Welcome

To Dog Lovers Everywhere

Aren’t dogs just amazing creatures? They are faithful companions,tireless playmates and fearless protectors. They can be all cuddly and sweet one minute……

….and the next showing their teeth and ready to attack at any sign of a threat to their territory or “pack”.

You may be surprised to know that dogs are descendants of the gray wolf which was domesticated 15,000 years ago. Only a handful of different types of dog were formed as a result of environmental factors or functional roles imposed by man. It is man’s skill at selective breeding that has produced the plethora of breeds that we have today. There are also a huge number of mixed breeds that have been produced by natural interbreeding of strays,“wild dogs”and pets.

So dogs come in all shapes,sizes,colors and temperaments.

There are lapdogs that the rich and famous (or wannabe rich and famous) seem to prefer. Many of these are treated as fashion accessory or accoutrement,small enough to carry and easy to control.

For the rest of us there are also small breads that are acquired specifically because of their size,so that they can be easily controlled (by small children for example) and are cheap to feed. There are medium dogs,the most popular size that fit in well with most families and there are large and very large dogs,some as big as a small horse which really need a very big house with a physically strong owner.

Pure breeds often have problems either with their behaviour or their health,or both. This is because there is the risk of inbreeding when trying to keep a pure breed. There are also mongrels or cross breeds also and these are generally more calm and better behaved,with less health problems than pure breeds.

If you are looking for a family pet,and decide on a dog,you obviously need to take a lot of things into consideration,and in most cases the biggest consideration will be cost. Pure breeds can be very expensive,and,unless you are going to breed some yourself,or have no money worries,it’s just not worth it. If you want to keep vet bills to a minimum,avoid the pure breeds (this is a generalisation of course). If you don’t want to be paying a fortune on dog food,avoid the large breeds –note that,with cross-breeds or mongrels,it can be difficult to ascertain how big the dog is going to be when you see them at the puppy stage.

With some dogs and breeds the transformation from soft and cuddly to tough and aggressive happens quite slowly,with others it can happen in an instant,too fast for it to be controlled. It is the owner’s responsibility to train their dog to curb their natural killer instinct or keep them under control. This is especially important with aggressive breeds. Unfortunately,many people who have aggressive dogs buy them because they are aggressive and then they encourage that aggressiveness as if their dog’s bravado is their own. Unfortunately they don’t control that aggressiveness which poses a risk to both the dog and the owner. If the dog attacks and injures a person,for whatever reason,the owner will be prosecuted and the dog may be destroyed. People are naturally wary of dogs that they don’t know and will back away if a dog bares its teeth,growls menacingly or barks,so there is generally no need for a dog to actually attack a human. Of course you don’t want to go the other way and have your dog cowering behind you at any threatening situation;you don’t want him shivering in his basket if there is a sound at the door or window. In the right situation you want him to make a noise,to sound aggressive,to advertise his presence in a way that will deter would be criminals. But you want that aggression to be under your control.