Flat Coat Retriever

A retriever is a type of gun dog that retrieves game for a hunter. Generally gun-dogs are divided into three major classifications: retrievers, flushing spaniels, and pointing breeds.

Retrievers were bred primarily to retrieve birds or other prey and return them to the hunter without damage. Although spaniels and some pointing breeds routinely retrieve game, and many retrievers are skilled in finding game, retrievers are distinguished in that non-slip retrieval is their primary function.

As a result, retriever breeds are bred for soft mouths and a great willingness to please, learn, and obey. A soft mouth refers to the willingness of the dog to carry game in its mouth without biting into it. Hard mouth is a serious fault in a hunting dog and is one that is very difficult to correct. A hard-mouthed dog renders game unpresentable or at worst inedible.

Finnish Spitz

Finnish Spitz are considered to interact well with people, including children. In the home, the Finnish Spitz is a happy member, playing gently with children but maybe be rougher with other dogs. Some Finnish Spitz love other dogs while others are shy, passive or aggressive around other dogs.

The Finnish Spitz are very loyal to their family, therefore they can be shy or moody around other dogs. Left alone the Finnish Spitz will figure out if another dog is acceptable.

The breed is prone to barking at anything they perceive as being out of the ordinary. They can be trained to reduce the amount of barking, although the barking does make them good watchdogs.

Field Spaniel

The Field Spaniel is otherwise known as a Working Cocker Spaniel. A very social breed that can adapt to almost any lifestyle. Whilst they will coexist peacefully with dogs and cats, as a hunting dog, their instincts make them difficult around rabbits, mice, rats and similar animals. They can sometimes be difficult around birds but should adjust if socialised as a puppy.

Field Spaniels are a family breed and will show affection to all household members. However, they are naturally cautious of strangers making them an excellent watchdog. The Field Spaniel will not handle abusive situations and should never be treated as a guard dog.

Estrela Mountain Dog

They are very protective of their property and family, friendly with children, but suspicious of any strangers, and can be stubborn.

Eskimo Dog

Eskimo Dog's temperament reflects its original work and environment. It is loyal, tough, brave, intelligent, and alert. It is affectionate and gentle, and develops a deep bond with its owner and is intensely loyal.

Canadian Eskimo Dogs are best suited as companions for adults, rather than children, as they can be over-excitable. When used as sled dogs, they were often required to forage and hunt for their own food.

Consequently, many Canadian Eskimo Dogs have stronger prey drive than some other breeds. Owing to their original environment, they take pure delight in cold weather, often preferring to sleep outside in cold climates. Like most spitz breeds they can be very vocal.

Epagneul Pont Audemer

Though hardy, as well as hard-working, the breed has the typical spaniel traits of being easy to train, gentle, and affectionate.

The dogs are known to have a fun-loving quality and in France are said to be le petit clown des marais (the little clown of the marshes).

Entlebucher Mountain Dog

The Entlebucher mountain dog is the smallest of the four breeds of Senenhund, native to parts of the Swiss Alps. The Entlebucher is a herd dog and has been used on farms to assist in the herding of sheep and cattle.

The Entlebucher mountain dog is part of the Sennenhund family of dogs that include the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, the Bernese Mountain Dog, the Appenzeller and the Entlebucher Mountain Dog, all of which are similar in colour and temperament but vary in size. The Sennenhund dogs were originally used to assist in general farmwork but they are also used as mountain rescue dogs in some areas of the Swiss mountains today.

The Entlebucher is a square and sturdy medium-sized dog that has the distinctive coat colours, shared by all four of the Sennenhund breeds. The Entlebucher mountain dog is black, white and tan and has large, flat feet to support its weight.

As with all dogs, the Entlebucher should be introduced to dogs and people early on in life so that it becomes more relaxed around them. The Entlebucher mountain dog is said be devoted towards those familiar to it and is good-natured, although the Entlebucher is known to be suspicious of strangers.

The Entlebucher mountain dog grows to about 50 cm tall but some individuals can be slightly smaller. The Entlebucher has an average lifespan of around 12 years but some have been known to live much longer.

English Springer Spaniel

The typical Springer is friendly, eager to please, quick to learn and willing to obey.

The Springer is an affectionate and easy-going family dog, and its alertness and attentiveness make it the ideal hunting companion. An intelligent dog, active and eager to please, an English Springer is easily incorporated into a family setting.

