Curious to know the breeding of your mixed-breed dog?
Start the new year by finding out the makeup of your dog’s breeding. Knowing your dog’s breeding can help you know how to feed your dog, how to manage its health, and how to exercise it. All in all, it’s a great way to take better care of your dog, and your dog will love you for it.
Enter the contest by writing a short essay about your dog — as a comment to this post. What are your guesses for your dog’s breed mix? Why? Why would you like to know your dog’s breed mix? Write the best comment, and you will start the new year by knowing your dog’s breeding background.
Contest deadline is midnight, Friday, January 15, 2010. Callie Golden Retriever’s decision will be final.
Briley came to live with us for my last birthday after living at the shelter longer than any other dog they had. We visited him four times before deciding that he was the dog for us, but he decided after the first visit. We were worried because there was a note on his kennel that said he was an escape risk and not to let him off of his leash when we took him outside. What we have discovered is that Briley really wanted his own family and now that he has that he no longer cares to escape.
Briley is a small dog with a huge personality who loves everyone he meets. He is full of energy and would gladly play all day. He is very intelligent and has learned many commands in the few months he has lived with us. He has many characteristics of a terrier, and in fact looks a lot like a Westie, but he is a wheaten color and his eyes are so light brown as to appear almost hazel.
We both have fallen completely in love with Briley and we would like to know his breed mix so that we can take the best possible care of him and ensure that he has a long and happy life. We would like to know what health problems to watch for so that we can have him treated promptly and so that he never has to suffer. Even if we are never able to find out his background, Briley will always be an important member of our family.
Thanks, Leigh. Briley’s pretty lucky! Callie liked your response, too. 🙂
My husband and I decided it was time for another dog. We wanted a playmate for our current dog, Elsi. We looked long and hard for a rescue dog that we both felt a connection with. Not to mention, it had to get along with our current dog which was not the easiest to find since she can be a bit on the dominant side. After searching for almost a year we found Lenny. We met up with the rescue group to meet him to see if both of us liked him. We knew instantly we wanted him. We decided to foster him first just to make sure he was the right fit for our family. After a week, we adopted him! He is the perfect little dog, despite having been in different rescues and shelters for over two years! Lenny, is what we believe to be a beagle/canaan dog mix, but anyone’s guess is as good as ours. He is white with brown markings, only 40lbs, can jump higher than any dog I’ve seen, and has the funniest bat ears. Watching him trot across the yard, you just have to wonder if he’ll be able to fly someday by the way his ears flop. This is one dog you just have to see. He has a personality to match his looks! He holds no grudges about his past life and he has such a positive attitude always. We wanted a goofy, dopey sort of dog that would make us laugh daily, and that’s exactly what we got with Lenny. We still can’t believe that no one wanted to adopt him for two years! He gets along with people and loves other dogs. He frequents doggy daycare and just loves it.
We had only had Lenny for 6 months when we thought he contracted kennel cough. After several failed attempts with our vet to treat it, we found out through x-rays that he has an enlarged heart. His heart continues to grow and pushes on his lungs and other organs (hence the coughing). Through medicine, special diet and monitered playtime we have his heart under control for now. By this I mean, his heart is no longer growing bigger. However, it will never be a normal size again and always be 3 times the size it should be. The vet doesn’t know how long he has to live because of this. We are always charishing every moment with Lenny and our other dog, Elsi, and never take a day for granted. We tell people that Lenny just has more heart to share with everyone. I’m happy to report that it’s been a full year since his diagnosis and he’s still going strong.
We would love to know what breeds Lenny has in him before it’s too late. We would love to know if enlarged hearts are a genetic defect in certain breeds. We hope to share Lenny’s story and help others care for their pets with this condition and to know the signs to watch for. Either way, we will always adopt and rescue because even if our dog is a little strange looking, they sure do make great pets!
-Kala Howard
Ralston, Ne