Name Your Pet

Welcome to the Dogs Section.


About Dogs

Dogs exist in a variety of shapes and sizes and many breeds have been developed as dogs have been selectively bred over the years to suit different purposes. However, essentially the dog is a hunting animal with strong predatory instincts. Drawings and paintings throughout the years show men hunting with dogs and dogs are still used today for hunting.

Dogs are highly intelligent animals, capable of learning, and this characteristic has enabled them to become a valuable part of the community acting as hearing dogs for the deaf, guide dogs for the blind, herding dogs, etc. The dog's highly developed sense of smell, whilst useful for hunting, has also been utilised by police forces and rescue organisations who use dogs to sniff out drugs and explosives, and to locate lost or injured people.

However, although dogs have many "uses" their most common place in the human community is as a companion animal. Intelligent, eager to please, loyal, friendly, protective, playful and a need to belong to a "pack" means that the dog is a family member in many households today.

Caring for Dogs

A dog will require care, attention and a commitment to look after it during its life which could be 10-15 years or longer. The commitment required includes not only routine feeding, care and time spent with the dog but also the provision of veterinary treatment if the dog becomes ill. This can be costly and there are a variety of insurance companies that offer insurance cover for dogs to cover veterinary fees in the case of accident or illness.

A dog will also need to be vaccinated at 8-10 weeks old and annually thereafter against Canine Distemper, Canine Viral Hepatitis, Canine Leptospirosis, Canine Parvovirus and in some countries, Rabies. In addition dogs need worming every 6 months and so there are regular medical costs associated with owning a dog.

BREEDING DOGS

Before thinking about breeding a dog careful consideration should be given to the potential parents with regard to their general health, temperament, pedigree, any genetic defects present or carried, etc to ensure that they are a good match for breeding likely to produce healthy puppies.

Careful consideration should also be given as to what is to be done with the puppies produced. The average litter size for a dog varies according to breed but most breeds average 4-8 puppies although much larger litters are not uncommon and it has been known for some dogs to have 23 puppies in a single litter.

It is vital that owners make plans for the puppies produced before taking the decision to start breeding dogs.