Although good with children, it tends to have a moderate energy level. Its long-legged build makes it among the fastest of the spaniels. It has exceptional stamina and needs moderate amounts of activity, to focus its mind and to provide exercise, although this is different for each dog.

English Springers need plenty of exercise in order to run off their excess energy. These dogs can be slightly skitty or over excitable but adequate walking can prevent this.

English Shepherd

The English Shepherd temperament is the defining characteristic of the breed, with great intelligence and often a unique type of kindness for those in his home, both animals and people. The English Shepherd is often an independent worker.

English Shepherds are adaptable and learn routines quickly. Some can be watchful of strangers and are more one-person dogs. However, once he accepts people or children or stock as his own, there are few better caretakers than an English Shepherd.

The English Shepherd frequently exhibits an independent, bossy or enforcer of the rules streak in his temperament. If the dog's desire to enforce order is not channeled and directed to a suitable end by a strong, confident leader, he may exhibit many undesirable behaviors.

English shepherds can thrive as companion dogs in many environments. This breed was selected on diverse small family farms in the past and has been selected to work in a partnership arrangement with his master.

English Cocker Spaniel

Cockers are renowned for their stubborn temper but can be easily trained and make a good medium-sized family pet. They will often bond strongly to an individual person in a family.

Cockers are noted for their optimism, intelligence and adaptability. The breed is extremely loyal and affectionate, bonding very well with the family members. It has been proposed that there is a link between coat colour and temperament. This link could be the colour pigment melanin, which is bio chemically similar to chemicals that act as transmitters in the brain.

Cocker Spaniel behavior has been studied in more detail than any other breed.

Cottontop Tamarin

The Cottontop tamarin is a small species of monkey found in the forests of South America. The Cottontop tamarin was named because of it's elegant white fur that flows over it's head and shoulders.

The cottontop tamarin is found in tropical forest edges and secondary forests from Costa Rica to north western Columbia where the cottontop tamarin spends the majority of it's life in the trees.

Cottontop tamarins are among the smallest of the primates with a body length of 17 cm and tail length of 25 cm. The forelimbs of the cottontop tamarin are shorter than the hind limbs, and unlike other monkeys the thumb of the cottontop tamarin is not opposable and it does not have a prehensile tail.

The cottontop tamarin is a diurnal primate which means that the cottontop tamarin is most active during the day and rests in the safety of the tree tops during the night. cottontop tamarins are very sociable animals and inhabit their territory with their rest of the cottontop tamarin troop which generally have between 2 and 14 members. Cottontop tamarin troops are led by the eldest female and have predominantly male members.

The cottontop tamarin is an omnivorous animal meaning that the cottontop tamarin hunts both plants and other animals in order to survive. Fruits, insects and green plants make up the majority of the cottontop tamarin's diet along with small rodents and reptiles, eggs and tree sap.

Due to the relatively small size of the cottontop tamarin, it has a number of predators within it's natural environment. Wild cats, dogs, snakes and birds of prey are primary predators of the cottontop tamarin, along with humans who are destroying their natural habitat.

The cottontop tamarin usually breeds between the months of April and July, when the female cottontop tamarin will give birth to twins (or a single infant) after a four to five month gestation period. The male cottontop tamarins carry and groom infants more than the females do, but females clean the infant more than the males do. Older siblings are also known to contribute to infant care, although infants prefer to be carried by their parents than by their siblings. Infant cottontop tamarins become mobile at 2 to 5 weeks, and begin eating solid food at 4 to 7 weeks. They are independent at 10 to 18 weeks and are fully weaned at 15 to 25 weeks. Sexual maturity is attained at about 2 years of age.

Today, the cottontop tamarin is considered to be a critically endangered species with an estimated wild cottontop tamarin population of just 6,000. The main reason for the severe decline in the cottontop tamarin population is that they have lost more than 75% of their natural habitat to deforestation. 

Dogue De Bordeaux

The Dogue has an even temperament, and is extremely loyal and devoted to his master and family. Dogue de Bordeaux is gifted for guarding, which he assumes with vigilance and great courage but without aggressiveness.

He is a very good companion, being attached to and affectionate toward his master and family. He is calm and balanced with a high stimulus threshold.

Dogo Argentino

Dogos are known for being extremely loyal and affectionate with their families and crave attention from their owners. They are excessively tolerant of children due to their high pain tolerance, derived from selective breeding to be a big game hunter.

