last point in this video will be about the interesting appearance features of the Chuandong Hound. The first one is the tongue, which might or might not have blue coloration. Rather than fully blue tongue, you will see blue-spotted tongue, which is quite normal for Chinese breeds and there are even legends about it in Chinese folklore. One of them says that when Buddha was creating the world, dogs were allowed to lick up all the little pieces of blue sky that fell on the earth when the stars were set in their places, so they got their blue tongue from the sky. The second one is the tail, which is sometimes reffered to as bamboo tail. The tail is very thick at the base and sharp at the end and it stands completely straight. 1) Ancestry
The Wetterhoun is an old Dutch breed. The exact ancestry and history of this breed is unknown, but it is believed, that the Wetterhoun is at least 400 years old dog breed and that it was developed by crossing various Gypsy dogs with local indigenous Frisian dogs, very likely the already extinct Old Water Dog. The breed is native to the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. 2) Name The name Wetterhoun comes from the West Frisian Wetterhûn meaning “water dog.” In english speaking countries the breed is often times named as Frisian Water dog. Sometimes, the breed is also nicknamed as Dutch Spaniel or Otterhoun. 3) Almost extinct Just like many other European hunting breeds, even the Wetterhoun almost dissappeared after the Second World War. Without the efforts of breed fanciers and lovers, the breed would most likely completely vanished. But these fanciers, most notably Jan Bos, found remaining specimen of the breed and they saved the breed from extinction. Today, the breed is still considered as rare, but definitely not on the verge of extinction anymore and it is officially recognized by all the major kennel clubs around the world, such as FCI or AKC. 4) Hunting Originally, the Wetterhoun was used to hunt in water and they were most often hunting otters and polecats. Today, they are most often used for retrieving game, both in and out of the water and to hunt small mammals and waterflow. This is outstanding hunter, which is very loyal to the hunter, have very high prey drive, excellent nose and great stamina, all very important traits for a hunting breed. 5) Watchdog The Wetterhoun is primarily a hunter, but it can also be a very good watchdog. Their extreme loyalty to its owners and family combined with their alertness makes them perfect for being a reliable watchdog. This breed is naturally suspicious of strangers, but they should never be agressive without a reason. This is not the biggest barker, but they will most likely bark when they will hear or see something suspicious around their home. 6) Companion This is not only a worker, but also confident, strong willed, loyal and quite lively companion. I would not recommend this breed to novice owners, but with patient and firm training, these dogs can learn almost anything, it really is very smart dog. They can be socialized to live with other dog without problems, but other household pets might be problematic due to their higher prey drive. The Wetterhoun can also be good playful partner for kids, but of course, you should never leave any dog breed with a very young child unsupervised. 7) Water lover The Wetterhoun is not a coach potatoe. If they are not used for hunting, than they will need proper amount of exercise every day to stay healthy and happy. It can be long walks, jogs, hikes, vigorous playtime.. You name it. And of course, they will love to swim and you should let them to swim from time to time! It is a water dog after all. Without enough exercise, this breed can develop some unwanted behaviour, such as destruction. 8) Size The Wetterhoun is a medium sized dog breed with average height between 55-59 cm, which is 21-23 inch and weight between 25-35 kg, which is 55-77 lbs. Females are naturally slightly smaller than males. 9) Coat and color The Wetterhoun is characterized by a very dense, curly coat of medium length. It is an all purpose weather resistant and water repellant coat which is extremely good for their purpose as water dogs. The coat is oily to touch. The coat colors include black and brown, either solid or combined with white, with or without ticking and roaning. 10) Maintenance Speaking of coat it is important to mention the maintenance as well and luckily, the Wetterhoun has only minimal grooming requirements. Occasional brush will keep the coat in best possible condition. No other grooming is required. Just like with any other breed, you should regularly check their eyes, ears, nails and teeth and clip them or clean them if needed. |