The pet breed I'm going to look at this time is the pug.
The pug is a small dog distinguished by it's short muzzle, wrinkly face, and curled back tail. The breed originated in China where it was a companion dog for members of royal households where it lived a luxurious lifestyle, often with its own bodyguards. It was then brought over to the royalty of Europe in the 16th century where it was popularised by the House of Orange in the Netherlands following the foiling of an assassination attempt on the Prince after their pug Pompey alerted the family. House Orange then went on to share the breed with House Stuart of England where it may have been bred into the King Charles Spaniel line during a visit, playing a part in the short-muzzled nature of the breed.
At this time the breed was more long-legged and lean in stature and it was after another influx of pugs from China in 1860 that the shorter stockier appearance of the modern pug came to be. Queen Victoria was also involved in breeding of pugs and helped establish of the Kennel Club in 1873.
Studies into the modern pug in the UK show that the breed has seen significant inbreeding and that the 10,000 or so pugs here have the genetic diversity of just 50 individuals. This has perhaps fed into some of the health problems that many pugs can experience such as hip dysplasia which affects over half of pugs. The short muzzle makes them more prone to eye damage and many have breathing difficulties or an inability to regulate body temperature through panting. They may also reverse-sneeze when excited where they gasp or snort due to an elongated palette although this is usually harmless, and sedentary pugs are more prone to weight gain. Along with a few other smell breeds of dog there is a small risk of NME - an inflammation of the brain and meninges, sadly this condition is fatal with no known cure.
The modern pug is a stocky small dog with a short face and underbite; popular colours include light tan and dark brown. It is a sociable companion dog that can be strong-willed at times should they get away with it. Pugs are smart and loving dogs with a youthful sense of fun they retain throughout their lives. They like to spend time napping and are particularly sensitive to the moods of their owners who they love to be around, shadowing them as they move about.
Whilst at the Dog Fun Day to handover my donated painting I saw various breeds of dogs from whippets and border collies, to Bernese Mountain dogs and lurchers. But by far the largest were a couple of Leonbergers - one still technically a pup. So that's the breed I'm going to take a look at:
Their name comes from the city of Leonberg in Germany where the breed is said to have been developed. The town has a lion as its crest and the Leonberger was bred in part to resemble a lion in stature.
They are a very large muscular breed with long rough double-coat of tawny fur and a black mask on face. They have a long relaxed tail and feathering of fur on the backs of legs and need a lot of brushing. Gender difference is particularly notable with males being far more muscular than females sometimes with obvious 'mane'. The average height is around 70-75cm at withers (top of shoulders) and they weigh in at 50-65kg on average. long relaxed tail. feathering of fur at back of legs. They have a relaxed and self-assured temperament but socialisation is very important for good behaviour as the dog is so large you don't want it to become difficult to control.
They are generally a healthy breed but have some health risks that come with larger breeds of dog such as bloat so should be fed 2 smaller meals in the day rather than a single large meal. Hip dysplasia is a problem for many large breeds but is largely controlled in Leonbergers. Lifespan, however, averages at just 7 years, this is not unusual for large dogs but is much less that the average breed of pedegree dog.
The breed is claimed to have been developed in 1830 by Heinrick Essig, mayor of Leonberg using a Newfoundland and and early St Bernard. later adding a Pyrenese mountain dog although this is somewhat disputed. Regardless the first registered dogs were in 1846 and become popular in European royal households. Traditionally the breed was also used as a farm dog for keeping watch as well as for draft work and later as a working dog used for search and rescue.
The modern breed saw the addition of more Newfoundland as the breed was devastated by the First World War with reportedly only 5 surviving. After some recovery it was again used in the Second World War to pull ammunition carts and was again dramatically reduced to just 8 individuals. The dark mask of the modern breed only came to be in the modern breed.
This month's pet breed is the Dalmatian, a very well known breed with it's distinctive spotted coat.
The breed originates from what was Dalmatia, now part of Croatia, with the oldest references to the breed come from 17th century paintings. They were used as dogs of war in Dalmatia and retain a strong guard instinct. The breed was largely developed in England where their strong guarding instincts were utilised to protect brewers' carriages. In the States they were used alongside horse-drawn fire engines and guarded the expensive horses that were tempting to thieves. They have also been used for hunting and their attractive coat led to their use in circuses. Now they are mainly a family pet that increased in popularity due to the book and later the films 101 Dalmatians. This unfortunately led to much irresponsible dog breeding and ownership resulting in many abandoned dogs although now the numbers of dalmatians being registered has fallen substantially since these surges.
This large muscular dog is predominantly white with black or liver coloured spots although they can be other colours or even tricoloured. They have a short coat that lacks the oils that produce a 'doggy smell' but sheds a lot. As they were bred to run alongside carriages they are a high energy and stamina dog that needs a lot of exercise so they do not get bored and destructive. They are not born with spots but develop them at around 3 weeks old with most spots developed at around a month old; although they can still gradually develop new spots as they age. They usually have large litters of around 8-13 pups but litters can be even larger than this.
They are relatively healthy but there are a couple of problems associated with the breed such as deafness which is linked to the dog's pigmentation; around 30% of dalmatian puppies have some level of deafness.
Another common problem is hyperuricema, where the dogs lack the enzyme uricase and have trouble breaking down uric acid which can lead to gout, and kidney and bladder stones. This is more likely to be present in older males and limiting the amounts of protein in the diet can help as well as always having access to fresh water. Efforts have been made to reintroduce the enzyme to some dalmatians through using other breeds such as pointers but there is a reluctance to accept dogs, even 13 generations removed as pedigrees. Similar to this, dalmatians with larger areas of pigmentation are less likely to have problems with deafness but are disqualified from breed standard to preserve the spotted coat. In later life autoimmune thyroiditis is commonly a problem effecting around 10% of dalmatians.
Temperment-wise they are intelligent, playful dogs that are fond of other animals especially horses and their stamina makes them a great running partner. They have some mild protective instincts so should be socialised well to promote a stable temperment.
I thought that for around once a month I would do a focus on a particular pet breed - mainly cats and dogs but I'm open to looking at more unusual pets. Where I will produce some artwork as well as give a little info about the breed.
This month it's the beagle.
Size: Small to medium
Origin: Modern breed originates from Great Britain around the 1830s
Appearance: Long rounded ears, long tail with a white tip that's held upright. Medium length smooth coat that's usually tricolour (white, tan, and black)
History/usage: The beagle has a fantastic sense of smell and has been breed to be determined and often single-minded in order to track game such as hares and rabbits. It's sense of smell has also been utilised in airports where beagles are used as detection dogs looking for items such as food and drugs - they are even used to find signs of termites in Australia. They are also used in pet therapy and, more controversially, are the most common dog, by far, used in animal testing.