They are protective of what they perceive as their territory and will guard it against any intruder. They get along with other dogs as long as they have been properly socialised, but will usually not tolerate another dog trying to assert dominance over them and might not coexist peacefully with another dominant breed of dog.

However, dog aggression is not desirable in the Dogo Argentina, as it is at odds with its intended purpose as a pack hunter.

Dogo Argentinos are accomplished big-game hunters, and are still widely used today in a variety of ways from tracking, search and rescue, Schutzhund training, general police work including narcotics detection, military, and family dog. They are even occasionally used as guide dogs, or as service animals.

Lovly Dog

Dogs are thought to have been first domesticated in East Asia thousands of years ago. People primarily used dogs for guarding the hunters and areas of land.

Todays domestic dog is actually a subspecies of the gray wolf, a type of dog that is feared by most humans. Many people today, in all countries around the world, keep dogs as household pets and many even regard their dog as a family member.

There are currently around 800 different species of domestic dog worldwide. Included are mountain dogs such as Saint Bernards or Huskys and territorial guard dogs like the Neapolitan and Tibetan Mastiffs.

Dog Foot Facts

    Dogs have soft pads on the bottom of their feet which help them to run quickly and quietly
    Dogs have sharp, strong claws on their feet which allow them to grip when running and also helps them to dig.
    Some dog species have dew claws on the sides of their feet which help the dog to balance when running, like the baby toes on humans.
    The dew claws on a dog never really touch the ground but are often used to help the dog to lightly grip their prey.
    The paws of a dog are around half the size of the paws of the wolf, as the dog is generally not as powerful as the wolf.

Dog Teeth Facts

    Dogs have highly specialised teeth which allows them to both bite and tear meat apart.
    The teeth of the dog are small than those of their wolf relatives as the dog has no need to be able to catch and kill such large prey.
    The tongue of the dog is vital in heat regulation as moisture on the tongue cools instantly and the cooler air is then passed into the respiratory system.
    Puppys have around 28 teeth but the average adult dog has 42 teeth which include 12 incisors, 4 canines, 16 premolars and 10 molars.
    When a puppy is about four months old, they shed their baby teeth and grow their permanent adult teeth which are much stronger.

Doberman Pinscher

Doberman Pinschers are, in general, gentle, loyal, loving, and intelligent dogs.The Doberman is a strong,noble breed that protects the ones he loves! Although there is variation in temperament, a typical pet Doberman attacks only if it has been mistreated or believes that it or its family are in danger.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Doberman Pinscher is less frequently involved in attacks on humans resulting in fatalities than several other dog breeds such as pit bull type dogs, German Shepherd Dogs, Rottweilers and Alaskan Malamutes. 

Dingo

The dingo is medium-sized canine natively found on the Australian continent and even into South-East Asia. The dingo is thought to have once been a domestic dog that has returned to living in the wild now for thousands of years.

The dingo can be found in a variety of habitats throughout the Australian mainland and it's surrounding islands. Dingos are in both woodlands and rainforests, shrublands and even on the outskirts of the arid Australian deserts.

Due to the fact that the dingo (along with domestic dog breeds) is the largest predator found on the land on the Australian continent, the dingo is considered to be an apex predator and therefore plays a vital role in the different ecosystems that occur across the continent.

Despite having once been domesticated, today the dingo lives a life completely independent of humans, and dingos can be found in packs containing around 10 dingo individuals. Some dingos are nocturnal animals, where others are more active during the day, but this depends on the climate where the dingo lives.

The dingo is a carnivorous animal and one of Australia's most dominant predators. The diet of the dingo is similar to that of other pack-canines such as wolves, as they hunt rabbits, rodents, small mammals, lizards, birds, wallabys and even the occasional kangaroo.

Due to the large size and dominant nature of the dingo, the dingo has no real predators within its natural environment besides humans who are responsible for the destruction of the dingo's habitat, and the odd crocodile.

Dingos breed once a year, generally before August in the south and after August in the north. After a gestation period of around 2 months, the female dingo gives birth to litter of between 1 and 10 pups. The pups are blind when they are first born but grow up quickly, as dingo pups leave their mother and the den when they are 8 weeks old.

