Dog+Breeds!

Dog Breeds by TamronS

Dogs come in all shapes and sizes including tons of colors. They have different traits and temperaments. There are over 350 dog breeds, including 52 rare breeds! But what exactly is a breed? A breed is a race of dog, sharing looks, traits, and genetics. Your dog might be a purebred, or a mutt. A purebred is a dog whose parents are of the same breed. For example, if your puppy's parents were both Rottweilers, your puppy will be a purebred Rottweiler. It's the same for all breeds. But if the mother were a Pit Bull, and the father was a Rottweiler, or the other way around, your puppy would be a mutt, or mixed breed.

Did you know that dogs have ancestors, just like us humans? They do! This line is called a pedigree. A pedigree is a line of all your dog's ancestors. Every dog has a pedigree, even mutts.

Where can you buy a dog? At a breeder! A breeder selects two of the best dogs and mates them together so they can have puppies! Make sure you buy your puppy from a good breeder. A good breeder has been inspected, and whose dogs have been health checked and bred properly. A good breeder might to extra tests. Never buy your dog from a puppy mill, or a pet store. The best place to buy your dog is a breeder. However, this is not your only option. You can also adopt from a rescue shelter. How to find the best dog: 1: Do lots of research. Use resorces, such as dog websites, dog magazines, friends. Anything. A picture can also help too, because you get the idea of how big the dog is, how much it might shed, and so on. 2: After all your research, choose the breed you would like to own. Some breeds, such as the Poodle, come in different sizes. Poodles come in Standard, the largest, Miniature, which is in between, and Toy, which is the smallest. You want to select that as well. Choose the color you want, since most dogs come in different shades. 3: Find a breeder in your area. Since all breeders sell different breeds, find a breeder who breeds this breed in your area. Make sure it is a good breeder! Keep in contact with this person. 4: Finally meet them in person! Ask the breeder all the questions you can. Sometimes a breeder won't sell a dog to you, because they think the dog does not fit your lifestyle. A breeder who is not so good will sell a dog to anybody, despite their lifestyle and how the dog fits it or not. 5: The best step of all! Buy the dog, take it home and have fun with training! It is never too early to train your dog basic commands, such as sit, stay, come, and down. Socializing is very important too. Take him everywhere pets are allowed. Most pet stores allow pets inside, so whenever you're stocking up on food, toys, or other things, bring your dog with you!

Let's get to the fun facts! The most popular dog breed is the Golden Retriever. It's not hard to see why, because Golden Retrievers are lovable and easy to train. The smallest dog ever is a Yorkshire Terrier, who weighs only 4 ounces! That's the same weight as a box of toothpicks. The biggest dog ever is a Mastiff who weighs 368 pounds. That's a giant dog! The smartest dog is a Border Collie, although Poodles are somewhere on the list.

Did you know your dog can read? That's right! First get a piece of paper, and right a command on it. For example, try SIT. Do it in all capital letters, big enough to take up most of the page. Using a black marker, write SIT in block letters than color it in. Try it out! It worked on my dog, a Boxer named Tiger.

Depending on the kind of breed you select, training can either be fun and simple, or frustrating and difficult. Some breeds are more trainiable than others, so you have to concider how much patience you have when selecting your dog. First you need some treats. Break them into small pieces so your puppy can easily chew and swallow them. Stand in front of your puppy and make sure there is no distractions. You will need your puppy's full attention at all times in order to get good results. Hold the treat up in the air and say "Sit." Reward him with a treat and move on to a different command, such as down. Get your dog to stand up. Crouch on your knees and say "Down." Reward the dog with another portion of the treat. Move on to another command, like stay. First get your dog to sit. Then slowly take steps backward. But not too far. As you move backward, tell him to stay and stick out your hand. Then stop and tell him to come! Reward him for being such a good puppy! Now your dog knows four basic commands. But, you can't always have a treat in your hands. Try this several times without a treat, and see if you get the same results. Most dogs work well with treats, but on the first try without a treat, aren't really listening. Don't train your dog for over 10 minutes at a time, or else your puppy will become bored and won't focus.