Today, mainly due to deforestation and habitat loss, the dingo is considered to be an animal that is vulnerable to extinction. In Australia, the dingo is protected animal and part of their conservation work includes insuring that the dingo does not start interbreeding with domestic dogs, therefore keeping the dingo as a species, pure. 

Dhole

The dhole (also known as the Asiatic Wild Dog, Indian Wild Dog and the Red Dog) is an endangered wild dog native to the jungles of Asia. Although the dhole is very similar in appearance to the African Wild dog and the Bush dog, the dhole is the only member of it's genus.

Historically, the dhole was found though East and Southern Asia, from the Russian far east right down to Sumatra, and although today the range of the dhole has been significantly reduced, the dhole inhabits a wide variety of habitats including thick, deciduous woodlands to jungles and tropical rainforests.

There are three different species of dhole that are very similar in characteristics and only really differ in location and fur colour. Although a dominant predator within their environment, the dhole populations have been heavily affected by disease introduced by domesticated animals such as cats and dogs.

Like other medium-sized canines, the dhole is a highly sociable animal that spends it's life as part of a pack. The dhole is well-known for the vocal calls that it uses to communicate with it's pack. It is said that the repetitive whistles of the dhole are so distinctive that individuals animals can be easily identified by their calls.

The dhole is a carnivorous and fairly dominant predator within it's natural environment, working as part of a pack to try and bring down larger prey to feed the whole group. The majority of the dhole's diet however is made of smaller animals including lizards, frogs and rodents.

Due to the dominant nature of the dhole and the fact that it often has protection from it's pack, there are few animals that are of any threat to the dhole in the wild. Large wild cats such as tigers and leopards are the only natural predators of the dhole, as the biggest threat to the world's dhole populations has been from humans.

After breeding, female dholes give birth to between 5 and 12 pups after a two month long gestation period. Dhole pups grow rapidly and are cared for by both their parents, and by other adult dholes in the pack. The dhole pups begin to hunt when they are a few months old and reach adult size by the time they are about a year and a half old.

Today, the dhole is endangered in the wild as populations have been reduced to less than 2,000 individuals across their native territories. The main reason for the severe decline in the dhole population numbers is thought to be through habitat loss and hunting from humans.

Deutsche Bracke

The Deutsche Bracke is a small hound, 40 - 53 cm (16 - 21 ins) at the withers, with long drop ears and a long narrow tail. It is distinguished by a long, somewhat narrow head, and a rectangular body, described as \"elegant\".

Dalmatian

 

As a result of their history as coach dogs, the dalmation is very active and needs plenty of exercise. They are very fast runners, with a great deal of stamina and self-reliance. Given freedom to roam the wild, they will take multi-day trips on their own across the countryside. In today's urban environment, they will not likely survive such excursions and must be contained.

Their energetic and playful nature makes them good companions for children and they have an instinctive fondness for humans and horses. These qualities make them somewhat unbreakable, and forgiving of rough handling by children. However, it is imperative that they be socialized with children while still puppies, and also that children be taught the correct way to play with animals.

They have very sensitive natures but respond favorably to calm assertive leadership by the pack leader. Their rambunctious and playful personalities necessitate constant supervision around very small children, whom they may accidentally knock over and hurt.

Dalmatians are extremely people-oriented dogs, and will get very lonely if left by themselves, and should be trained to accept their owners absence if they must be left alone as otherwise they will pine severely. A better option is to provide companions.

These dogs crave human companionship and do poorly if left alone in a backyard or basement. Dalmatians are famed for their intelligence, and survival instincts. In general they have good memories and are usually kind natured (though individual specimens may vary).

Originally bred to defend carriages and horses, these dogs can become territorial if not trained otherwise. 

Bavarian Mountain Hound

Bavarian Mountain Hounds are calm, quiet, poised and very attached to their masters and family. When hunting, they are hard, single-minded and persistent. Courageous, spirited, fast and agile, they are at ease on a rugged terrain, with a superb nose and powerful hunting instinct. They need a patient, experienced trainer.

The coat if the Bavarian Mountain Hound is short, thick and shiny, lying very flat against the body and moderately harsh. It is finer on the head and ears, harsher and longer on the abdomen, legs and tail.

The Bavarian Mountain Hound The Bavarian Mountain is not suited for city life. It is in regular need of space and exercise and also requires regular brushing. They are not dogs for the casual hunter. Most are owned and used by foresters and game wardens.